Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – In the End, God Wins, Part 2

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Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – In the End, God Wins, Part 2 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Great stories don't just entertain, they tell the truth about
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  Speaker 1: how things ought to end. And the Book of Ester
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: ends exactly right. Yes, Remarkably, the book concludes without mentioning
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: her name. Today, on Insight for a Living, Chucks Wendall
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: concludes his twelve part series on Esther, a woman of
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  Speaker 1: strength and dignity. He's teaching from the final three verses
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  Speaker 1: of Esther, a passage as brief as it is profound.
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  Speaker 1: In these three verses, Chuck identifies three timeless principles that
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  Speaker 1: reveal what it looks like when God truly wins. Let's
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  Speaker 1: pick up the study now.
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  Speaker 2: In Esther, chapter ten, Mordecai has been promoted by the king.
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  Speaker 2: We now have a Jew who is second in command
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  Speaker 2: according to verse three, second and only to King of
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  Speaker 2: Hasu wears. That brings me to the first of three observations,
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  Speaker 2: which yield three principles that I want to focus most
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  Speaker 2: of our attention on today. The first observation is this,
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  Speaker 2: the one who has exalted to the place of authority
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  Speaker 2: in Persia is surprising. Who would have ever guessed that
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  Speaker 2: a one time Jewish anonymous gatekeeper would now be nobility.
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  Speaker 3: That leads us to the first principle.
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  Speaker 2: When God wins, the people he uses are often unexpected.
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  Speaker 3: You question that.
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  Speaker 2: Look around, as Paul writes to the Corinthians, Not many mighty,
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  Speaker 2: not many noble, not many.
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  Speaker 3: Blue bloods are chosen.
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  Speaker 2: He has chosen the off scouring in the world's eyes.
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  Speaker 2: I suppose we could say losers to carry the torch
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  Speaker 2: of the cross. Let's go to a second observation from
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  Speaker 2: this same verse. The one who is promoted bears the
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  Speaker 2: marks of true humility. He doesn't seem to have a
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  Speaker 2: kingly style about him. He doesn't fit well on a throne.
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  Speaker 2: He doesn't look good in royal robes. What do you
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  Speaker 2: read about Mordecai. You read that he was great among
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  Speaker 2: the Jews, He was in favor with the multitude of
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  Speaker 2: his kinsmen, and he sought the good of his people.
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  Speaker 2: You see, here's the principle. When God wins, the qualities
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  Speaker 2: he upholds are usually unpretentious. The people he uses are
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  Speaker 2: humble people. Hold your place here and go back into
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  Speaker 2: the New Testament and find Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two.
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  Speaker 2: Listen to what is said of our Lord Jesus when
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  Speaker 2: he came from heaven to earth as a little baby
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  Speaker 2: in a manger. This is the theological side of Christmas.
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  Speaker 2: Philippians two five. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was
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  Speaker 2: also in Christ.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Now we're going to go to his first place of existence,
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  Speaker 2: the one who was born in a manger. Earlier existed
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  Speaker 2: in the form of God, but did not regard equality
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  Speaker 2: with God, a thing to be grasped, a thing to
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  Speaker 2: be held on.
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  Speaker 3: Two.
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  Speaker 2: But when God said to his son it's time to go,
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  Speaker 2: he emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant,
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  Speaker 2: being made in the likeness of men. That's the incarnation.
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  Speaker 2: That's when God became man and found in appearance as
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  Speaker 2: a man. There it is he humbled himself by becoming
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  Speaker 2: obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,
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  Speaker 2: the worst kind of death. It does say that God
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  Speaker 2: also has exalted him, and that ultimately at the name.
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  Speaker 3: Of Jesus, every knee will bow.
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  Speaker 2: But what I want you to notice is that in
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  Speaker 2: order for him to come in obedience, it required humility.
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  Speaker 2: When God wins, the qualities that he opposed are usually unpretentious.
