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Don't Shrink Back | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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I was going to be preaching today out of Hebrews
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12, and I will be in a couple of weeks, but I
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had been preparing a certain segment of that,
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and I felt the Lord put something else in my
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heart. It was actually a verse I had read to
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open worship last week, and I just felt Him drop
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it right into me, and it's actually a couple
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of chapters back in Hebrews. And so we're going
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to be in Hebrews chapter 10 today. And for some
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of you, you might be like, yes, this is going
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to be great. Some of you are going to be like,
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I don't know about this. This is not who I am.
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But I'm just saying what the scripture says.
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And in Hebrews 10, 39, it is this passage. And
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it says, we, but we. do not belong to those who
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shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who
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have faith and are saved. But we do not belong
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to those who shrink back. Listen, the Jews at
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this time were in an intense persecution. They
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were facing public and social pressure and shaming.
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Financial loss. It wasn't just they were getting
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made fun of on Facebook. It was affecting them
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financially. They were being imprisoned for their
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faith. They were facing some hard things. And
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in Hebrews 10, he says, hey, but we're not part
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of those who shrink back. And I've known believers
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who, as soon as the going gets tough, wait a
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minute, maybe this isn't what I wanted. And so
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let's take a few moments and just look at the
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context of this verse in Hebrews 10. Starting
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in verse 34, you suffered long along with those
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in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation
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of your property. This is what was happening.
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Your home could be confiscated. Can you imagine?
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It's hard for us and even the wealth of our Western
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to get that, I think. Because you knew that you
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yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
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So do not throw away your confidence. It will
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be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so
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that when you have done the will of God, you
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will receive what he has promised. For in just
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a little while, We sang it today. He who is coming
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will come and will not delay. You know, it feels
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like it's delaying, but there's going to come
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that moment where you're like, that went really
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fast. And but my righteous one will live by faith,
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and I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks
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back. But we do not belong to those who shrink
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back and are destroyed, but to those who have
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faith and are saved. I want us to take two things
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away from this. And the first thing in this passage
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that captures my attention and makes me sit up
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is verse 38. I take no pleasure in the one who
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shrinks back. I just have all the things in my
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life that I desire. It is to know that the pleasure
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of the Lord is upon my life. There's no greater
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joy than knowing my life is pleasing him. More
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than any other circumstantial outcome in my life,
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if I know my life has brought pleasure to the
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Lord, that is victory. As I was writing this,
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I began to think about, just from the top of
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my head, some people in the Bible that I think
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probably brought pleasure to God because they
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weren't shrinkers. And so I think of in 1 Samuel
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14, Jonathan, the son of King Saul. This is one
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of my favorite accounts in the Old Testament.
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In 1 Samuel 14, they had been camped out, all
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the soldiers. And one day, I don't know if he
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was getting antsy sitting around, but Jonathan
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said to his armor bearer, hey, come on. We're
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going to go over to the Philistine outpost on
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the other side of this pass. He did not tell
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his father, King Saul. I think it might be one
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of those situations better to ask for forgiveness
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later. So I think he's afraid Saul is going to
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be like, no, you can't do that, right? And so
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he does not tell his father. And verse 6. Now
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I'm going to be kind of jumping around in some
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of these passages. In verse 6, Jonathan said
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to the armor bearer, come, let's go over to the
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outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the
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Lord will act on our behalf. He doesn't go to
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take this knowing that God has sent him. He doesn't
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go into it knowing thus. Sayeth the Lord. He
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says, perhaps, right? This is just this idea
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that started to burn in him. I want to go take
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out those uncircumcised men over there. But he
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goes on, and here's where we see the source of
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his confidence, though. Nothing can hinder the
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Lord from saving, whether by many or few. And
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so the armor bearer, he has just complete trust
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in Jonathan. He says, do all that you have in
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mind. Go ahead. I am with you, heart and soul.
