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Words of Life: Weekly Christian Podcast with Testi... - The Strangest Story Jesus Told: The Parables of Jesus · LifeAudio

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hi, from the Salvation Army, you're listening to
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Words of Life.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to Words of Life. This is our final
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  Speaker 2: episode of our series on the parables of Jesus with
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Major Cam Henderson. We've really enjoyed having him on the show.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: So Major, thank you so much for bringing us this series.
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  Speaker 2: the show notes for some additional resources and visit wordsoflifepodcast.org
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  Speaker 2: to learn more about the show.
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  Speaker 3: Well, hello, and welcome to our fifth segment on the
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  Speaker 3: parables of Jesus. And this one is a strange parable.
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  Speaker 3: In fact, I marked it as the strangest parable. So
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  Speaker 3: we'll get into it and see if you agree with
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  Speaker 3: me that this is an odd one. One of our
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  Speaker 3: favorite passages in all the New Testament, maybe the whole Bible,
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  Speaker 3: is in Luke chapter 15. We love to remember the
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  Speaker 3: beautiful and true story of the lost sheep. It's true
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  Speaker 3: in my life. What does he say? The shepherd will
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  Speaker 3: leave the 99 others and go search for the one
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  Speaker 3: who is lost. We know about the lost coin. But
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  Speaker 3: then comes the ultimate parable, maybe. The lost son who
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  Speaker 3: squanders his inheritance, his father's generosity to him. And he
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  Speaker 3: comes home and is forgiven, while the older son wants
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  Speaker 3: to ruin the story with his anger and his jealousy.
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  Speaker 3: I've been here the whole time, slaving away for you,
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  Speaker 3: and you haven't done one good thing for me and
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  Speaker 3: my friends. He complains to his dad. Do you remember
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  Speaker 3: who Jesus told these stories to? If we look at
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  Speaker 3: Luke chapter 15, verses 1 through 3, the very first,
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  Speaker 3: he says, Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came
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  Speaker 3: to listen to Jesus teach. And this made the Pharisees
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  Speaker 3: and teachers of the religious law complain that he was
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  Speaker 3: associating with such sinful people. even eating with them. And
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  Speaker 3: so Jesus told them this story. I think Jesus is
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  Speaker 3: talking to the Pharisees and the religious leaders, talking to
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  Speaker 3: them about the lost sheep and the lost son. He's
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  Speaker 3: indicating something to them about why he came. He's also
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  Speaker 3: indicating what our attitude is, that rejoicing happens when those returned.
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  Speaker 3: He even says we had to celebrate. We must. It's
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  Speaker 3: necessary that we celebrate This happy day when your brother,
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  Speaker 3: my son, comes back to life when he's lost but
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  Speaker 3: is now found. The stories are told to Pharisees and
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  Speaker 3: religious leaders about celebrating when his most precious things are found.
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  Speaker 3: And then he begins what we have as chapter 16.
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  Speaker 3: Knowing that the Pharisees and religious leaders are still there
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  Speaker 3: and still listening, but it's as if Jesus literally turns
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  Speaker 3: his body now to tell a story to his disciples
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  Speaker 3: about a man that was ruined. This might be the
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  Speaker 3: weirdest parable of them all. In fact, the interpreter's commentary
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  Speaker 3: says that while other parables teach and encourage a high
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  Speaker 3: quality of behavior, in this parable, there's nothing edifying. The
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  Speaker 3: man in this story, in this beginning, is incompetent, and
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  Speaker 3: by the end, he shows flagrant dishonesty. So, in Luke 16,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus tells the story of a man who was a
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  Speaker 3: cheat and wasted his master's money. So the boss told
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  Speaker 3: him he was going to fire him. So let's look
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  Speaker 3: at that. Just a moment here. There was a certain
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  Speaker 3: rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One
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  Speaker 3: day a report came that the manager was wasting his
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  Speaker 3: employer's money. So the employer called him in and said,
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  Speaker 3: what's this I hear about you? Get your report in
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  Speaker 3: order because you are going to be fired. So the
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  Speaker 3: manager thought to himself, now what? My boss has fired me.
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  Speaker 3: I don't have the strength to dig ditches and I'm
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  Speaker 3: too proud to beg. I know how to ensure I'll
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  Speaker 3: have plenty of friends. They'll give me a home when
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  Speaker 3: I'm fired. So he's devising this plan. He panics. The
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  Speaker 3: swindler decides quickly that he needs to make friends. He
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  Speaker 3: doesn't like to dig ditches and he doesn't want to
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  Speaker 3: beg for money. He's too proud. So he's going to
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  Speaker 3: make friends. He cheats his master again, though, by helping
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  Speaker 3: the people reduce their debts to the master. He says, here,
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  Speaker 3: change that 100 measures of oil. Now you only owe
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  Speaker 3: him 50. And you change that 100 loads of wheat
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  Speaker 3: to only 80. And remember, I'm the one who helped you,
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  Speaker 3: he might be saying. When the master heard of it,
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  Speaker 3: he was kind of impressed and surprised with the man's shrewdness.