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  Speaker 3: Here is a humble man.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, before you turn back, remember humility is
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  Speaker 2: not how you dress, is not the money you make.
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  Speaker 2: It is not what you drive, It is not even
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  Speaker 2: how you look. We're never once told to look humble.
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  Speaker 2: I get weary of people trying to look humble, don't you.
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  Speaker 3: Humility It's an attitude.
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  Speaker 2: It is an attitude of the heart, an attitude of
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  Speaker 2: the mind. It is knowing your proper place, never talking
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  Speaker 2: down or looking down because someone may be of a
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  Speaker 2: financial stratum beneath you. It is knowing your role and
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  Speaker 2: fulfilling it for God's glory and praise. It's an attitude.
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  Speaker 2: See that's what he says in verse five. Have this
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  Speaker 2: attitude in yourselves. You say, well, I'd like to know
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  Speaker 2: how it works out. Look two verses earlier, look at
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  Speaker 2: verse three. You want to know how it works its
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  Speaker 2: way out. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.
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  Speaker 3: But with humility of mind.
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  Speaker 2: Let each of you regard one another as more important
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  Speaker 2: than himself. Do not merely look out for your own
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  Speaker 2: personal interests, but also for the interest of others.
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  Speaker 3: Have the attitude christ Head.
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  Speaker 2: That's what leads into that canotic passage of Jesus emptying
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  Speaker 2: himself of the voluntary use of his divine attributes. There
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  Speaker 2: is no quality more god Like than humility. Remember that
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  Speaker 2: when the next promotion comes, remember that when God selects
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  Speaker 2: you as one of his unique spokespersons and places you
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  Speaker 2: in a position where the public listens and looks, Remember
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  Speaker 2: the importance of humility of heart and mind. Nothing is
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  Speaker 2: more admirable, more god like than being willing to live
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  Speaker 2: out in one's mind true humility. I smiled when I
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  Speaker 2: read a story recently of a young man named Walter
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  Speaker 2: who went to work for the largest corporation in the world.
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  Speaker 2: The personnel director told Walter he must start at the
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  Speaker 2: bottom and work his way up, so he began work
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  Speaker 2: in the mail room. Walter liked his job, but often
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  Speaker 2: daydreamed about what it would be like to be an executive,
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  Speaker 2: the president, maybe even chairman.
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  Speaker 3: Of the board.
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  Speaker 2: One day, as Walter was dividing the mail, he saw
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  Speaker 2: a cockroach in the corner of the room. He walked
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  Speaker 2: over to step on it. Walter heard a tiny voice
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  Speaker 2: crying out, don't kill me. I'm Milton the cockroach, and
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  Speaker 2: if you spare me, I'll grant.
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  Speaker 3: You all your wishes.
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  Speaker 2: Walter agreed that was a good arrangement, and he spared
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  Speaker 2: Milton's life. Walter's first wish was to leave the mail
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  Speaker 2: room and become a vice president, so Milton granted him
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  Speaker 2: the wish. In fact, Milton granted wish after wish, until
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  Speaker 2: finally Walter was the chairman of the board of the
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  Speaker 2: largest corporation in the whole world, with an office on
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  Speaker 2: the top floor of the tallest building in the whole world.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone looked up to Walter, and he was very happy.
