Latest / End-Time Revival Ministries, USA / Episode 228 - Perfected By Loving

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Episode 228 - Perfected By Loving · End-Time Revival Ministries, USA

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  Speaker 1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is
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  Speaker 1: within me. Bless his holy name. Blessed be the name
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore from
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  Speaker 1: the rising of the sun to the going down of
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  Speaker 1: the same.
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  Speaker 2: The name of the Lord is to be praised.
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  Speaker 1: And let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom
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  Speaker 1: he hath redeemed out of the hand of the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: Everything that hath breath is redeemed. to praise the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Amen. We thank God again for another day of.
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  Speaker 1: Life and liberty that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord
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  Speaker 1: and Savior, thanking him for his great sacrifice on our
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  Speaker 1: behalf to free us from the bondage of sin, from
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  Speaker 1: the fear of death, from the power of the grave.
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  Speaker 1: And now we are the sons of God and we
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  Speaker 1: are seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, counted
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  Speaker 1: worthy of the things that are coming to pass, to
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  Speaker 1: escape these things, to escape the wrath of God because
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  Speaker 1: he loved us and he poured out his wrath on
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ on our behalf so that we would have
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  Speaker 1: life and have it more abundantly. So we rejoice in
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  Speaker 1: this great hope. and we give to our God the glory,
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  Speaker 1: the honor, the praise that is due only to his
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  Speaker 1: great name. We welcome you once again to this, another
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  Speaker 1: edition of End Time Revival Ministries USA podcast. I am
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  Speaker 1: your host, Pastor Al Zachary, and today we continue with
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  Speaker 1: the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter
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  Speaker 1: number 5, if you have your Bible.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And today we're going to focus on being perfected by loving.
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  Speaker 2: Perfected by loving.
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  Speaker 1: And as always, of course, we say this at the
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  Speaker 1: outset of each of these podcasts. We thank God for
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  Speaker 1: each and every one of you who pray for and
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  Speaker 1: or support the work of this ministry by way of
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  Speaker 1: your giving for those who give, by way of your
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  Speaker 1: prayers for those who pray, by way of those who
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  Speaker 1: share this podcast with others. For those who subscribe to
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  Speaker 1: this podcast, we thank God for you. And please, if
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  Speaker 1: you have not already become a subscriber, if you have
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  Speaker 1: not shared this podcast with someone, please, please.
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  Speaker 2: It is our endeavor.
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  Speaker 1: It is our purpose and mission that the word of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord be disseminated far and wide.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: This gospel of the kingdom is to be preached in
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  Speaker 1: all nations, and then the end will come. And we
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  Speaker 1: are in the last of the last days, and we
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  Speaker 1: want every heart and mind to be ready for the
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  Speaker 1: return of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: He's coming in an hour when men will not be prepared.
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  Speaker 1: Many will not be prepared.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: But we want to be looking for the coming of
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  Speaker 1: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So again, thank God
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  Speaker 1: for each and every one of you.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: We praise God for.
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  Speaker 1: Amen, his loving kindness toward us, allowing us to be
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  Speaker 1: partakers of this great hope and able ministers of the
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  Speaker 1: New Testament, of the word of God, of the gospel
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul said, I am
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  Speaker 1: not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it
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  Speaker 1: is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: So we pray always that the word of the Lord
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  Speaker 1: will be effectual and that it will work within the
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  Speaker 1: hearts of lost souls.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: That they will come to the light and the knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: Of Jesus Christ and also will work effectively, effectually in
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  Speaker 1: us who are saved, that we may continue, amen, in
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  Speaker 1: this path of righteousness. Perfected by loving. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5.
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  Speaker 1: Just a quick word of prayer. Father, again, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for all of your mercies new this morning, your great faithfulness.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for the peace of God, the love, the kindness,
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  Speaker 1: the graciousness, your long suffering toward us, Lord, not willing
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  Speaker 1: that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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  Speaker 1: So we pray now, even now, that your word will
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  Speaker 1: penetrate within the heart of someone today, that they will
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  Speaker 1: come to see and know that you are the true
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  Speaker 1: and the living God, and there is none else beside thee.
