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What Future Judgment Will Christians Face? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to another week on the Ask Pastor John podcast. Well,
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  Speaker 1: what future judgment will Christians face? The Apostle Paul, writing
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  Speaker 1: to a church of believers, said to them, quote for
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  Speaker 1: we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ
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  Speaker 1: and second Corinthians five to ten. To Christians, he said that,
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  Speaker 1: and he included himself here too, we must all appear
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  Speaker 1: in another place. He interrogated Christians by asking them, why
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  Speaker 1: do you despise your brother? Despising other believers as ridiculous?
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  Speaker 1: Why quote for we will all stand before the judgment
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  Speaker 1: seat of God in quote Romans fourteen ten, again speaking
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  Speaker 1: of believers, and including himself here, we will. All these
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  Speaker 1: pointed texts arrest our attention and cause us to think
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  Speaker 1: about a future judgment to come for Christians. So, no
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  Speaker 1: surprise come loads of questions to us about these and
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  Speaker 1: related texts, like this email from a listener named may
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  Speaker 1: Pastor Jehan. Can you explain what kind of judgments Christians
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  Speaker 1: will face when Jesus returns?
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  Speaker 2: Well, let's start with the absolutely glorious news about the
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  Speaker 2: judgment that we will not face. The accomplishment of Christ
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  Speaker 2: in dying for us and rising for us can be
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  Speaker 2: stated positively and negatively. Positively, he died to bring us
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  Speaker 2: to God Verse Peter three eighteen. The enjoyment of the
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  Speaker 2: presence of God forever is the positive achievement of the
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  Speaker 2: death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. But the
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  Speaker 2: New Testament reminds us over and over again that we
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  Speaker 2: can state the good news negatively as well as positively. Namely,
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  Speaker 2: we do not come under the wrath of God. He
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  Speaker 2: achieved a negative thing. This is not gonna happen. Christ
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  Speaker 2: bore our sins, we won't be punished for them. So
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  Speaker 2: John five point twenty four. Truly, truly, I say to you,
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  Speaker 2: whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me
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  Speaker 2: has that's now, has eternal, that's forever life. Now he
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  Speaker 2: does not come into judgment whoa but has passed from
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  Speaker 2: death to life. What averse. That doesn't mean we don't
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  Speaker 2: go to court in the last day. It means we
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  Speaker 2: won't be condemned in court in the last day. We're
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  Speaker 2: already acquitted, and the court will prove it. Romans eight one.
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  Speaker 2: There is now and forever no condemnation for those who
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  Speaker 2: are in Christ, Jesus or Romans eight thirty three. Who
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  Speaker 2: shall bring any charge against God's elect It is God
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  Speaker 2: who justifies there will be no successful charge against us
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  Speaker 2: at the judgment none verse John three fourteen. We know
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  Speaker 2: that we have passed out of death into life. So
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  Speaker 2: the judgment of wrath and punishment and final death are passed.
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  Speaker 2: They're over for us. Jesus endured all of that for us.
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  Speaker 2: If we are in Christ, we are believing in Him
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  Speaker 2: united to him. His death was our death, His punishment
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  Speaker 2: was our punishment. God's wrath was exhausted on him toward us. Therefore,
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  Speaker 2: Paul exults with the verse I go to sleep on
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  Speaker 2: almost every night. God has not destined us for wrath, sweet,
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  Speaker 2: but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who
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  Speaker 2: died for us, so that whether we wake or sleep,
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  Speaker 2: we will live with him love. Those two verses. That's
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  Speaker 2: first Thessalonians five nine and ten. So if there is
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  Speaker 2: a judgment that will not condemn Christians, what other kind
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  Speaker 2: of judgment is there for us? That's what's being asked.
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  Speaker 2: I think there is a dimension to the judgment that
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  Speaker 2: does not call into question our eternal life, but determines
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  Speaker 2: what varieties of blessing or reward we will enjoy in
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  Speaker 2: the age to come. And I know this can be
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  Speaker 2: disturbing to some people because varieties of rewards sounds like
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  Speaker 2: some people are going to be happy and others are not.
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  Speaker 2: But it's plain from the Bible there will be no
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  Speaker 2: unhappiness in heaven, none, no unhappiness in the age to come.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone will be as happy as he can be, all
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  Speaker 2: tears wiped away in the presence of the all satisfying God.
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  Speaker 2: But some people will evidently have greater capacities for happiness
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  Speaker 2: or greater avenues of happiness. Now, why do we think that,
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  Speaker 2: Why do we talk like that? We talk like that
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  Speaker 2: because the Bible teaches that we will stand before the
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  Speaker 2: judgment seat of Christ and we will be rewarded differently.
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  Speaker 2: Yet everybody will be perfectly happy. That's why we talk
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  Speaker 2: like that. Remember Jesus parable. For example, the king goes
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  Speaker 2: away and then he returns, and he gives different awards
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  Speaker 2: to those who invest his money differently. The first servant
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  Speaker 2: came to him. This is Luke nineteen. The first servant
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  Speaker 2: came to him saying, Lord, your mina. Now mina is
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  Speaker 2: one hundred dragmas and a dragmas about the price of
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  Speaker 2: a sheep. Your mina has made ten minas more, and
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  Speaker 2: he said to him, well done, good servant, because you
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  Speaker 2: have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority
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  Speaker 2: over ten cities. And a second came to him, saying, Lord,
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  Speaker 2: your mina has made five minas. And he said to him,
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  Speaker 2: and you will be over five cities. Now that's a
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  Speaker 2: picture I think of differing rewards in the last day,
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  Speaker 2: of how we stewarded our lives for Christ in this world.
