Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – The Limitations of Retaliation, Part 2

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Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – The Limitations of Retaliation, Part 2 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: If you're being honest, when was the last time you
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Speaker 1: went too far, too much anger, too many words, too
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Speaker 1: little restraint. The answer is probably more recent than you'd
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Speaker 1: like to admit.
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Speaker 2: Today.
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Speaker 1: On Insight for Living, Chuck Wendaul connects a defining moment
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Speaker 1: in the battle every one of us fights, the battle
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Speaker 1: for self control. The Jewish people had been given an
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Speaker 1: unlimited license for revenge. What they did with it reveals
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Speaker 1: something extraordinary about the spirit of God at work in
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Speaker 1: human hearts. Teaching from Ester chapter nine, Chuck title today's
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Speaker 1: message the limitations of retaliation.
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Speaker 3: In order for there to be some kind of stoppage
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Speaker 3: of vengeance, self control old must be applied. One of
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Speaker 3: my volumes that have helped me in the study of Esther,
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Speaker 3: writes this. Though in the Book of Esther the tables
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Speaker 3: had been turned on those who would have killed the Jews,
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Speaker 3: the Jews had behind them all the theological conditioning provided
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Speaker 3: by their scriptures, and their understanding of permission to avenge
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Speaker 3: themselves would have been adjusted accordingly. Instead of having to
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Speaker 3: endure slaughter without any means of self defense, the new
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Speaker 3: legislation permitted them to fight for one day against those
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Speaker 3: who attack them and to kill them. The fact that
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Speaker 3: this surprising change in the circumstances had taken place was
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Speaker 3: awe inspiring. It pointed to a providential ordering of their affairs,
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Speaker 3: not to be taken lightly. To be sure, it was
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Speaker 3: wonderful and a cause of rejoicing. But arrogance and presumption
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Speaker 3: were ruled out, together with all bullying self assertive superiority,
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Speaker 3: which in turn would call for God's condemnation and punishment.
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Speaker 3: What He's saying in those words, what she is saying
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Speaker 3: in those words, is in fact a representation of self
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Speaker 3: control built into the heart of those ancient Jews. Though
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Speaker 3: in Persia all those years was a long term restraint
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Speaker 3: coming from the Torah, coming from holy scripture, that held
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Speaker 3: them in check. Let me show you chapter nine in
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Speaker 3: the twelfth month, that is the month Adar, on the
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Speaker 3: thirteenth day, when the King's command and edict were about
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Speaker 3: to be executed, on the day when the enemies of
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Speaker 3: the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, when
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Speaker 3: the gentiles hoped to gain mastery over the Jews, it
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Speaker 3: was turned to the contrary, so that the Jews themselves
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Speaker 3: gained the mastery over those who hated them. Get the
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Speaker 3: picture obviously by using it twice, he is referring to
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Speaker 3: a switch in the gaining of mastery. To begin with,
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Speaker 3: the Gentiles gained the mastery over the Jews and waited.
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Speaker 4: For the day they could attack.
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Speaker 3: Tables turned, and we have rejoiced to see it happen
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Speaker 3: in earlier chapters of Esther. Now the Jews have gained
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Speaker 3: the mastery over those who would have hurt them, and
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Speaker 3: perhaps had already begun to do so. They are told,
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Speaker 3: without limits, take advantage of this opportunity, get.
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Speaker 4: Even get back.
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Speaker 3: Did they Well, they certainly defended themselves. They certainly inflicted
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Speaker 3: just punishment, and there is nothing in scripture that stands
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Speaker 3: against that. But I don't believe they did it out
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Speaker 3: of control. I'll show you why verse two. The Jews
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Speaker 3: assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King
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Speaker 3: Hajuaras to lay hands on those who sought their harm.
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Speaker 3: Noticed not all of them, but only those who sought
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Speaker 3: their harm. And no one could stand before them, for
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Speaker 3: the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples.