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  Speaker 1: Blessed we shall be blessed, keep and we shall be
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  Speaker 1: kept by your mighty power.
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  Speaker 2: We pray and give thanks for all things. Amen and amen.
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  Speaker 1: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, of course, elevated
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  Speaker 1: the law that had been disregarded, disobeyed and deliberately maligned
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  Speaker 1: by the supposed guardians of the law who mangled the
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  Speaker 1: law to suit their own personal beliefs, their own practices and,
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  Speaker 1: of course, their traditions. And Jesus, of course, made mention
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  Speaker 1: of this himself, how that they had set aside the
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  Speaker 1: law Amen. And honored and elevated their own traditions.
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  Speaker 2: Above the word of God. These words of Jesus, of course,
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  Speaker 2: that we.
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  Speaker 1: Find in the Sermon on the Mount were absolutely shocking
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  Speaker 1: to the ears of those who heard him speak. And
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  Speaker 1: on one occasion, there was someone who said, never man
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  Speaker 1: spake like this man. And of course, again, Jesus in
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  Speaker 1: elevating the law.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: He shocked, he stunned the ears of those, especially those
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  Speaker 1: who were trusting in their own righteousness, trusting in their lineage.
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  Speaker 2: As being the seed of Abraham. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And what they did not realize, of course, and even
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  Speaker 1: now there are those who don't understand this, that the
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  Speaker 1: law of God demands perfect obedience in every respect. in
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  Speaker 1: every requirement. James said, if we offend in one point,
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  Speaker 1: we are guilty of all.
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  Speaker 2: Amen. And what they.
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  Speaker 1: Particularly and routinely overlooked was doing the works of the
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  Speaker 1: law from a heart that was not willing. God wants
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  Speaker 1: a willing heart. He wants it done.
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  Speaker 2: Our obedience, that is. He wants it done from a
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  Speaker 2: heart that is willing.
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  Speaker 1: From a heart that is broken, from a heart that
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  Speaker 1: has contrition, from a heart that is toward him.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: So we read now a few verses from Matthew's Gospel,
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  Speaker 1: chapter five, these words of Jesus. And then we will
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  Speaker 1: expound upon a few of these in just a few minutes.
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  Speaker 1: So if you have your Bibles, I'm reading from the
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  Speaker 1: King James Version. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5, verse number 43.
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  Speaker 1: You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt
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  Speaker 1: love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say
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  Speaker 1: unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you.
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  Speaker 1: Do good to them that hate you. and pray for
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  Speaker 1: them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye
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  Speaker 1: may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.
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  Speaker 1: For he maketh his son to rise on the evil
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  Speaker 1: and the good, and sendeth rain on the just.
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  Speaker 2: And on the unjust.
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  Speaker 1: For if you love them which love you, what reward
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  Speaker 1: have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And
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  Speaker 1: if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more
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  Speaker 1: than others? Do not even the publicans so? Verse 48.
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  Speaker 1: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
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  Speaker 1: in heaven is perfect.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Now, the Old Testament law of Moses, of course, that
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  Speaker 1: these hearers, largely, of course, Jewish audience, perhaps 90 plus
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  Speaker 1: percent or 100 percent.
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  Speaker 2: In this case could have been. They knew the law
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  Speaker 2: of Moses perfectly.
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  Speaker 1: They were taught the law of Moses from their youth
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  Speaker 1: because they were explicitly commanded. to know the law and
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  Speaker 1: they knew within the law of Moses that they were
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  Speaker 1: commanded to love their neighbors now the part about hating
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  Speaker 1: thine enemy that was not in the law.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: But the rulers of the people had interpreted the law
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  Speaker 1: and extended or expounded upon it.
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  Speaker 2: That it was.
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  Speaker 1: Okay to hate those who were deemed to be their enemies. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this extension was certainly not limited to those who were Gentiles,
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  Speaker 1: by the way. So when we think about our neighbors,
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  Speaker 1: we'll get to that in just a moment as well.
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  Speaker 1: But it certainly was not limited to those who were Gentiles,
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  Speaker 1: of course, who were outside of the Commonwealth of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: And particularly if you look in the days of Jesus
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  Speaker 1: and during his ministry, of course, there was severe hatred,
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  Speaker 1: if you will, for the Samaritans who were, by the way, half-breeds.
