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Counsel-from-a-Concerned-Christian-Msg-5 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: One of the important works of the Spirit of God
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Speaker 1: is to enlighten us with understanding. It's called the ministry
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Speaker 1: of illumination. The word of God has been revealed, that's
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Speaker 1: revelation God giving his truth to various people who would
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Speaker 1: write it, and then that meets directly with inspiration, or
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Speaker 1: those who are recipients of the revelation write his word
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Speaker 1: without error. It is called an inerrant document, the original
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Speaker 1: text of scripture. So there's revelation, there's inspiration. Both of
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Speaker 1: those have ceased. There is no further divine revelation, and
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Speaker 1: there is no further inspiration as we know it revealed
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Speaker 1: in the scriptures. But there is regularly illumination. For example,
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Speaker 1: if per chance today you discover, you learn, you realize,
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Speaker 1: you observe something from the scriptures that you had not
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Speaker 1: known or seen or learned before, you have been illumined.
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Speaker 1: If it weren't for the work of the Spirit, that
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Speaker 1: could not take place. That explains why some are completely
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Speaker 1: bored when the Word of God is taught, and others
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Speaker 1: are on the edge of their seat. If you are
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Speaker 1: here without Christ, you haven't the spirit of God. That's
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Speaker 1: not meant to be insulting. It's meant to be accurate,
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Speaker 1: and without the presence of the Spirit in your life,
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Speaker 1: the Word of God is just another ancient book, black
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Speaker 1: print on white pages that sort of meanders from one
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Speaker 1: subject to another without much to say. And so I
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Speaker 1: would say to you who live with those who have
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Speaker 1: never trusted Christ, be patient. There will be a time,
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Speaker 1: by the grace of God, that they will come to Christ.
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Speaker 1: And when they do, the whole work of the Spirit
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Speaker 1: will begin to take place, and there will be illumination
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Speaker 1: even in their lives. Now we're learning these days about
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Speaker 1: the letter Paul wrote to the Colossians. Colossians not to
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Speaker 1: be mistaken with Gullations or the Little Letter of Philippians.
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Speaker 1: This is Colossians. And we're in the second chapter in
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Speaker 1: our study, looking at verses one through twelve today, which
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Speaker 1: I would like to read for you from the New
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Speaker 1: Living Bible. And as you find your play to Colossians two,
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Speaker 1: please join with others in standing for the reading of
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Speaker 1: the scriptures. Colossians too begins. I want you to know
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Speaker 1: how much I have agonized for you and for the
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Speaker 1: church at Laolicea, and for many other believers who have
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Speaker 1: never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged
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Speaker 1: and knit together by strong ties of love. I want
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Speaker 1: them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan,
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Speaker 1: which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the
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Speaker 1: treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I'm telling you this so
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Speaker 1: no one will deceive you with well crafted arguments. For
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Speaker 1: though I am far away from you, my heart is
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Speaker 1: with you, and I rejoice that you are living as
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Speaker 1: you should, and that your faith in Christ is strong.
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Speaker 1: And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as the Lord,
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Speaker 1: you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow
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Speaker 1: down into Him, and let your lives be built on him.
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Speaker 1: Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you
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Speaker 1: were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don't let
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Speaker 1: anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense
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Speaker 1: that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers
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Speaker 1: of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ
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Speaker 1: lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
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Speaker 1: So you also are complete through your union with Christ,
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Speaker 1: who is the head over every ruler and authority. When
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Speaker 1: you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by
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Speaker 1: a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting
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Speaker 1: away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with
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Speaker 1: Christ when you were baptized, and with him you were
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Speaker 1: raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power
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Speaker 1: of God who raised Christ from the dead. Our hope
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Speaker 1: is that we will be illumined with an understanding and
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Speaker 1: also realize the practical application of these twelve verses as
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Speaker 1: we live our lives these days. You who stood earlier,
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Speaker 1: I would like you to remain standing, and the others
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Speaker 1: of you, please be seated, join with me for a
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Speaker 1: few moments of prayer. How grateful we are our Father
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Speaker 1: for this land in which we live, for most of us,
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Speaker 1: our homeland, the place of our birth, the place where
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Speaker 1: we were first loved and trained and taught. For the
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Speaker 1: freedom that has been ours, as we have enjoyed throughout
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Speaker 1: our lives, liberty and the pursuit of Your will. How
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Speaker 1: grateful we are to have been privileged to live in
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Speaker 1: this land. How thankful we are for the men and
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Speaker 1: women who stand among us today, for what they represent,
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Speaker 1: the grief and the loss of a loved one who
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Speaker 1: once wore the uniform of our country, and those who
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Speaker 1: served faithfully and well, who completed their calling, and lived
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Speaker 1: to day with the memory of the things learned through
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Speaker 1: the hardship of the training and in many cases the combat.