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Speaker 3: Don't think for a moment that when the barbed wire
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Speaker 3: is cut and the Allied troops come and the prisoners
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Speaker 3: in the death camps are freed, that dread doesn't fall
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Speaker 3: on the guards. And for just reason, even all the
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Speaker 3: princes of the provinces, the sat traps, the governors, and
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Speaker 3: those who were doing the king's business, assisted the Jews
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Speaker 3: because the of Mordechai had fallen on them. Indeed, Mordechai
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Speaker 3: was great in the King's house, and his fame spread
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Speaker 3: throughout all the provinces. For the man Mordechai became greater
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Speaker 3: and greater Verse six. And in Susa the capital, the
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Speaker 3: Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. And then it
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Speaker 3: names for us a number ten in fact verse ten,
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Speaker 3: the ten sons of Hayman, the son of Hamidatha, the
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Speaker 3: Jews enemy. But they did not lay their hands on
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Speaker 3: the plunder underline that they had the freedom to kill
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Speaker 3: women and children, but they didn't, or if they did,
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Speaker 3: it's not recorded once in this account. They had the
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Speaker 3: freedom to take the spoil from the annihilation of these,
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Speaker 3: they did not touch it. It says they never laid
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Speaker 3: their hands on it. On that day, the number of
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Speaker 3: those who were killed in Susa the Capitol was aported
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Speaker 3: to the king. Look at his response, The king said
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Speaker 3: to Queen Esther, the Jews have killed and destroyed five
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Speaker 3: hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in Susa,
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Speaker 3: the capital. What then have they done in the rest
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Speaker 3: of the King's provinces. You would have expected him to
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Speaker 3: say that's enough, touch no one else. But he trusts her,
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Speaker 3: He trusts them. Look at what he says. Now, what
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Speaker 3: is your petition? What more can I do for you?
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Speaker 3: It shall even be granted you. And what is your
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Speaker 3: further request? It shall also be done, She says, If
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Speaker 3: it please the King, let tomorrow also be granted to
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Speaker 3: the Jews who are in Susa to do according to
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Speaker 3: the edict of today. Don't limit it to one day, please,
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Speaker 3: there are others that we must be defended against. Let
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Speaker 3: Hayman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows in addition
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Speaker 3: to my request for yet another day. So the King
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Speaker 3: commanded that this should be done, and edict was issued.
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Speaker 3: In Susa, Hayman's ten sons were hanged. It was a
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Speaker 3: public demonstration saying no more of this will be allowed.
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Speaker 3: That which these men stood for. The Jews who were
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Speaker 3: in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the
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Speaker 3: month Adar and kill three hundred men in SUSA. But
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Speaker 3: they didn't lay their hands on the plunder. And I
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Speaker 3: read nothing of killing women and children. Now, the rest
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Speaker 3: of the Jews who were in the King's Province's assembled
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Speaker 3: to defend their lives. Notice it's for the purpose of
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Speaker 3: defense as well as to rid themselves of enemies. Yes
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Speaker 3: there is a place for that. Yes there is a
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Speaker 3: place for dealing with enemies. Yes there is a reason
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Speaker 3: for national defense. And kill seventy five thousand of those
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Speaker 3: who hated them. But again, it says now for the
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Speaker 3: third time, they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
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Speaker 3: The temptation to go too far, to take material advantage
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Speaker 3: of their enemy was resisted. What's the point. They were
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Speaker 3: free to strike back without reservation, certainly free to go
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Speaker 3: the distance and retaliation. But the Jews deliberately applied self control.
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Speaker 3: They refused to treat their enemies as they had the
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Speaker 3: freedom to do. They held back. Instead of just gaining
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Speaker 3: the mastery over the enemy, they gained the mastery over themselves.
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Speaker 3: Before going any further, let me explain to you as
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Speaker 3: best I can, how the syndrome works. Find a blank
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Speaker 3: piece of paper somewhere, draw or at least wright. Two columns.