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  Speaker 2: They were partial Gentiles.
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  Speaker 1: In their bloodline, the Jewish people, because they were descendants
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  Speaker 1: of those who had been taken into the Assyrian captivity
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  Speaker 1: of the nation of Israel, the ten northern tribes. And
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  Speaker 1: over the years, over the decades, over the centuries, they
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  Speaker 1: had mixed and mingled with Gentiles. And so the Samaritans
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  Speaker 1: were considered to be and the.
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  Speaker 2: Jews hated them. They hated them.
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  Speaker 1: So they had a hostility and a hatred toward the Samaritans.
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  Speaker 1: And of course they hated the Roman government. They were
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  Speaker 1: their oppressors. And perhaps equally or more hatred, they showed
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  Speaker 1: toward the despicable publicans who were the Jewish tax collectors
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  Speaker 1: working for the Roman government and of course they often
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  Speaker 1: perhaps exacted exorbitant amounts of money above the taxes that
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  Speaker 1: were required by the government.
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  Speaker 2: They were given leeway.
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  Speaker 1: As part of their bonus if you will or pay structure.
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  Speaker 2: They could They could.
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  Speaker 1: Exact or collect more than what was due.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And so the publicans who were Jews, who were their brothers, amen,
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  Speaker 1: they hated them perhaps even more so than they hated
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  Speaker 1: the Gentiles, who they considered.
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  Speaker 2: To be dogs, by the way.
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  Speaker 1: And Jesus has already stated, by the way, unequivocally that
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  Speaker 1: he did not come to destroy the law. But he
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  Speaker 1: came to fulfill and he came to elevate the law
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  Speaker 1: of God, as we can see clearly here in all
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  Speaker 1: of these examples that he gives. And so we examine
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  Speaker 1: all of these teachings that Jesus taught here in the
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  Speaker 1: Sermon on the Mount and other places as well.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, he is compellingly commanding.
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  Speaker 1: The people to obey the law well above the superficial.
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  Speaker 2: Well above what is seen by the outward eye, the
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  Speaker 2: way we see things, the way we view it. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: By the outward appearance of man. You see, the Pharisees,
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  Speaker 1: they had mastered that. Oh, man, they wore all of
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  Speaker 1: the attire. They looked the part. They dressed the part
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  Speaker 1: on the outside. But Jesus said on the inside, you
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  Speaker 1: are like whitewashed tombs.
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  Speaker 2: You are dead. Full of poison. Amen. And so.
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  Speaker 1: The law of God was to be obeyed from the heart.
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  Speaker 1: And that is and that that nothing is different today
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  Speaker 1: than it was then.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why the.
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  Speaker 1: Psalmist who David, he understood it, even though they had
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  Speaker 1: the law. He was under the law of Moses. And
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  Speaker 1: when he had sinned, he, of course, could have offered.
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  Speaker 1: As the law prescribed, the sacrifices went to the priest,
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  Speaker 1: went to the temple or the tabernacle, the place of
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  Speaker 1: gathering and put forth his offerings to atone for his sins.
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  Speaker 2: He said, but no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
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  Speaker 1: See, David understood that God, read Psalm 53.
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  Speaker 2: God did not delight in burnt offerings.
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  Speaker 1: He said, no, no, no. What does God want? A
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  Speaker 1: broken heart. and a contrite spirit created me a clean heart,
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  Speaker 1: renew within me the right spirit. In other words, again,
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  Speaker 1: God wants obedience in the right spirit, not in the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of man, not to get the praises of men.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Uh, because God sees on the inside, man looks on
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  Speaker 1: the outward appearance. We can fool each other. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: we can put on the, we can talk it, we
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  Speaker 1: can walk it. We can, appear righteous towards others.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: But in the eyes of God, he sees on the inside.
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  Speaker 1: And so God is looking for us to be obedient.
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  Speaker 1: And Jesus is what, again, we're talking about the elevating
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  Speaker 1: of the law.
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  Speaker 2: And let me give you just a.