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  Speaker 3: I wonder if he thought, where was this ingenuity when
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  Speaker 3: you were working for me? Oh, he's probably still fired.
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  Speaker 3: He's wasting money and cheating. But it taught him a lesson,
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  Speaker 3: even from this snake of a man. Use what resources
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  Speaker 3: you have to benefit others and make friends. Okay, that's
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  Speaker 3: a very simple lesson. It makes sense. It seems obvious.
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  Speaker 3: You can imagine the disciples over here nodding their heads
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  Speaker 3: in agreement, learning what to do with their wealth and
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  Speaker 3: any status and power they may have. And the Pharisees
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  Speaker 3: and the religious leaders are nodding their heads too. Slowly, suspiciously. Yes, true,
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  Speaker 3: we agree with this, I guess. Use the resources given
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  Speaker 3: to us to benefit others and make friends. Sure, we agree. Well,
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  Speaker 3: then why weren't the religious people doing that? God had
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  Speaker 3: given them such wealth and power, and they were keeping
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  Speaker 3: it to themselves. They were making it so hard on
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  Speaker 3: others to understand and follow God. They were arrogant and
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  Speaker 3: sneering at the poor rather than using their wealth to
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  Speaker 3: care for them and bless them. They should be making
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  Speaker 3: friends with them and blessing them and making more joy.
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  Speaker 3: If only they were faithful and could be trusted. Listen
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  Speaker 3: now to what Jesus is saying to those religious leaders.
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  Speaker 3: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends,
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  Speaker 3: and then when your possessions are gone, they'll welcome you
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  Speaker 3: into an eternal home. If you're faithful in little things,
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  Speaker 3: you'll be faithful in large ones. But if you're dishonest
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  Speaker 3: in the little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.
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  Speaker 3: And if you're untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust
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  Speaker 3: you with the true riches of heaven? And if you're
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  Speaker 3: not faithful with other people's things, Why should you be
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  Speaker 3: trusted with things of your own? So Jesus speaks to
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  Speaker 3: them very clearly about what their problem is. They've been
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  Speaker 3: given so much worldly good and they did so little
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  Speaker 3: good with it. How could God give them spiritual good
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  Speaker 3: things too? They would just waste it. And actually he had.
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  Speaker 3: God had given them light so they could be a
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  Speaker 3: light to nations. In Isaiah chapter 42 and in 49
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  Speaker 3: and 60, over and over again, it says, so that
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  Speaker 3: all may come to the light and come to God.
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  Speaker 3: But they hoarded the blessings of God and instead they
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  Speaker 3: kept it for themselves, thinking that they were given it
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  Speaker 3: as a gift to be held on to and savored
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  Speaker 3: and enjoyed themselves. Well, I guess others could come and
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  Speaker 3: enjoy the most favored things with them, But to take
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  Speaker 3: that blessing of God out to others and give it
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  Speaker 3: away to benefit others and make friends, that was not
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  Speaker 3: going to happen. So instead, in Acts 13, 47, God
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  Speaker 3: saw that they weren't doing this and God fired them.
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  Speaker 3: That promise to take light to the nations and to
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  Speaker 3: take salvation to the ends of the earth was given
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  Speaker 3: away to Paul and to others who would preach the
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  Speaker 3: good news. So here's how Jesus ends this part in
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  Speaker 3: verse 13. No one can serve two masters, for you
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  Speaker 3: will hate one and love the other. You will be
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  Speaker 3: devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve
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  Speaker 3: God and be enslaved to money. So Luke helps us
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  Speaker 3: get the connection in verse 14. So we just read that,
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  Speaker 3: and then verse 14 says, The Pharisees, who dearly loved
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  Speaker 3: their money, heard all of this and scoffed at him.
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  Speaker 3: but Jesus was ready for that too. Do you remember
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  Speaker 3: what the swindler did to the master, hoping to take
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  Speaker 3: care of himself and take care of his friends by
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  Speaker 3: cutting off parts of what the master was due? Now
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  Speaker 3: Jesus goes directly at the religious leaders. Because all of
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  Speaker 3: a sudden, since John the Baptist began preaching the kingdom,
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  Speaker 3: people are eager to get in on the kingdom. It
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  Speaker 3: has freedom and good news of forgiveness from sin. But
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  Speaker 3: don't think for a minute that all those words in
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  Speaker 3: the law of Moses are forgotten or abolished. Do you
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  Speaker 3: want just one example, he says? Any man here is
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  Speaker 3: committing adultery who is married and divorced or married to
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  Speaker 3: a divorced woman. So you ignore parts of God's law
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  Speaker 3: that are inconvenient to you and make it easier to follow.