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Speaker 3: On the left, put the title the offender. On the right,
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Speaker 3: put the title or the heading the offendad. One is
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Speaker 3: the original initiator, the other is the recipient. The offender
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Speaker 3: on the left, the OFFENDAD on the right. Let's complete
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Speaker 3: the list on the left. First, I would put disapproval begins. Next,
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Speaker 3: I would write under that same heading the offender disapproval
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Speaker 3: intensifies and grows into hatred. Next, I would put hatred
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Speaker 3: begins to be expressed, and this leads to extreme punishment
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Speaker 3: becoming a way of life. Notice already the erosion. What
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Speaker 3: begins as mild disapproval leads to hatred, which leads to
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Speaker 3: a way of life, some kind of extreme punishment. It
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Speaker 3: may come across as words said against another. It may
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Speaker 3: be limited to letters that are ugly and character assassinating.
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Speaker 3: It might be physical, It could be threatening. It could
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Speaker 3: lead to physical violence, as certainly it does in cases
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Speaker 3: around our society. Now, right in the middle of this
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Speaker 3: list you have listed all these other things put One day,
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Speaker 3: the tables are turned for the offender where disagreement has
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Speaker 3: led to hatred, which has led to extreme punishment, which
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Speaker 3: has led to a way of life for extreme punishment.
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Speaker 3: Then one day or perhaps in a brief period of time,
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Speaker 3: the tables are turned stay on that same list on
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Speaker 3: the left. There, the very first thing that occurs is
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Speaker 3: fear of revenge from the offended, next, an expectation of vengeance.
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Speaker 3: And then last, if it runs its normal course and
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Speaker 3: nothing stops it, full scale acts of hatred and violence experienced.
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Speaker 3: The person who was hurt gets back in full measure.
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Speaker 3: As Webster says, there is revenge, which is another word
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Speaker 3: for retaliation. Now let's go to the offend dead. It's
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Speaker 3: almost as though you were to take these columns and
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Speaker 3: reverse them. The offend dead on the right. First of all,
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Speaker 3: an awareness of disapproval. An awareness of disapproval, Next, an
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Speaker 3: inability to change the thinking of the angry person. This
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Speaker 3: leads to the beginning of mistreatment, which leads in turn
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Speaker 3: to the inability to defend oneself. There's a sense of
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Speaker 3: helplessness as the person comes down on us. By the
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Speaker 3: way put in parenthesis, if you will, thoughts of retali
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Speaker 3: alliation intensify because you can't change it, because you can't defend,
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Speaker 3: because you can't seem to hold it back. You then think,
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Speaker 3: how can I someday get back now. As in the
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Speaker 3: first list, this list now includes one day the tables
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Speaker 3: are turned, one day the enormous cat becomes the mouse
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Speaker 3: in your paws, one day the prisoner gets the gun,
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Speaker 3: one day the victim has his or her moment. All right,
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Speaker 3: we're still going on this list. Opportunity provided to get even.
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Speaker 3: And then, finally, if not held in check, there is
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Speaker 3: the acting out of full scale vengeance. Now look at
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Speaker 3: the lists. Compare the two. You have this alike in
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Speaker 3: both of them, a growth of intensity, the other side
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Speaker 3: feeling of helplessness and defenselessness. That's exactly what happened to
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Speaker 3: the Jews.
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Speaker 4: In both cases.
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Speaker 3: This changes in a day, in a moment, in a
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Speaker 3: period of time, the tables are turned.
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Speaker 4: This is your moment.
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Speaker 3: What is it that stops the syndrome self control? Under
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Speaker 3: the spirit of God? And it is there we experience
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Speaker 3: again what we battle with with lust and anger, and
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Speaker 3: temper and gluttony and habits with drugs and alcohol. We
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Speaker 3: yield to the temptation to go too far. Turn finally
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Speaker 3: to Romans chapter twelve. If you will please, you have
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Speaker 3: been so kind to listen carefully to these words. We
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Speaker 3: have finished until we look through the lens of scripture
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Speaker 3: at God's attitude toward retaliation. Let me make a disclaimer.
