Latest / Brandon Fogal Evolution / #67 - 70 Christians Beheaded by ISIS in the Congo | A Biblical Perspective

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#67 - 70 Christians Beheaded by ISIS in the Congo | A Biblical Perspective · Brandon Fogal Evolution

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  70 Christians murdered by ISIS affiliate in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
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  So this is a horrific story that happened recently.
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  I'm not going to talk about how much it's been downplayed and not been talked
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  about in the mainstream news.
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  There's been some news outlets that have covered it.
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  But overall, it has not been as much as, say it was another group other than
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  Christians that might have maybe garnered more attention than it has.
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  But I'm not even going to go into all of that in this episode.
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  I'm mainly going to talk about the 70 Christians that were beheaded for their
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  faith, being Christian, and it is caught up in this geopolitical war that is
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  happening over there in Africa.
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  But it's still a call out and a specific target of Christians that they went
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  after and did this horrific event, and this horrific event occurred.
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  My name is Brandon Fogel. This is Evolution. We're going to tackle this issue
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  from a biblical perspective.
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  We're going to look at a couple biblical passages and try to get some context
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  of why this is not a surprise. This is not a surprise.
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  This is something that the Bible tells us will happen, and the Bible does not
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  shy away from Christians being prepared for when it happens.
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  And immediately when I saw this event and what happened, I heard about it,
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  I read about it, my immediate thought,
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  and I don't know what you all are going to think about this and me saying this,
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  I was happy for those Christians.
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  I did not feel in the slightest bad for those Christians whatsoever,
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  because what they have is an eternal reward that we have no idea to even comprehend
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  or grasp in our minds in this side of heaven.
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  The Bible tells us about at the end of time, people will be beheaded for their faith in Christ.
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  And those will be the front runners. Those will be the ones at the front.
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  Those ones are the ones that are guaranteed a spot in the first resurrection
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  that it talks about in Revelation, that you will reign with Christ forever, forever.
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  They will reign with Christ forever. So I do not feel bad in the slightest for them.
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  That's why when a Christian passes away, when a Christian dies,
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  I never feel bad for the Christian.
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  Why would I feel bad for the person that is no longer in pain and in suffering
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  and in this fallen world, this world that is tough, that is extremely tough, and that you face.
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  Onslaught of persecution, you face an onslaught of trials each day,
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  tribulations that are just every day thrown at you.
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  So I don't feel bad at all for them, and especially for them,
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  because in the New Testament, it talks about, like the apostles,
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  when they suffered for Jesus, when they were scourged and whipped and beaten,
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  they went away rejoicing, saying, my God, that we get the privilege,
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  the grace, the blessing to suffer for Jesus, to suffer for Jesus.
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  And this might, to somebody that is not looking at it from a biblical lens,
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  and even some Christians forget about this, and they get caught up in the here and now.
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  And oh my gosh, you know, death is the worst thing ever.
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  And death is the worst thing ever. If you're not a Christian,
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  if you're not a Christian, death is the worst thing imaginable.
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  But if you are a Christian, it is the best thing imaginable because you get to spend,
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  you, Paul, the apostle Paul said, it is far better for me to be away from the
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  body and to be at peace, be at home with the Lord. Far better.
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  He uses that word, it doesn't even compare whatsoever.
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  So it is still a sad event, an extremely sad event. But I want to look at it
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  from these people were faithful to what they believed in. They stood for Christ.
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  They did not deny him, and they faced the ultimate result for trusting in Jesus.
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  I'm going to read a passage from the book of Revelation. This talks about the
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  end of time, what is going to happen.
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  And you would think that back in their primitive thought and their primitive
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  ways, people were being beheaded back then.
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  But the Apostle John says, he's looking out into the far future,
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  and he says that there will be those who will be beheaded for their faith in Christ at the very end.
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  And I'm not saying that right now we are at the very end, but it seems like it.
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  It seems like we are drawing closer and closer. Sometimes it seems like things
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  are getting kind of better, but then it seems like, man, this is awful. This is terrible.
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  But ultimately, the Bible has made it clear that there will be an end times
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  event that happens, that Christians will be heavily persecuted.
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  Heavily persecuted, and it'll be basically, you either deny Jesus or die.
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  You either deny Jesus or die.
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  So I'm going to read from the book of Revelation, Revelation 20, verse 4 through 6.
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  Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.
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  Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus
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  and for the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image
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  and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.
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  They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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  The rest of the dead did not come to life until a thousand years were ended.
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  This is the first resurrection.
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  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection.
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  Over such, the second death, has no power, but they will be priests of God and
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  of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
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  Those who had been beheaded. Now, this is talking about a specific event in
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  the future, because I'm going to look at it in a second.
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  The apostle Paul himself, actually in the first century, he was beheaded for his faith.
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  He went to the sword and died for his faith. He was a Roman.
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  Romans were not going to crucify Romans. Crucifixion was reserved for the lowliest of the low.
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  You know, it was not even a word that a Roman would want to have on their mouth, the word the cross.
