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Sunday Morning Message: The Church - Its Meaning: The Pillar of the Truth of God, Part 4 · CCC West Covina

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We are taking a long look at at the church, helping us
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understand how we, the called out ones, are to understand God
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designed for His church. It's so important for us to come
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to grips with the reality of what it means to be a child of
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the king, what it means to be chosen by God, converted by God,
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cleansed by God, commissioned by God.
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To serve his purposes. I think if you look at the
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church, it's meaning, it's mission and ministry.
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It really is about what it means to to love the church.
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I would hope that you love the church, not the organization,
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not the denomination, not the intricate details of the facade
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of the facility. But do you really, truly love
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the church? I've had the the most incredible
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privilege over the last 29 years to to pastor here at Christ
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Community Church and I can honestly tell you that I truly
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love the church. I love the church not just
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because of of the fact that I'm employed here.
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I love the church because of all that it is and all that God
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designed it to be. And I've had the most
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incredible. Experience and wonderful
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ministry to serve alongside many of you in this ministry over all
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these years. And I really, truly love the
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Church. I mean, you can't not love the
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Church if you love the Lord, right?
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Because you you love the people he died for and and so you you
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love the the Church. And I find it interesting that
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that, you know, I I've raised a lot of children and now I have a
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lot of grandchildren. And you know, it wasn't the fact
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that after after 10 years of having children and raising
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children that I decided to to Chuck them aside and start a new
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family. No, I stayed with my children to
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raise them, to nurture them, to care for them, to love them.
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Over all these years, and that's never going to change.
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Well, when I came to Christ Community Church, I didn't come
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for 10 years so that I can Chuck you aside and and go to another
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church and adopt A new family and be a pastor of a of a new
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congregation. No, that's not, that's not the
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way the ministry's supposed to be.
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You need to show commitment as you would in a marriage to a
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family. Devotion as you would to
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marriage and a family and and the Lord made it very clear that
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your spiritual family always takes priority over your
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physical family. When they came to him and said,
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Lord, your mother and your brother are outside waiting for
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you and he said, who are my mother and who are my brothers
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but those who who believe in me? You mean very clear that the
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spiritual priority. Took place over the physical
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aspect of family. Why?
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Listen, we are going to spend the rest of our lives on this
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planet and into the future and eternity together.
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Like it or not, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus
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Christ, we're going to be forever together in glory.
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That's just the way it's going to be, so get used to it.
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If you don't like someone in front of you or behind you, just
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think you're going to be sharing a mansion with them and glory.
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And so there's a certain aspect you can look at the principles
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that we're looking at as the fact that This is why we love
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the church, we love the church because it's the plan of the Son
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of God, he said in Matthew 16. I will build my church in the
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and the gates of hell should not prevail against it.
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Do you know that Jesus never built anything else?
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He only built one thing, the church.
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He's continually building the church.
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And to that last soul is saved in the church age.
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And there's going to come and receive us unto himself that
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where he is. There we may be also, but it's
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the plan, the Son of God. It was a perfect plan.
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It's a precious plan. It's a providential plan.
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It was a plan made in the eternity past before time began.
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We love the Church because it's a plan of the Son of God.
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We love the church because the church is the possession of the
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living God. First Peter, chapter 2, verse
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#9. We are His chosen possession.
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We are His children. We are His bride.
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We are His body. He purchased us with His blood.
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He bought us back from the slave market of sin that we might be
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His and His alone. In fact, we're such a possession
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of His that He takes up the residence in our lives.
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What was the mystery concealed in the Old Testament but now
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revealed in the New Testament? Christ and you.
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The hope of glory. We are such a possession of His
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that he takes up residence in our lives and works in and
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through us. The Father resides in us.
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The Spirit resides in us. The Son resides in us.
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Read the Gospel of John. They're all there.
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In terms of the understanding of what God is doing with his own
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possession. Can't help but love the church.
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It's the plan of the Son of God, and you're part of that plan.
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If you love the Lord and you're you're a believer in the Lord
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Jesus Christ, you're part of that perfect, providential,
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precious plan of the living God. And we are the possession of the
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living God. He owns us.
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He bought us. He took us out of Satan's domain
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and put us into His Kingdom. How can you not love the church?