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  Speaker 1: Few examples, of course, of what Jesus talked about here
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  Speaker 1: prior to getting down to the verses we just read.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, about being angry with your brother without
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  Speaker 1: a cause you're, you're, you're in danger of hell fire.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus said, amen.
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  Speaker 1: And then he taught that we are to agree with
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  Speaker 1: our adversaries quickly.
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  Speaker 2: Amen. And then he, he talked about the law, the law.
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  Speaker 1: Talked about thou shall not commit adultery, but Jesus elevating
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  Speaker 1: the law.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: No committing of adultery inwardly. You see, Whosoever looks on
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  Speaker 1: a woman to lust or man to lust in their heart,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus said, you've already violated the law. You're already guilty.
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  Speaker 1: You've already done it. Because see, out of the heart
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  Speaker 1: of man proceeds all of these things. This is what
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  Speaker 1: Jesus also taught about the heart.
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  Speaker 2: The heart of man, the Bible teaches.
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  Speaker 1: Is desperately wicked. And out of the heart, all of
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  Speaker 1: these things proceed before the actual activity or the physical act.
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  Speaker 1: or the whatever it is takes place, the verbal, it
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  Speaker 1: starts in the heart. That's where God is operating. That's
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  Speaker 1: where God is looking. That's where God is working in
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  Speaker 1: the heart. So adultery start in the heart. So Jesus said, no, no, no, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: not just the physical.
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  Speaker 2: No.
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  Speaker 1: See, you know, you boast in your, um, you know,
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  Speaker 1: observance or obedience to the law outwardly because you, you,
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  Speaker 1: You've kept it outwardly, but on the inside, that is
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  Speaker 1: where it really, really matters. No putting.
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  Speaker 2: The wife of your youth away by divorce. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Keep your mouth from swearing oaths. Turn the other cheek
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  Speaker 1: when you are smitten.
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  Speaker 2: Give away more. If you were taken to court, for example.
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  Speaker 1: Than the lawsuit, if someone would sue you at the law,
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  Speaker 1: give more than what it required. And then he taught,
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  Speaker 1: go the extra mile when you were compelled to go
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  Speaker 1: only one.
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  Speaker 2: So again, Jesus is elevating. He's elevating the law.
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  Speaker 1: Thou shalt not kill, for example, also means we are
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  Speaker 1: to do everything in our power to save life, preserve life.
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  Speaker 1: You know, doctors take an oath. They take an oath
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  Speaker 1: to do.
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  Speaker 2: Everything that they can. They are bound to save lives,
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  Speaker 2: not kill, not take lives. So elliptically, if you will,
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  Speaker 2: when the law speaks about thou.
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  Speaker 1: Shalt not kill, it also says, infers that we should
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  Speaker 1: do everything in our power to preserve life, going again
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  Speaker 1: that extra mile. And again, the overwhelming majority of these
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  Speaker 1: commands are focused on our relationships with our fellow human beings,
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  Speaker 1: whether we're in the home with the wife, with the children,
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  Speaker 1: other relatives, or outside of the home when we're dealing
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  Speaker 1: with others. In several capacities, of course, which we will
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  Speaker 1: all do in life.
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  Speaker 2: Love God.
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  Speaker 1: At the end of the day, it all sums up
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  Speaker 1: in this. Love God and love thy neighbor. The Bible
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  Speaker 1: teaches this is the fulfillment of the whole law, because,
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  Speaker 1: of course. love works no ill toward its neighbor. So
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  Speaker 1: when it is done from the heart, amen, we fulfill
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  Speaker 1: the law of God.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And that, again, is where God wants our understanding, our focus,
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  Speaker 1: our will, our desire, our doing to come from, from
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  Speaker 1: the heart, from the heart. And again, some or all
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  Speaker 1: of these aforementioned commands and teachings, if you will, of Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: they are doable with great grace and with much prayer.
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  Speaker 2: You know, again, anger. Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Some people anger management. Agreeing with your adversaries. OK, let's
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  Speaker 1: make a deal. Let's compromise.
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  Speaker 2: Whatever. You know, work it out. OK, that's that's doable.
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  Speaker 1: Being faithful to your wife or sexual, you know, purity
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  Speaker 1: within marriage is doable.
