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Romans chapter 14 · Scripture Unscripted

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Romans chapter 15. Let us pray.
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Our Lord, our God, our King, our Master.
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Lord, we are here to serve you and you alone.
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God Almighty, we thank you for peace.
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We thank you for love. God, we thank you for all of
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your scriptures, Lord given to us and breathed and inspired.
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Holy Spirit, come and fill us today.
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Holy Spirit, search us today. Holy Spirit, I pray that you
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will put your finger on anything that is not of God.
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Any lie of the enemy, any accusation of the enemy, we tear
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down anything that tries to oppose the truth and the
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knowledge of Jesus Christ. And so, God, I get out of my own
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way. We exalt your holy name.
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You're the banner over this ministry.
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You are the banner over our lives.
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And God, we are laid down lovers, we are sold out to you,
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the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace.
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We love you, Father, we love everything about you.
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Heal our broken bodies and heal marriages and bring the
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prodigals home. God, I pray against drug
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addiction in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray against any of the
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satanic occult practices in the name of Jesus.
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I pray God that you will bring about a revival in this world at
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large, every continent, every people group, every nation and
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every tongue. Father will be singing out
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praises to you, Father, because you are worthy to worthy to be
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praised in the highest. God, we thank you for another
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day that your mercies are new. We thank you, God, that we can
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stand in your presence, Lord that we can gird up our loins.
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Father, I pray that you will give us strength for the battle
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courage. Father, I pray against any
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feelings of disappointment and disillusionment.
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Father, I pray that we will not get off track and sideline God.
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I pray that we'll stay in the way, Father, and that we will
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move in accordance with your scriptures and with your word.
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Father, I pray that we'll be found doing whatever it is that
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you have called us into today. Help us to abstain from sexual
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immorality, Father. Help us, Father, to rise to the
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occasion that you have called us to for such a time as this.
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Father, I pray that we will be locked eyes with you and that we
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will be crying out. Maranatha, come, Lord, come.
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The Spirit and the Bride say come yes, fill us today, Holy
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Spirit, teach us today. Holy Spirit, I decrease as you
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increase. And it's all about you, King
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Jesus, and it's in your holy and precious name that I pray.
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Amen. Well, let's start in verse one.
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Him that is weak in the faith receive, but not to doubtful
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disputations. So here we're going to see this
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oxymoron that those that think they are so spiritually strong
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are actually the weak ones. And those that are counted as
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weak are actually the strong ones.
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And Paul's going to paint this beautiful picture for us that we
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do not look, need to look down the nose on those that are stuck
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in legalism and we do not need to abuse our liberality friends.
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Blessed is the balance, the person who understands that we
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do not need to be a stumbling block for others.
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Yes, everything is permissible, but not everything is
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beneficial. And that is what Paul is going
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to paint the picture of here in this chapter of Romans verse 2.
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For one believes that he may eat all things.
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Another who is weak eats herbs. So we remember whenever the
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sheet was laid down three times in front of Peter, and Peter was
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told to rise and kill and eat, and there were unclean things in
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that sheet. And Peter said never, he would
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not eat anything that was unclean.
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And God said, don't call anything that is unclean or that
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is clean unclean. And so we also see whenever
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Jesus Christ himself, when he said it is not what goes into
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the body that defiles a man, but it is what comes out, which is
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the overflow of the heart. Friends, it is our words that
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defile us. Friends, when we use the Lord's
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name in vain, whenever we lie and when we take oaths, whenever
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we are swearing on something, it is what defiles us.
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And So what you need to understand is that whenever we
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are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ, we do not we need
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to worry about how we stand with God Almighty.
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He's going to show us by degrees the sanctification and we are
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going to be made more like Christ each and every day.