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Speaker 1: How beautiful is this world around us? How delighted we
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Speaker 1: are to be able to enjoy the beauty because of
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Speaker 1: the liberty that has been provided, for the beauty of
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Speaker 1: the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the
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Speaker 1: love which from our birth, over and around us lies
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Speaker 1: Lord of all, to thee we praise. We give you
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Speaker 1: this prayer with gratitude. Today. Our gifts are yours, and
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Speaker 1: rightly so, because you own it all, and we trust
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Speaker 1: you to use these gifts to disseminate the good word
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Speaker 1: of God to places that have heard before and rejected,
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Speaker 1: and to those places that have never, for the first
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Speaker 1: time heard of Christ. Give courage to those who represent
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Speaker 1: You in difficult places, and protection for those in dangerous
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Speaker 1: places today, and give us an overwhelming sense of gratitude
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Speaker 1: because of the privilege we have to worship freely without interruption,
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Speaker 1: because of the courage and the faithfulness of heroic men
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Speaker 1: and women, and ultimately, because of your grace. In the
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Speaker 1: name of the Savior. We give you our thanks and
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Speaker 1: our gifts. Everyone said, Amen, Please be seated. We need
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Speaker 1: each other, We really do. I need you and you
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Speaker 1: need me. You need the person near you, sitting around you,
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Speaker 1: beside you, living with you. How much we need one another.
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Speaker 1: There was an adolescent period in my spiritual growth where
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Speaker 1: I went through the idea, heretical though it was, and
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Speaker 1: I really didn't need anybody. I knew Christ, I was
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Speaker 1: able to read his word. I was engaged in the
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Speaker 1: study of the scriptures. I had a wife who and
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Speaker 1: I had a future that seemed fairly bright, good parents.
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Speaker 1: And now they had played their part, and I was
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Speaker 1: now on my own. What a stupid way to think
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Speaker 1: that I don't need anybody else. The Wall Street Journal
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Speaker 1: came out several years ago with a great list. It begins,
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Speaker 1: how important are you? Well more than you think. A
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Speaker 1: rooster minus a hen equals no baby chicks. Kellogg minus
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Speaker 1: a farmer equals no cornflakes. If a male factory closes,
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Speaker 1: what good is the hammer factory. Paderewski's genius wouldn't have
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Speaker 1: amounted to much if the piano tuner had not shown up.
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Speaker 1: A cracker maker will do better if there's a cheesemaker.
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Speaker 1: The most skillful surgeon needs the ambulance driver who delivers
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Speaker 1: the patient, just as Rogers needs Hammerstein. You need someone
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Speaker 1: and someone needs you. You may not be convinced of
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Speaker 1: that because you, like I used to be, are an
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Speaker 1: independent thinker. You'll make it on your own, thank you.
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Speaker 1: So I need to warn you that's a dangerous way
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Speaker 1: to live. Psychologically. It's dangerous and it may be dangerous physically.
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Speaker 1: Phillips Embardo, when he was professor of psychology at Stanford University,
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Speaker 1: wrote a piece in Psychology Today titled The Age of Indifference.
