Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10226 - The Ten Commandments Pt 2 - Exodus 20:8-13

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#10226 - The Ten Commandments Pt 2 - Exodus 20:8-13 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Exodus chapter 20, if you would
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open your Bibles, Exodus chapter 20, we are going to continue
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where we on where we left off. I was spending a couple weeks in
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this chapter looking at the 10 commandments.
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That's our title, 10 Commandments, Part 2.
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We're learning about the 10 words that God gave his nation,
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the nation of Israel. The 10 commandments, these were
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intended to guide them and guard them.
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It is a definition of relationship different from what
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they've been experienced in Egypt.
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No longer answering as slaves to taskmasters, they're now free in
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relationship to their Creator, to their Father, their heavenly
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Father. It's as if God saying to them
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here in chapter 20, look, I heard your cry.
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Do you realize why I delivered you?
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I heard your cry and this is the response of seeing your
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suffering. You cried out to me and I came
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down and delivered you. And now don't take that
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relationship lightly. And how many can hear that today
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in the New Covenant? It's just a word from the Lord.
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Don't take your relationship with Him lightly or in a
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secondary role. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus
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taught us that no man can serve 2 masters.
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Here in Exodus chapter 20, he says right in verse 2, sounds
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very familiar. I'm the Lord your God who
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brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of
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bondage. You shall have no other gods
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before me. You shall not serve 2 masters.
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Exclusive worship. And then he says in verse 4, no
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idols, no carved images, because idols and idolatry rob our heart
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away from exclusivity. And then we learn not to take
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the Lord's name in vain. And we learned that that was
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much more than just not cussing. It's always applied or often
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applied to clean up your mouth and don't cuss.
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And certainly there's a secondary, you know, role in
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it's a good we learned last time, it's a good thing to stop
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cussing. Amen.
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It's a good thing to have your mouth cleaned out, but there's a
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better verse for that in Ephesians.
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To not let no, to not allow any corrupt communication come out
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except for what is necessary to edify.
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You see, I memorized that early on as a believer because of my
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language and where I was coming out of what God saved me out of
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as a very foul mouth. But that's not what He was
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sharing. What He was sharing is not to
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take the name of the Lord lightly, not to take the name of
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the Lord lightly or empty. Make it empty because His
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identity is pure. You remember when Jesus was
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asked about the law, He said, teacher, which is the greatest
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commandment? This is Matthew 22 verse 36.
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What's the greatest commandment in the law?
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And Jesus said you shall love the Lord your God with all your
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heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
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The 1st and great commandment and the second is like it, you
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shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
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When we turn our attention to the 10 commandments, you see
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they fit perfectly with what Jesus is teaching here.
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Where the 1st 4 commandments are all about loving the Lord God
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with all your heart, soul and mind, then the final six have
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this relational aspect with others.
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Vertical relationship comes first.
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Horizontal relationships naturally follow.
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All right, well, let's pick up in verse 8 and look at the 4th
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commandment. It says remember the Sabbath day
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to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do
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all your work. But the 7th day is the Sabbath
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of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you
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nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your
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maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who's within
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your gates. For in six days the Lord made
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the heavens and the earth and the sea, and all that's in them,
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and rested the 7th day. Therefore the Lord blessed the
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Sabbath day and hallowed it. The 4th commandment is to keep
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the Sabbath or in a more simple way, to rest.
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Isn't that great? God gives you a commandment to
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rest. It's a needful commandment.
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Some of us simply need the command to rest.
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We weren't made to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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That is not God's design for us. Being created in His image, He
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gives the perfect pattern, six days of work, one day of rest,
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and it's to be hallowed for the children of Israel.
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It's to be hallowed and remembering of that new
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relationship of the covenant. This is God's design, 6 in one,
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and it started in creation. It's not God's will for you to
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burn the candle at both ends. And you remember over the years
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I've been around long enough is each time they introduce some
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new technology, they always sell it in such a way where it's
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going to save you time, It's going to save you time, It's
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going to save you time. What they don't say, and I'm
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speaking in the workplace, of course, is that that time that
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you think you're saving is going to be filled with someone else's
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work and you're just going to keep going.