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Because you love the Lord in our Third Point, and this is kind of
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where we've camped out on the last couple of weeks, that the
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church is the pillar of the. Truth of God First 70.
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Three verse #15 tells us that the church is the pillar and
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support of the living God, and we've been looking at what that
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church looks like. And how do you know that as a
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church, we are demonstrating on a regular basis that we are the
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pillar and support of the truth of the living God?
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Because that's who we are. And so we told you over the last
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couple of weeks that the church that is the pillar and support
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of the truth is a church that studies the truth carefully.
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They want to know what the truth says.
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That's why the early church was committed to the apostles
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teaching. That's why Paul tells Timothy
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Study to show yourself approved in the God a Workman that needed
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not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
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The church that's the the pillar of the truth of God studies the
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truth very carefully, like the Bereans who who search the
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scriptures to see whether or not these things are so because you
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want to know exactly who God is. And so you study the truth
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carefully. And the number two, you show the
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truth clearly. And that's how you know You
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studied it carefully. You show it very clearly.
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You demonstrate the truth. You live out the truth.
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So all will know that what you believe is really true, because
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it's manifested on a daily basis in your life.
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And so you show the truth clearly.
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And those who study the truth carefully and show the truth
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clearly are those who speak the truth convincingly.
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And that's what we talked about last week.
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You speak the truth convincingly.
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You speak and exhort with all authority, Paul tells Titus and
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Titus, Chapter 2, verse #15. You speak the truth convincingly
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because you speak it authoritatively.
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You speak it, you speak it apocalyptically.
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You speak it accurately. You speak it authentically.
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We talked about all those last week, But you speak the truth
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convincingly, #4 and this is where we left off last week.
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The church that's the pillar of the truth of God is the Church
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that submits to truth. Continually, it submits to
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truth. Continually, In other words, you
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line yourself up under the authority of the word of God.
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Now, this is not easy for most of us because there are certain
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things in the scriptures that we find hard to digest, hard to
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accept. Difficult to to realize.
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And yet we are to submit to the truth continually.
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That is, every day I am finding myself under the authority of
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God's Word. What does God's word say that I
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should be doing? What does God's Word say that I
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be I should be saying? What do I do in order to honor
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my God? And so I line myself up under
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the the commands of Scripture. And so I submit to the truth.
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Continually when when the Bible speaks about forgiveness, right?
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I I I want to forgive my brother.
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I want to forgive those who have sinned against me.
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I don't want to hold the grudge. I don't want to become bitter
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and angry. I want to forgive one another
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even as God, for Christ's sake Features 4 tells me has forgiven
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me. And yet we find ourselves
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bristling against. Forgiving those who have wronged
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us so that's just not willing to submit to the truth of God
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continually when it when it comes to to serving one another.
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We we should be in service mode at all times when to serve our
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fellow brother and sister in Christ.
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But this way serving by by exercising your spiritual get to
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this right. God has gifted each and one of
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us first. Peter Chapter 4, verse #10 tells
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us as each has received a gift, employ it in serving one
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another. Why?
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Because we are a body. If one rejoices, we all rejoice.
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If if one is sad, we're we're all sad.
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But we're all in this together as the body of Christ.
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And so, because the Bible tells us about the gifts that God has
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given to us, that we might exercise them in the body and
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minister to one another in a most profound kind of way doing.
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Something that no. One else can do because God has
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specifically gifted you to be used in the church for His
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glory. If I don't submit to that and
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follow through on that, then I live in rebellion to the truth
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of God's Word, and as the individual, I cease to be.
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The pillar and support of the truth.
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You see, we are to submit to everything that God says.
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We don't have the luxury of picking and choosing what we're
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going to submit to. I mean, I don't allow my
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children to pick and choose what they submit to my commands or to
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my demands. Or to what I say as their
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father, they should be doing. I don't give them the option to
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say, well, I I think Dad, I'll do that.
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Or or maybe I won't do that, Dad.
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Oh no, no, You're going to do what I tell you to do because
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you're in my family and I'm your father and you follow the
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direction of your father and your mother.
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But somehow we think that it was in the church.
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We can say God is so, so graceful and loving and kind
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that if I choose not to. To exercise my spiritual get,
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it's okay. Everybody else can do it.