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Speaker 1: He puts his finger on the problem. I know of
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Speaker 1: no more potent killer than isolation. There is no more
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Speaker 1: destructive influence on physical and mental health that the isolation
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Speaker 1: of you from me and us from them. It has
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Speaker 1: been shown to be a central agent in the ideology
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Speaker 1: of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, mass murder, and a
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Speaker 1: wide variety of disease states. Check it out next time
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Speaker 1: you hear of a mass murder. Chances are good the
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Speaker 1: one who did the murdering has been alone and isolated,
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Speaker 1: living unto himself or herself far too long. What an
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Speaker 1: unhealthy way to live, And by the way we seem
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Speaker 1: to promote that whole concept no longer are we a
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Speaker 1: share and share alike people moving to a home, one
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Speaker 1: of the first things we do is build a fence
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Speaker 1: to keep the barbarians at bay. We are independent calls
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Speaker 1: in complex corporate structures. We wear headsets as we jog
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Speaker 1: or do our lowns, or walk to class or eat
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Speaker 1: in cafeterias. Our watchword is privacy. Our commitments are short term,
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Speaker 1: and haven't you bann at restaurants where nobody at the
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Speaker 1: table is talking to the other person. They're all thumbing
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Speaker 1: their texts to somebody somewhere else that ought to be
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Speaker 1: talking to somebody, and they're all lost in their silly
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Speaker 1: little phone. How valuable is that little phone? How did
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Speaker 1: I ever get along without it? Very well? Very well? Honestly,
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Speaker 1: the lone ranger wants a fantasy hero is now our
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Speaker 1: model mask And all listen to the admission of a
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Speaker 1: man who became a pastor. I was raised in the
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Speaker 1: Jesus and me privatized individualized Christianity of the fundamentalism of
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Speaker 1: the sixties and seventies. No one knew my father and mother,
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Speaker 1: I mean really knew them. No one had a clue
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Speaker 1: what was going on in our home. No one helped
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Speaker 1: my father to see through the blindness that allowed him
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Speaker 1: to live a double life of skilled deception and duplicity.
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Speaker 1: No one knew how troubled my mother was beneath her
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Speaker 1: encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures. No one knew. We were
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Speaker 1: a Christian family and active participation in a vibrant church,
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Speaker 1: but what we were involved in lacked one of the
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Speaker 1: primary and essential ingredi of healthy New Testament Christianity, a trained, mobilized,
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Speaker 1: and functioning body of Christ. For much of my Christian
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Speaker 1: life and a portion of my ministry, I had no
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Speaker 1: idea that my walk with God was a community project.
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Speaker 1: I had no idea that the Christianity of the New
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Speaker 1: Testament is distinctly relational from beginning to end. I understood
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Speaker 1: none of the dangers inherent in attempting to live the
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Speaker 1: Christian life on my own. I had no awareness of
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Speaker 1: the blinding power of remaining sin. I had no idea
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Speaker 1: that I was living outside of God's normal means of sightedness, encouragement, conviction, strength,
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Speaker 1: and growth. I had no idea I honestly fear. On
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Speaker 1: occasion when we emphasize the importance of studying the Word
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Speaker 1: and becoming stabilized in the scriptures that we leave the
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Speaker 1: impression just you and God. You're on your way. Don't
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Speaker 1: bother with the others who aren't in legue with where
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Speaker 1: you are. What an unhealthy way to think and frightening
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Speaker 1: way to live, if it's any comfort to you. The
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Speaker 1: great Apostle Paul Astute, theologian brilliant mind, surrounded himself with people.
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Speaker 1: His letters are filled with unfamiliar to us, very familiar
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Speaker 1: to him because they were his friends. He ends the
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Speaker 1: magnificent Doctrinal Treatise of Romans with one name after another
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Speaker 1: after another after others, and others and others that you
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Speaker 1: find nowhere else mentioned in the Bible, because they're his friends.
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Speaker 1: Matter of fact, when we get to the to the
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Speaker 1: second chapter of Coalitionians, we find him writing words of
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Speaker 1: love and understanding and compassion for people he's never met.
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Speaker 1: The only way he knows them is through a friend
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Speaker 1: named Epifrass, who is mentioned more than once in this
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Speaker 1: little letter. But he cares about them, which reminds me.
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Speaker 1: You remember that litany of suffering and sorrow and hardship
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Speaker 1: that he lists in Second Corinthians eleven. You remember in
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Speaker 1: the deep shipwrecked many times, beaten with rods on other occasions,
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Speaker 1: left to die under a pile of stones, and on
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Speaker 1: and on, and he comes to the very end of
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Speaker 1: this list, which is heartbreaking Verses twenty three through twenty seven.
