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Christ the True and Better - Hebrews 13 - Christ Never Changes · Mount Eaton Church

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This is the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 3, Section 1.
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One of the things I want to encourage you all, especially those who are going through
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some things, is that God has ordained all things.
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He's not the author of sin, He doesn't cause sin, but He uses it.
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And He uses everything in this earth for His glory and honor, whether we like it or not.
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But God gets the glory.
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Amen?
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So let's dive in.
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Chapter 13, we finally finished Hebrews.
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I was watching John Piper this morning, and it took him two years to go through Hebrews.
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So you might want to turn me down, get a little feedback.
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Thank you.
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Can you imagine doing the, I can.
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But we're going to do two years over a lifetime, as long as I'm alive and preaching at 92,
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by God's grace, right John?
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So anyway, let's pray.
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Father, I want to thank you for this chapter, thank you for this book.
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Thank you that we know that you never change.
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You are the same today, yesterday, and forever.
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You are God.
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And that all of the things throughout all of our history point to one person, you.
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And you point us to the Father.
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And the Spirit points us to you.
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And we are thankful that you are God, the triune.
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And in your wisdom, Lord, you've redeemed a people.
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So I pray, Lord, as we go through this chapter, we understand the way we should live, why
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we should live, and the importance of where we're going.
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To you be glory in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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All right.
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So we're just going to start right off, okay?
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A heart committed to loving Christ is a heart committed to obeying him.
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Very important.
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I think one of the things that we have a tendency to do is we diminish the importance of obedience.
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I'm going to get loud, so I'm just letting you know.
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We think that the issue of what we should do as believers becomes legalistic.
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When in reality, true faith is obedience.
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I've said this before.
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The reality of true worship is obedience.
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That's how we worship.
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If you love me, you will obey me.
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That is the standard of love for God.
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Not that we love perfectly, but we love intentionally.
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And we purpose, through the process of sanctification, become more obedient and more like Jesus.
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So a heart committed to loving Christ is a heart committed to obeying him.
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Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time
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because the days are evil.
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Ephesians 5, 15 through 16.
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So in Hebrews 13, 1 through 6, clarifies this.
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It's interesting.
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Now that we're at the end of the book, I am fully convinced, and so is Matthew Henry,
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if you ever read his commentary, Paul is the writer of this book.
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When you get to chapter 13 and you read chapter 13 and you go back and you read the apostolic
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letters that Paul writes, you go, wow, this is Paul.
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I look at Paul being older in age and a possibility of Luke penning as Paul directs him.
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And you kind of know that at the end because there's a statement that Paul says kind of
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lets you know who the author is.
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And I think some scholars are hesitant to say it.
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I don't know why.
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Because even in the earliest parts of what you would consider reformed history, Paul
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was the writer.
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Anyway, that being said, verse one says, let brotherly love continue.
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Let brotherly love continue.
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He uses this word let because you, through volition, you being a believer, must determine
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to love the brotherhood.
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It's your responsibility to love one another.
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They will know you're my disciples if you have love for one another.
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You must let brotherly love continue.
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You must walk in it.
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It's not about you.
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It's about him.
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It's not about what you like or dislike.
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It's about what he wants.
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And it's important because it's difficult, especially when you're doing so many different
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things.
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Sometimes we have a tendency to forget the importance of the brotherhood and the unity
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of faith.
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And not all of us are the same.
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None of us are the same.
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We are vastly different.
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And it's important that we let our love for one another continue.
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Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.
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This term show hospitality to strangers literally means love to strangers.
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Do not neglect love to strangers.
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Why?
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Because you don't know who you're going to be ministering to.
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You don't know who you're going to minister to.
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One of the important things is that we have a tendency to think that we are to go out
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into the community and feed the hungry and feed the poor and take care of those who are
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in need who have less than us.
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But you know what happens?
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We neglect love for the brotherhood.
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We neglect to show hospitality to strangers who visit.
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We have a tendency to forget the family.
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And you can't, if you can't take care of the house that you're in, you're not going to
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be able to go take care of a stranger's home or help them in their way.
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It requires that you must live rightly among each other.
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Right?
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It's important.
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Scripture says that God added to their number daily.
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Not that we went out, even though we go out to preach the gospel, but God adds to the
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number of the faithful.
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So how do we balance this out?
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Well, we don't neglect to show love or to love strangers because for thereby some have
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entertained angels unaware.