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He was fully committed to Jonathan in whatever
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scheme Jonathan came up with. So Jonathan told
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his armor bearer, climb up after me. The Lord
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has given. So he did then in the passage ask
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the Lord for a sign. He got that sign. So he
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said, come on, armor bearer. The Lord has given
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them into the hand of Israel. And so in verse
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14, it says, in that first attack, Jonathan and
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his armor bearer killed these two guys, some
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20 men in an area of about half an acre. i love
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the zeal of jonathan that says i'm not sitting
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around anymore there are some uncircumcised people
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over there let's go let's go do something about
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it perhaps the lord will save i know that nothing
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can hinder god i think that that kind of attitude
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pleases the lord In 1 Samuel, just a few chapters
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over 17, we have, you all know David and Goliath,
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the account of David and Goliath. If you don't,
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you should read the whole thing. But here's,
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we're summarizing. Here we have the armies of
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Israel against the armies of the Philistines,
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and Goliath, who's the giant of the man, taunting
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them. to come out and fight them. And so David
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is the little guy of the family. He's been out
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in the hills with the sheep alone, and dad sends
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him to take some food to his brothers on the
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battlefield. So David shows up at the battlefield.
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And there's this description in verse 24 of Goliath
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that says, Whenever the Israelites saw the man,
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they all fled from him in great fear. This is
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the armies of Israel. They were all fleeing from
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Goliath in great fear. And so this is what David
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arrives on the scene to find. Goliath taunting,
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Israel hiding. And I love what David says. Who
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is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should
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defy the armies of the living God? Who do you
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think you are? I love, I'm pretty sure the zeal
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of David, this young, passionate, just rises
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up. Who is this guy? He's uncircumcised. Why
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are you fleeing? He's defying God. And so David
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in verse 32 says to King Saul, so he has the
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audacity to approach King Saul and say, let no
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one lose heart on account of this Philistine.
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I'm here. You're serving me. I'll go and fight
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him. You, King Saul, none of the armies of Israel
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have stood up to him, but I'm here now, so don't
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lose heart. I'll go do the battle for you all.
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Just like envisioning, like wanting to just flick
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this little kid away, right? He's probably not
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winning anything from any of the armies of Israel
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at this point. But in verse 45, Saul suits him
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up or tries to and send him into battle. He's
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like, all right. And so David comes to Goliath.
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And he says, you come against me with the sword
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and the spear and javelin, but I come against
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you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God
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of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
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This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands,
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and I'll strike you down and cut off your head.
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This very day, I will give the carcasses of the
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Philistine army to the birds and animals, and
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the whole world will know that there is a God
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in Israel. Hallelujah. I think that the Lord
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found pleasure in the zeal of David, who said,
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no, no, no. I'm not going to tolerate any of
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this nonsense of defying the living God. Let's
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do battle. Let's go to war. I think in the New
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Testament, we often read some of these passages
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and think, I just don't know about those disciples,
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man. I think about in Luke 9, 54, when the religious
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leaders were against Jesus. And it says in verse
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54 that when the disciples, James and John, saw
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that, They saw them being against Jesus. They
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asked Jesus, Lord, do you want us to call down
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fire from heaven to destroy them? I just envisioned
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Jesus rolling his eyes at them. No, just calm
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down. But I think that there had to have been
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something that might have just delighted Jesus
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in their zeal. Yeah, well, we know that Elijah
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did it, so why can't we? Why can't we call down
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fire? Can we call down fire, Jesus? I'm envisioning
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in Matthew 14 the delight of Jesus when they're
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in the storm, rowing, the disciples, and Jesus
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walks on water. And Peter, which, by the way,
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Reminds me, if you haven't checked out Weekday
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Faith, be sure to do it, the podcast. But he
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says, Peter says, tell me to come to you on the
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water. And Jesus, did he say no? No. He said,
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come. Come, Peter. And Peter got out of the boat
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and began to walk on water. He didn't shrink
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back. I think that that brought joy to the heart
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of Jesus. I think it brought joy to the heart
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of Jesus in Luke 7 when a woman who lived a sinful
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life learned that Jesus was eating in the house
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of some Pharisees, the religious leaders. And
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she had the audacity to come into that house.
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with her alabaster jar of perfume, and begin
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to weep over the feet of Jesus, washing his feet
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and pouring perfume on them. And the Pharisees
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rebuke her. Well, no, they actually are in their
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mind saying, doesn't Jesus know who this is?