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  Speaker 2: Walter often said to himself, I am Walter and I'm
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  Speaker 2: at the top. No one is bigger or more important
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  Speaker 2: than me. Then one day Walter heard footsteps on the
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  Speaker 2: roof and went out to find a small boy on
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  Speaker 2: his knees praying. Are you praying to Walter? He asked,
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  Speaker 2: after all, he was the chairman of the board of
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  Speaker 2: the largest corporation in the world. The boy replied, oh no, no,
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  Speaker 2: I'm praying to God. Walter was quite disturbed by this
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  Speaker 2: turn of events, so he returned to his office and
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  Speaker 2: sent for Milton the Cockroach. I have another wish, he
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  Speaker 2: told Milton. I want to be like God, and so
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  Speaker 2: Milton granted Walter's wish. The next day, Walter was back
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  Speaker 2: in the mail room. Now you got it. The way
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  Speaker 2: up is down. I can't explain how it works. I
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  Speaker 2: just know it does. The place of highest exaltation, as
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  Speaker 2: we see in the Lord Jesus Christ, is a place
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  Speaker 2: of self emptying humility. It isn't phony beloney, kind of
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  Speaker 2: fake piosity that stinks. It's true humility of mind. It's
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  Speaker 2: putting the other person first. It's sharing and sharing alike.
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  Speaker 2: It is giving up. It is enjoying the pleasures of
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  Speaker 2: another's promotion. It is applauding God's hand in other lives
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  Speaker 2: and forgetting one's own clippings. It is as Mordecai, who
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  Speaker 2: lived in favor with the multitude his kinsmen and sought
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  Speaker 2: the good of his people.
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  Speaker 3: I love that. What a politician.
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  Speaker 2: Huh, where are they?
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  Speaker 3: Ah?
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  Speaker 2: It's being like Christ. There's one other thing. Notice in
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  Speaker 2: Esther chapter ten, verse three. I noticed that the one
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  Speaker 2: who is highly esteemed by others represents vast vision, vast vision.
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  Speaker 2: Look at how the verse ends. Mordecai was one who
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  Speaker 2: spoke for the welfare of his whole nation. Literally, the
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  Speaker 2: sentence reads, he spoke shalom. He spoke shalom. You know
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  Speaker 2: that to be the ancient word for peace. He spoke peace.
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  Speaker 2: His world was vast, not limited to his immediate neighborhood or.
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  Speaker 3: His own immediate family.
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  Speaker 2: It wasn't limited to Susa where he lived, where the
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  Speaker 2: throne room was located. It wasn't limited to fifteen or
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  Speaker 2: twenty provinces.
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  Speaker 3: He preferred it spread over.
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  Speaker 2: All one hundred and twenty seven, and he spoke peace
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  Speaker 2: to the entire country. Shalom is a word for health
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  Speaker 2: and security and material plenty.
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  Speaker 3: It is a word of greatest delight.
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  Speaker 2: Among the Jews. He spoke shalom, He spread peace. Third principle.
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  Speaker 2: When God wins, the message he honors is a universal message.
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  Speaker 3: It's universal.
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  Speaker 2: Why because God has the whole world on his heart,
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  Speaker 2: every tongue and tribe and nation.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we don't live in.
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  Speaker 2: A world that thinks like this the way I've been
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  Speaker 2: describing here from this passage, all of this creates sort
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  Speaker 2: of a feudal struggle with the plan that God employs.
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  Speaker 2: At least it does every now and then, for example,
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  Speaker 2: go back over the three.
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  Speaker 3: When the world selects its.
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  Speaker 2: Major players, the critterior are much different.
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  Speaker 3: We look for the sharp, the capable, the competent. We
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  Speaker 3: look for the strong.
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  Speaker 2: We look for those who sound sharp and look good
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  Speaker 2: and have an excellent education and fit the mold of
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  Speaker 2: a leader. We look for what's commonly called the key
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  Speaker 2: person on the campus, but God's choices are often the
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  Speaker 2: unexpected ones. Here again is another struggle. When the world
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  Speaker 2: looks for qualities that will get a big job done,
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  Speaker 2: the externals get the nod. We like people with charisma,
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  Speaker 2: people who have pizazz, who can put up a good front,
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  Speaker 2: if I may say so, from what I learned from
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  Speaker 2: the last couple of presidential nominations.
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  Speaker 3: People who look.
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  Speaker 2: Good on television, people who can debate, who can battle
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  Speaker 2: back and forth and never miss a trick, who are
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  Speaker 2: diplomatic enough to remember.