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I do have a story that fits us really well.
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One day I was driving a bus for handicapped individuals, developmentally disabled individuals,
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and we went to Atlantic City.
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It's a true story.
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And so we get to Atlantic City, we're walking down the boardwalk because we got to go down
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to the Civic Center.
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And there's this gentleman who's sitting on the, and I had just started reading and studying
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this scripture.
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This gentleman is sitting on a bench, which is on the, well, it would be my left side,
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so it'd be the ocean side of the boardwalk.
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And he says, hey, do you have a dollar?
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And I was like, no, I don't have a dollar.
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It was true.
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I had a $5 bill.
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And I'm walking, I take three steps, and I get this thought in my mind, you don't know
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if that's an angel.
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I'm like, oh, there goes my lunch.
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So I turn around, I walk back to the guy, and I say, I don't have a dollar, but I do
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have $5.
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Here is yours.
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And I didn't even walk five steps, turned around, and the guy was gone.
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I'm like, there goes my $5.
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Now if you understand Atlantic City Boardwalk, it's like a 20-yard space between the stores
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and the edge where the railing is.
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There's no way that if I walked five steps, that guy could have like, I couldn't see him
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anywhere.
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He was gone.
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So I was like, okay.
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Lesson learned when a stranger says, hey, be wise, right?
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As I read to you earlier, look carefully than how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise,
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right?
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Discerning.
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You've got to discern.
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So third, remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them.
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So how can you remember those who are in prison, who are believers in Christ, who have been
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put there because of their faith, that you also, as if you were in prison with them,
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must remember them?
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I mean, would you like to be forgotten if you were in prison?
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No.
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It's one of the things I'm thankful for about our church is we've committed during these
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last couple years to make sure that we lose none, that none are forgotten, that our deacons
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and our elders work hard, especially our deacons, to make sure that every family that God has
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assigned to us is remembered and contacted.
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And they've done a really good job at doing that.
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So thank you, deacons.
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Let since you are also, let's keep reading, and those who are mistreated, meaning those
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who are mistreated for the faith, since you are also in the body.
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In other words, if one person is suffering and one person is being persecuted, or a family
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is being persecuted for their faith and they're suffering for the faith, remember they're
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part of the body.
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We're going to feel it one day, and we do.
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Now here's one thing I think that most people don't want to talk about, and I'm just going
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to talk about it because I really don't care.
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You're like, that sounds mean.
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No, in our society, I think we've accommodated people so much that we're not willing to stand
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on what God says in his word, and I am willing to stand on that and that alone, whether
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you like it or not.
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It's not an issue of arrogance, it's an issue of genuine love for you.
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Let marriage be held in honor among all.
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All who?
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All of the family of faith.
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So I'm going to make this real clear.
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If there's a church out there that does not honor marriage between a man and a woman,
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that is not a church.
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They are not people of faith.
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I don't care what people say.
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The woman who did the inaugural prayer is not a pastor.
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She is not of the faith, and she is a lost woman.
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We're not even going to get into the issue of the responsibility of the pastor being
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a man.
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This is a blatant disregard of the truth of this one statement.
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Let marriage be held in honor among all.
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Why?
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Because next to the church, the first institution that God had created was marriage.
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It is the one institution by which God had instituted to reflect his glory and how a
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husband and wife work together and surrendering themselves to the Father, the source of all
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life, by which they proclaim God in how they live with one another.
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There's a reason why he was taken, that she was taken from the man.
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They are one flesh, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, is what Adam says.
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There is not an option here.
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This is not to decide whatever society says should and shouldn't be.
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Not your job to determine the sanctity of marriage.
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The reality is marriage is an institution established by God since the beginning.
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That being said, as churches and as this church, we have in our constitution and will always
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continue to honor marriage among the faithful believers of Christ.
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This is not me accommodating your desires.
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Now that being said, look what it says in the second part.
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How do we honor marriage?
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By keeping the marriage bed undefiled.
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Isn't that interesting?
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That the one place that we can show honor is how we as husband and wife live together
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and be together.
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I'm trying to be sensitive to the little ones.
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Look what it says.
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Why?
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If we do not, if the church does not honor marriage among all, if the church does not
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commit to raising up godly men and godly women to keep the marriage bed undefiled, then God
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will judge the sexually immoral and the adulterous.
