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When Prayers Get Answered: Stories of Healing & Hope · Relish: a Christian podcast

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  Relish pleasing or zestful flavor a quantity
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  just sufficient to flavor to be pleased or
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  gratified by enjoy we are hoping that what
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  we bring to your table today might add some spice to your life welcome back
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  to another episode of relish i am roan miller this is don patterson don how
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  are you doing doing good doing good good yeah that's good so am i got a pulse
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  and everything You've used that several times.
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  I have used that several times. It's getting old, isn't it?
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  He's got to check everyone in a while.
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  They actually have an app for that now. Oh, yeah. You can actually get an app
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  for your phone. You put your fingers down. You can actually get your... Oh, wow.
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  Whether you're in AFib, you know, it gives you EKG right there on the pad.
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  Maybe I should do that instead of the... Maybe. Okay, anyway.
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  I would just sit here and watch you do it.
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  Well, this is faster. Yeah. So I've got a question for you.
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  Okay. How have you seen God answer prayer?
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  I mean, I've heard lots of stories, lots of speakers had stories.
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  I think some small ones are just like before games, praying for safety,
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  like just team to play well, pure will be done type thing.
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  I mean that's led to some pretty successful seasons and some fun games my dad with his.
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  Heart then it didn't amount to much really so that
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  was lord that was an answered prayer scared the
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  dickens out of us at the time yeah yeah not sure
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  what happened yeah within within the church seems like lost prayers have been
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  answered yeah but and you're an answer to prayer did you know that yeah i remember
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  when you were young and you had you were born with a condition and all of us
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  Your cousin was born with the same condition,
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  almost the same time. Very strange.
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  And both of you, it's amazing.
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  I mean, I come from the perspective that I knew when you were born.
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  I knew we were praying into this injury or this malady.
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  And I see you guys on the field. I see you guys on the basketball court,
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  especially basketball court.
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  And it's amazing. You guys are both fine quality athletes. and given where you started, wow.
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  Severe enough, go in, like wearing braces all the time, casting.
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  I don't know how many times I'd go into the hospital, but same room,
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  went to the children's hospital in Iowa City all the time.
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  Had to follow up there until I was 16, I believe.
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  Really? I didn't know that. I don't have to go back, but I went all the way
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  until I was 16 because they didn't keep checking it.
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  Wow Yeah That's an answer to prayer Mm-hmm Of course I was I was closer to Lincoln
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  At that time Yeah Your cousin Than I was to you But you were around the corner Yeah Yeah,
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  So God does answer prayer Doesn't he Yeah I mean We both Like the best Club
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  foot doctor In the world Is here in Iowa City Yeah,
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  The casting method is the preferred method, but depending on where you are,
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  they'll do surgery to do it, which isn't near as effective.
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  So just the fact of being, like people come all over the world to Iowa City
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  to get treated for it. Yeah.
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  So the fact that it was 30 minutes away. Amen. Yeah.
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  Just set up. Praise the Lord. Yeah. So we'll jump into some questions here. Yeah.
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  All right. I could just feel this jump, you know? I'm sorry.
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  Gets the question before anyone. If Jesus literally fulfilled all the prophecies
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  about his first coming, which he did, then why won't he literally fulfill the
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  prophecies of his second coming? I think he will.
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  I think he will. Part of what's hinging on that is the fact that we don't understand
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  how to interpret like Revelation.
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  The revelation of John usually sets us a spot that we don't,
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  oh, what do we do with this?
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  I mean, this is a weird book. It has really strange stuff in it.
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  And these are not things we know every day.
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  And so we take those and start to say, well, now, how about that for a second coming?
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  What we know out of Jesus' mouth in Acts 1, and it's also at the end of John,
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  no, it's Acts chapter 1 I think it's end of Luke I could be mistaken but what we do know is that.
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  He appeared for 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God. So we know the kingdom
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  of God's coming, because that's what he says.
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  And then he goes down and he's asked specifically in verse 6.
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  Lord, at this time, are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel?
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  And he says, it's not for you to know the time or the dates of the Father has
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  set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
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  on you. And we know that happened.
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  We know that happened in a dynamic way in Acts chapter 2.
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  And we know, and I hope, you know, you've probably had that work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
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  I know that I've had the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.
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  And the Holy Spirit is still at work right now and today.
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  When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be my witnesses.
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  And that witnesses is the fact that we're given the word out.
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  Were sharing, in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
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  And after saying this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
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  and a cloud hid him from their sight.