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And so you need to know there are some on the spiritual
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journey who are way far beyond all of the simplicity that you
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are in today. But then there are those that
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are just coming online and they are having to deal with the most
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outward repulsive sins first. But as we go on with the Lord,
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he is so faithful to sanctify us and to get us ready for all of
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eternity. And before we die, He's going to
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be working on the nuances that we weren't even aware of,
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friends. And so here you can see that
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Paul is calling us to wisdom. And it takes wisdom to
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understand how to deal with people whenever they're coming
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into the fold. We do not need to discredit and
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discount them because they don't look like us on either side of
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the coin. We need wisdom from God, and
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we'll know that they're brothers and sisters by the love that
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they share for each other. 3 Let him, let him not that eats,
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despise him that eats not, and let not him which eats not judge
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him that eats, for God has received him.
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So don't worry about if somebody says I can't eat that and then
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somebody else says I can't eat that.
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And you're trying to judge which one is right with God.
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He's saying do not do so because God is the one who knows their
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heart. For who are you that judges
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another man's servant to his own master?
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He stands or falls. Yes, he shall be held up for God
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is able to make him stand. So he's saying that God is the
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one who gets to determine where they are with him on the
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spiritual journey. Do not worry about the speck in
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your brother's eye when you've got a plank hanging out of
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yours. And it depends on who you're
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talking to. If you're talking to somebody
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who's been following after the Lord for a way lot longer than
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you and they are spiritually more mature than you are, you
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look like the one who is failing.
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But for us who have been on this journey for some time and we
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have not arrived and we will not arrive until we are called home,
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Hallelujah. By and by.
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And you need to know that when new believers are coming online
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and they're struggling with things that are so obvious to
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us, it is no different, friends, then whenever we have an older
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follower of Jesus looking down on us and God is telling us
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right here through his servant Paul to let him sort them out,
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that it is not for us to try to figure it out.
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Friends, all we need to do is love on them.
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All we need to do is accept them.
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As long as their profession is in Christ and Christ alone and
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Christ crucified, that is all that we need, friends, for
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fellowship. And yes, we are going to be
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witnesses whether we like it or not.
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We are going to be an example to others whether we like it or
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not. And we need not be stumbling
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blocks for people, friends. We don't just use our liberality
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so that we can lead others into sin in their lives because God's
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dealing with them on a different level when it comes to their
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sanctification. Perhaps they are addicted to
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alcohol and you don't think there's anything wrong with it
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and you think that you could just bring them up into that
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liberty. But what you're doing is you're
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actually enticing them back into the dungeon and the pits of hell
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because they do not have the same convictions that you do.
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And this calls for wisdom, Friends, it is very hard.
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Whenever we are looking down the nose and judging others, it's
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very hard for us to understand how somebody can't see that what
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they are doing, whether it's watching the polluted filth on
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the television or on their phones, that is secular and
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cultural and has no eternal value.
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But they don't see anything wrong with it.
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Yet it's hard, hard for us, friends, whenever we have gotten
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to a place with the Lord and our sanctification where we see that
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those things are not profitable, they have no eternal value.
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It is such a waste of time. But we cannot just discount them
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and discredit them and marginalized them and push them
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aside and not disciple and exhort them.
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Friends, that is God's way. He wants us to come alongside of
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people to get level with the gravel with people and to help
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people by example, friends. And that is so much harder to do
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than just telling somebody what they ought to do.
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It's so much harder for us to actually do the things in our
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lives that mirror model Christ. That is an example to the weaker
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brothers, so that they can see it and it's a light bulb moment
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and only the Holy Spirit can draw them closer to the Lord God
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Almighty. Five.
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One man esteems one day above another, another esteems every
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day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded
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in his own mind. This is the importance of us not
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receiving our doctrine from man. This is the importance of
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receiving all of our doctrine from the Lord God Almighty
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alone. We need to be in the Word,
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rooted and grounded in the Word. We need to be studying the
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Scriptures and we need to make sure that we are memorizing all
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of these books from Genesis to Revelation, nothing added,
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nothing subtracted. You need to know that when you
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do that, God is faithful to speak to you and He will show
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you, friends that every single day is a Sunday.
