Latest / Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay / Forgiveness Sets Us Free | Episode #424 | Encore Episode #095

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Forgiveness Sets Us Free | Episode #424 | Encore Episode #095 · Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay

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  Speaker 1: Great is Thy faithfulness. Great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by
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  Speaker 1: morning new mercies I see. Great is Thy faithfulness. All
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  Speaker 1: I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: unto me.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to today's edition of Reflection on the Word with
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  Speaker 2: Richard Kay. I'm Chuck Christie, and today we are asking
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  Speaker 2: you to spend a few moments of your time with
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  Speaker 2: us each day as Richard shares from God's Word notes, quotes,
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  Speaker 2: and stories, along with some of his own personal experiences,
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  Speaker 2: to confirm for you God's great love for us, that
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  Speaker 2: his compassion for us never fails, and that he has
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  Speaker 2: a great faithfulness toward us in every regard. Now, if
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  Speaker 2: you miss a portion of today's broadcast or would like
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  Speaker 2: to recommend it to a friend, you can hear this
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  Speaker 2: program anytime online at TalkNetworkRadio.com. Well now, here's Richard with
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  Speaker 2: today's Reflection.
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  Speaker 3: In the evening of that first day of the week,
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  Speaker 3: the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because
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  Speaker 3: of their fear of the Jews. Then Jesus came, stood
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  Speaker 3: among them, and said to them, Peace to you. Having
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  Speaker 3: said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
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  Speaker 3: So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: said to them again, Peace to you. As the Father
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  Speaker 3: has sent me, I also send you. After saying this,
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  Speaker 3: he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 3: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
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  Speaker 3: If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
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  Speaker 3: That is from John, the 20th chapter and the 19th
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  Speaker 3: through the 23rd verse. In the last two segments, we've
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  Speaker 3: been talking about the power of forgiveness. It's an amazing
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  Speaker 3: thing that when we discuss forgiveness, many thoughts come to mind.
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  Speaker 3: There certainly are things in our own lives, I'm sure,
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  Speaker 3: that that if we were really open and honest with ourselves,
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  Speaker 3: that we need to forgive. Perhaps it might be someone
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  Speaker 3: who influenced us in a negative way early in our life,
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  Speaker 3: or it could have been a misunderstood relationship with a
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  Speaker 3: parent or relative. It could have been that abuse was
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  Speaker 3: the result of this misunderstanding. It could also be that
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  Speaker 3: there are other things that would cause us to need
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  Speaker 3: to forgive. One is, what if there's an absent parent
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  Speaker 3: because they're in prison? They have to serve time because
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  Speaker 3: of being convicted of some criminal act that they were
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  Speaker 3: caught in doing. And because of that, there may have
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  Speaker 3: been an emptiness in the household. The parent's not there.
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  Speaker 3: So the influence, good or bad, is not available to
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  Speaker 3: the children. I have a friend that certainly you know,
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  Speaker 3: and because of my relationship with him, we know that
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  Speaker 3: there is a tremendous problem in this country. The problem
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  Speaker 3: is recidivism, but that is actually the result of the problem.
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  Speaker 3: What we look at in recidivism is that there are
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  Speaker 3: many who are convicted, and then they are incarcerated, and
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  Speaker 3: then after whatever timeframe, they are released into the public again.
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  Speaker 3: And they have a hard time. They have a difficult
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  Speaker 3: time not only finding work. They have a difficult time
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  Speaker 3: reacquainting themselves with the world and its system, which is
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  Speaker 3: not very helpful. And then they also have to reestablish
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  Speaker 3: relationships with families that have been broken and harmed throughout
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  Speaker 3: this time that they were incarcerated. And why am I
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  Speaker 3: speaking of this at this moment? Because the families that
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  Speaker 3: are so affected by incarcerated parents have children who are
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  Speaker 3: misunderstood in their relationship with anyone that would have influence
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  Speaker 3: over them. They don't know how to react because they
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  Speaker 3: haven't been able to receive the influence that would have
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  Speaker 3: been positive in their life by a father or mother
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  Speaker 3: that were absent because they were incarcerated. And my friend
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  Speaker 3: Steve Copeland with Right Thinking Foundation has a mission, one
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  Speaker 3: that has been assigned to him by the Lord Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: No question in my mind that he is pursuing that
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  Speaker 3: mission with every fiber of his being. And that is
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  Speaker 3: that he wants to reach the 85%. What does that mean?
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  Speaker 3: It means that there are the children of incarcerated parents,
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  Speaker 3: either one or both parents, that have been incarcerated. The
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  Speaker 3: statistics are that 85% of those children will see bars
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  Speaker 3: at some point in their life. In other words, they
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  Speaker 3: will be either jailed or imprisoned themselves.
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  Speaker 1: 85%.
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  Speaker 3: Can you imagine how this problem has grown in such
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  Speaker 3: an epidemic way? You see, there are probably well-meaning people
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  Speaker 3: trying to deal with the problem because they see it as, one,
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  Speaker 3: keeping a community safe, so they isolate those that were
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  Speaker 3: the offenders. And then when those same people are released
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  Speaker 3: back into society, they're not received. At least they're not
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  Speaker 3: received too well. Who would be the ones to receive
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  Speaker 3: them better than those who are in the church, in
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  Speaker 3: the body of Christ. Because we believers have understood and
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  Speaker 3: are growing in the understanding that we must forgive. And
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  Speaker 3: forgiveness will demonstrate itself in giving people another chance. It's
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  Speaker 3: important for us to understand that giving someone else a
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  Speaker 3: chance in life, can help them to reach a point
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  Speaker 3: where they can also not only be forgiven, but they
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  Speaker 3: can forgive as well. It takes the love of God
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  Speaker 3: to bring about a transformed life. Only God can take
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  Speaker 3: a sinner and change that person into a saint. What
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  Speaker 3: do we mean when we say only God can do that?