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  Speaker 3: The whole group you know. On and on and on
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  Speaker 3: it goes.
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  Speaker 2: We like the externals character will do without if we
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  Speaker 2: have to, but not those externals. God passes up the
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  Speaker 2: externals and looks for the humble of heart. Every time
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  Speaker 2: there isn't an exception. The ones God truly uses, never
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  Speaker 2: forget it, are people who weren't stuck on themselves. There's
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  Speaker 2: a third struggle. We're in a world that we where
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  Speaker 2: we take care of our own. We look out for
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  Speaker 2: number one, but God has a plan that touches people
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  Speaker 2: whose vision is vast. It occurred to me just in
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  Speaker 2: the past number of days, several days out of a
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  Speaker 2: phrase that appears in the Book of Galatians. When the
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  Speaker 2: fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son.
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  Speaker 2: I thought, what a beautiful illustration of all all three
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  Speaker 2: principles we see in Bethlehem's manger. First of all, think
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  Speaker 2: of the surprising players. I mean, if you lived in
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  Speaker 2: Nazareth and Mary, who lived three doors away from you,
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  Speaker 2: turned up pregnant, not married, would you have ever guessed
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  Speaker 2: in a millennium that she was carrying Messiah?
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  Speaker 3: No, you wouldn't.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, marrying a carpenter from a background that lacked significance.
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  Speaker 2: How surprising and unwed? Mother, aren't you grateful she carried
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  Speaker 2: the baby to term?
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  Speaker 3: How surprising that.
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  Speaker 2: God would move on the heart of an unbelieving emperor
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  Speaker 2: and an unbelieving governor that required the participating in a
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  Speaker 2: census down at the county seat Bethlehem. The prophet wrote
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  Speaker 2: that that would happen, but they lived in Nazareth. How
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  Speaker 2: surprising that that census got them right? A term for
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  Speaker 2: her down to Bethlehem. And let me ask you, if
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  Speaker 2: you had the birth of the Messiah. Detail, wouldn't you
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  Speaker 2: have included some gold and some silk, and some fine
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  Speaker 2: linen and satin. Wouldn't you have made it beautiful? You
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  Speaker 2: wouldn't have had it in an inn. You wouldn't have
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  Speaker 2: put him in a feeding trough on straw, never in
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  Speaker 2: a thousand years. But you see, God not only does
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  Speaker 2: the unexpected, God upholse the unpretentious. No one in Jerusalem
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  Speaker 2: even care, not even in the little hamlet of Bethlehem,
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  Speaker 2: babies are born all the time.
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  Speaker 3: Who cared that a.
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  Speaker 2: Little Jewis had a baby out there in the end,
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  Speaker 2: and that little one who came. He didn't just deliver
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  Speaker 2: the neighborhood of Nazareth, where he was raised. He wasn't
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  Speaker 2: prejudiced toward them. He didn't take his message just to
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  Speaker 2: the authorities of Jerusalem. He didn't limit it to the
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  Speaker 2: land of Palestine.
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  Speaker 3: God so loved the world that he gave his only son.
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  Speaker 3: You know what that allows us to do.
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  Speaker 2: It allows us to take a universal message wherever we go,
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  Speaker 2: and it fits. You can step into the streets in
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  Speaker 2: an urban ghetto, or you can walk before the Palace.
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  Speaker 3: Of Kings, and it fits.
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  Speaker 2: You can take a message to English speaking people are
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  Speaker 2: halfway around the globe. You can speak to those in
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  Speaker 2: the land of India or the vast regions of Europe
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  Speaker 2: and Asia.
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  Speaker 3: And it fits. Because God so loved the world that
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  Speaker 3: he gave his son to the world. It fits.
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  Speaker 2: The message he uses is a universal message, genius plan.
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  Speaker 3: And in the end he wins.
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  Speaker 2: May I say it, whether you believe it or not.