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Speaker 1: He comes to the end in chapter eleven of Two
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Speaker 1: Corinthians by adding, and besides all this, there's the care
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Speaker 1: of the churches. Besides all the things I was going through,
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Speaker 1: I couldn't get off my mind. The people that I'd
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Speaker 1: ministered to, I'd built into their lives, and I'm concerned
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Speaker 1: about them, if nothing else. I hope you will pick
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Speaker 1: up from this message today that people matter, and your
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Speaker 1: relationship with others is far more important than anything other
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Speaker 1: than your relationship to Christ. We need each other. Paul
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Speaker 1: begins this second chapter of Colossians. By the way, the
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Speaker 1: letter runs on without chapter breaks, As all of you
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Speaker 1: would realize, there's simply a letter that starts at the
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Speaker 1: beginning and runs all the way to the There are
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Speaker 1: no chapter breaks anymore than there are chapter breaks and
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Speaker 1: letters you write. So, continuing with the thought of Christ's
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Speaker 1: power that works within me, he says a personal word
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Speaker 1: at the beginning of chapter two, I want you to
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Speaker 1: know how much I've agonized for you and for the
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Speaker 1: church at Layouticea. He doesn't even know that people. By that,
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Speaker 1: I mean he's not sat with them, been in their homes.
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Speaker 1: They've not sat in his tent. They've not known each
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Speaker 1: other face to face. But he says, I've agonized for you.
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Speaker 1: Agonized a goon is the Greek word. I've been in
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Speaker 1: agony thinking about what you're going through. In other words,
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Speaker 1: I care about you. My heart is touched knowing what
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Speaker 1: you're going through, and we'll realize what that is in
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Speaker 1: a moment. I've agonized for you and the church at Laodicea.
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Speaker 1: For as we know, he was never there, only a
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Speaker 1: few miles from Korn from Colossi. He mentions toward the
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Speaker 1: end of the letter, Hyropolis, another church, another location, As
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Speaker 1: far as we know, he wasn't there, but he cared
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Speaker 1: about them. In fact, look how he writes, I've agonized
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Speaker 1: for you and for the church at Layouta Seea, and
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Speaker 1: for many other believers who have never met me personally.
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Speaker 1: We don't know each other face to face, but I
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Speaker 1: pray for you. I have you on my heart, And
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Speaker 1: he continues, I want them to be encouraged and knit
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Speaker 1: together by strong ties of love. Look at those words.
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Speaker 1: I don't know them personally, but I long for them
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Speaker 1: to be encouraged and to know what it is to
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Speaker 1: have loving arms around their shoulders. I hope they're not
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Speaker 1: trying to make it on their own. We need each other,
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Speaker 1: he continues. I want them to have complete confidence that
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Speaker 1: they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In
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Speaker 1: him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. By
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Speaker 1: the way, it's a slap in the face of the
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Speaker 1: cult of the Nustics, not a cult in our day,
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Speaker 1: not by that name. But in that day there were
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Speaker 1: those who spoke of the great emanations that came from
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Speaker 1: the heavenlies. And among the emanations that came from the
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Speaker 1: heavenlies was Jesus, you can name him among them, and
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Speaker 1: there were many others. And this higher knowledge, this great
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Speaker 1: understanding of the light, I mean, it's smacks of new Age.
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Speaker 1: In fact, this is a great time for me to add.
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Speaker 1: Any time you're engaged in a teaching that demotes or
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Speaker 1: decentralizes the person of Christ, you're in error. Christ is
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Speaker 1: the supreme one in him or hidden all the fullness
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Speaker 1: of the Godhead. Bodily as we will read. But the
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Speaker 1: cults come and they let you head your Jesus. If
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Speaker 1: you want to talk about Jesus. Remember, they use our vocabulary,
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Speaker 1: but they don't use our dictionary. Same words. But when
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Speaker 1: they say light they mean something different than when we
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Speaker 1: say light. When they refer to Jesus, they mean someone
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Speaker 1: different than when the Bible refers to him in whom
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Speaker 1: are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now
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Speaker 1: you're getting a hint as to why he's concerned, why
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Speaker 1: he's agonized over them. Verse four tells us, I'm telling
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Speaker 1: you this so no one will deceive you with well
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Speaker 1: crafted arguments. The terms well crafted convey the idea of persuasive.