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Every single day is a Saturday, it's a Sabbath.
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You need to know, friends, that God has called us to give an
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account to Him, Him and Him alone.
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We will not have to sit and worry about what man thinks
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about us if we are fully sold out to him.
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And if he tells us to work on Sunday, we will work on Sunday
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and if he tells us to rest on Saturday, we will rest on
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Saturday. Friends, whatever the Lord calls
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us to do, that is what we will do.
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And we need not fear man. Whenever man looks down the nose
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and snuffs at us, and he tells us that what we are doing is
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sacrilegious, we do not need to worry about what man says.
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We only try to please God, and we do not need to appease man.
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Friends six. He that regards the day regards
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it unto the Lord. And he that regards not the day
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to the Lord, he does not regard it.
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He that eats, eats to the Lord. For he that gives thank God
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thanks. He and he that eats not the
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Lord, he eats not and gives God thanks.
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So he's telling us that there's no rhyme or reason to any of the
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outward expressions. When we're truly following after
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the Lord, we will be like David, let in to eat the showbread, let
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in to eat the priest bread. And there is such liberty and
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there is certain privileges that come from being completely yoked
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up to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is why it is not a
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beneficial, profitable thing to try to look at your brother and
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to try to figure out where they are.
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If you will get Christ centered, if you will fix your eyes upon
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Jesus Christ and Christ alone, He's going to lead you home by
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and by. He's going to sanctify you and
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you will not be stifled in your growth.
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Friends, so many of us are in suspended animation because
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we're too focused on our neighbors.
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We're too focused on trying to gauge our own sanctification by
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where other people stand. And that is such a trap of the
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enemy. If we will just lock eyes with
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the Lord Jesus Christ, He's going to lead us home by and by.
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We do not need to worry about what does man say?
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What did the bylaw say? What do all of of the
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denominations teach us? What does this certain
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particular camp follower, this certain particular camp say?
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We need to get our eyes off of all of the things of this world
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and lock eyes with Jesus Christ and he's going to show you that
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you do not need to worry about all of the things in this world
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and we need to be more worried and heavenly minded friends. 7
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For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself.
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We're accountable unto God and God alone.
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We are not an island friends. We do not just do life alone all
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by ourselves. There is no prophet in that.
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We can't just be a monk somewhere that is not
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profitable. We need to be light and salt to
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this world. We need to be an example for
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others, and they need to see Christ and us more than they see
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religion. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and
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whether we die, we die unto the Lord.
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Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lords.
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So here's what you need to understand.
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To live is Christ and to die is gain.
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We do not need to fear if we die.
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We do not need to fear if somebody can kill the body.
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We do not need to fear if some lunatic is putting a crosshair
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on us. We do not need to worry about
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that. Friends, we speak for the Lord
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alone, and He takes care of our family when we are gone.
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And we do not need to worry and fear if someone is not accepting
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of God's word. He said if they hate you, just
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remember they hated me first. If they persecute you, just
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remember they persecuted me first.
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And if they kill you, just remember they killed me first.
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You need to know that Jesus Christ laid down the example for
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us to follow, and now all we do is follow Him and Him alone.
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And the world will be affected by your obedience unto the Lord
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Jesus Christ. It is a natural overflow.
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Friends. 942 This end Christ both died.
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It rose revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and the
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living. Hello, hello, hello.
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Wake up, O Sleeper. He is the judge of the living
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and the dead. He is the Lord over all the
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earth, over the entire universe. There is nothing hidden,
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friends. He's got the keys to death and
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hell and Hades. We do not need to worry whether
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we live or we die. We do not need to worry,
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friends. If you are covered in the blood
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of the Lord Jesus Christ and He is, the only way you're going to
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get in to all of eternity is by being covered in His righteous,
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holy, pure, innocent blood. Friends, it's nothing that you
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have done, and it is everything that He did for us.