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  Speaker 2: God wins, whether you accept it or not. God wins
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  Speaker 2: whether you bowed before him as Savior and Lord, God
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  Speaker 2: still wins. Paul wrote, I have fought a good fight.
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  Speaker 2: I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.
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  Speaker 2: And for there is laid before me the crown of righteousness,
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  Speaker 2: which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me, and
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  Speaker 2: not to me only, but until all them also who
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  Speaker 2: love His appearing right at the end of his life,
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  Speaker 2: the Great Apostles said, and the best is yet to.
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  Speaker 3: Come of all things. He not only blessed me.
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  Speaker 2: With his glorious gospel in life, he waits to crown
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  Speaker 2: faithful service after death. You cannot beat this message of Christianity.
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  Speaker 2: If there were a better one, believe me, I'd be
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  Speaker 2: proclaiming it. But there is none better. But what throws
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  Speaker 2: the world a curve. Is that this savior we present
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  Speaker 2: has never run for some major office. Therefore try to
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  Speaker 2: look impressive. He's, like Isaiah called him, like a reed
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  Speaker 2: shaken in the wind. But in the end he wins. Now,
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  Speaker 2: wouldn't you like to come along? Can you imagine breathing
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  Speaker 2: your last breath and not waking up in eternity with God?
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  Speaker 2: Can you imagine the horror of that. Let's about together
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  Speaker 2: the substance of joy and the vitality of action. That's
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  Speaker 2: our future home, men and women, those of you who
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  Speaker 2: know Christ. That's where we will know shalom in its
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  Speaker 2: fullest significance. That's where all arguments, suffering, disabilities, handicaps, brokenness
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  Speaker 2: will cease. That's where God will reign all in all,
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  Speaker 2: in the place of glory and majesty.
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  Speaker 3: It isn't automatic that by being born.
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  Speaker 2: You will spend eternity with God. It requires a decision
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  Speaker 2: somewhere between birth and death. And that decision has to
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  Speaker 2: do with what will you do with Christ to came.
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  Speaker 1: Now?
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  Speaker 2: Just sing a few carols at Christmas time, not just
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  Speaker 2: celebrate his resurrection at Easter time, but deep within the
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  Speaker 2: recesses of your heart, and life, giving him the right
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  Speaker 2: to rule first place, taking his gift and in return
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  Speaker 2: giving him your sin. It's a transaction called conversion. It
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  Speaker 2: brings tears to some people's eyes. Others are able to
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  Speaker 2: experience conversion without shedding a tear. But it's changing one's
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  Speaker 2: mind concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. It's believing he died
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  Speaker 2: for you personally, and he rose from the dead for you.
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  Speaker 2: If it's your decision today to come to know the
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  Speaker 2: Lord Jesus, don't delay, don't put that off.
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  Speaker 3: God has the greatest gift you'll ever receive. Lord our God.
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  Speaker 2: During a time when there is such a maddening pursuit
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  Speaker 2: of one's own wishes and desires, bring us back to
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  Speaker 2: the ancient message that Jesus Christ not only declared but modeled.
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  Speaker 2: Bring us back to the one who is indeed our victor.
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  Speaker 2: Show us the importance of a humble spirit, true character.
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  Speaker 2: Give us a sense of satisfaction in being in Your plan,
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  Speaker 2: regardless of what that may be on this earth. And
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  Speaker 2: fill us with hope as we anticipate the end that
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  Speaker 2: is sure to come.
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  Speaker 3: In the meantime, Our Father, make.