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You, you hear those code words at work.
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You always know it's going to be more work when they start
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talking about efficiencies. Whenever you hear that word, you
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go, whoa, I don't know how efficient is it going to be for
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me. But there is a culture, it's
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based in our workforce. You know that truly push, push,
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push, get as much as you can get as much as you possibly make as
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much money as you can. But this, this commandment is a
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personal commandment in your relationship with God that comes
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to protect you from personal destruction because you can't
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do, I can't work seven days, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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We all need rest. And as much as we need the work,
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we need rest as well. And unfortunately, this
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commandment to rest and honor the honor, this day in honor of
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the Lord has become very controversial in the church.
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I'm not going to go into the depth, I'll go to some depth
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today. But I have done a whole Bible
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study on this topic, if this is a topic you wrestle with.
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And I think I titled it something like, should
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Christians only worship on the Sabbath?
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Because that is the issue, that somehow the command here in Acts
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20 and other places has become the absolute day of worship.
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And so some people take this and make something legalistic out of
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it. Either they're living in fear of
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violating some rule, or they live trying to find out and
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watch others and see others violating this in their own
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interpretation. This man made rule to just
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pounce on them. But that's not what God intends
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here. He did not intend for this to be
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a debate. It's a very simple command.
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Rest work six days rest the 7th. He wanted there for you He
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wanted there to be a day for you and me to rest to sit down one
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day out of other every other day and commune with the father
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commune with one another to connect emotionally to to
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connect and in rest enjoying relationship, enjoying
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friendship. He wanted there to be a day
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where we turn our minds off to some degree and stop thinking so
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much, and certainly to stop worrying a day where faith could
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be exercised in a real way. Stop thinking about your career
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and stop worrying about your grades and not worry about your
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work and your obligations in the stack of papers and whether
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you're going to be laid off all of the things and just rest in a
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posture of worship so that it becomes a pattern for the rest
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of the week. So you learn on your day of rest
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or in our culture, you know, here in the Western culture, the
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work week is typically 5 days and two.
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They try to go one more, but God says 6 and one is good.
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If you get 5 and two, then certainly there's days of
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recreation, there's days of rest, but there's also days of
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communion and connection that we would be able to enjoy God
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because, you know, the reality of the day of rest for God is
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that he didn't stop all activity because he kept the world
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together, but he stopped his work.
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He was able to complete it in six days.
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And that's the pattern for us. Now, I want you to understand
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this in the context it was given.
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Do you think that while they were slaves in Egypt, they ever
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got a day off, Yes or no? No, they were worked into the
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ground, taken advantage of. They even probably developed a
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thought process to be efficient and try to please their
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taskmasters and try to earn something in this life of
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slavery. For hundreds of years they
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didn't get a day off. But now that God is their
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master, the fourth thing he tells them is you need rest.
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And don't you think their hearts welled up with agreement and
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unity with the Spirit? They go, yes, we need rest, We
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need physical and spiritual rest.
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God was creating for them a new rhythm of life where He was
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priority, where they shared worship with no one else,
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whether they've respected and honored Him, and His name that
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represented who He was. You'll remember even back in
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Mark chapter 6, the apostles had returned to Jesus.
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They reported all the ministry that they had seen and they done
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and they were a part of in Mark 630, it says Then the apostles
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gathered to Jesus, told him all those things, both what they had
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done and what they had taught. And Jesus said to them, come
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aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.
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You've been working hard. It's time to rest even here in
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the life of our church, as demanding as it can be for those
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that serve here and those that that are on staff here on our
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team here, we arranged throughout the years for special
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times of rest. We have schedules where we do
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the best that we can and the best ways that we can to honor
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days off, to honor the time away.
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Because I mean, if the requirement of rest was Sunday,
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if that was the day or even Saturday, I mean, we're here to
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worship. So there's work to be done here
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though the other days of rest. And it's not about what day it
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is. Although technically you can
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listen this in the Bible study. Technically, according to the
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Old Testament, the Sabbath would be Saturday.
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Sunday is the first day of the week.
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Sunday's the first day of the week.