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He is both the Judge of the living and the dead.
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He is Lord of the dead and living. 10 But why do you judge
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your brother, or why do you set at not your brother?
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For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
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Just so you know, friends, there are two judgments.
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The first one is for the believers who were called up and
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caught up in the air to meet him.
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We will have to suffer for the judgment of our rewards and most
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of what we do is wood, hay and stubble.
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But some things that we do when we don't let our left hand know
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what our right hand is doing, some things that we have done,
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we will be rewarded for. That is our judgement.
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But for those who have never placed their faith in the Lord
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Jesus Christ, and they took their last breath and they died
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before they ever could, they will have to stand at the great
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White Throne and give an account.
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And they'll try to show all their humanitarian efforts.
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They'll even try to give their religious pedigree.
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And he will say, depart from me, for I never knew you 11/4.
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It is written as I live, says the Lord.
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Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God.
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That is what you need to know at the great white throne.
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Every single man, woman, child that has ever been born, from
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the beginning of creation all the way to the end of time,
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whenever the fullness of the number comes in, friends,
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whenever God has made heaven full, I want you to know that
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every single person, no matter how wicked they were, will bow
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their knee and confess. And this is not universalism,
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friends. This is not salvation for them.
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But this is to prove the point that they should have done it in
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this life and not waited until then.
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It's going to happen, and do it now, friends.
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Do not wait. 12 So then every one of us shall give an account
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of himself to God. Just remember that that is how
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we work out our salvation with fear and trembling friends. 13
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Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this
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rather that no man puts a stumbling block or an occasion
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to fall in his brother's way. So this is the principle of the
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neighbor's good. You need to know that you have
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liberty, you have freedom. Who the sun sets free is free
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indeed, and nothing that we do beyond salvation is going to
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keep us out of heaven. Praise God, Hallelujah.
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Yeah, you need to know that it is the things that you do beyond
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that, all the works that prove your faith.
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They are only for your rewards. And so when we understand that,
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there is an inkling for us to think that we can abuse grace.
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And far be it from us to be so liberal in our approach that we
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'cause our brother to fall because he was weak and he saw
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us drinking and he thought that drinking was OK.
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And the next thing you know, he is a full blown alcoholic, has
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wrecked his car and he has died friends.
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And we were the stumbling block for that.
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He's lost his family, he's in a rehab because we thought that it
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was OK for us to just have a drink around him.
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Far be it from us to be the stumbling block for our brothers
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in our liberty. And we do not fall into
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legalism, we do not rest on religion, and what we do is we
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try our best to be a good example to those who are in a
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weaker state than we are. 14 I know, and I'm persuaded by the
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Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself, but
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to him that esteems anything to be unclean, to him it is
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unclean. So here Paul is letting us know
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that there are weaker brothers who, because of their
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convictions, they do not see that there is liberty.
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And so they're still holding on to their legalism, and it'll be
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a while before they can come out of that.
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But we do not need to try to break them down or do not need
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to entice them with things that to them are wrong. 15 But if
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your brother be grieved with your meat, now walk you not
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charitably destroyed, not him with your meat for whom Christ
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died. So he's saying these brothers
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who see that you're eating the pork, that you are eating the
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unclean food that they do not think is kosher, we don't need
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to try and look down on them. We need to be patient, just like
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Christ has been patient with us. They will get to the place where
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they understand that it is not beneficial for them to stay
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stuck in legalism. They will get there and Christ
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will get them there, but we do not need to be the ones that
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caused them to stumble. 16 Let not then your good be evil
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spoken of. There's the whole caveat,
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friends. What does it even matter?
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If we are trying to be a good witness to somebody and
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ultimately lead them into a deeper relationship with God
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through His Son Jesus Christ, what does it matter?
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If we are doing things that we know are not sin, that we know
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are not going to be counted against us, and we're doing
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those things, but it causes them to speak evil of us because they
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think that we are abusing our grace.