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Speaker 3: I am not referring to criminal acts. I am not
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Speaker 3: referring to necessary national defense. I am not making a
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Speaker 3: case for the removal of all attorneys from the face
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Speaker 3: of the earth.
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Speaker 4: I am not. I see their place.
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Speaker 3: I appreciate those who make their living in that realm,
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Speaker 3: most of them, I appreciate. Somebody asked me recently if
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Speaker 3: I knew what looked good on an attorney that's black
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Speaker 3: and brown. I said no, I didn't, said a Doberman.
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Speaker 3: I said, I don't know. That's not true of most
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Speaker 3: of them. I know, boy, I get mail on this one.
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Speaker 3: I want to okay, back to Romans chapter twelve. The
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Speaker 3: Christian who is free today can be the most dangerous.
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Speaker 4: Creature on earth.
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Speaker 3: If you really get a hold of the grace of
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Speaker 3: God and it goes to seed. Wow, you must have
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Speaker 3: self control or you will bring havoc to the body
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Speaker 3: of Christ. First, I want to suggest three things to
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Speaker 3: remember on the basis of Romans twelve, and I'm addressing
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Speaker 3: believers in Jesus Christ. Number one, remember you are to
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Speaker 3: be different from the world Romans twelve one and two.
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Speaker 3: Remember you are to be different from the world Verses
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Speaker 3: one and two. I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the
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Speaker 3: mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and
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Speaker 3: holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service
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Speaker 3: of worship. And do not be conformed to this world.
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Speaker 3: Put in parentheses, don't be formed to the world. Don't
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Speaker 3: take your cues from what they would do. The world
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Speaker 3: invariably will retaliate, except.
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Speaker 4: For a few rare exceptions.
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Speaker 3: Thanks to Douglas MacArthur types, the world will get its
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Speaker 3: pound of flesh. I learned that years ago drove a
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Speaker 3: little white Volkswagon. We had two children. Back then, I
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Speaker 3: was trying to get out of the car in a
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Speaker 3: close parking space Scouts honor. I opened the door, had
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Speaker 3: one child in my arm and was trying to drag,
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Speaker 3: well not drag, but help the other child out of
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Speaker 3: the car, and my door bumped the car next to me.
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Speaker 4: I did not chip the paint.
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Speaker 3: There was a slight little ding.
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Speaker 4: I frowned.
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Speaker 3: I looked around, hoping to say I'm sorry, I apologize.
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Speaker 3: Didn't see anybody closed the door locked my car took
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Speaker 3: my children walked inside this discount store and encountered the
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Speaker 3: owner of that vehicle, who had been on his way
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Speaker 3: out the door and stood watching what I had done. Well,
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Speaker 3: you would have thought I wrecked his car. And I
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Speaker 3: stood inside the store, knowing my turn was coming, and
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Speaker 3: he got into his car. But before he sat down,
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Speaker 3: he took his door and went bang bank Bank. Now
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Speaker 3: you know, here's my little Volkswagen sitting there with three
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Speaker 3: major dings. Why because the world retaliates, doesn't forgive, It
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Speaker 3: doesn't say I understand. I've done what you've done a
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Speaker 3: dozen times myself. It gets back in like measure, and
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Speaker 3: preferably in greater masure. Remember you're different, don't be conformed
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Speaker 3: Verses three, four and five. Remember you are a member
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Speaker 3: of the same family. Verse three. Through the grace given
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Speaker 3: to me, I say to every man among you not
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Speaker 3: to think more highly of himself than he ought to think.
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Speaker 3: You're not in charge. As my daughter said the other day,
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Speaker 3: who died that and put you in charge of the
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Speaker 3: world was a great question. No one has died and
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Speaker 3: put you in charge. This isn't the family of Jones,
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Speaker 3: This isn't the family of Smith, This isn't the family
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Speaker 3: of Johnson. This isn't the family of Swindall. This is
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Speaker 3: the family of God. Don't think of yourself as ruler
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Speaker 3: and lord. Remember you're a member of the same family.