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I don't have to do it or or I I don't have to be involved in in
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giving to the church. I mean, after all everybody else
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gives to the church. Why should I give?
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All the needs are met. That they've met the budget for
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the new year. Everything seems to be hunky
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Dory. Why should I give if everybody
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else is giving? You see, there are there are
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certain things in the scriptures that we just want to pick and
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choose that we submit to. The the Church of Thessalonica
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was not that way. They they were a very submissive
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church. In fact, turn with me to 1st
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Thessalonia. In chapter one Paul says this
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about those in Thessalonica. This is really good because this
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is a submissive church. And remember I told you last
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week that the church at Thessalonica was the only church
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that that Paul said was a a pattern for every other church.
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And remember he wrote to a lot of churches.
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But there was one church that was a specific, unique pattern,
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and that was the Church of Thessalonica.
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And that was because they were such a submissive church.
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Look what it says in verse number six.
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You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received
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the Word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit.
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In other words, you received the word, but when you did, you
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received it amidst much tribulation, much persecution,
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but you did it with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became
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an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in a Ki for the
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word of the Lord who has sounded forth from you not only in
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Macedonia and the Ki, but also in every place.
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Your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need
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to say anything. What a testimony.
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Chapter 2, Verse #13. For this reason, we also
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constantly thank God that when you received the Word of God,
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which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of
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men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also
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performs its work in you who believe.
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In other words, you were receptive of the truth.
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When you heard the word from us, you received it.
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You put out the welcome mat. That's what that's what the word
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received means. You put out the welcome mat and
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you welcomed the word of God into your life, and it took root
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in your life and effectively worked in you because you
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believed Chapter 4, verse #1. Finally, then, brethren, we
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request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you received
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from us instruction as how you ought to walk and please God,
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just as you actually do. That you excel even more so,
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you've received the Word from us.
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You've excelled, you followed what God's Word says.
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But we want you to go beyond that.
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We want you to excel even more so, he says, For you know what
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commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord.
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For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is,
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that you abstain from sexual immorality.
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And each of you know how to possess his own vessel in
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sanctification. And in honor not unless a
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passion like the Gentiles, who do I know God, and that no man
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transgress and defraud his brother in the matter, because
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the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also
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told you before and solemnly warned you.
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For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in
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sanctification, so He rejects this, So he rejects this.
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He's not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to
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you. So Paul gives them this
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exhortation. You're walking with the Lord,
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and that's obvious to everybody, but we want you to excel even
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beyond that, because this is the will of God.
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Even your sanctification that you abstained from from sexual
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immorality, We usually know how to possess your own vessel and
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sanctification and an honor, because this is what God wants
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for you. The purity of your life and goes
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on at the end of chapter 5 and he gives command after command
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after command without any explanation.
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At all. Because he doesn't have to.
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Because he knows they're going to submit to the authority of
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Scripture, it says We urge your brother in verse #14,
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admonishing unruly encourage the fainthearted, help the weak.
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Be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another
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with evil for evil, But always seek after that which is good
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for one another and for all people.
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Rejoice. Always pray without ceasing and
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everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ
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Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
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Do not despise prophetic utterances.
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Examine everything carefully. Hold fast that which is good.
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Abstain from every form of evil. Didn't say I want you to rejoice
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always. And This is why.
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And this is how. And this is when doesn't do
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that, he says rejoice always. He says I want you to give
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thanks in everything. Doesn't give an explanation as
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to why. This is just the will of God in
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Christ Jesus concerning you, and that's good enough for them.
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If that's God's will for me, that's what I'm going to do.
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You see, we love to debate the truth.
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We love to deliberate about the truth.
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We love to discuss the truth. We just need to submit to the
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truth. If God says it, that's it.
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And I say, okay, Lord, whatever you say, that's what I'm going
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to do. I'm going to follow your
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direction. I might not understand it.
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I might not come to grips with the reality of all that's
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happening in the word of God. But Lord, because you said it,
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I'm going to do it. He just says, be fervent in your
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love toward one another, be boiling over in your love toward
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one another. Extend all you can to to love
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one another. And as believers we say yes,
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yes, Lord, because whatever the question is, the answer is
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always yes on the part of the believer.