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  They were looking intently, verse 10, into the sky as he was going,
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  when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
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  Men in Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky,
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  this same Jesus who was taken from you into heaven will come back in the same
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  way you have seen him go into heaven.
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  And so, the answer to the question is, I personally believe that all the prophecies
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  about Jesus coming again will be fulfilled.
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  And I think there's even Old Testament prophecies that will be fulfilled in
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  his second coming, as well as like this prophecy.
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  And when we go Thessalonians and we go to Corinthians, what's interesting is
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  they also reflect Matthew 24, he will come and a trumpet will sound.
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  He will come in the sky and he will bring people to him.
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  Doesn't mean he's going to pop down, but he's going to bring people to him.
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  And so there'll be a resurrection. There'll be a coming of his people,
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  the redeemed, to himself. And many call that a rapture.
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  That's fine. I can handle that. That's his first coming.
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  And then he will invert chapter 19. He's going to come and culminate all things.
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  I believe everything's going to happen just like it says.
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  Now, that doesn't mean that I have a, because these are prophecies,
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  I believe all these prophecies will come true. Does that mean that this preacher
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  has a whole understanding of every detail and when it's going to happen?
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  No, no. I wish I were that good, but I'm not that good. I believe everything will come true.
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  And I believe my task is to study Scripture in such a way that as it starts
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  happening, I can identify it as it happens.
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  Like the blood moon we had just not long ago. Well, that's in the Bible.
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  And we know that it'll happen close to a blood moon.
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  Certain things. Yeah. The end will.
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  Closest in like a thousand years or? No, it could be within three or four days. Yeah.
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  I still believe, like Jesus said, in chapter 7 of Matthew.
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  Oh, no, no. That's Matthew 24 as well.
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  My brain has to go to the spot, and then I can find it. I hope nobody else has
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  that problem. Here, this is in the way.
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  It's the same thing. He doesn't know the day nor the hour. but
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  it says for the days for in
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  the days before the flood people were eating and
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  drinking and marrying and giving in marriage up to
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  the day noah entered the ark and they knew nothing about
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  what would happen until the flood came and took
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  them all away they didn't the people didn't know what was happening but no one
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  did no one knew good well he he was given all the instructions for the ark he
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  had made all the preparations for the ark he'd gotten all the animals or i guess
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  They sort of sent to him and the animals came to him and he got them all in the ark. He was ready.
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  He was ready. And that's where the church ought to be. The church needs to be
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  ready for the coming of Jesus Christ and prepared for it because we know that
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  scripture will bring it. Scripture will be fulfilled.
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  Prophecies will be fulfilled. Do we understand all the prophecies,
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  especially about those interesting creatures that come out in the seals? Oh, man.
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  Yeah that makes oh what is that
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  the white sci-fi channel yeah
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  sci-fi channel we skipped on that the other night and i thought oh my goodness
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  that's on tv it'll make that pale it'll make the sci-fi panel santa channel
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  look pale in comparison well mainly because it's real yeah but we won't have
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  to worry about that as a church or as people of God,
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  because we aren't going to be here. Yeah.
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  All right. So in Galatians. If I didn't fully answer that question, get back.
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  Because that was the Cliff Notes version of that question. Yeah.
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  Yeah. Always let us know if you didn't, we didn't answer a question.
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  If it generated another question.
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  Yeah. Let, let me know.
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  I'll do my best to keep up. Yeah. Let us know if, like what prayers you've seen answered.
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  Oh, that would be cool, dude. What prayers God has answered.
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  You can do that in the comments. Yeah. And Alex can maybe bring those together
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  and, yeah, that'd be fun. Yeah.
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  So in Galatians 5, 22, like, fruits of the spirit, at the end,
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  it says, against such thing that there is no law.
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  Why does it say that? Well, look at the list.
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  And I don't know that anybody's outlawed love.
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  These are all positive values positive
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  characteristics that even if we are the only christians in the world and we
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  live them into society it'd be positive it looks screwy it looked crazy if if
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  we were the only christians living these values into society we would definitely be the odd guys out,
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  but it wouldn't take away anything from society.
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  These are the things that would build other people up, not take away from them.
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  And so there's no law against that. The law is up against, well,
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  if I take your phone, there's a law against that.
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  If I beat you up, there's a law against that.
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  Yeah. So there's laws against things that are against people,
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  but these are values if lived out are for people,
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  Even for our enemies, which would really be positive.