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It's not an option.
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Get your house right.
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That's what God is saying here.
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It's interesting that he uses this at the end of chapter 13.
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And there was a lot going on.
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Lord knows we can absolutely read about Eli and his sons and how they didn't honor marriage
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nor did they honor the marriage bed.
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So all kinds of things we can walk down and I'm not going to get into that right now,
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but I will not and we will not as a church defile that or dishonor the institution of
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marriage, but which God has instituted.
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It is not ours.
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It is given to us to steward so that we can enjoy and work together.
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My wife is my partner.
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She is not my slave.
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Verse five says, keep your life free from the love or from love of money and be content
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with what you have.
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Keep your life free from love of money.
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Money is necessary to survive in a world that is driven by money, but I don't love money
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to the point that I stored away with the hopes that one day, because when you die, someone
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else is going to get your stuff.
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Steward the money.
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Take care of it.
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Properly use it.
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Give it when God says to give.
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Do it joyfully.
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Be content with what you have.
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Be happy for the house you have.
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And if God by some work in your life, because you have stewarded what he has had, you have
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not buried it, but you have invested it, he is giving you the opportunity to enjoy a little
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bit more, go for it.
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God is a capitalist.
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Like, how dare you?
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It's the truth.
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He owns it all.
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Everything on the earth is his.
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The cat on a thousand hills, your life, this table, the carpet that we're going to get
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rid of this year.
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It's all God's.
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He does as he pleases.
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That being said, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what
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you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
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Why would he say this?
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Because the reason why people hold on to money and the reason why people are not content
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from what they have is because they don't believe that Jesus is with them.
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If I don't have this to hold onto, one of these days, we have a fridge.
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It's in the back.
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It's dead.
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I'm throwing it away.
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Don't come to me and go, hey, we can use that.
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For what?
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A flower bed.
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I didn't think about taking the doors off.
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It's a raised flower bed.
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That might be, no, it's got to go away.
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We don't hold onto things because we can or we should.
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We hold onto things because they are necessary and that God is honored.
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I got this thing turning purple on me.
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That's cool.
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But look what it says.
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I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say, so that we can confidently
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say the Lord is my helper, my helper.
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I will not fear what can man do to me.
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When we are content, when we don't love money, when we live in a way that honors and glorifies
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him not only in our marriage, in our household, but among the people of God and as an example
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to strangers, we can say with confidence that the Lord is my helper.
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I will not fear what can man do to me.
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Nothing.
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You can take my life.
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You're not going to take me from eternity.
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This is going to die eventually anyway.
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That doesn't mean kill me.
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Because if you do, I'm going to haunt you.
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You know a pastor is a man of God by how he exemplifies Christ in the way he lives.
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Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved
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us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, Ephesians 5, 1 through
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2.
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Ephesians 13, 7 through 9.
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Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.
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It's one of the things when God had called me here, I wanted to make sure that we did
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and that was to honor Doug.
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Twenty years of faithful service and preaching here.
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The issue is you're not always going to agree with me either.
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That's God's man.
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And so am I by his grace.
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You honor the leader.
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You give respect to the pastors, to the men that God has given you.
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And I want to make sure you understand this too.
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There are five, going to be five, what's up Owen?
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Five men that God has given to help shepherd you.
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They are just as much shepherds as I am, whether they like it or not.
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But they are.
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They are faithful servants to the Lord.
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And though my responsibility is far greater, that does not diminish the authority of the
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elder upon their life.
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They are called and ordained just like I am.
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And they are faithful.
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Honor that.
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Remember your leader, especially those who speak the word of God.
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Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
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If you have a man of God who is faithful to the word of God, who lives in a way that you
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can see Christ clearly in their life, imitate their faith.
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Jesus tells that to Timothy.
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Timothy, follow me as I follow Christ.
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Verse eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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He's not going to change.
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You think God doesn't know who are the good shepherds and who are the false shepherds?
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He knows.
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He's not taking off.
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He's not like, oh my gosh, I can't believe Stephen Furtick, Joe Osteen.
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Lord knows.
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It's not the end of the world.
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It is for them.
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God will hold them accountable.
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But when you have a man of God who is faithful to the word, who lives in such a way exemplifies
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Christ, who calls out the evildoer and exposes the false teachers, is committed to teaching
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you and shepherding you and giving you what you need to continue to grow in life and godliness,
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hold on.