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Sunday is the day where the church began meeting in the new
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covenant. And again, I don't want to get
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into do into much depth, but I have just for those that might
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question this, because that's the big question.
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The big question is this a restriction on what day we
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should gather together for worship?
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And should the Christian follow this strictly?
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To which the answer is no, not in the Old covenant sense.
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We're New Covenant believers. Even though this has been so
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divisive over the years. There are those.
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Jehovah Witnesses would be one group, the 7th Day Adventist
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would be another. That would adhere to and even
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require Sabbath day worship, which would mean you can only
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worship on Saturday. Or you're wrong.
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Some even claim that Sunday worship is the mark of the
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beast. Like it's not, it's not the day
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that which you worship. Well, I would put it this way.
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Every day is a day of worship unto the Lord every day.
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And you can just draw it and let's turn there.
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We don't turn much. Let's go over to Colossians with
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me in your Bibles. Just turn over to Colossians.
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It's just a simple little truth. But if we're going to hold to a
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doctor and it has to be consistent throughout the
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entirety of Scriptures and the idea of restrictions of worship
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to Saturday or the mark of the beast doesn't pass the
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Corinthian or the Colossian test.
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And notice with me, Colossians chapter 2.
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When you get there, Mark verse 16.
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Colossians chapter 2 in verse 16 it says therefore let no one
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judge you in food or in drink or regarding a festival or a new
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moon or what does your Bible say?
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Sabbaths don't let anyone judge you regarding Sabbaths.
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They are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of
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Christ. Paul would say in Romans that
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you were you honor one day with this way and you honor another
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day. But let each one be fully
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convinced in his own mind of what days are important to you,
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what days you mark. But every day is a day of
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worship. It's not a command to
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Christians, it's a covenant with the nation of Israel.
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Of the 10 commandments given today, the only purely
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ceremonial and non moral command is here #4 the other nine deal
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with transcendent moral absolutes and they're repeated
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over and over again the New Testament.
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In the New Testament, don't murder, don't commit adultery,
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don't lie, don't steal. But the Sabbath in the New
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Covenant is never expanded upon, taught or repeated In the New
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Testament. We read often that the church
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worshipped on the first day of the week very specifically
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throughout the book of Acts. We just finished studying the
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book of Acts and they would gather together when on the
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first day of the week, continuing steadfastly in the
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apostles doctrine. However, I don't believe that's
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exclusive. They gather together on Mondays
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and Tuesdays and whenever they could gather together is a day
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of worship. The Sabbath is a shadow of
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things to come because the Sabbath, our Sabbath today is
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Jesus. So being in Christ, you are
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keeping the Sabbath exactly as it's commanded in Exodus chapter
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20 #5 Pick up with me, come back.
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Exodus chapter 20, verse 12. These defining relationship
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moments honor your Father and your mother that your days may
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be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
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The Hebrew word honor could also be in.
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You could also include the synonyms respect, obey, listen,
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submit to your mother and father.
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This is the order for the home. The parents, mother and father,
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are the authority in the home, and the children are to honor
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and obey their parents and the Lord.
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And honoring mom and dad is tough for any kid, you know,
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especially those navigating through the teenage years and
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the various pressures and temptations.
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And you may be a young person today, and it's just so hard.
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It's so hard. I acknowledge that it can be
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hard even in the best of homes. We all have the flesh and this
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can be hard. That's why it's a reminder.
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This is the pathway of peace and the right way to have.
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When you have a relationship with me, God says then you as
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you have relationships with others.
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He starts right in the home. The home is so important,
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honoring mom and dad. This is God's design parents are
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given as gifts to their children to teach them and train them and
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help them handle the issues of life as it's to be handed down
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relationally throughout the generations.
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Again, parents, Proverbs chapter 22, verse 6, train up a child in
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the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart
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from it. Ephesians chapter 6, verse four.
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And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but
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bring them up in the training and the admonition of the Lord.
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And for the kids under the training and the kids under the
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discipleship and discipline of the home, they are to honor
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their mother and father. And he says that the benefit of
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honor honoring your mom and dad is that your days might be long.
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And remember, the penalty in the Old Testament for disobedience
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to your parents was stoning. And so an honoring of your
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mother and father had a very practical value to it that your
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life would live long, you would have.