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So there's a church that's the the pillar and support of the
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truth. Is the church that submits to
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the truth continually. Think about it this way.
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Show me a church that doesn't take the Bible seriously, and
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I'll show you a church that doesn't take God seriously that
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it yet. Show me a family.
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That doesn't take the Bible seriously.
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And I'll show you a family. He doesn't take God seriously.
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Show me an individual who doesn't take the Bible seriously
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and I'll show you an individual who doesn't take God seriously
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so you can't separate the two because the Incarnate Word gave
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us the inspired word. And when that Word became flesh
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and dwelt among us, we beheld this glory, the glories of the
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only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
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We need to take God's Word seriously.
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Psalm 138, verse #2. Thy Word, O Lord, is magnified
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even as thy very name, the Word of God, is on the same plane as
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the name of God. And one day every knee will bow
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and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
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glory of God the Father. Why?
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Because he is the name that is above all names.
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And yet God holds His word on the same level as His name,
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because it's the spoken word of the living God.
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And therefore we need to take God's word seriously.
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So. If God's Word is disregarded, if
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God's word is devalued, then God is diminished in the eyes of
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that church or in the family of those believers.
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If God's Word is disregarded or devalued in any way, God.
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Is diminished. If God is diminished, the gospel
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will always be diluted because the Gospels based on the
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identity of who God is, and the identity of God comes from the
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word of God. So then the gospel then becomes
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diluted. If the gospel is diluted,
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godiness will disappear. If godiness disappears, God is
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dishonored and the people will always be destroyed.
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That's just the natural downgrade of devaluing and
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disregarding or despising the truth of the living God.
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There are churches that refer to the Bible but don't Revere the
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Bible. There are churches that read the
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Bible but don't Revere the Bible.
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God's Word. Is magnified even as his very
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name, the Church, is the pillar of the truth of God.
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That church studies the truth carefully, shows the work, shows
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the truth clearly, speaks the truth convincingly, submits the
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truth continually, and #5 stands.
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On truth, confidently and courageously stands.
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On truth confidently and courageously.
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That's the Church. That's the pillar of the truth
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of God. And you can go through Scripture
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and read about all kinds of individuals who stood strong on
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the truth. You can go all the way back to
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the Old Testament and look at look at Esther, who stood strong
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on the truth of God's covenant with Israel.
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You can go back and look at Moses and Abraham, Joseph,
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Daniel, Shadrack, Mishak at a Bendigo.
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You can pull vault yourself and do the New Testament and look at
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Steven and the apostles and the the apostle Paul, but of all the
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people. In the New Testament, that
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stands out as the supreme example of standing
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courageously, standing confidently, I think we'd all
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say the Apostle Paul. We didn't even say Timothy, his
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his protege. But there's one individual that
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hardly anybody knows. Hardly anybody ever mentions.
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Who? Whose name would have been the
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name of my ninth child. But I don't have a ninth child.
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I only got 8, but if I had a ninth one it would have been his
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name. So turn me into a Book of
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Revelation, Revelation chapter two.
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In Revelation 2 and three, you have 7 letters to seven
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churches, 7 literal churches, 7 churches that truly existed.
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And these letters sent to them are letters by God to them that
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they might understand God's call upon their lives.
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And these seven churches are representative of every church
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that's ever existed in the history of the world.
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So you need to understand that. And so these churches.
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Are not just literal, but they're symbolic in nature
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because they truly help you understand the condition of the
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church. First letter was written, the
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emphasis right, they're the cold church, and the 2nd letter was
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written to Smyrna. They're the crushed church.
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The 3rd letter was written to the church at Pergamon.
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They are the compromised church. And so the Bible says and
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Revelation 2 verse #12 and to the Angel of the church and
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pergament rite, the one who has the sharp 2 edged sword says
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this. Now who's that?
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Well that's the Lord, right? He's the one with the sharp 2
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edged sword. We know that in Revelation 19
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when he returns again there there's a sword that that
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precedes or protrudes out of his mouth.
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It's a 2 edged sword. Why?
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Because it's an instrument of conversion on one side and
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instrument of condemnation on the other side.
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It's a 2 edged sword and so therefore the one who holds the
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two edged sword says this and we know it's an instrument of
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conversion. And remember a sword is that
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which which slices and dices and dissects and and cuts off.
