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Courage in the Crisis — Biblical Manhood and the Plague of Cyprian · The Hall Hotline

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  Hi, welcome to day five of Biblical manhood.
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  I'm Paul. I'll be filling in for John here while
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  we discuss courage and the crisis today, the
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  plague of of separate. Today, like I said, we're
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  going to explore a different kind of courage.
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  When we talk about Biblical manhood, we often
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  think about standing firm, defending the truth
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  and refusing to compromise our convictions. And
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  those things matter, but there's another test
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  of a man's character that may even be more revealing.
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  What does He do when someone else is suffering?
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  Does He move toward the hurting? Does He move
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  away? Does He accept responsibility when helping
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  someone comes at a personal cost? Or will He
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  serve others when there's no recognition, reward,
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  or guarantee that things will turn out well?
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  In 1 Corinthians 16, chapter 16, verse 13 through
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  14, Paul writes, And that final command matters.
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  Biblical strength, guys, it's not simply the
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  ability to endure hardship. It's also the willingness
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  to use our strength for the good of others. And
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  today we're going to travel back to the third
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  century to a deadly epidemic known as the plague
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  of Cyprian. As disease spread through the Roman
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  Empire, fear gripped communities, people faced
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  suffering, death, uncertainty, yet Christian
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  leaders challenged believers to respond with
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  courage. practical compassion, and service. Their
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  examples raises an important question for every
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  Christian man. When the world is hurting, will
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  we protect our own comfort or will we become
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  instruments of Christ's love? Okay, so around
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  AD 250, a major epidemic breaks out in the Roman
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  Empire. It's commonly called the plague of Cyprian
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  after Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, which
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  is located in North Africa. a severe outbreak
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  struck Carthage around 250 AD. The precise cause
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  of this disease we don't know for certain and
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  you know historians continue to debate its origin
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  and its spread but ancient accounts describe
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  devastating illness widespread death and the
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  symptoms recorded by contemporary writers include
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  severe gastrointestinal distress and other debilitating
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  conditions and we should be careful not to claim
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  that we know exactly the modern disease responsible,
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  but we do know something about human crisis.
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  And families were losing loved ones, the sick
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  needed care, the poor were vulnerable, fear could
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  cause people to abandon neighbors, friends, and
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  even relatives. And Cyprian's biographer, Pontius,
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  described this society in which a lot of people
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  fled the sick and dying, leaving bodies unattended
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  and suffering people without help. And his account,
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  was written to honor Cyprian, but we also should
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  realize that every Roman didn't respond this
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  way, but nevertheless, the crisis presented a
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  real moral challenge. Would people care for those
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  who could offer them nothing in return? And Cyprian
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  did not respond merely by telling Christians
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  to endure the crisis privately. He urged them
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  to consider what the epidemic revealed about
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  their character. His work on mortality, Cyprian
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  challenge Christians to consider whether those
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  who were healthy would care for the sick, and
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  whether families would show compassion, whether
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  they're powerful, would pity the vulnerable,
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  and whether the wealthy would help those in need.
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  And his message was direct. A crisis tests more
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  than our endurance. It tests our love. Imagine
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  the pressure these believers faced. They couldn't
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  know for certainty who would recover. who would
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  die or even if caring for another person might
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  expose them to the danger. Yet the Christian
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  calling remained. They were not instructed to
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  love only when it was convenient. They were called
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  to demonstrate their faith through action. And
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  then one of the most important lessons from this
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  epidemic is that early Christians understood
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  compassion as a practical responsibility. And
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  historical accounts from the period describe
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  Christian communities organizing care for the
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  sick. and helping people affected by the outbreak.
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  Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria also described
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  Christians who cared for the sick despite the
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  danger with some losing their own lives in the
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  process. And we shouldn't imagine that everybody
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  acted heroically or that every non -Christian
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  abandoned the suffering. History is more complicated
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  than that. But we do know that Christian leaders
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  did urge our communities to practice a kind of
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  love that crossed the boundaries of fear and
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  self -interest. And Sibrian's message was especially
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  striking because he challenged Christians to
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  care not only for fellow believers, but get this.
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  He also challenged them to care for people outside
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  of their own community, including those who oppose
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  them. Think about the significance of that, guys.
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  It's relatively easy to care for someone who
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  agrees with us. shares our beliefs, or can repay
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  our kindness. It's harder to care for someone
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  who's insulted us, rejected us, or basically
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  treated us unfairly or poorly. But Jesus didn't
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  define love that narrowly. In Matthew 25, verse
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  35 through 40, Jesus speaks about feeding the
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  hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the
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  needy, and caring for the sick. He teaches that
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  acts of mercy towards those in need are acts
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  of service rendered to him. That principle gives
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  us a powerful framework for understanding the
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  Christian response to suffering. The question
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  isn't simply, hey, what do I believe? The question
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  is also, what does my belief cause me to do?
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  James 2 .17 teaches that faith without works
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  is dead. He's teaching that genuine faith produces
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  a changed life. When we see suffering and have
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  the ability to help, our faith guys should move
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  us toward action. The Christians response to
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  the epidemic provided a historical example. of
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  this principle. They faced a crisis. They could
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  not fully control. They could not promise everyone
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  healing. They couldn't eliminate death, but they
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  could choose whether to abandon the vulnerable
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  or serve them. And that's where courage becomes
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  visible, guys. We talked about this moral courage
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  and physical courage in the previous episode.