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And I don't believe it's just in days.
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It's also an enjoyment and in relationship where the same type
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of relationship you enjoy with your father and mother, with
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your father in heaven, you can enjoy on earth.
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And the same penalty for cursing your parents is the same penalty
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for blaspheming God. Exodus chapter 21.
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In the next chapter, parents are to be listened to, honored and
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obeyed. And often the question comes up.
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Let me give you a couple questions for clarification.
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Well, Ed, how long are we to honor our mothers and fathers?
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And here's the answer. As long as they're your mother
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and father, we're to honor them. We're to honor their role in our
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lives, which leads to a much more difficult question.
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It's very important that we address this because the answer
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to it might be a little different than you'd expect.
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But what are we to do, Pastor, about those parents who
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dishonored us? How do we respond in the body of
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Christ? How do we respond in our
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relationship with God? How do we honor dishonouring
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parents? And you say, Ed, what do you
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mean dishonor? Well, how do we respond to the
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parents that wounded us or abused us?
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The parents that hurt you and scarred you and abandoned you
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and damaged you? Those are important questions to
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ask, and here's the answer. What are we to do?
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We're to forgive them. That's the answer.
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How could I possibly honor a dishonouring parent?
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It won't happen without forgiveness.
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Forgiveness is the pathway to reconciliation.
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Now, of course, remember this, forgiveness only requires one
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person, you and your relationship with God Forgives,
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which the Word has the idea of releasing someone from the debt
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that they owe you. So forgiveness is far from
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approving. It's far from ignoring.
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It's far from sweeping things under the rug.
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It's literally acknowledging that a wrong was done and
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releasing them from that debt. And when you and I choose to
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release someone from their debt, we also release ourselves.
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It's a powerful, powerful tool. Forgiveness.
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Now we often confuse forgiveness with reconciliation, as if if I
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forgive then do I put myself back under that abuse?
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No. Do I allow that dishonoring
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person then to harm me? No, because reconciliation
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requires repentance and change. But nothing is required for you
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to forgive, for you to release. This is no small thing to God.
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This is huge forgiveness honoring our parents.
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Unforgiveness is crushing to the bride of Christ.
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It is destructive. Unforgiveness will crush you and
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enslave you and embitter you and even kill you.
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Jesus taught us that we must love our enemies, bless those
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who persecute us, even if it's a mom or dad.
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Not because they deserve it or are worthy of it, but because we
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must forgive. It is the hallmark.
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Forgiveness is the hallmark of the grace of God in your life.
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It is the response when we realize how much our Father has
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forgiven us and invites us still through the blood of Jesus
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Christ into relationship. Forgiveness flows because of
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God's grace. Now I know forgiveness doesn't
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alleviate how complex this future may be.
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How difficult it will continue, how you carry the wounds.
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The Lord heals. And man, we're all walking
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around. I think if we step back, we're
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all walking around with one or two people wounds in our lives
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or three or 10 or we didn't. We don't even keep track
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anymore. We realize it's a part of it's a
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part of life and I do acknowledge that the reality of
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wounds in the home and to those that you trust, they're they're
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deeper than most. But forgiveness is non
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negotiable for your progress in the Lord.
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And the fact that you can forgive someone is proof that
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you actually have received forgiveness yourself.
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It's an evidence where you might even say today I can't forgive,
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but then what's impossible with man is possible, or yeah, what's
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impossible with man is possible with God.
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It's going to require a supernatural work.
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And surprisingly, as a believer, you're a supernatural work
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because of the work of God in you and through you.
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When you forgive and I forgive, we're demonstrating that you're
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a true child of God when you forgive.
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And here's the problem, if you have and if I have parent wounds
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in my life and I don't respond in forgiveness, I'm going to
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wound my kids as much as you have that desire to do better
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than your parents. If you don't deal with this
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issue, you're going to be, you're going to be in a place
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where you're going to wound your kids too, more than you would
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normally do as a human being. Because the prison of
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bitterness, the Bible says, defiles all the defilement that
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overflows from a bitter heart overflows to the people that are
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closest to you, the people that live with you.