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So when Christ says and Matthew chapter 10, I did not come to
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bring peace, but a what a sword. Why?
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Because he was he was going to divide a son from his parents.
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He was going to divorce or not divorced, but divide a husband
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from his wife. Because when there was a
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conversion in a Jewish Home. You were cut off.
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Right, in crisis that came to bring the sword and the sort of
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conversion, the side that converts you is going to divide
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you from friends and family. It's going to do that because
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that's what conversion does. And then it's an instrument of
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condemnation that's based on Revelation 19 when he comes and
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he destroys his enemies with just a.
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Word of his mouth We know that he was 412 says that God's word
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is living and active and powerful and sharper than any
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two edged sword, right? We also know that we had a sword
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of the Spirit, which is the word of God feeds the chapter.
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Chapter 6. But know what the Lord says, He
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says, I know where you dwell. That's just a great statement.
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You ever wonder if God knows where you dwell?
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Oh, he does. In fact, he says to emphasis.
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I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance.
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God knows your deeds. God knows your work.
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God knows your perseverance, your steadfastness.
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God knows all that. God's never taken by surprise to
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the Church of of Smyrna, he says.
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I know your tribulation and your poverty.
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You ever wonder if God knows your poverty?
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He does. Does he know your tribulation?
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Oh, absolutely. So he says to the Church of
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Pergamum, I know where you dwell.
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Where did they dwell? Where Satan's throne is?
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Whoa, how can they dwell where Satan's throne is?
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Didn't know Satan had a throne. Well, if you know anything about
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the historical Pergamum, you know that it was a, a, a.
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A city filled with idolatry. In fact there was There was
30:07
emperor worship in pergament. Also there was a a great statue
30:13
to Zeus built on the side of a hill.
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There was a temple of Asclepius. The temple of Asclepius was a
30:25
temple of healing medicine symbolized by a.
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A snake and those who needed helium would go to that temple
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and they would lay down in that temple and these snakes would
30:36
crawl all over them for the purpose of healing.
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Remember, Satan is referred to as a snake in Genesis chapter 3A
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serpent in Revelation chapter 12 verse number #9 and so there was
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a place where Satan. Do I know who you are?
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You're in a place where Satan dwells.
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It's true of of us today because the Bible says in Saint Criticus
31:12
4/4 that Satan is the God of this world.
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The Bible says in First John 519 that the whole world lies in the
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lap of the evil 1. In fact, in John's Gospel, three
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different times, Satan is referred to as the Prince of
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this world. And God says I know you do well
31:45
because you see, Satan wants the church to compromise.
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He wants it to compromise on the truth and if he can get the
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church to compromise and look like the world.
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Then it's very ineffective of being salt and light in the
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world. So whatever you can do within
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the church, the local church to make it look and sound like
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everything that happens in the world already, then he's got the
32:15
church to compromise. And in the church, those who go
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to that church then believe that that's the way Christianity
32:21
really is. And so he says these words.
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I know where you dwell, where Satan strewn is, and you hold
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fast my name and did not deny my faith.
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What a testimony. You held fast to my name, to my
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character, to my nature. You were steadfast.
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You were resilient. You stood strong.
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You didn't compromise my name. You did not deny the faith.
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No, you weren't ashamed of the gospel.
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You sit strong on the gospel. You were not afraid of those.
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Now listen carefully, even in the days of Antipus, that's the
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God Antipus simply because his name begins with an A and all my
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kids names begin with A's and I was running out of A names.
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So I was bound to determine the name of my Nick's son, Antipas.
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Those of you who are pregnant going to have children, you have
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a boy. Name him an Antipas.
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Those name means against all. What a name the man was against
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everything except God. So it says.
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Even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one who was
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killed among you were Satan Dwells.
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He was killed because he stood strong.
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He was my faithful one. He was my martyr race.
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He was my martyr. He was my witness.
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Ought to be known as God's witness to be known as God's
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faithful one. That's how you want to be known.
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And that's the way Antibus was known.
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He set the example. He raised the bar for everybody
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in Pergamum. To understand that no matter
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what happens, no matter what happens to you, it's all
34:30
irrelevant. As long as you're a faithful
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witness of the King of Kings, As long as you don't deny his name,
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as long as you stand fast for the sake of the gospel, that's
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all that matters. An Antibus.