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Well, Jesus knows what's in our minds. And he
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says, do you see this woman? I came, you didn't
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wash my feet. She did with her tears. You didn't
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give me a kiss, but she hasn't stopped kissing
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my feet since she entered. You did not put oil
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on my head, but she poured perfume on my feet.
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The audacity to step into this religious home
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and do this. She didn't shrink back in intimidation.
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of these religious leaders. I think it brings
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joy to the heart of Jesus. And you might say,
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well, that's not my personality. Now, for some
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of you, not being courageous and adventurous
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and taking mountains and hills, yeah, let's do
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it. Darren and I had this discussion the other
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night about, and he's told me this before, when
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he gets close to death's door, His plan is to
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not recede into the shadows and quietness. His
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plan is to buy a ticket to the Middle East and
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go preach the gospel. If he gets shot, he gets
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shot. Some of us, you know, because he's at the
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end, he wants to go out with a bang. I'm telling
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on you now. Okay, some of us, though, this is
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our kind of personality, too. We're a little
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bit more tended toward that. Some of us are a
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little more timid. Now, I know this because I
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have a grandson, Benjamin. And Benjamin, when
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he was a toddler, like, you had to watch out.
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If you were swimming, he didn't know how to swim,
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and he didn't care if you were standing there
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or not. He was going to jump into the pool. Benjamin
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is just dying to be a martyr for Jesus. He's
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just waiting for the day that he can rise up
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and declare Jesus and be martyred for his faith.
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This is the kind of kid that he is. No fear.
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He jumps in with everything that is in him. That's
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part of his personality. But see, what we're
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talking about today is not something that is
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personality -driven. Well, I'm more adventurous.
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I'm more timid and cautious. That's not what
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this is about. This is about not shrinking back
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in faith. This is about something in you responding.
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to the living Christ that lives within you. This
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is about a heart that wants nothing more but
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to bring pleasure to God. Now, I could see Benjamin
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being one of the disciples, James or John, and
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saying, yeah, let's call down fire. He would
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totally be in for that. The disciples, in all
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of their zeal, and Jesus had to bring much correction
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in a lot of that zeal, but I've said it before,
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almost all of them were martyred for Jesus. When
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it's all said and done, it wasn't just a personality
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thing. It wasn't just a zealousness. It was a
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conviction of faith, and they were martyred for
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it. And so today, the greatest driving factor
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in not shrinking back is to bring pleasure. This
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is, we had a wonderful time of worship today,
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but there is no greater action of worship, I
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believe, than to press forward, than to step
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out and say, I'm not going to be a shrinker.
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I think there's no greater act of worship in
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the face of difficulty than to remain standing.
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to not let your feet slip backwards, but to remain
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standing and believing in faith. There's no greater
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act of worship, for it brings pleasure to God.
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And so that's our first takeaway from our passage,
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is the pleasure of the Lord. The second is this.
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These aren't ones we keep company with. You know,
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we choose. who we keep company with. And I love
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that the author of this passage has this basic
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assumption of whom he is writing to. I know who
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I'm writing to. We are not of those that shrink
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back. We are part of this great company that
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does not shrink back. This passage, verse 39,
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is the last verse in this chapter. Now, we know
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that originally there were not chapters and verses,
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right, in the Bible. Those we added later. And
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so often it's good for you to look at what came
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right before or after a chapter. And so after
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verse 39 that says, but we do not belong to those
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who shrink back and are destroyed. But to those
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who have faith and are saved, who is he talking
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about? Who are those who have faith and are saved?
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Who is he talking about? Well, let's just go
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on to the next verse. Chapter 11, verse 1. The
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great hall of faith. Now faith is confidence.
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in what we hope for, and assurance about what
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we do not see. This is what the ancients were
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commended for. And so who is he talking about?
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He's talking about all of those that had gone
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before the ancients. All of those that had been
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living under the old covenant. And even in their
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partial understanding under the old covenant,
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these are men and women who did not shrink back.