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You're the little peoples that you created.
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And the exact opposite of what you want happens because
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forgiveness isn't flowing from your life so that you can be
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right with the Lord. And the if, if there's a
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dishonoring parent, then that honor begins with forgiveness.
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I don't really have a road map for the future.
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I don't know what happens after forgiveness.
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It's going to be different for every family, every situation.
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Someone will hear this message and then they'll immediately map
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out the rest of their life and talk themselves out of obeying.
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Well, if you know, if I forgive them this, this, this, this, and
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I don't know what this, this, this, and this, I don't know the
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Lord, the Holy Spirit will have to navigate you.
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You just have to go back to the Scripture you memorized this
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January, right? Trust in the Lord with all your
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heart. Lean not on your own
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understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your
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ways. And what does He promise?
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He will direct your paths. He knows the path to go.
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This command I often will refer to this this truth, you know, in
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a in a marriage, it comes up a lot where a spouse is severely
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wounded, the other spouse and the wounded spouse responds with
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a sinful like some something just as bad or worse, and they
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were wounded. And instead of forgiveness, they
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immediately go out and want to to exact vengeance and justice.
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But I remind them, even as I remind myself in life, that just
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because someone sends against me does not give me permission to
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sin. You won't find that anywhere in
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the Bible. Somebody resends against me,
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harms me, does not automatically now exclude me from loving them
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in the agape love of God. I don't know how the
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relationship will continue. I don't know all the future, but
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I do know if I harbor unforgiveness in my heart, I'm
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going to become bitter, I'm going to become resentful.
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I'm going to become a very ugly UN Christ like version of
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myself. And I felt like it was important
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that we talk about it here because this is a big area
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because we as parents have failed so much.
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And we may have parents that failed us and they have parents
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that failed them. And, and the key to get back is
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I need to honor my parents. I don't need to agree with
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everything. I don't need to like everything,
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but it's important that I honor, I have to honor them.
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And some of you, it might start with forgiveness, if forgiveness
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is an issue. I meant to bring it up and I
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forgot, but there is a packet on either side of the stage here.
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Or you can e-mail me and I'll send you the PDF that you can
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print out yourself. One of the most powerful.
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It's small, easy to read, but one of the most powerful
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teachings on forgiveness that I have ever read.
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I read it a many years ago, having walked with the Lord for
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so long, and I was like, wow, this would have been really
27:20
helpful 10 years ago. It's that kind of packet.
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So if there's any left up here on the stage, you're welcome to
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them. But you can always e-mail me.
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I'll send you the PDF. It doesn't take long.
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I actually have quite a bit of resources on the topic of
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forgiveness because this is a big deal, whether it's with your
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parents or it's with your neighbor or it's with your boss
27:39
or it's with your ex, whatever. Forgiveness sets you free and
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heals the body of Christ and brings back purity to the bride
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of Christ. And that is an important
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question here. Let's go to the next command,
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the 6th command. It says in verse 13, you shall
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not murder. Thank God for that command.
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Value life. You shall not take the life of
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another intentionally. You must respect life in all its
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forms. And notice it doesn't say you
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shall not kill. That is a different word.
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This is murder because there are accidents that happen and and
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they there's a word for accidental killing.
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It's manslaughter. It's not intentional, wasn't on
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purpose. This is an intentional form
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later in the Old Testament there's he make God makes the
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distinction between accidental, which is manslaughter and murder
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and murder has always been a problem with man.
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It was the first crime recorded in the Bible.
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Was murder right out the get go in the United States two years
28:50
ago is the latest statistics I could find.
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They recorded 16,425 murders happening every year, which
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accounts for 45 murders just in the United States.
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Not I didn't even look up the worldwide number, but that's 45
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murders a day. That doesn't include suicides or
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abortion. The numbers are staggering and
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it all stems from a lack of valuing human life.
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Valuing life. God says don't murder, don't do
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it. Now, of course, for those of us
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that live in a moral upright life, abiding in Christ, we're
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this wasn't this is an easy one check.
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I don't plan on murdering anybody.
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I, I don't, I don't want anything.