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His name is recorded in the scriptures for everyone to read
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about this man who was against everything except as God.
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He was for it's God. That's why he was against
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everything else. Because you see, when you stand
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for God and you're for God, you're against everything else
35:05
that opposes God. And that's we need in the
35:08
church. We need men who are strong, who
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stand for the gospel. It will not compromise the
35:15
gospel. Listen to what it says, it says.
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But I have a few things against you.
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Wait a minute. Hold on, hold on.
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How can you have a few things against us?
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We did not deny your name. We were faithful to you.
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What could you possibly have against us?
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Listen carefully, because you have there some, not all.
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There are some in the congregation who hold the
35:44
teaching of Balem, who kept teaching Balek to put a
35:47
stumbling block before the sons of Israel to eat things,
35:50
sacrifice the idols, and to commit acts of immorality.
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So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of
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the Nikolation Nicolaeotins, which was a antimonian
36:04
antinomian religion, which was all about no law, just all
36:10
grace. You can live any way you want,
36:11
just do whatever you want to do because it's it's it doesn't
36:15
make a difference concerning your spiritual well-being
36:18
because it's all done in the flesh.
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So it's OK. There are some of you.
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Who have committed to acts of immorality and idolatry.
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There are some of you who want to live any way you want without
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any consequences. In other words, there are some
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of you who are very willing to compromise.
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Not all of you, some of you. So he says, therefore repent, or
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else I am coming quickly. Listen carefully to the
36:51
language, to you. And I will make war against them
36:58
with the sword of my mouth. That two edged sword Repent
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immediately from your corruption, or you will reap
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immensely the consequences of your corruption, he said.
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I'm going to come to you, the church.
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Quickly, and I would deal with those in the church who have
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compromised the truth. In other words, he's saying to
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the church, look, you need to deal with the people in your
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church who have compromised the truth, because if you don't deal
37:39
with them quickly, I'm coming to you quickly and I'm going to
37:42
deal with them and you don't. Want me dealing with the.
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People in your church. So you deal with them and you
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call them to repentance. You hold them into account.
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You show them the error of their way.
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That they might turn from their sin and follow me, you who hold
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fast my name. You the Church.
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Who is the pillar in support of the truth?
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I want you to hold up, hold that truth, stand firm in that truth
38:04
and go to those people and say you're living in sin and if you
38:08
don't repent, the Lord is coming to you quickly and he's going to
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deal with you. And you don't want the Lord
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dealing with you. You'd rather have us dealing
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with you. The Church is the pillar.
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And support of the truth. And as a church, we don't want
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people in the assembly of our local congregation to compromise
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the truth. We want them to stand firm on
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the truth. We want to be confident in the
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truth, courageous in the truth, not compromising the truth.
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So as a church, who is the pillar and support of the truth?
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We go to those people and we say, listen, you need to turn
38:54
from the error of your way and you need to follow the Lord and
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serve the Lord and honor. Let us help you do that.
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Let us come alongside of you and minister to you that we might be
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a support and accountability to you, that you might live for the
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glory and honor of our King. So important the church that's
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the pillar and support of the truth stands.
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On the truth, courageously and confidently.
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So much I want to say about that, but time escapes me.
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The Church that has the pillar and support of the truth
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safeguards the truth compellingly.
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They safeguard the truth compellingly, in other words.
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They protect it. They preserve it.
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They guard it, Paul would say over in First Timothy chapter,
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Chapter 6. These words, oh Timothy, guard
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what has been entrusted to you. Verse #20 guard it, avoiding
40:10
worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of that
40:14
of what is falsely called knowledge.
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He says in verse #13 of chapter one of Second Timothy.
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Chapter one, verse #13 retain the standard of sound words
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which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are in
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Christ Jesus, guard through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us
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the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
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We are the protectors of the truth, not just the pillar of
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the truth. But a protector of the truth?
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We guard the truth. We guard it against error.
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We guard it against those who who want to treat it as if it is
40:55
irrelevant. We want to protect it from those
40:58
who want to despise it. We are the protectors of the
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truth of the living God. Paul said that when it's all
41:06
said and done, I was faithful to the fight and I was faithful.