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Take care of them.
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And I'm not saying that because my sabbatical is coming in June.
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It's because God is faithful to you.
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He loves you.
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He's given good care.
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Look what it says here.
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In doing so, in understanding, honoring those men who lead you, here's what happens.
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Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.
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For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited
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those who devote, those devoted to them.
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Here was, what the issue here was, these false teachers were saying, you must do, you can't
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eat this, you have to eat that.
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And there was these strange teachings and these diverse teachings of how to be a good
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Jew.
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And what the writer's saying here is, Jesus is the same.
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He hasn't changed.
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He's not moved by what you think you want.
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He does what he wants and what's best for you.
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And in doing so, be mindful that when you have good teachings, don't be led away from
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bad because of bad teachings.
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The old way was fleeting and temporary, but the new way, Christ, is permanent and eternal.
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Let not your hearts be troubled.
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Believe in God, believe also in me.
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In my Father's house are many rooms.
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If it were not so, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.
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And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself,
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that where I am, you may be also, and you know the way to where I'm going.
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John 14, one through four.
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In Hebrews 13, 10 through 14, it says this, we have an altar.
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Isn't that interesting?
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What is an altar?
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What altar is he talking about here?
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We got little ones here, they're getting excited.
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Well, Jesus is the altar.
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He is the brazen altar for sacrifice and he's the golden altar for intercession.
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He is our altar.
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We have an altar for which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.
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Here's what it means.
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Those who claim they know that this is the way to God, which is the works-based faith,
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right?
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Judaism, they have to do this.
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Guess what?
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They don't get to eat at the altar of Jesus.
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They don't get to partake in grace.
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They miss out on mercy.
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But what do they do?
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Well, verse 11 says, for the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy
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places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside of the camp.
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So here's what would happen.
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They would take a bull.
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This is the sacrifice of atonement.
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Each year they take a bull and a ram.
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A ram is a male adult lamb.
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And they would sacrifice and they would take the blood and they would walk into the holy
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of holies and they would sprinkle the seat, the ark, to cover the sin of the people.
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Then they would take the animals and they wouldn't burn them there right outside the
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door.
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They would take them outside of the tent, out, and burn them there.
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Why?
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Why are they eating this animal?
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Isn't that interesting?
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So next time you read Isaiah and you want to know why there's a ram in the thicket?
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Because that was the sin sacrifice.
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Now look what it says.
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So Jesus also suffered outside the gate.
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He also was placed in the fire.
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Not literal, figurative.
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He was consumed by the wrath of God.
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In the same way that the bull and the ram were consumed by the fire that was presented
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for God.
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Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
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Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
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Let us go outside the camp and suffer with him.
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That's the idea.
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How many of you guys willing to suffer for Jesus?
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Many of you guys like, yeah.
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Would you really?
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I'm sorry.
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Look what it says in Romans 12 verse 1.
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Therefore I urge you brothers in the view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a
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living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto God for this is your reasonable act of worship.
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So we can go outside the camp and we can bear the reproach he endured by giving our lives
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as a sacrifice on the altar.
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Not of redemption, but the altar of sacrifice, of surrender.
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For here we have no lasting city.
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Do you hear that?
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We don't live for what we have here.
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We're not looking for the city to come here.
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We're looking for the city to come there.
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For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
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I go to prepare a place for you.
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If it were not so, I would have told you that where I go, you will be also.
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Verse 15 through 16.
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In Psalm 34 verses 1 through 3 says this, I will bless the Lord at all times.
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His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
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My soul makes boast in the Lord.
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Let the humble hear and be glad.
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Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.
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In 2 Timothy 4, 2 says this, preach the word.
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Be ready in season and out of season.
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Reprove, rebuke, exhort and complete with complete patience and teaching.
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You have a responsibility.
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I have a responsibility.
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Preach the word.
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Verse 15 and 16 says this, though or through him, then let us continually offer a sacrifice
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of praise to God.
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That is the fruit of the lips that acknowledge his name.
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You're like, pastor, why would you use Psalm 34 and 2 Timothy 4, 2?
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Because Psalm 34 and 2 Timothy 4, 2 is Hebrews 13, 15.
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Through him, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God.
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That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
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How can you acknowledge his name?
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How can you bring praise to his name?
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Preach the gospel.
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What is the greatest way to show love to a stranger?
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Preach the gospel.