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I, I value life. I and maybe even the, the
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resistance, you know, your thoughts are formed by why don't
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we spend the rest of my life in jail or whatever.
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But murder is kind of a check mark, kind of like when the
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Bible says, hey, don't party, don't run around with the
29:52
partiers like check mark. I don't, I have no desire to do
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that anymore. I'm not going to party, not
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going to go out and get drunk. I'm not going to lose it.
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Check, check, check. However, turn with me to Matthew
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chapter 5. Let's not be so quick to check
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things off without giving room for the Holy Spirit to teach us
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and to go deeper. By the way, the fact that you
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checked off that you don't want to murder, thank you.
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It will make the visit of the cadets tomorrow a lot easier and
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they're not going to be looking for you.
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Thank you, thank you. However, it goes deeper than
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that, doesn't it? Jesus said in Matthew 521, You
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have heard it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and
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whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.
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Yes, we did hear that. And then Jesus says, but let me
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tell you about murder. I say to you that whoever's
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angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
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judgment. Whoever says to his brother
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Raqqa shall be in danger. I was just like saying it that
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way. Raqqa shall be in danger of the
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council, and whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of
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Hellfire. Jesus says that anger is the
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root of murder. And while we might check off
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murder, how are you doing with anger?
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Well, pastor, I'm reading the Bible right here and I haven't
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called people, I haven't called anybody Raqqa in my whole life.
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And since I'd learned full, I used to use that word, but I use
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different words Now. Listen, the Christian certainly
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can be angry without sin. We know that there's righteous
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anger. It's not as common among
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believers as believers would make you want to think, but I
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make room for it. I do believe that God can
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inspire within us a holy anger that protects and values the
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honor of God. I I get that I make room for
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that if for Ephesians 426 very clear be angry, do not sin.
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Don't let the sun go down on your wrath.
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Jesus, God and human flesh sinless.
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He demonstrated a righteous anger as the temple was being
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used to take advantage of believers.
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But too often this isn't the case among us.
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We don't call our brothers and sisters Raqqa, but I'll tell you
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a real popular word that's being used all the time.
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When you call someone an idiot, that's along the same lines
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where you have such an opinion and such an emotive response to
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something or someone where you go and say, oh, Raqqa, oh, you
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say you idiot, or perhaps even add a stupid in there.
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I mean, Jesus is talking about the heart of man, and we skim
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over these things because we check Mark.
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Well, I don't have any intention of murder, but have you murdered
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someone in your heart? And the answer is yes, yes, yes,
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yeah. I'm not looking at anybody, but
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yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
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Out online, of course we have. So the Lord's always going
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deeper on us. There's a a deeper truth, a
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broader work that God wants to do in our lives.
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So watch out for the anger. That's unrighteous.
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Watch yourself and pay attention with words that would demean
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someone out of anger. Idiot, ugly, stupid.
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The idea with the word fool is that you're considering someone
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else's worthless and wishing they were dead.
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It's not just a word. There's a meaning behind it.
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When God is telling the nation of Israel to not murder, He's
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certainly advocating the value of life.
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But there's something deeper. There's a difference between
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rituals and relationship, between rules and relationship.
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Rituals are far less important. The outward is far less
34:05
important. If we did your background check
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and there's no murder on it, that's far less important,
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although that's valuable because that's you.
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You've begun well, Some people have even lost the value of
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human life. We have family in our church
34:21
that have lost lives because of murder.
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Physically. I've met many families that face
34:30
the challenge of the loss of life.
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It's heartbreaking. It's just the worst of the
34:35
worst. But because we can check that
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office, that's not a part of our lives.
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Jesus says no, no, no, you don't even need to worry about the
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check boxes because I'm after your heart.
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I'm not just after the outward behavior.
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It is a significance of what God is wanting to do in our lives.
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Sin that's unconfessed, anger that's seething, offenses that
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go and build a case against someone, they all hinder our
35:09
ability to worship and connect with God.
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You can jot it down in Isaiah 59 verse 2.
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So we have a key here for us and enhancing the worship in our
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worship life. He says God says your iniquities
35:21
have separated you from God and your sins have hidden His face
35:25
from you so that He will not hear you.