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Speaker 3: And just as we have many members in one body,
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Speaker 3: all members do not have the same function. So we
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Speaker 3: who are many are one body in Christ. That's the
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Speaker 3: family owner, and individually we remembers one of another. Remember
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Speaker 3: you're members of the same family parenthesis. Don't try to
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Speaker 3: take charge. You can't handle it. You'll get out of control.
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Speaker 3: There are some exceptions when a church leadership must take
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Speaker 3: charge and bring discipline discipline measures on members. It's the
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Speaker 3: most tragic part of the pastor's experience, but it must
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Speaker 3: occur on occasion. But that's not what I have in
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Speaker 3: mind here. I have in mind personal vendettas, personal retaliation,
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Speaker 3: personal revenge. Don't try to take charge. And finally, Verses
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Speaker 3: seventeen to twenty one. Remember the Lord is your defender.
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Speaker 3: The Lord is your defender. Listen to these words. Never
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Speaker 3: pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is
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Speaker 3: right the sight of all men, if possible, so far
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Speaker 3: as it depends on you. I love this verse. There's
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Speaker 3: reasonableness in it. If possible, so far as it depends
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Speaker 3: on you, be at peace with all men. Verse twenty one.
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Speaker 3: Do not overcome evil by evil, but overcome evil with
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Speaker 3: good parentheses. Don't carry out your own revenge. If I
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Speaker 3: could get on my knees to make it more effective,
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Speaker 3: I would please lay it on your arms. Take all
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Speaker 3: of the bullets out of the weapon. I've never met
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Speaker 3: a human being who was an adult who didn't have
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Speaker 3: somebody they could blame for something. We're all in that sense,
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Speaker 3: victims of abuse. We're all in that sense, victims of mistreatment,
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Speaker 3: victims of wrong words, victims of misunderstanding. Don't carry out
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Speaker 3: your own revenge. Remember the Lord is your defender. Remember
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Speaker 3: we are all members of the same family. And remember
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Speaker 3: we are different from the world. I have no idea
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Speaker 3: for whom this message was meant. I don't plan the
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Speaker 3: chapters in the Bible, I just preach them. But it
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Speaker 3: seemed to stand out in my mind that there was
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Speaker 3: something to say to all of us about the importance
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Speaker 3: of resting our case, letting God be God, letting him
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Speaker 3: deal beautifully and masterfully with those who would gain the
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Speaker 3: mastery over us. I'd like to ask you to bow
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Speaker 3: with me for a moment of prayer. Father, thank you
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Speaker 3: for reproof that comes from divine scripture. Thank you for
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Speaker 3: relevance in the declaration of the Word of God. May
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Speaker 3: these words fall on receptive ears and Lord, may we
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Speaker 3: do something about them. May we obey them. May we
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Speaker 3: be models of self control. In the name of Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: Amen. This is Insight for Living. The Jewish people in
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Speaker 1: Ester's day had every legal right to go the full
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Speaker 1: distance in retaliation. Yet they pulled back not from weakness,
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Speaker 1: but from the inner strength that only God's spirit produces.
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Speaker 1: That's the fruit of self control, gaining mastery over yourself
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Speaker 1: rather than over your enemy. To dig deeper into this
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Speaker 1: remarkable account, Insight for Living has prepared a special bundle
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Speaker 1: of resources for the Ester series, which concludes in just
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Speaker 1: a few more days. This bundle includes the Searching the
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Speaker 1: Scripture's Bible study workbook, Chuck's full length biography of Esther,
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Speaker 1: and the complete collection of twelve sermons on CD. To
22:58
Speaker 1: access these resources now go to insight dot org slash offer.
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Speaker 1: In just a moment, I'll describe a brand new booklet
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Speaker 1: Chuck's written about the power of the Cross. We published
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Speaker 1: it just in time to coincide with the teaching series
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Speaker 1: that begins on the tenth of June. The Cross not
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Speaker 1: only represents our salvation in Christ, but a constant source
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Speaker 1: of power that we can deploy every single day.