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  That was an ugly, terrible word, vulgar word, because they saw daily somebody being crucified,
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  naked, just stuck on a cross, bleeding out, dying in front of them,
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  I'm saying, if you want your end to be like this person, resist the government,
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  resist what we say, and this is your, this is what you're going to be.
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  So they saw daily crucifixion. So Paul, he was a Roman citizen.
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  So he did not die by crucifixion.
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  He died by beheading. He was beheaded.
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  So that was happening back then. And the Apostle John talks about it,
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  that in the future, when he sees all these visions, these revelations,
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  and he goes, he has basically a tunnel vision into the future and seeing what's
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  going to happen at the end of time.
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  There is going to be a time, but basically it's not going to be anymore.
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  Or I might go to this church this day, or I guess I'm just going to go to church
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  on Easter, on Christmas, or something like that.
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  And going to church, that is not the end-all, be-all.
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  But it does show kind of where your heart's at, and maybe a time of life that you're going through.
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  So it's not going to be this, I'm going to choose to take up my cross by going
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  to church today, or church this Sunday. but it's going to be basically,
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  you either deny Jesus or you die.
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  You either deny Jesus or you won't be able to buy, sell, or trade.
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  So that is going to happen in the future. When that happens,
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  a lot of stuff will be happening at that point. But this gives us basically
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  a little taste, a preview of it.
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  And these Christians were faithful unto death.
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  And I don't feel bad for them, but I feel bad for their families and any ones
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  that they've left behind, the people that are still on earth.
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  That's why when someone dies, you get to go home and be with the Lord and all
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  your pain is completely gone.
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  Everything, it's gone forever. You will never ever have to endure pain again.
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  You will never have to suffer again. You will be at home, peace,
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  forever with the Lord, enjoying the bliss of paradise that we can't even comprehend or fathom or think.
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  It has not even entered in our heart or mind what is in store for Christians,
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  those who put their faith in Christ.
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  So I don't feel bad for the Christians that died, but I do feel,
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  I am sorry for, you know, for all their families around and everyone caught up in that.
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  It's tough. It's tough, but it's, I, I hope that I am in a position where I would remain faithful.
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  And it's like, until you're, the sword is at your neck or the, the gun is at your head.
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  That is when it really shows you what you believe. If you're going to walk away
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  and say, well, I, you know, all that Jesus talk, I was, I was just kind of spewing
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  stuff out into the air. I didn't really believe any of that.
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  I'm, I'm on your side. Forget Jesus.
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  No, you're either going to be called to be faithful and say,
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  no, I'm with Christ 100%.
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  Why would I deny my Lord? He went to the cross and died for me.
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  Why would I not die for him?
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  And it's like, until you're in
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  that situation, I can say all the things I want. I could be on a podcast.
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  I could be on a show, an interview, talking with people and say all the things
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  I think about Jesus and the things I think about Christianity and being faithful.
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  I'm gonna do it and until you're actually in it.
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  And facing it, that's when the stuff hits the fan, and that's when your true
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  colors, who you truly are at the heart, comes out.
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  So it's like, I say, do everything you can to live for Christ now,
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  every moment, every moment, because that is going to prepare you for when you
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  will eventually face your darkest trial, your toughest trial.
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  Because you never know if somebody could endure, you know, being tortured because
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  these Christians were most likely not just beheaded and done.
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  They were tortured for their faith.
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  They suffered extremely for their faith and they were faithful to Christ.
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  I'm going to look at, it's a letter by the apostle Paul, his final letter, actually.
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  This is Paul in around the 60s AD, probably around 68 AD, and he's writing his
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  last letter, his final letter, he knows he's back in prison.
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  He knows he's about to die.
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  And he's given his final farewell address, his final words.
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  He says, I'm about to depart.
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  I know my life is being poured out as a drink offering. I have been faithful.
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  I have kept the faith. I have kept the faith.
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  And I hope to God, I pray to God that I will be able to say that at the end of my life.
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  And I pray to God that you would as well be able to say that you have kept the faith.
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  And not even just defended the faith, but you were a contender for the faith.
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  So Paul is writing to Timothy, his protege, his final words.
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  And he says, 2 Timothy 2, 11, the saying is trustworthy for if we have died
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  with him, we will also live with him.
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  If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
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  If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
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  God, he cannot lie. God cannot go against his nature and who he is.
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  That's what the beauty of God is. He doesn't change.
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  We change daily. I'm not the same person I was 10 minutes ago, but God doesn't change.
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  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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  God says, I change not. I change not. And something he can't do, he can't lie.
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  And something he can't do, he cannot deny himself.
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  And it says, if we deny him, he will deny us though.
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  That's why Jesus says, if you're ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you when
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  I come with my father's angels and in front of my father, I will be ashamed of you.
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  And so there is a call to, man, live daily for Christ so that when we face the
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  darkest toughest trial, we will be able to say.
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  Stand before him and him say, well done, good and faithful servant.
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  So God, these Christians are with God and I don't feel bad for them,
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  but I pray that we would remain faithful just as they were. All right, we'll leave it at that.