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  Speaker 2: Not putting away my wife. That's doable. I can keep
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  Speaker 2: my mouth from swearing. Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Turn the other cheek when I'm smitten.
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  Speaker 1: That might be a little bit more difficult.
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  Speaker 2: But it's doable. Give away more if I am sued.
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  Speaker 1: Give pay more in restitution or penalty or whatever.
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  Speaker 2: Okay. It's doable even if it's only a dollar more.
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  Speaker 2: It's more.
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  Speaker 3: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: It's doable. Go the extra mile. Yeah, doable.
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  Speaker 1: But ladies and gentlemen, these can be done. Again, we
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  Speaker 1: need grace even with those and we need prayer and
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  Speaker 1: we need help with those. But Jesus is not finished yet. Now,
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  Speaker 1: he commands those who will be.
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  Speaker 2: The children of God. to do the.
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  Speaker 1: Unthinkably, unimaginably impossible command of loving their detestable enemies. Again,
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  Speaker 1: these are Jews who after believing and after being taught,
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  Speaker 1: having been raised.
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  Speaker 2: To believe, to understand that it.
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  Speaker 1: Was perfectly fine to defy, despise these people to detest
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  Speaker 1: these people to hate these people and now jesus here
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  Speaker 1: you come on the scene telling me that i am
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  Speaker 1: to love all of my enemies wait a minute jesus you.
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  Speaker 2: Want me to bless those who curse.
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  Speaker 3: Me oh whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa now
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  Speaker 3: you're telling me that i am to do good To
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  Speaker 3: those who hate me?
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  Speaker 1: By the way, Proverbs, Old Testament, tells us this. And
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  Speaker 1: it's repeated in the New Testament. If your enemy is hungry,
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  Speaker 1: feed him. If he's thirsty, give him drink. For in
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  Speaker 1: so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head.
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  Speaker 1: We are not to overcome evil with evil, but we
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  Speaker 1: overcome evil with good.
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  Speaker 2: So Jesus' teaching here actually comes out of the Old Testament.
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  Speaker 1: Do good to those who hate and then not only
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: that Jesus not being finished yet he said pray for
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: those who despise fully use me pray for those who
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  Speaker 1: persecute me my persecutors my haters those who use me
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  Speaker 1: enemies Curse me? I pray for these people. I do
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  Speaker 1: good to these people.
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  Speaker 3: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: Love these people. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me ask you,
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  Speaker 1: did not Jesus, oh, did he not elevate the standard
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  Speaker 1: of obedience far beyond our human ability and reasoning and
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  Speaker 1: understanding and And learning.
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  Speaker 2: And nature. This is far above. See in our human.
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  Speaker 2: Inability if you will. We have.
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  Speaker 1: Vengeful passions. And we cannot do these commands. Without the love.
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  Speaker 1: Without the grace. Without the mercy. Without the forgiveness. Without
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  Speaker 1: the strength. That only God, by the power of his
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, working in us. That's the only way.
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  Speaker 2: You see, not only do we have no desire within
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: us to love our enemies. We also want to be.
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  Speaker 1: Very selective as to who our neighbors are.
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  Speaker 2: That we are to love.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, I know you remember the parable of the good
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Samaritan in which there was a certain lawyer who was
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: seeking to justify himself, ask Jesus the question.
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  Speaker 2: And who is my neighbor?
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: See, see, see again. Now we're talking about now. Now, again,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: this man was not talking about his enemies, his understanding
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: from his perspective, of course, Hey, it's perfectly okay. To
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: love my enemies. But now Jesus you said. You're teaching
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: about loving your neighbors. And caring for your neighbors.
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  Speaker 3: Wait.
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  Speaker 2: Who exactly is my neighbor? You see. If we. Don't
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  Speaker 2: want to.
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  Speaker 3: Even.
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  Speaker 2: Accept.
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  Speaker 1: Who our neighbor is. And we're not talking about. Next
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: door neighbor in your neighborhood. We consider that. And Jesus,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: of course, again, with the parable of the good Samaritan,
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: I mean, he just absolutely, again, stunned the ears of
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: the listeners using a Samaritan as an example of someone
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: who had compassion.
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  Speaker 2: On a Jew who had fell among thieves.