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  Speaker 3: But that's just one example. Perhaps because of the person
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  Speaker 3: who is standing near who needed to hear that one.
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  Speaker 3: But do you remember Malachi? The people were cutting corners
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  Speaker 3: and they had ignored the warning to bring in the
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  Speaker 3: whole tithe. And remember, too, that he wished they'd stop
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  Speaker 3: the sacrifices because they were bringing their worst and offering
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  Speaker 3: it as a sacrifice rather than giving God their first
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  Speaker 3: and their best. Remember Hosea 6 when God said to
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  Speaker 3: the leaders, I desire mercy, not sacrifices. You cut corners
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  Speaker 3: thinking you appease me by offering sacrifices, all the while
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  Speaker 3: ignoring what I really desire, that you would show mercy.
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  Speaker 3: Put your heart on your people. and you cheat God
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  Speaker 3: out of obedience to His law and His desires. This
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  Speaker 3: odd parable, it may be the only one of its kind,
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  Speaker 3: was told by Jesus in order to instruct bad actors,
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  Speaker 3: who we know were listening, to use what they know
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  Speaker 3: of how the world works to get ready for when
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  Speaker 3: they lose it all. Warning, you better start finding another job.
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  Speaker 3: Remember how parables work. One group is being taught, and
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  Speaker 3: the others are being confused. In something of a miraculous work,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus was revealing truth and warnings and instructions to some,
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  Speaker 3: and at the exact same time was keeping mysteries locked
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  Speaker 3: up to others. In considering this strange parable, as if
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  Speaker 3: the interpreter commentary just can't help but do what us
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  Speaker 3: preachers do, they just can't help but expound on something
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  Speaker 3: beyond the text, and I'm glad they did because it
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  Speaker 3: was a challenge in considering myself and the people of
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  Speaker 3: my core or my church here in Atlanta. Jesus' comment
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  Speaker 3: in verse 8 that the children of this world are
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  Speaker 3: better at something than the children of light must have
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  Speaker 3: intrigued the commentators. What could they be better at? Well,
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  Speaker 3: let me just read what they said. The worldly thoroughly
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  Speaker 3: cares for his senses, while the follower of Christ becomes
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  Speaker 3: casual about his soul. The golfer takes lessons and read books,
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  Speaker 3: but the religious man forgets prayers. The salesman becomes an
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  Speaker 3: evangelist for some gadget, while the disciple of Jesus rarely
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  Speaker 3: mentions the Savior of the world. The steward of this
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  Speaker 3: story has lost foresight. He planned an earthly future because
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  Speaker 3: he saw what was coming. Do the followers of Christ
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  Speaker 3: realize the way Jesus' teachings stress the end that is
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  Speaker 3: coming and plan for an eternal destiny? Most men believe
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  Speaker 3: in savings accounts and pension plans and annuities and insurance,
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  Speaker 3: preparations for this world, but what about a home in
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  Speaker 3: the hidden land? Jesus says, I go to prepare a
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  Speaker 3: place for you. But those who most profess to love
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  Speaker 3: him are sometimes careless about that welcome home. These examples
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  Speaker 3: they give are not intended to be true of every
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  Speaker 3: person in the world, not every person of the light,
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  Speaker 3: but they're good reminders to be as careful in heavenly things,
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  Speaker 3: just as the worldly might be to teach us to
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  Speaker 3: be careful in these worldly, albeit temporary things. It's a
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  Speaker 3: neat parable, very strange. I hope we've understood it well
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  Speaker 3: enough together. This strange parable, if our ears are perceiving
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  Speaker 3: it correctly, can invite us first to consider if there's
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  Speaker 3: any way we're cutting corners on worship and obedience to God.
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  Speaker 3: And then secondly, if we're using what we've been given
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  Speaker 3: to care for others, are we keeping it for ourselves? Third,
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  Speaker 3: are we considering the spiritual part of our lives as
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  Speaker 3: intently or more as our worldly care for our lives?
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  Speaker 3: Heavenly Father, Thank you for this series on the parables.
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  Speaker 3: They teach us so much if we have ears to hear.
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  Speaker 3: We love you. We praise you. Thank you for your word.
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  Speaker 3: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 13:53
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  Speaker 1: These are the words, these.
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  Speaker 2: Are the words of life. These are the words, these.
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  Speaker 3: Are the words, these are the words of life.
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