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Speaker 1: We call it smooth talk. You've seen it. We often
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Speaker 1: attribute it to a salesperson. Watch out for him, he's
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Speaker 1: a smooth talker. Or don't let her talk you into
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Speaker 1: something that you don't really want to go to or
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Speaker 1: you want to buy. That's the term used here. I'm
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Speaker 1: concerned that no one deceive you with well crafted argument.
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Speaker 1: It's a great time for me to pause and say,
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Speaker 1: those who want to seduce you into false teaching won't
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Speaker 1: do so by insulting you, Oh, that would attract no one.
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Speaker 1: They'll tell you how valuable you are and how concerned
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Speaker 1: they are that you're missing truth, a higher truth than
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Speaker 1: you'll ever get from between the bindings of a book
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Speaker 1: called the Bible. Watch out for folks like that, smooth talking.
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Speaker 1: If you can't think of another analogy, just think of
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Speaker 1: a politician that'll work. They say all kinds of things,
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Speaker 1: most of them don't mean a bit of it, but
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Speaker 1: it gets them elected. And you look back and go,
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Speaker 1: what was I thinking? The fact is you weren't you
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Speaker 1: believed them? How do you know they're lying? Their lips
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Speaker 1: are moving pluses. Watch out for people like this, Wake up.
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Speaker 1: I care about you, just as you would care about
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Speaker 1: the kid you send off to college, knowing that he
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Speaker 1: or she is a little weak, and they're stepping right
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Speaker 1: into those classes, and you know the propt takes great
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Speaker 1: delight in shattering their faith. Years ago, I knew of
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Speaker 1: an individual who told me that said there were several
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Speaker 1: profs on our faculty who had one great desire, and
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Speaker 1: that was to shatter the faith of the freshman. You
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Speaker 1: care about your freshmen. Paul cares about these people living
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Speaker 1: in Colossie, said I want anyone to deceive you with
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Speaker 1: their well crafted arguments. For though I am far away
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Speaker 1: from you, my heart is with you. Those are words
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Speaker 1: of love. By the way, I'm not near you, but man,
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Speaker 1: I've got you on my heart. I'll reach its rs
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Speaker 1: that you're living as you should, and your faith in
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Speaker 1: Christ is strong. I wanted to stay strong. I don't
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Speaker 1: want it to get weak. I don't want you to
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Speaker 1: hear the siren song of some false teacher who says,
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Speaker 1: let me tell you what you're missing by that kind
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Speaker 1: of narrow thinking. Christ isn't all you cracked him up
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Speaker 1: to be. Let me teach you what you're missing, And
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Speaker 1: they come with their smooth talk. In fact, while I'm
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Speaker 1: on the subject of a warning, let me have you
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Speaker 1: marked some warnings verse four, So no one will deceive
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Speaker 1: you with well crafted arguments Verse eight. There's another one.
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Speaker 1: Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high
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Speaker 1: sounding nonsense. The word capture is to take you captive,
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Speaker 1: to who march you into their place where they will
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Speaker 1: hold you captive. It's like an addiction. You can't get
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Speaker 1: free of some of the calls. Sometime your life is
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Speaker 1: in danger. Look at verse sixteen. Don't let anyone condemn
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Speaker 1: you for what you eat or drink, or for not
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Speaker 1: celebrating certain holy days or New Moon ceremonies or sabbaths.
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Speaker 1: That's a list of legalistic things that the leader is
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Speaker 1: saying you need to start doing or stop doing. If
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Speaker 1: you don't, you won't know the pleasure of God. They
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Speaker 1: give you the list. That's their list, not a biblical list.
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Speaker 1: So he warns them about falling in the trap of
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Speaker 1: a legalist. Some of you have lived there. You can
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Speaker 1: stand and speak on your own to tell others around
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Speaker 1: you what you went through, not only trying to live
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Speaker 1: up to the list, but when you decided to break
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Speaker 1: free from it, you were shunned, You were ostracized, and
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Speaker 1: perhaps still are. This is still going on. Look at eighteen.