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To the faith, definite article, meaning the body of doctrine,
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that that which I believe I was faithful all the way to the end
41:20
to guard and fight for the truth.
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Listen, this is the war that we are engaged in.
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It's a battle for the truth. And we as a church are the
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pillar and support of that truth.
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And so we are bound and determined to safeguard that
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church. In one year, we'll have our 30th
41:39
anniversary. And we'll be able to proclaim
41:42
that for 30 years we protected the truth, We preserved the
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truth, We preached the truth. That's all we did because that's
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what God's called us to do. And we've done it for 30
41:57
straight years. And Lord willing, that will
41:59
never change. I know it won't change as long
42:02
as I'm here and Tom's here and Roger's here and Bruce is here.
42:07
But we want to make sure that the word of God always stands
42:09
front and center in everything we say and everything we do.
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We are going to protect the truth.
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We're going to safeguard the truth.
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We're going to watch over the truth.
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We're going to guard the truth. Why?
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Because we are the protectors of it.
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So when you hear someone say something that's an error, you
42:25
need to correct that and say no, that that's not the right thing.
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This that's the wrong thing. This is what the Bible actually
42:31
does say. Listen.
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We can say as we sit here today, yes, we are the church and we
42:38
are the pillar and support of the truth.
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And we are going to stand courageously on the truth and
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then go to work tomorrow. And all of a sudden someone
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begins to speak against the truth and we don't know what to
42:51
say or we're silent on the matter or we we go to to to to
42:59
our teammates. And and and they want to engage
43:02
in some kind of immoral activity and and now we have to stand on
43:06
the truth. We'll be staying.
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I mean it's easy to stand sitting here in the Pew but it's
43:13
hard to stand when you go to work.
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It's easy to say I'm going to stand on the truth.
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I'm going to be the. I'm going to be the man of my
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house and then go home and couch how to your wife and every
43:25
demand that she has. Say, honey the truth is this.
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We must follow the truth of the living God.
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It's easy to sit here and say we're going to stand on the
43:35
truth and speak the truth, right?
43:39
And then go home and have our children run the home.
43:43
And that's kowtow to our children's whims because they
43:46
have all these ideas. But we don't say no, you cannot
43:49
do that. No, we will not do that because
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God's word says this. We stand on truth.
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We're going to live truth. Those are the kind of parents we
43:57
say, you say, we say we believe the Bible, but do we believe the
44:01
Bible enough to stand firm on it and never compromise it, no
44:04
matter what the cost? So important people say to me
44:11
all the time, I've heard this probably from parents more so
44:15
than anything else ever said to me in the last 40 years of
44:18
ministering. I'm afraid if I'm too hard or
44:22
too harsh or take too strong a stand.
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I'm going to drive my child away.
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And I tell them every time, if that's what you're afraid of.
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I got news for you. They are already away.
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They're already gone. Don't think you're going to
44:44
drive them away. They're already away.
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Stand on the truth. Let the Lord deal with your
44:52
children. Let the Lord handle them, but
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make sure you stand on the truth.
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But you know what happens. We value a relationship that I
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have with my son or my daughter more so than I value the truth
45:12
of the living God. If we had time, I'd take you to
45:17
First Samuel, chapter 2 to read you the story about Eli and his
45:21
sons. And the man of God came to him
45:24
and said, you did not rebuke your sons when they slept with
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the women in the tent of the temple and committed immoral
45:31
acts. And all Eli said to them was, I
45:35
hear that there's things being said about you guys that's not
45:38
good, so you probably better not be doing that stuff.
45:44
And the man of God came to him and said you did not rebuke your
45:47
boys. You did not deal with your boys.
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You know why he tells them? Because you honored your boys
45:53
over me. And that's where you had that
45:56
phrase first time at 2:30. He who honors me, I will honor.
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But you chose. He lied not to honor me.
46:05
And you are a priest, and you chose to honor your sons over
46:09
me. Therefore, you've lost the
46:14
priesthood. Therefore, you're going to die
46:17
and so are your boys. That should be a wake up call to
46:22
every dad in the room, every father that says wait a minute,
46:27
if I'm going to honor anyone, it's going to be my God and I am
46:32
never going to honor my children over my God.