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  So everything it states above it, those are kind of examples of what there is laws against. Yeah.
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  Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft,
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  hatred, discord, jealous fits of rage of anger, fits of rage, fits of rage.
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  Jealous ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
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  Yeah. Yeah. Even further. I think there's quite a few laws against those.
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  Will not inherit the kingdom of God, yeah. Right.
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  Yeah. Yeah. Even if you go to Ten Commandments, that hits quite a few of them. Yeah, right.
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  Would it be a bad thing if the state was, or like state government or federal
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  government, whatever, was led by biblical principles?
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  No, no, it wouldn't be a bad thing. It wouldn't be a bad thing.
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  It would be a difficult thing. Yeah. Especially if there's not faith in the
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  culture around that government, because if there's not faith in the culture
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  around that government, there's always going to be friction.
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  Even the most loving action of a government can be interpreted by the other
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  side as something totally different.
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  And oh man, that seems to be happening today.
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  I mean, it's just, You can try to do the best thing for the people,
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  and it still turns out being something they don't like.
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  And so, how do you do that better? For us to live Christian principles into
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  a culture that is not Christian will cause friction.
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  However, that doesn't mean we don't live those principles, because those principles
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  are a witness to our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  This fruit of the Spirit, these are witness principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  The change that this has made in our lives, we live out into the culture around us.
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  And hopefully, it rubs off a little bit.
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  And people say, oh, why do you do that?
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  I liken it to Dirk Willems.
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  And Dirk Willems was persecuted for his faith.
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  And so he was in chains. He was being taken to be executed.
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  And he got away from his captors and ran across the ice.
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  He must have been light, you know, light guy, you know, not him.
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  I mean, he's in prison, so probably. Yeah, maybe he lost enough in prison.
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  And the sheriff deputy that was pursuing him broke through the ice pursuing Dirk.
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  Dirk turns around and helps him back out of the ice rather than escaping.
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  And so the sheriff's deputy takes him back in custody and takes him back to the side.
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  And Dirk ultimately gives his life for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  But the deputy also gives his life the very same day because of the witness
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  of Dirk Willems in that one moment.
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  Can you imagine how we as Christians could change the culture around us if we
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  lived into it, the fruits of the Spirit, every day? Yeah.
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  I think, yeah. I'd hope we'd change the world.
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  Yeah. It says, like right after the fruits of the Spirit, Now those who belong
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  to Christ have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires.
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  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
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  So how do we live by the Spirit? Is it just simply the fruits of the Spirit?
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  That's the base. The base is the fruits of the Spirit. We live out our commitment
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  to Jesus Christ. Then we live into the fruits of the Spirit.
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  And then we start getting a sense of how the Spirit is moving in us.
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  So we make these fruits of the Spirit valuable in our lives,
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  understanding that Christ lived these out.
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  I mean, this isn't new. Jesus showed these things.
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  And in his showing these things, it changes us and helps us be more attentive to his Holy Spirit.
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  We spend more time in prayer. We spend more time listening to what Jesus has to say to us,
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  both in the written word and in our prayer time, because our prayer not only
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  is bringing our supplications to Him, but we're also listening.
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  We start to leave quiet in our prayer times to listen to Him.
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  Then that becomes part of our keeping in step with the Spirit. So we look for...
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  The gospel of John puts it this way. Jesus said he was doing what he saw the
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  father doing, which means God's always step ahead of us.
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  And so if we take on that same attitude that we're looking for what,
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  what is the Holy spirit of God doing in this moment, in this room,
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  what is the Holy spirit of God doing in this town at this time?
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  What is the Holy spirit of God doing in this part of the country.
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  And then we keep in step with what God's doing, what the Holy Spirit's doing.
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  And sometimes, sometimes he moves faster than we do and it's hard time keeping
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  up. That's, that's from my testimony in life.
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  Sometimes it's hard to keep up with God and how fast he's moving.
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  But he is, he's on the move. God's on the move. And I really think he's on the move right now.
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  All right. We'll do one more question here. The story of the talents in Matthew
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  25, does that apply to our actual finances?
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  Since it was using finances as a, or using money as part of the parable. I think it goes beyond.
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  It's not commonly interpreted as that, but.
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  Oh, it isn't. If somebody, say a non-believer looked at it and it was like,
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  oh, this, I don't know, like gambling money or investing it or something like.
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  Well, and part of it is we misinterpret it because we think,
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  okay, well, the guy who had 10 gets 10 more.