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Speaker 1: Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self
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Speaker 1: denial or the worship of angels, the whole assetting sism
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Speaker 1: that he's emphasizing. Don't let anyone rob you of your
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Speaker 1: prize or disqualify you. You see now why we need
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Speaker 1: one another. What if Paul weren't there to warn them,
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Speaker 1: they fall into the trap. It's very appealing in case
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Speaker 1: you don't know. Cultists don't wear a little badge that
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Speaker 1: says I represent a cult. They don't do that. I'm
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Speaker 1: being factious. Obviously, they're very attractive people and Mike, and
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Speaker 1: they sell you in there on their doctrine and how
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Speaker 1: attractive they can make it. Oh, you'll think, how could
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Speaker 1: I have missed this? In fact, it reminds me of
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Speaker 1: Second Corinthians eleven. Go back to that. Will you do that? Please?
29:18
Speaker 1: Right quick? Second Corinthians eleven, Beginning at verse two, I'll
29:23
Speaker 1: show you something about the beauty of simplicity of Christ.
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Speaker 1: Eleven two. I am jealous for you, with the jealousy
29:32
Speaker 1: of God himself. I promise you as a pure bride
29:35
Speaker 1: to one husband Christ. But I fear not often you
29:40
Speaker 1: hear Paul admitting a fear, but I fear that somehow
29:45
Speaker 1: your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted,
29:51
Speaker 1: just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of
29:55
Speaker 1: the serpent. Remember the scene in the Garden of Eden.
30:01
Speaker 1: Here's the serpent, not crawling on his belly. That happened
30:06
Speaker 1: after he was cursed. The serpent is a very attractive
30:09
Speaker 1: animal created by God, and having turned against his creator,
30:15
Speaker 1: he's now engaged in the subtle drawing of thinking minds
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Speaker 1: to his own teaching. And so he says to Eve.
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Speaker 2: Look at this, you could be like God. You'd know
30:34
Speaker 2: what God knows.
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Speaker 1: And she took it, she gave to Adam. Look at him. Yeah,
30:46
Speaker 1: that looks good. She's deceived. Adam's dumb. He just bites
30:55
Speaker 1: right into it. How could these people do that, having
30:59
Speaker 1: been given the God and all the things beautifully because
31:02
Speaker 1: they moved away from the simplicity of the rules. Don't
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Speaker 1: eat of that fruit. You don't have to know Hebrew
31:11
Speaker 1: to understand what that means. In Genesis. You don't need
31:16
Speaker 1: to know an original language. It means exactly what it says.
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Speaker 1: And suppose as I'm concerned that somehow your pure and
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Speaker 1: undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted. There it is.
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Speaker 1: I just really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Stay there,
31:34
Speaker 1: Stay there. Well, it's a pretty simple belief. Stay with
31:38
Speaker 1: the simple. It has depth that you've not become aware of.
31:43
Speaker 1: But your commitment to Christ. In fact, look at what
31:49
Speaker 1: he goes on to say, You Corinthians happily put up
31:52
Speaker 1: with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a
31:55
Speaker 1: different Jesus than the one we preach keep reading, or
31:58
Speaker 1: a different kind of spirit than the one you received,
32:01
Speaker 1: or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
32:05
Speaker 1: Where are you going there? Because they're deceived. They're sucked
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Speaker 1: into this, into this subtle seduction. Look across the page.
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Speaker 1: Let me show you what those deceivers look like. Verse thirteen.
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Speaker 1: These people are false apostles. But you love it that
32:29
Speaker 1: he calls it what it is. It's because he's not
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Speaker 1: politically correct. That's why we like Paul one of my heroes.
32:38
Speaker 1: There aren't many left. These people are false prophets. They're
32:42
Speaker 1: deceitful workers. They disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. Of
32:49
Speaker 1: course they do, of course they do. They're appealing, they're attractive.
33:01
Speaker 1: They're deceitful workers who disguise themselves. But I'm not surprised.
33:07
Speaker 1: Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So
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Speaker 1: it's no wonder that his servants, who disguise themselves as
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Speaker 1: servants of righteousness. Get away from the old medieval idea
33:22
Speaker 1: that the devil is this little.
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Speaker 3: Red creature that sits on his shoulder, going, I got
33:30
Speaker 3: this pitchfork, and I'm a jambs in your ear and
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Speaker 3: make you listen.