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But with the partial revelation, the partial
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understanding, they stood their ground. These
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are the ones of whom we are a part. We are one
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body of Christ, whether it is the body sitting
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here currently, whether it is the body of the
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past or the future, it is one body. And we are
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a part of them and they are a part of us. It
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is this beautiful, beautiful body. And so he
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begins talking about those whom he commends.
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And he begins with this foundational faith in
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verse 3. By faith, we understand that the universe
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was formed at God's command. And catch this,
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because this is what is needed for faith, so
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that what is seen was not made out of what was
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visible. Right? When God formed it all, he formed
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it out of material that was already there. And
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he could see, oh, I'll pick up this Play -Doh
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and make something amazing. No. He created it
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from the invisible. And so when you're talking
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about faith, your circumstances, It matters not
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what you see or don't see. The living God who
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lives within you does not need the seen. He is
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the substance of the unseen, and that is faith.
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When it looks like it doesn't make sense, when
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it looks like nothing could change, nothing could
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happen, that's where faith kicks in. That's the
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moment that we say, I am not shrinking back.
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I'm fixing my eyes on the unseen. And so he goes
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on. And down in verse 13, he says, all these
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people were still living by faith when they died.
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Wow, how great would that be to say about you?
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that when I died, I died in faith, believing.
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They did not receive the things promised. They
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only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,
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admitting that they were foreigners and strangers
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on earth. And people who say such things show
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that they are looking for a country of their
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own. If they had been thinking of the country
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they had left, they would have had opportunity
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to return. Instead, they were longing for a better
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country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not
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ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared
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a city for them. This is how they stood in faith.
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They saw and welcomed from a distance their future
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home. They admitted that they were what? strangers
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and foreigners on this earth. We spent Advent
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talking about being pilgrims, about being sojourners,
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that this world is not our own. We are headed
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to a heavenly place, a place that he is currently
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preparing for us. And here's what I heard the
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Holy Spirit drop into my heart. There are some
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here that are living nearsighted. To live nearsighted
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means that that which is, if you're nearsighted,
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that means that you can see clearly what's in
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front of you, but everything in the distance
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is blurry. And there are some of us living like
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that. This world and the things of this world
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are very clear to us. We see it. It is our reality.
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And your future eternal home is very blurry.
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You have no vision for where God wants you to
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end up. And then there are those that are farsighted.
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That would be me. You're all really blurry through
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my reading glasses right now, but I can see my
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notes. Right? Did I say that right? Yeah, I'm
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nearsighted. No, I'm farsighted. I'm going to
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have us all confused by the end. Okay. Farsighted
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means you're seeing into the distance. You can
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see clearly what is ahead. And right in front
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of you is very blurry. This is what God wants
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us to be. God wants us living. far -sighted.
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And that is what enables us to not shrink back,
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right? Because what we are seeing clearly is
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the unseen realm. What we are seeing clearly
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is our eternal residence. What we are seeing
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clearly is heaven above. And this earth, there's
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that old song, right, that said, Strangely dim.
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We got to become farsighted people. We got to
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become farsighted people. This world has to become
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blurry to us and have heaven become crystal clear.
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These people were all living under the old covenant.
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And so the author is provoking them a bit. He's
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provoking the Messianic Jews to some jealousy.
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Look at how they lived. Look at their faith.
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And they lived that under the old covenant. They
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lived that never seeing the promise of the Messiah.
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come to pass in their life. If they live that
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way under the old covenant, we have no excuse.
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We have no excuse for shrinking back. But we
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do not belong to those who shrink back and are
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destroyed. If we move on into Hebrews chapter
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12, just another, I'm taking you kind of through
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three passages. And we're actually going to be
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in this chapter in a couple of weeks. But I want
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us to look at the first few verses. Because this
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is our strength. And this is why the enemy works
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so hard to isolate you and get you to quit meeting
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with believers. In Hebrews 12, 1, it says, therefore,
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since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
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of witnesses, he just got done in the rest of
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chapter 11 listing example after example after
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example of people in the Old Testament who did
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not shrink back. And so now he's saying, hey,
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you're surrounded by these men and women of God.