46:35
I'm going to hold them into account to the truth of the
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living God. Eli didn't do that.
46:44
He lost his ministry when they lost his life.
46:47
His boys lost their lives simply because he chose to value the
46:55
relationship over the truth of the living God and the Church.
47:00
That's the pillar and support of the truth.
47:03
Never does that. Never.
47:08
And we need to understand that from the get go.
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And if you're a young parent today and you got young
47:13
children, you need to know that you need to raise them in the
47:16
nurtured admonition of the Lord and raise them up, fearing God
47:20
and and living a life that honors God more than anything
47:22
else. Because that's what matters.
47:26
You teach them the truth. And lastly, #7.
47:31
My time is gone, but I got to say it anyway.
47:35
The church that's the pillar and support of the truth is
47:38
satisfied. With the truth completely is
47:47
satisfied with the truth completely.
47:51
In other words, they understand the sufficiency and the
47:54
supremacy of the word of God. It's everything to them.
47:59
This is what satisfies them. That's why Jeremiah could say
48:03
when God told them you're my prophet, you're going to preach,
48:07
and not one soul is going to respond or listen.
48:11
And Jeremiah said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them,
48:14
and they were the joy and they rejoicing of my heart.
48:17
God, your word's enough. If nobody responds, if nobody
48:21
repents, if nobody comes alongside and supports me in the
48:24
ministry, It's OK. I don't need that.
48:28
What I need is the truth of the living God, the word of God.
48:31
That's sufficient. That's everything.
48:33
That's all I need. And Jeremiah ministered.
48:39
For years with no response, think of the life of of Job.
48:46
When he said in Job 23 verse #10, he knows the way I take.
48:51
When he has tried me. I should come forth his gold.
48:54
My foot has held fast to his path.
48:56
I have kept his ways and not turned aside.
48:58
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips.
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I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary
49:06
food. Here was a man who was wrapped
49:11
and suffering. Here was a man who had lost
49:14
everything, including his friends.
49:17
He had nothing, but he had the words of God, and that was more
49:25
treasure to him than anything else.
49:30
Anything. Why?
49:34
Because the truth is what satisfied him completely.
49:39
See, we want to be satisfied with the truth partially, but
49:44
have someone else come alongside and fulfill the other half.
49:49
We want to be satisfied by getting married.
49:55
We only satisfied by having children.
49:59
We want to be satisfied by having a greater income.
50:03
We want to be satisfied by having good health.
50:09
Joe didn't have any of that. They had the word of God, and
50:14
that was enough. So Sama says and and Psalm 119.
50:19
These words. I love them.
50:20
So. The law of your mouth is better
50:22
to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
50:25
I'm satisfied enough. I don't need any gold and silver
50:27
pieces. I'm satisfied with your law, he
50:31
said. Oh, I love your law.
50:32
It's my meditation all the day. 1st 103 How sweet are your words
50:36
to my taste? You're sweeter than honey to my
50:38
mouth. They're the sweetest things I've
50:41
ever tasted. The words of the living God
50:46
because they satisfied him completely.
50:52
The church, that's the pillar and support of the truth,
50:56
recognizes that the truth of God satisfies them.
51:04
Totally. Fully, Completely.
51:10
May God give us the grace to be that kind of church.
51:15
That's right, Father. We thank you for today and the
51:18
opportunity you give us to study your Word, and we're grateful
51:20
for all that you've done. We thank you, Lord, that your
51:25
Word speaks to all of us. None of us is exempt.
51:31
None of us is excused. Your word speaks.
51:36
It speaks to me first as a pastor, to realize I'm a
51:42
cannibal, not just to what I preach, but to what you have
51:48
said to me before I ever got up to preach.
51:52
And I pray that my life would be held accountable to the truth of
51:55
your word and lived out not just in my life, but in the life of
52:01
my family. And they pray for us as a
52:04
church, that we would stand strong, never compromising the
52:10
truth of the living God. And that Lord, you would do a
52:15
mighty work in and among us as you have for all these years,
52:19
continue to show yourself faithful, merciful, and
52:23
graceful. For you, Lord, are the God we
52:27
love, and we love you. We love your church.
52:34
Until you come again and for all eternity Jesus name.
52:40
Amen.