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  And the guy who had five gets five more. And so let's make sure we give all
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  our money to the church, right?
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  Well, notice the difference here.
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  Okay. The money is the master's. It's not these individuals.
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  So this is the master's money that these individuals are asked to keep for him.
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  And by that, he would give them all the authority over that money.
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  All he wants is the original money back with whatever they are able to do with it.
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  And so then he's gone a long time, verse 19, and he comes back,
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  And he asks, is it five and two? Five, two, and one. Yeah. Well done, you good and faithful.
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  So the servant says, I had received five talents, and they brought another five.
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  Master, you see I have gained five more. The master says, well done,
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  good and faithful servant. You've been faithful. That's a key piece.
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  It's the master's money given to
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  you to invest or to you with take care of and
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  with the master's money you doubled it and you give it back to the master still
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  his money but you've dealt well because you are faithful to the master okay
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  okay same way with the second one what happens with The third one was,
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  I knew in verse 24, I knew that you're a hard man harvesting where you have
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  not sown and gathering where you've not scattered seed.
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  What's the attitude of that servant towards the master?
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  You scoundrel. It's like, why are you sitting on my money?
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  So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. And here it is.
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  So and master's response we
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  we know the master's god and here
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  he says you wicked lazy servant so you
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  knew i i harvest where i have not sown and gather where i have not scattered
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  seed well then you should have put my money on deposit at the bank so that i
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  would return when i returned i I would have at least had it back with interest.
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  I mean, that would have been the safe thing to do, right? And he didn't even do that.
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  You see, what's interesting in this parable is it's the attitude of that third servant that's,
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  He's not faithful to the master. He's scared of the master.
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  He has a low opinion of the master.
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  And so he basically just hid the talent.
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  Didn't even invest it in the bank. Even his money was considered worthless.
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  He just put it in the ground.
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  So if we don't understand that God has given these things to us,
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  it's not so much he wants them back but he wants to see us invest them he's got really enough,
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  yeah but in the other two he not only gives them the money but he gives them
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  towns yeah puts you in charge of many things many things yeah i guess it's a
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  parallel it in luke that it gives it talents. Okay.
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  Luke 19. So I think we need to change the attitude. It's not necessarily money.
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  Maybe it's talents, like talents we think of today that God has given us, and we should use them.
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  We should invest them and make sure we give them back to the master.
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  Prepare them. Prepare them in advance to give them back to the master.
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  And I think that's more the meaning of the parable. Did I get completely off
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  the question? No, you didn't. No, that was good.
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  We've been guilty of that before. I was hoping the way I asked it or it was
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  asked that you kind of just go into explaining it. Okay. So,
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  yeah, that was good. Okay.
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  What's interesting is that third servant-
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  take the talent from him, give it to the one who has 10. Isn't that,
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  boy, that's not our democratic way of doing things, is it? Yeah, I know.
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  And everyone who has, for everyone who has will be given more,
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  and he will have an abundance.
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  And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Ooh.
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  Hmm. Ouch. And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness,
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  where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is sort of a simile to hell. Yeah.
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  The gnashing of teeth. Yeah.
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  Remembered just triggered a light bulb, but yeah. So in. Wow.
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  Like 24, 25, when the servant like calls out the master, is that,
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  is that supposed to like say something about God or no?
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  Is it kind of just like an attitude that people may have towards God?
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  I would say it's that one. It's the attitude we have towards God.
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  Here he is, God out there, you know, what's he really doing?
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  You know, he's not busy all day.
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  He's harvesting where he hasn't planted, you know.
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  That's sort of maybe our human understanding of God.
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  We don't really, this third, this third steward is not thinking much that God is doing much.
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  He's basically one of those guys that says, well, God might have wound up the
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  world and then just walked away.
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  Yeah. And that would reflect more of that kind of thing.
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  So that faithful part that is in the first two that God recognizes is missing
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  in the third altogether.
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  Yeah. All right. Very good. Thank you, Don.
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  Thank you. Thank you as always. Good questions. Thank you guys for joining us.
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  Send us some questions. share it with somebody.
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  If it generated new questions, let us know. Yeah, but we're always open to that.
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  Yeah. Hope you enjoyed and we'll see you next time. Thank you for joining us
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  for this podcast. Feel free to become part of this ministry by sharing with others.
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  Our goal is to help each other grow deeper in our understanding of who God is
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  and is calling to us in our daily lives.
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  Thank you again for joining us and may God bless your day.