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  Speaker 1: See, again, it's not in us. That's the point I'm
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: trying to make here. That's what the Bible teaches clearly, plainly.
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  Speaker 2: It's not in us.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: We don't have the capacity. We don't have the ability.
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  Speaker 1: We don't have the desire. It's not innate within us.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: And that is.
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  Speaker 2: Why we need Jesus. We need his word. We need
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: his spirit. We need his example.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And Jesus plainly states that if we are to be
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: the children of God, our father in heaven, a lot
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: of people claim to be children of God. They say
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: that God is their father. Like the Jews, of course,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: Abraham is our father. We are disciples of Moses. Well, again,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: are you doing, are you doing The deeds of an Abraham.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: Or a Moses. And are you doing it from the heart. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And Jesus plainly states here. That if we are to
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  Speaker 1: be the children.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: Of God. Then we must.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Obey this law. To its highest power. Being perfected.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: By loving.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: Love. Love.
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  Speaker 2: Not again.
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  Speaker 1: Not just the people in your family. Not just the
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: people in your household. Not just the people in your circle.
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  Speaker 1: Not just the people you get along with. Not just
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: the people who look like you and act like you
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  Speaker 1: and agree with you.
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  Speaker 3: No.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: Enemies. Haters. Blasphemers. Persecutors. Users. Jesus says, you got to.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: From the heart. love bless do good and pray for
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: these people amen and and so jesus is command commanding
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: us he's commanding us to be loving just like our
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: father in heaven who by the way daily jesus said
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: this he daily demonstrates his love towards those who are
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: rebels in wickedness as well as those who are obedient
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: in righteousness his son shines on all of us his
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: reign comes to benefit all of us his beneficial benevolent
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: reign that god sends that that he sends down from
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: heaven It waters the wicked farmer's land and his crops
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: just as it does the godly farmer's land and crops. See,
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: And we, those of us who are, of course, in
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: the household of faith, having been saved by.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: Grace, we are recipients of his love in a more
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: perfect way.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: And we are to be perfected by loving all men,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: whether they are friends or foes. Jesus went on to say,
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: if you only love those who love you, what's the
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: big deal about that? What's the reward in that? He
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: said the publicans do that. And by the way, the publicans,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: oh my God, again, Jesus had a way. Oh my God,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: he using, I mean, certain individuals or groups of people
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: for an example.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: The publicans, the Samaritans.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: In that Good Samaritan parable, oh my God, that just
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: got to them.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Amen. The publicans do that.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: What are you doing better than them? You hate them,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: you despise them, you detest them. If you only speak to,
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: if you only associate with those who are your brethren only,
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: is that not also the case with the publicans? You see,
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: perfected by loving all men can only be done in
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: us by the presence and by the power of the
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. By the power of the living word, the
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: word of God. The psalmist said, Thy word have I
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: hidden in my heart That I might not sin against you.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: It takes the power of the Holy Spirit. It takes
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: the power of the living word.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: Operating in our hearts. Bringing conviction. The Holy Spirit bringing
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: to our remembrance. And by our willingness.
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: To be obedient. To doing it. With the new creature.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: See, the Bible tells us if any man be in Christ,
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: he becomes a new creation.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: The old is passed away.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: My old vengeful ways, my old wrath, my old anger,
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: my old malice, my old vengeance.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Vengeance is mine, the Lord says. I will repay. I
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: will repay. So we put off the old and we
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: put on the new.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: And so there is to be in every one of
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: us a willingness to be obedient to as new creations
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus, that we may be the children of God.
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: That's what Jesus said.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: You do it and it shows, it demonstrates that you
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: are the children of God. Lord, help us today to
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: be perfected by loving. Loving not just our family and
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: friends and immediate neighbors and those who do good to
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: us and treat us right. But Lord, as you said
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: in your word, love our enemies, love those who hate us,
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: love those who despitefully use us, who persecute us, who
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: curse us. May we, through the power of your spirit,
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: be more like you every day, being perfect as you commanded,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: even as our father in heaven, Is perfect. Bless us
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and we'll be blessed. Keep us and we'll be kept
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: by the power of your Holy Spirit.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: We pray. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen and amen.