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  Speaker 2: Paul said in one Corinthians four to five, do not
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  Speaker 2: pronounce judgment before the Lord comes, who will bring to
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  Speaker 2: light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose
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  Speaker 2: the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive
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  Speaker 2: his commendation from God. So the judgment will take into
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  Speaker 2: account our heart motivations, not just our outward deeds themselves.
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  Speaker 2: In Ephesian six 's eight, Paul says one of the
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  Speaker 2: most amazing things about the final judgment for believers. He says,
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  Speaker 2: whatever good anyone does this he will receive back from
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  Speaker 2: the Lord, whether he is a bond servant or free.
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  Speaker 2: In other words, every single, large or tiny good thing
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  Speaker 2: you have ever done as a Christian, whether any other
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  Speaker 2: human knows about it or not, will come back to
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  Speaker 2: you for good at the last day. Whatever good anyone
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  Speaker 2: does this he will receive back from the Lord. What
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  Speaker 2: a great incentive not to worry about who sees us
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  Speaker 2: right in what we do or what rewards we get
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  Speaker 2: in this life. Everything's written down, and God will make
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  Speaker 2: sure that any good deed we've ever done, seen or
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  Speaker 2: unseen will be properly rewarded. Then, in Second Corinthians five ten,
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  Speaker 2: Paul says we must all appear before the judgment seed
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  Speaker 2: of Christ, so that each one may receive what is
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  Speaker 2: due for what he has done in the body, whether
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  Speaker 2: good or evil. And that last word evil makes whoa
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  Speaker 2: What does that mean? The new question that text raises
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  Speaker 2: is what does Paul mean when he talks about us
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  Speaker 2: receiving what is due for evil things we've done? Now
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  Speaker 2: if our sins are forgiven, but they are, and we're
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  Speaker 2: acquitted in the court of heaven, which we are, does
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  Speaker 2: this mean there'll be punishment to Christians for sins they've done.
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  Speaker 2: That doesn't make sense, right, No, it doesn't mean that.
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  Speaker 2: I think Paul explains what he means in one Corinthians
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  Speaker 2: three eleven to fifteen. Very familiar text. But let me
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  Speaker 2: suggest this angle on it. No one can lay a
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  Speaker 2: foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now,
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  Speaker 2: if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
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  Speaker 2: hay straw, each one's work will become manifest for the
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  Speaker 2: day that is, the day of judgment will disclose it
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  Speaker 2: because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire
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  Speaker 2: will test what sort of work each one has done.
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  Speaker 2: If the work, that is, anyone has built on the
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  Speaker 2: foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work
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  Speaker 2: is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself
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  Speaker 2: will be saved, but only as through fire. So what
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  Speaker 2: I think Paul meant when he said in Tewod Corinthians five,
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  Speaker 2: each one will receive what is due for what he
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  Speaker 2: has done in the body, whether good or evil. What
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  Speaker 2: he meant was that the way one receives evil is
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  Speaker 2: by having his bad deeds burned up, meaning he loses
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  Speaker 2: the reward he would have received if he had acted otherwise.
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  Speaker 2: This is not viewed by Paul as punishment, but as
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  Speaker 2: loss of reward. It's not owing to God's wrath against
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  Speaker 2: his child. Mark that it's not owing to God's wrath
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  Speaker 2: against his It is simply a fact that it would
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  Speaker 2: be unfitting for God to reward the sins of his children.
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  Speaker 2: They know that, We know that Paul knew that, and
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  Speaker 2: they will not true Christians now markness, true Christians when
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  Speaker 2: that happens, when some of their life is burned up
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  Speaker 2: because it was worthless. When that happens, true Christians will
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  Speaker 2: not begrudge God for this loss. They will rejoice in
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  Speaker 2: the grace that they do receive, and their cup of
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  Speaker 2: blessing will be full. So that's my sketch of the
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  Speaker 2: coming judgment. We will not enter into condemnation or punishment,
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  Speaker 2: but we will receive varieties of blessing, varieties of reward,
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  Speaker 2: different avenues of joy, different sizes of cups, but every
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  Speaker 2: cup full.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Pastor John. Yeah. First Thessalonians five, verses nine
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  Speaker 1: to ten, mentioned earlier in this episode. It's such a
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  Speaker 1: sobering bedtime prayer, and it's one of Pastor John's essential
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  Speaker 1: Bible texts to memorize because of how useful it is,
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  Speaker 1: and not only for bedtime, but for all of life
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  Speaker 1: and ministry. And that text is included in the APG
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  Speaker 1: book on the Essential Bible Text for Life's Hardest Battles,
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  Speaker 1: which you can see on pages forty four to forty six.
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  Speaker 1: Also there you can see more on why rewards in
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  Speaker 1: Heaven are unevenly given out on pages three sixty three.
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  Speaker 1: This three sixty four that goes deeper into what Pastor
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  Speaker 1: John has said. Here about Two Corinthians five to ten
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  Speaker 1: and First Corinthians three, Verses fourteen and fifteen, all illuminating
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  Speaker 1: the depth of the APJA podcast archive, which you can
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  Speaker 1: find at askpastor John dot com. Every episode with audio
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  Speaker 1: and full transcripts available for you. Well, when are bees
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  Speaker 1: good enough? When are good grades good enough? A great
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  Speaker 1: question from a student, all about our perfectionist tendencies. Hannis drawbacks.
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  Speaker 1: That's up next. I'm Tony Ranky. We'll see you on Thursday.