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Far be it from us to be those who, when we get around people,
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we make them stumble. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not meat and
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drink, but righteousness and peace, joy and the Holy Ghost.
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That's what we're after, friends.
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We want righteousness, His righteousness.
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We want peace that comes from Jesus.
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We want the joy not just in what's happening to us, but we
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want the Holy Ghost. We want the fullness of the Holy
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Ghost. If you're full of the Holy
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Ghost, then you don't need to worry about all of the luxuries
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and the pleasantries. You don't need to worry about
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about being drunk, you don't need to worry about being
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liberal in your approach to all your freedoms.
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Just be filled with the Holy Ghost and watch what he does
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through your life. 18 For he that in these things serves
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Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.
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Think about it, friends. Righteousness and peace and joy,
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fullness of the Holy Ghost is acceptable not only to God, but
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it'll be acceptable to all men, friends, if we are those things
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and not worldly, carnal, earthy friends for the things of this
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world, friends. 19 Let us therefore follow after the
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things which make for peace, and things where with one may edify
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another. So there you go, he says it
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again. If we're following after the
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Holy Ghost, we're locked eyes with the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Then we will be serving God, and when we are doing so, it'll
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edify every single person, no matter what camp they fall in.
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24 Meat destroys not the work of God.
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All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eats
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with a fence. There it is.
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Friends. We know that back in Genesis,
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whenever God was creating the whole world, He said it is good.
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So therefore it is us who makes things unclean.
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It is us who makes things evil friends, it is not God.
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So all things that God made is pure and we just need to get out
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of our own way and not offend our brothers by our lot.
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Lifestyle and offense is just that.
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It's a fence that keeps us blocked out from being able to
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fellowship with God's servants, God's children, and that is not
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what we need to do. We need to break down that fence
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and we need to remove a fence. We don't need to be offended by
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our brothers, and we don't need to offend others by our
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liberality. We'll end on 21.
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Actually, no, we've got a couple more 21.
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It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, nor anything
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whereby your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
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So this abstinence, this fasting could be a great conduit to the
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ministering to a group of people who are stuck in religion,
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they're stuck in legalism. And if we will abstain and if we
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will not give in to all of our liberties, it will be a great
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ministry opportunity for those stuck in legalism. 22 Have you
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faith? Have it to yourself before God.
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Happy is he that condemns not himself in that thing which he
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allows. So he's saying that we can err
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by trying to flaunt all of our freedoms with those who are
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still weak. And in the beginning of their
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walk with him, he's saying if you have that faith and you
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don't see anything wrong with whatever it is that you want,
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wanting to do that could be a stumbling block to somebody
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else. Have it to yourself, friends.
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Do it amongst yourselves. Don't do it publicly, outwardly.
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Make sure that you're not flaunting it around with your
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license to sin with abusing grace.
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That is not from God, friends. And he's telling US 23 and he
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that doubts is damned if he eat because he eats not a faith for
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whatsoever is not a faith is sin.
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So there it is, friends, you, that's what you need to know.
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Paul couldn't make it any more plain.
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If there are convictions in your life and you don't follow those
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convictions, it's sin to know what you ought to do and not to
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do. It is sin, friends, and we don't
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need to try to look at our brother and say, well, he does
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it, so why can't I? It doesn't work that way.
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God deals with you on a personal level.
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And there are things in other people's lives that they're
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skating by with, and it's not going to destroy them, that if
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you let into your mind and heart and life, it's going to destroy
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you. And there is a different economy
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in heaven. And some people in this life who
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are just skating by will be the least in the Kingdom of God.
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But God has called you to higher ground, friends.
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God has called you into this relationship where you will be
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the greatest if you will allow Him to continue to sanctify you
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through this little life that He's given you.
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I hope you've been blessed by this amazing chapter here in
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Romans. I know I sure have.
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I'm praying for every single one of you.
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I love you. We'll see you back here
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tomorrow. God bless you.