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  Speaker 3: You see, it is for us to be the witnesses
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  Speaker 3: of what God's transforming power is in us and will
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  Speaker 3: become in others. The Great Commission, which is the thing
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  Speaker 3: that we all tend to be able to identify, is
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  Speaker 3: to go and to preach the Gospels. and make disciples
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  Speaker 3: of all, of nations, and those people who are disenfranchised, prisoners,
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  Speaker 3: people who don't understand what the love of God really is.
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  Speaker 3: And we have to take that message to them. How
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  Speaker 3: better can it be demonstrated than offering them a hand,
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  Speaker 3: not just one time to pick them up and to
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  Speaker 3: carry them to the next level, but to be there
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  Speaker 3: for them when they hurt, when they are actually dealing
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  Speaker 3: with what sin has brought about in their life. You see, believer,
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  Speaker 3: we can be forgiven, but the effect of sin in
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  Speaker 3: our life can have definite results. You see, a person
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  Speaker 3: who may have been involved in drug addiction and comes
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  Speaker 3: to realize their problem is not the drugs that's a
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  Speaker 3: result of the problem. They're trying to fill a void
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  Speaker 3: in their life. They don't know what it is. But
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  Speaker 3: that void in their life is the created place where
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  Speaker 3: God's forgiveness can penetrate. It can't be filled by drugs
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  Speaker 3: or alcohol or any of the abusive things that we
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  Speaker 3: might experience. It can only be filled by the love
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  Speaker 3: of God and his forgiveness. But once it actually does
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  Speaker 3: happen in a life, it changes them. They want to
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  Speaker 3: be the type of person they look to as an
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  Speaker 3: influence perhaps that would be good for others. They want
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  Speaker 3: to make things right and they need help. I'm telling
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  Speaker 3: you this because I really believe that Steve's message is
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  Speaker 3: our message as well. It's a message of forgiveness enacted
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  Speaker 3: in helping those who have been ostracized in many ways
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  Speaker 3: from society, have been isolated so that society can feel safe.
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  Speaker 3: But you know what? When they're released, you don't feel
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  Speaker 3: any safer, but you would certainly feel much more love
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  Speaker 3: if you realized the forgiveness that God demonstrates for them.
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  Speaker 3: I know of a person that was saved while he
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  Speaker 3: was in prison and it transformed his entire life. He
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  Speaker 3: not only became a spokesman and demonstrator of the love
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  Speaker 3: of God, but he was able to influence many who
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  Speaker 3: were incarcerated so that they too could experience the love
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  Speaker 3: of God and his forgiveness. Everything that God manifests for us,
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  Speaker 3: all of his power, everything that he demonstrates within the body,
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  Speaker 3: his victory over sin, over death, over the grave, all
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  Speaker 3: of that carries itself to someone through forgiveness. Love moves
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  Speaker 3: in our lives through forgiveness.
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  Speaker 2: Richard will be right back in a moment to wrap up.
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  Speaker 2: But if you just joined us, you've been listening to
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  Speaker 2: Reflections on the Word with Richard Kay. You can hear
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  Speaker 2: this message in its entirety again online, as well as
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  Speaker 2: Richard's entire archive at talknetworkradio.com. We would like to acknowledge
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  Speaker 2: our theme song, How Great is Thy Faithfulness, from the
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  Speaker 2: America's 25 Favorite Hymns album. Unless otherwise expressed, scriptures are
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  Speaker 2: read from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, which is published
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  Speaker 2: by Holman Bible Publishers in Nashville, Tennessee. Additional resources used
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  Speaker 2: for Reflections on the Word with Richard Kay include Great
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  Speaker 2: is Thy Faithfulness by Our Daily Bread and printed by
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  Speaker 2: Discovery House Publishers. Again, here is Richard to wrap up
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  Speaker 2: today's message.
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  Speaker 3: Believer, if you don't understand the value of your forgiving
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  Speaker 3: someone else, perhaps you need to check to see if
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  Speaker 3: you've really experienced the forgiveness of God. This is not membership.
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  Speaker 3: This is not talking about joining a church. This is
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  Speaker 3: just an open conversation with the God of all creation
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  Speaker 3: that we recognize the payment that he made for our sins.
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  Speaker 3: And we don't understand how he loved us that much.
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  Speaker 3: But he does. And because he loves us that much,
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  Speaker 3: we can receive forgiveness. We're not deserving of it. We're
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  Speaker 3: certainly not the ones that should receive it. But because
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  Speaker 3: of his love, we do receive it. Believer, there's no
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  Speaker 3: greater force on this entire earthly plane than the forgiveness
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  Speaker 3: of God. Forgiveness will set others free that have been
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  Speaker 3: bound in misunderstanding, that have been bound in their incorrect lives,
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  Speaker 3: that have been bound in those things that they don't
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  Speaker 3: even begin to comprehend the impact that it has on
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  Speaker 3: their life and the lives of their families as well.
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  Speaker 3: Forgiveness will set them free, but it will set us
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  Speaker 3: free as well. We must forgive because Jesus forgave, and
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  Speaker 3: that is today's Reflection on the Word.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Richard. Join us again tomorrow when we continue
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  Speaker 2: with the next edition of Reflections on the Word with
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  Speaker 2: Richard Kaye. For Richard and the entire team, this is
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  Speaker 2: Chuck Christie saying thanks for listening to this edition of
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  Speaker 2: Reflections on the Word.
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  Speaker 1: Great is thy faithfulness, born unto me. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: unto me.