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You know, coming back to Matthew here quickly, Jesus gives this
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little instruction about, hey, OK, so you're you're the topic
35:37
of anger is on your mind. You've heard about murder, but
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I'm going to talk to you about a murder that is far more common.
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And and he says then once you realize that, notice what he
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says, come back with Matthew chapter, chapters 5 and look
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with me in verse 23. So he says, if you leave, if you
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bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother
36:03
has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar
36:07
and go your way. The context really of your
36:09
brother or something against you is your anger toward them
36:15
unresolved expressed. There's a very good chance Jesus
36:19
is talking about the person that you rocked you called a fool
36:25
because as you realize there's there's things unresolved that
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are within your power to resolve.
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Be reconciled to your brother. Make it right, then offer your
36:33
gift. God is far more interested in
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the relationship part of our worship than just the offering
36:38
of a gift. But the easier part is just give
36:40
the gift. Jesus says no, it's not one or
36:45
the other, it's both. First be reconciled, then come
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agree with your adversary quickly.
36:50
While you're on the way, does your adversary deliver you to
36:53
the judge? The judge hands you over to the
36:55
officer, and you be thrown into prison.
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The Bible would speak to us as much as depends upon you.
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Live at peace with all men. If your brothers offended you,
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you go to them. I mean, imagine if the church
37:08
was filled with all the little offenses that we all have.
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We all go through. We're humans.
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But Can you imagine if a church service like the next time we
37:16
gather together this weekend, everybody's just trying to find
37:18
each other. Hey, I'm really offended, but I
37:20
was looking for you because I think I offended you.
37:22
And we're just all weeping here and crying, trying to make
37:24
things right. I've never seen a service like
37:26
that before. However, I have seen people make
37:29
things right. I have seen people seek people.
37:31
I have seen, I've had people come to me and go, I want this
37:34
dude, please, pastor, I want to talk to you before service
37:36
starts and they're wanting to apply this.
37:39
It's like, I just want to make things right.
37:41
It's like, OK, share it with me. And you'd be amazed what the
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Holy Spirit will do when we present ourselves to him.
37:50
And you know, we, we have these, these internal arguments and
37:55
debates in the church. You know, what's the best
37:57
worship, What's the best worship?
37:59
Or, you know, we need better music or, or we need better
38:02
preaching or we need better whatever.
38:04
But a deeper worship experience comes through deeper
38:07
relationship with the Father. That's it.
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You can enjoy any music if you're in tune with the Lord and
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you can enjoy any preaching if you're in tune with the Lord.
38:19
No exclusive voice is going to be used in your life if your
38:23
heart's right from the Lord. You'll just hear from the Lord.
38:25
The worst delivery, the word like you will hear from the
38:28
Lord. Why?
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Because you're worshipping the Lord and God will use people in
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your life, doesn't matter who they are.
38:35
The dryness goes away as relationships are mended.
38:39
The emptiness disappears as forgiveness is extended, the
38:43
passion returns as mercy is received, and the burden of
38:48
weights of guilt and shame and brokenness are lifted.
38:53
And the emphasis here is placed upon the worshipper, you and me.
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Does that mean we track down every person we ever hurt?
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No, doesn't mean that. The keyword in this text is
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there as you come to worship, as you're seeking the Lord, as He
39:13
speaks to your heart and you respond to that moment of the
39:18
holy. We don't need to be digging up
39:19
old hurts. We don't need to be digging up
39:24
old offenses. We just need to be seeking the
39:29
Lord. As you and I abide in Christ and
39:32
seek the Lord, it's amazing what He will do in speaking to your
39:36
heart and your life and empowering you to obey Him and
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you live a free life. So there's nothing better in
39:45
your walk with the Lord to the live than to live in his
39:48
freedom. You just like I'm so free.
39:52
Recently I heard something that that that happened that may or
39:55
may not affect me and I just remember my response.
39:57
I remember my response. I said I'm free, but it doesn't
40:02
really matter what they do. I am free.
40:05
It sounds like as they're described, it sounds like
40:08
they're in bondage. I'm not in bondage.
40:11
And so we'll have to wait to see how it sorts out.