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You can feed people all day long, but if you feed them and you don't give them the gospel,
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they're going to die with a full belly.
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What good is the food then?
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I just want to make sure that the Lord says, well done, my good and faithful servant.
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Giving food without the gospel is no use.
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It only makes them fool.
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Do both.
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Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing
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to God.
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Gentlemen, sitting at the steps of the temple, or right outside the temple, really, Peter
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and disciples walk by.
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Hey, you got any money?
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Nope.
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Not a silver and gold have I none, but what I do have I will give unto you.
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You notice he didn't give them any food.
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He gave them the one thing that mattered, everlasting water.
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So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,
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as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
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Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion,
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but willingly as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering
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over those who are in charge, but being an example to the flock, 1 Peter 5, 1 through
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3.
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This is to the elders.
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Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who
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labor in preaching and teaching.
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For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.
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You muzzle the ox when it's busy trying to give you food and plant your crops.
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He will not do it anymore.
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That's what it means here.
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Don't make it difficult for him.
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Work with him.
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That's the idea.
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You don't, you work with the ox and he will work for you.
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Why?
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Because the labor deserves his wages.
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First Timothy 5, 17 through 18.
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It's like, why, Lord, do I need to use that?
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It's because it's right here.
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In Hebrews 13, 17 through 19, obey your leaders and submit to them.
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This is not giving us the, this is not giving us a power to control you.
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It's not our job to dominate you.
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It's our job to lead you, to shepherd you, to care for you, to give you tools to be faithful
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in your living.
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So obey your leaders and submit to them, especially when, well, always when they're good to you.
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They're causing you to sin and you have a conversation with them, bad leaders.
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For they are keeping watch over your souls.
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That word souls means entire being.
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God has entrusted me as your pastor and God has entrusted these elders as your shepherds
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also to oversee your lives.
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We are held at a very high account as those who will give an account.
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God will give me, will hold me accountable to each and every life that he brings here.
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It's very serious.
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This is not a game.
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And me saying that, let them do this with joy and not with groaning.
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And I got to tell you, I haven't grown a bit in three years, going on three years.
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I love shepherding you.
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It's a joy.
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I adore it.
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And you make it easy.
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I got to tell you.
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Don't they John?
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Ben, our people make it easy.
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God is so good.
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Jodie's saying not for me.
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So let us elders do it with joy and not groaning.
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For that would be of no advantage to you if it was a struggle.
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So pray for us.
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So what Paul says here, pray for us for we are sure that we have a clear conscience,
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desiring to act honorably in all things.
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We want to live in such a way that we are honored, honoring you and honoring the Lord
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in all things.
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I urge you to come earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you sooner
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is what the writer says here.
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And then lastly, end of the chapter.
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For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
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Philippians 2.13.
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Are the responsibility of leaders.
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And I say this to every leader, every teacher.
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Hear this.
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Your responsibility is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building
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up the body of Christ.
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That is your job.
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One job.
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Do that.
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Be faithful with the gospel.
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And this is what it says.
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That's Ephesians 4.12.
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Hebrews 13, 20-25.
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It's the nun.
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Now may the God of peace who brought you again from the dead, who brought, sorry, not you.
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Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd
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of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that
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you may do his will.
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It says you are to do his will, not yours.
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His working in us, that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom
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be the glory forever and ever.
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Amen.
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I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you
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briefly.
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You should know that our brother Timothy has been released with whom I shall see you if
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he comes soon.
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There's the answer.
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Who's the writer?
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Paul.
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May all your leaders and all the saints, those who come from Italy, send you greetings.
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Grace be with you all.
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What an amazing book.
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Go back, read it.
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There's a lot more there, and we will cover more in the years to come.
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But God is faithful to his people, isn't he?
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There's anything we learn from this entire book.
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Christ is the better.
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Christ is the better.
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Lord, I want to thank you so much for your word.
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Thank you for this amazing book.
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Thank you that we have opportunities to dig even more into this book and the truths that
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you have for us are inexhaustible, and we praise you.
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So Lord, I pray that you be with your people as we sing this last song and as we break
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bread together and get ready for our meeting.
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I pray you would give us wisdom.
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Let us keep the brotherhood, the love of the brotherhood to work for your goodness and
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your faithfulness to walk in your wisdom.
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And we praise you and thank you in Jesus' name.
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Amen.