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  Speaker 2: Us responsible people who carry a message to a whole world,
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  Speaker 2: give us courage and strength, and in that process, Lord,
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  Speaker 2: keep us from relying on our own strength. That may
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  Speaker 2: our strength come from You, from your son, Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 2: in whose name we pray Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Unexpected people, unpretentious character, a universal message. Those are the
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  Speaker 1: marks of God's handiwork, and they haven't changed. The same
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  Speaker 1: God who lifted a no name gatekeeper to the second
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  Speaker 1: highest thrown in Persia, is still at work today. If
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  Speaker 1: the Book of Esther has stirred something in you Welt,
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  Speaker 1: now's the time to request some excellent Bible study tools
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: from Insight for living the final time, we'll mention a
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  Speaker 1: special bundle for the Ester series. The bundle includes the
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Searching the Scripture's Bible Study workbook, the full length biography
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: of Ester that's written by Chuck, and the complete collection
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  Speaker 1: of twelve sermons on CD. To purchase these resources right now,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: go to insight dot org slash offer. Well, if you've
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: been online in recent days and seeing clips of Chuck's
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: video series called Living with Insight, you'd probably agree that
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: while Chuck is aging, his passion for proclaiming the good
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  Speaker 1: News isn't fading but growing stronger.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: I've never been good at pretending the calendar doesn't lie.
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  Speaker 2: I'm in my nineties now, and so my eyes don't
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  Speaker 2: function as they once did. My legs remind me every
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  Speaker 2: single day that I've logged a lot of miles. There
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  Speaker 2: are mornings when everything in me would rather sit quietly
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  Speaker 2: and let somebody younger carry the load. But then something happened.
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  Speaker 2: I picture myself standing behind a pulpit, my hands on
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  Speaker 2: that sacred lectern, my Bible open in front of me,
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: next to my notes, and something stirs deep down where
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: age doesn't reach, and I remember, I remember what this is,
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: I remember what's at stake, and I feel it all
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: over again. The thrill, the privilege, the sheer, staggering wonder
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: that God would allow a weathered preacher to open his
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: mouth and declare the most radical news ever to reach
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: human ears, the Cross of Jesus Christ.
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: Friend.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: I look at this world, the chaos, the sorrow, the anger,
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: the pain, and I don't see.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: A world that needs better arguments.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: I see a world that needs what we have, the
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: message that God has stepped into our mess and offered
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: redemption to every last soul who will believe. That's not
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: wishful thinking. That's the Gospel, and it's just as powerful
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: today as it was two thousand years ago. My days
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: behind the pulpit, week in, week out are now behind me.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: I know that I'm at peace with it, but we
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: still proclaim the Cross. As we close out this fiscal
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: year on June thirtieth, I want to invite you to
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: link arms with me for whatever miles remain. Your gift
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: to Insight for Living is your voice in this proclamation.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Through radio, the Internet, social media, and resources reaching every
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: corner of this world, you and I together get to
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: tell them come with me. Let's boldly tell the world
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: what they're longing to hear.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Thanks for responding to Chuck Swindall today. Your gifts truly
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: make an impact. Recently we heard from one of your
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: fellow listeners who said, Dear, Insight for Living is the
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: voice I run to when life in this world becomes
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: too much. Thank you for grounding me and pointing me
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: back to the Cross. These moments are made possible through
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: the generous gifts from friends just like you. Today, we'd
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: like to say thanks for your contribution by providing a
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: brand new booklet from Chuck. It's called The Cross We Proclaim.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: You know There are probably mornings when you wonder if
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: you have anything left to give in the cross, we
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: proclaim you'll be reminded that you were never meant to
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: do it in your own strength. Let us send you
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: a copy today. Here's our mailing address, Insight for Living,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Post Office Box five thousand, Frisco, Texas, seven five three four.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: You can also call eight hundred seven seven to two
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: eighty eight eighty eight, or give online at Insight dot
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: org slash donate bill join us tomorrow when Chucks Wendall
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: begins our next study about the attributes of God right
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: here on Insight for Living. The preceding message in the End,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: God Wins was copyrighted in nineteen eighty nine, nineteen ninety
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven, two thousand and five, twenty eighteen, and
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated. All rights
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: is strictly prohibited