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Since we are, let us throw off everything that
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hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
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and let us run with perseverance the race marked
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out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer
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and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
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him, he endured the cross. scorning its shame.
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And he sat down at the right hand of the throne
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of God. Consider him who endured such opposition
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from sinners so that you will not grow weary
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and lose heart. We're going to be talking about
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that verse in a couple of weeks. But what I want
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us to get today is that we are not alone. The
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one that runs alone is a weak runner. He has
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called us to run in community. And there is a
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finish line. See, I'm not a runner. I would not
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just run with no end in sight. Forget it. I would
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be done. If I didn't know there was an end to
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the race, I would not be running. In fact, if
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I'm running, I can't even fix my eyes on the
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end goal. I have to look at the next telephone
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pole if I can just get to the next telephone
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pole. Oh, victory. I made it to that telephone
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pole. If I can just get to the next telephone
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pole. Okay, I made it. I need to know there's
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end in sight. We are running a race marked out
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for us. And there are those that have gone ahead
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that have run it for us. And I just believe in
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heaven. I think even as we were worshiping today,
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and you could just feel the heavens open over
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us, I think it's because we join with all of
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those that have gone before that are worshiping
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in the throne room. And it's this beautiful moment
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of corporate worship, not just on earth, but
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a corporate worship of those that have gone ahead
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that are worshiping around the throne room. And
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there is strength and there is power in that
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great cloud of witnesses that surround us. It
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is their example that causes me to say, they
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did it. They didn't. They didn't. And in their
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day, they could not come boldly into the throne
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room like I can. In their day, the veil was thick,
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and there was no going behind that veil. But
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I can go behind the veil. I can go into the Holy
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of Holies. I can go into the throne room. If
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they did it, if they can finish their race and
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not shrink back, I can do it. I can do it. There
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is strength. And you need one another. You need
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people on a Sunday morning to say, you can do
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it. You need people to say, come on. I know it's
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hard. I've been there. I'm in there. You need
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people to help you not shrink back. He didn't
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intend us to go it alone. We must not be shrinkers
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when the going gets tough. We've had it fairly
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easy here. We just don't know what the future
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looks like. And so, this morning, I felt a call
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of the Holy Spirit that says, I want my people,
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I want them to be a little bit out there. I want
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them to not be afraid to maybe step out into
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some unknown things. I want them to not be afraid
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to pray radical prayers. I want them to not be
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afraid to, when the Holy Spirit whispers something,
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to rise up and do it. He wants us to not shrink
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back, but to step out in a boldness. Not only,
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listen, not only are we able to go into the throne
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room, But we have the Holy Spirit. They did not
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have the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A few here
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and there, the Holy Spirit would come upon for
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something specific. But they did not have the
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infilling of the Holy Spirit that we have. No
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excuses. No excuses. We've been given everything
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we need to not shrink back. To not shrink back.
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And so I'm going to ask if the team would come
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this morning. We're going to be closing, but
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I want to encourage you with these passages.
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We read it in Hebrews 10, and it said, In just
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a little while, he who is coming will come and
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not delay. Throughout Scripture, what we see
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is that when he's encouraged, the believers in
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hardship. He's doing it through the hope of the
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second coming of Christ. He's doing it. He's
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putting hope in them. Hey, look to the skies.
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He's coming again. He will not delay. Stay the
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ground. Stay the course. He's going to come again.
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If we continue to read there in Hebrews 12, In
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verse 22, after talking about the race, he says,
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But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city
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of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You
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have come to thousands upon thousands of angels
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in joyful assembly. to the church of the firstborn
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whose names are written in heaven. You have come
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to God, the judge of all, to the spirits of the
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righteous made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator
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of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood
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that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
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This is our home. This is our reality. This is
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what is crystal clear in our gaze. We heard it
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prayed this morning. We sang it. But in the Lord's
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prayer, and this is a prayer that I pray often,
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your kingdom come, your will be done on earth.