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Speaker 2: Chuck.
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Speaker 4: My mother was a wise woman, relentless too. From the
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Speaker 4: time I was old enough to string sentences together, she
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Speaker 4: was pressing scripture into me. Memorize this, learn that, hide
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Speaker 4: it in your heart. Honestly, when you're young and restless
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Speaker 4: and there are a thousand other things competing for your attention,
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Speaker 4: a mother's insistence on scripture memory can feel well, a
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Speaker 4: little annoying. But oh how wise she was, because here
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Speaker 4: I am, decades later, with eyes that don't cooperate the
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Speaker 4: way they used to. The pages of my beloved Bible,
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Speaker 4: dog eared marked up, worn soft from a lifetime of handling,
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Speaker 4: are nearly impossible for me to read now. But those
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Speaker 4: promises they come to my lips like sweet honey, spontaneously, effortlessly,
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Speaker 4: right when I need the most. A friend told me
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Speaker 4: recently that my body may be past ninety, but my
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Speaker 4: mind still responds like a forty year old. I'm not sure.
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Speaker 2: That's entirely accurate, but I'll take it, and I'll tell
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Speaker 2: you why it's true, to whatever extent it is. It's
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Speaker 2: because God's Word is hidden in my heart, deeply, permanently,
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Speaker 2: and nothing, not age, not failing eyesight, not the relentless
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Speaker 2: march of time can reach in and take it out.
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Speaker 2: The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of
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Speaker 2: God abides forever. I believe that today more than I've
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Speaker 2: ever believed it in my life, and that's precisely why
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Speaker 2: I refuse to grow weary in well doing. We have
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Speaker 2: something the world is desperately searching for. Hope, real hope,
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Speaker 2: not optimism, not positive thinking, the timeless, unshakable hope of
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Speaker 2: the Cross. We proclaim as June thirtieth approaches, don't wait.
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Speaker 2: Your gift plants the seed of God's Word in fertile
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Speaker 2: soil all over this world.
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Speaker 4: What are you waiting for?
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Speaker 2: Let's tell them together, because there is indeed hope.
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Speaker 1: Yes, the world needs the right direction. To respond to
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Speaker 1: Chucks Wendall call us at eight hundred seven seven to
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Speaker 1: two eighty eight eighty eight, or go to insight dot
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Speaker 1: org slash donate plus when you respond with a much
25:56
Speaker 1: appreciated gift. Today, we'll say thanks by providing a brand
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Speaker 1: new book from Chuck. It's called The Cross We Proclaim.
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Speaker 1: In his booklet, Chuck draws from Paul's Letter to the
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Speaker 1: Corinthians to show how easy it is to live with
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Speaker 1: great energy but be heading in the wrong direction, whether
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Speaker 1: chasing achievement, reputation, or religious performance. The Cross alone has
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Speaker 1: the power to reorient your life. We'd love to send
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Speaker 1: you The Cross We Proclaim to send a check in
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Speaker 1: the mail. Just address your donation to Insight for Living,
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Speaker 1: post Office box five thousand, Frisco, Texas, seven five three four.
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Speaker 1: That's post Office box five thousand, Frisco, Texas, seven five
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Speaker 1: three four. You can also call us at eight hundred
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Speaker 1: seven seven to two eighty eight eighty eight, or go
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Speaker 1: online to insight dot org slash donate, I'm Bill, join
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Speaker 1: us to hear Chucks Wendall describe how to Win the
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Speaker 1: Battle for Self Control Thursday on Insight for Living. The
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Speaker 1: preceding message, The Limitations of Retaliation, was copyrighted in nineteen
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Speaker 1: eighty nine, nineteen ninety, nineteen ninety seven, two thousand and five,
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Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, and twenty twenty six, and the sound recording
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Speaker 1: was copyrighted in twenty twenty six by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated.
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Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 1: commercial use is strictly prohibited