40:13
And it's just a great way to live your life.
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I love the Lord. He loves me because I love the
40:18
Lord and he loves me. I can love you and hopefully I
40:22
can receive. I hope you love me hopefully.
40:24
And we love each other and we can receive that and grow
40:27
together in grace. We're just free.
40:29
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and freedom.
40:34
And it's not a misuse of freedom.
40:36
I don't need to go in in depth of that like, whoa, OK, Am I
40:38
free to send? No, that's not freedom, that's
40:41
bondage. Am I free to compromise?
40:44
No, because the Lord will never lead you to sin and the Lord
40:48
will never lead you to compromise.
40:50
That's not freedom, that's bondage.
40:53
Freedom is the enjoyment of your sins being forgiven and your
40:58
life is hidden in Him. You don't even need to worry
41:02
about murdering your brother in your heart because you love the
41:06
Lord. And even if you got a problem
41:08
with that brother, that sister you love the Lord, and the love
41:12
of the Lord comes through you. Amen.
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Here let me show you scripture before we leave.
41:18
Proverbs 423 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of
41:23
it spring the issues of life. Guard your heart, Church.
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It's a very important place that the Lord wants to be the ruler
41:33
and reigner. He wants to rule and reign your
41:37
heart. Give it to Him, Let them rule
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you and reign you heart, soul, mind and strength.
41:46
Lord, we thank you. We're not all these years of
41:49
bondage and slavery, but that you have called us out into
41:52
freedom and as you define our hearts just beat with these
41:57
commands. We don't feel them we don't
41:59
receive them as burden or heavy some heavy or burdensome like
42:03
they they're just yes Lord, you're exclusive yes Lord, I
42:07
don't want anything to take my attention from you yes or I want
42:10
to honor your name. Yes Lord, I want to honor my
42:13
parents. Yes Lord, I I want to live in a
42:17
way where I honor life. It's our hearts desire God in
42:23
out of a response to you that you would fill us in a fresh and
42:31
a new with the spirit of freedom that we might honor you and
42:36
enjoy you. Lord, forgive us for murdering
42:40
people in our hearts. It happens way too much and we
42:46
want a clean heart, a pure heart that comes from your spirit.
42:52
So help us, Lord, in a real in a really difficult world.
42:55
It's hard to live, but it's been that way every generation.
42:58
I'm sure it was hard to live under Nero, under Herod, like
43:02
it's been hard every generous. So just forgive us.
43:04
Lord help us that we might be the salt and light of this earth
43:08
in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
43:11
Nobody stand yet because I really think we need to
43:14
celebrate tonight before we sing this song.
43:18
Last week, if you were here, we prayed for you guys.
43:21
Just looking to see a habit broken, a newness toward your
43:24
habit this new year. How many of you had a good week
43:28
in relation to that prayer request?
43:30
You stand. So you're the only ones I want
43:32
to stand. So we got one.
43:33
A VVVVV. Who else?
43:38
Who else? Who else?
43:40
Anyone. VVVVV.
43:45
And so what's your song? Anything about victory?
43:54
No, no, no, that's right. So Lord, I thank you for these
43:59
victories. I know there are some that wish
44:01
they could stand, but it was a hard week.
44:02
So we pray again, this is not like a behavior modification,
44:07
but these victories are because of you.
44:10
Even as my brother shares, like the reason why we're singing
44:12
this song is where victory comes.
44:14
We abide in you. Your power is in us.
44:16
So thank you. We celebrate and we celebrate by
44:19
faith the newness of life this week.
44:23
You have some new, you have new opportunities and second
44:25
chances. So bless those Lord looking for
44:28
this in their lives. And then for those that
44:30
experience it, we just want more.
44:32
We want more Lord. We want to walk in victory over
44:35
this area. And now we got a couple more
44:36
things to think about, like especially this stuff in our
44:39
hearts. So we lay it before you in Jesus
44:42
name, Amen. We pray that you've been
44:45
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
44:47
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
44:50
Call us at 87730 grace that's 877-304-7223.
44:59
To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
45:02
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45:08
or download our free Calvary Church app.
45:11
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.