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As it is in heaven. I think that what God is
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wanting his church to do is to begin to become
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people. See, as a believer, you have access to
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heaven. You have access to heaven. You have access
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to the throne room. Your neighbor may not, but
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you sure do. Your coworker may not have access
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to heaven, but you sure do. And so why, why would
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we not step up? Why would we shrink back from
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being a people that has access to heaven and
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thereby are able to partner with God in seeing
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heaven on earth? Through you, through me. If
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that's what we want, we cannot shrink back. We
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cannot shrink back and see your kingdom come,
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your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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That is not for the shrinkers. On earth as it
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is in heaven. We live in this moment of time
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where we're believing for the fullness and perfection
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that will come. And while we wait, we have the
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mysteriousness of heaven coming to earth. And
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I think he wants to challenge us to just become
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a little bit more courageous, a little bit more
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bold in releasing heaven on earth. Listen, Jesus
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came and he did it. And he left his body on earth.
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You and I are his body, his hands and his feet
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to release heaven on earth. This is how it comes.
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Through you and through me. Not shrinking back.
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Stepping up. Saying I have access to heaven.
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I have access to heaven. I have access to heaven.
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Our verse here at this church is Mark chapter
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9 verse 23. All things are possible for one who
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believes. All things are possible for one who
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believes. We cannot quote that verse and be a
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shrinker. We cannot quote that verse. What is
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required for this verse? Belief. Faith. We cannot
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be a shrinker. And believe that verse. All things
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are possible for one who believes. Lord, help
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us in our unbelief. Lord, help us in our unbelief.
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And so this morning, as we close out today, I
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wanted to just do this. Some of you need to listen.
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If you can't. Find the courage to step out and
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come to an altar in the safety of this place
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of believers. That's probably the beginning point
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for some of you that have never made your way
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to an altar. To find courage and boldness to
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step out and say, God. There's been some areas
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that I have shrunk back in believing you. There's
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areas I've shrunk back in proclaiming you. There's
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areas that I have shrunk back because my faith
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has not felt strong. But today, I'm declaring,
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I'm making the declaration, I will not be a shrinker.
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I will not be in the company of those who shrink
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back and are destroyed. Today, I make my proclamation
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that I'm going to be a part of those ancient
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ones who were commended for their faith. And
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if when I die, I did not see any of it come to
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pass, it's okay. I died in faith, believing.
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And that pleases you. And so I've asked Darren
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this morning. He wrote a song years ago. And
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I asked him to lead in this song. And so I want
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to challenge you, because some of you have some
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rough stuff happening, and I get that. Some of
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you have some life challenges that aren't easy.
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That is not the time to shrink back. That is
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the time to press in. That is the time to stir
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your faith, believing. All things are possible
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for the one who believes. All things are possible
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for the one. Are all things possible for unbelief?
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No. All things are possible for the one who believes.
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And so this morning, if life has been challenging,
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if things have been difficult, or if you felt
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even the pressure of being a Christian in a place
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that is not welcoming Christianity, today, the
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Holy Spirit wants to encourage you and fill you
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and empower you. And you need to access it. You
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need to access it. And so if you'll stand this
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morning and we're just going to take a moment
43:32
to pray. And then as we worship, I want you to
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just make your way to the altar and let it be
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your first step in not shrinking back. When you
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do that, what you are doing is allowing others
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to come alongside you and say, we're going to
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pray together. We're going to fan your faith
43:51
together. We're going to run on this race together.
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You weren't supposed to sit and do it alone in
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your pew. He wants you with the believers not
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shrinking back. Amen? And so, Lord, this morning,
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we bring all of our stuff, all of our questions,
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all of our disappointments, All of our frustrations,
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all of our impatience, we bring it all to you
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and we lay it down. And we lay it down in trust
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knowing you can handle all of that. You can deal
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with all of that, Jesus. But God, what we're
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saying today is we want to please you with our
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lives. And we want to be of the company of those
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that do not shrink back. set our hand, that put
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our feet forward and move toward where you are
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and move toward what we hear the Father doing.
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And we line up our lives to what the Father is
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doing. Give us eyes and ears to hear in Jesus'
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mighty name, in Jesus' mighty name. Let's just
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worship for a few moments. And if that's you,
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man, begin to move and take your steps towards
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the altar.