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  Courage, courage, excuse me, is not the absence
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  of fear. It's a faithfulness to God when fear
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  is present. And what does that mean for us guys
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  today? First, You know, biblical manhood requires
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  responsibility. A man can't control every hardship
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  that enters his family's life or his workplace,
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  his church, or in his community, but he can decide
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  on how he responds. When a family member is struggling,
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  does he remain present? When brothers in Christ
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  are in crisis, does he make time to listen? When
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  someone's being overlooked, does he notice and
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  respond? Responsibility begins when we stop treating
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  another person's suffering as somebody else's
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  problem. And second, biblical manhood requires
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  sacrificial love. In John 15 -13, Jesus teaches
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  that there's no greater love than laying down
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  one's life for a friend. And that verse points
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  ultimately to Christ's own sacrificial love.
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  It reminds us that love involves giving ourselves
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  for the good of others. Sacrifice doesn't always
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  mean dying for someone. Sometimes it means giving
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  up time. comfort, money, pride or convenience.
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  A father may sacrifice a free night to help a
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  struggling child. A husband may put aside his
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  frustration to listen to his wife. A Christian
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  may spend time helping an elderly neighbor who
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  has no family nearby. So a church member may
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  quietly provide groceries for a family facing
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  financial hardship. These acts, they may never
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  make the headlines, but they reflect a heart
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  shaped by Christ. And third, Biblical manhood
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  requires wisdom. The Christians who cared for
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  the sick, they demonstrated compassion, but we
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  shouldn't confuse courage with recklessness.
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  Loving our neighbors includes taking sensible
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  precautions, respecting medical knowledge, and
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  protecting vulnerable people where possible.
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  And we're not called to prove our faith by ignoring
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  danger. We're called to remain faithful while
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  exercising wisdom. And that lessons, Not every
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  man should place himself in a dangerous situation.
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  The lesson is that fear should not automatically
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  become an excuse for indifference. A godly man
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  considers what love requires, what resources
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  he has, and how he can help responsibly. Strength
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  is not really merely what a man can withstand.
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  It's also what he's willing to carry for somebody
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  else. So let's become a man who shows up. How
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  do we apply this lesson during the coming week?
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  I want to offer three practical challenges. First,
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  identify somebody who's carrying a burden. It
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  might be someone at church who is withdrawn from
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  fellowship, a family member facing a difficult
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  season, or maybe a neighbor who's struggling
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  alone. Don't assume, guys, that someone else
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  is going to reach out. Make the call. Send the
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  message. Ask how you can help. And then second,
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  turn compassion into a specific action. Don't
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  stop at saying, hey, I'll pray for you. when
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  you can also provide practical assistance. Pray,
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  of course, and then consider whether you can
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  bring a meal, help with a task, offer transportation,
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  provide financial support within your means,
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  or just simply sit with somebody who needs to
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  talk. Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 instructs the
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  believers to bear one another's burdens, fulfilling
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  the law of Christ. That's not a command to solve
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  every problem. It's a call to refuse indifference,
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  men. And then third, let's examine the boundaries
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  of your compassion. Is there someone you find
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  difficult to love? Someone outside your normal
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  circle? Someone who has disagreed with you and
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  maybe treated you unfairly? Ask God to show you
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  how to serve that person with wisdom and integrity.
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  You don't have to agree with everything to treat
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  them with dignity. And you don't need an audience
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  to do what's right. The goal for this guy is
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  not to be admired as a good man. The goal is
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  to become a faithful servant of Christ Jesus.
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  Okay? As we close today's episode, remember,
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  you know, the Christians who faced a plague of
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  Cyprus, they lived in a world where disease,
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  death, and uncertainty were very real. Their
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  faith, it didn't exempt them from suffering,
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  but Christian leaders called them to respond
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  to suffering with courage, compassion, and practical
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  service. Cyprian challenged believers to examine
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  whether they would care for the sick and help
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  the vulnerable. And that challenge, that still
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  speaks to us today. A man can be physically strong
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  and still be unwilling to carry another person's
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  burden. He can know scripture and still overlook
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  the person who needs help. He can speak boldly
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  about truth and still fail to demonstrate the
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  love of Christ. But biblical manhood brings conviction
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  and compassion together. It calls us to stand
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  firm in the faith, act courageously and do everything
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  in love. So ask yourself two questions this week.
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  Who would my life is suffering and what can I
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  do to help them carry that burden? And am I using
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  the strength God has given me to serve others
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  or primarily protect my own comfort? You know,
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  we may never face a plague like the Christians
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  of the third century in Carthage, but you're
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  going to encounter people who are afraid. who
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  are lonely, who are sick, or grieving, and people
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  who are struggling. Those moments are opportunities
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  to put your faith into practice, men. Let's pray
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  as Jesus taught us. Our Father, who art in heaven,
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  hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will
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  be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
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  this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
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  as we forgive those who trespass against us.
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  and lead us not into temptation, but deliver
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  us from evil. Amen. With that, gentlemen, go
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  out and make it a great day and tune in next
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  time. Why? Because Jesus wants us to and it's
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  the hallway.