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Speaker 1: That's not the devil. He loves it. If you think
33:39
Speaker 1: that he is the most winsome, attractive, gorgeous, appealing creature
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Speaker 1: you could ever meet, sweep you off your feet. Plus
33:53
Speaker 1: he's been at it long before you were even born.
33:57
Speaker 1: He knows every cheek in your armor. Why with a
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Speaker 1: little bit of deception you get sucked right into it.
34:09
Speaker 1: It's like a vortex of current that you can't fight. Now,
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Speaker 1: you see why you need other people. You need to
34:22
Speaker 1: be accountable, those people that have the right to ask
34:28
Speaker 1: you the hard questions. You know, I'm concerned about what
34:31
Speaker 1: you're starting to read. I'm troubled that it takes those
34:38
Speaker 1: potshots at the things you've been taught to believe. And
34:43
Speaker 1: I know it sounds attractive, and I know he's got
34:46
Speaker 1: several letters after his name. I realized there are a
34:49
Speaker 1: number of people that follow him. But wait, wait, wait, wait,
34:55
Speaker 1: I'm concerned for you. If I'm living an isolated life,
35:00
Speaker 1: chances are great that I'll be sucked right into it.
35:03
Speaker 1: You check it out, You check out those that get
35:07
Speaker 1: drawn into cults. They're often isolationists who've gotten a little
35:13
Speaker 1: bit disillusioned in life, and this new teaching sounds very attractive.
35:21
Speaker 1: Now back to Colaussians too, So one, no one deceive
35:25
Speaker 1: you with well crafted arguments. I rejoice that you're living
35:30
Speaker 1: as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
35:32
Speaker 1: Isn't that affirmation fabulous? Don't you love that? He says
35:37
Speaker 1: to them, I commend you for living as you should,
35:40
Speaker 1: and your faith in Christ is strong. Notice how he
35:43
Speaker 1: puts it, your faith in Christ is strong. Each of
35:46
Speaker 1: these is a slap in the gnostic's face. They're not
35:50
Speaker 1: hearing that they're faith in Christ is important. They're hearing
35:53
Speaker 1: the opposite. It's not really that important. Oh, the apostle says,
35:57
Speaker 1: you're strong because you're faith in Christ is strong. Never
36:01
Speaker 1: get far from the person of Christ. When you do,
36:04
Speaker 1: you're headed for trouble. And now, having affirmed them, he
36:10
Speaker 1: gives the basic rudiments of Christianity. Look at them in
36:17
Speaker 1: verses six and seven. You talk about Versus worth memorizing.
36:21
Speaker 1: There they are Collusians two, six and seven should be
36:25
Speaker 1: on the lifts and in the mind of every believer
36:28
Speaker 1: in Christ. Those are two verses that are worth your memorizing.
36:35
Speaker 1: Listen to them, and now just as you accepted Christ
36:40
Speaker 1: Jesus as the Lord. That's salvation, that's the new birth.
36:48
Speaker 1: Christianity begins for each individual by our putting our faith
36:54
Speaker 1: and trust in Christ, by our accepting him the Lord,
36:59
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. That's that's the first part. Now notice further on,
37:06
Speaker 1: you must he uses the word. You must continue to
37:11
Speaker 1: follow him, just as you have trusted in Christ, given
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Speaker 1: him your soul for eternity, so you must begin to
37:21
Speaker 1: walk with him. It's just like life. We're born little infants,
37:28
Speaker 1: little tiny babies. We can't walk, we can't talk, we
37:33
Speaker 1: can't feed ourselves. We don't even have teeth. We are
37:36
Speaker 1: totally helpless. We're little babies. And as we get a
37:40
Speaker 1: little older, we start to grow teeth, we bite, and
37:45
Speaker 1: we can begin to crawl. We like to sit up
37:49
Speaker 1: before long. We like to walk. But it's called toddlers
37:53
Speaker 1: because they walk like this, and they're stumbling around and
37:57
Speaker 1: they're falling, getting back up, and then falling getting back up. Well,
38:01
Speaker 1: toddler never says that's it. I am never gonna walk
38:04
Speaker 1: because I cannot walk. Now, Toddler's keep at it. They
38:07
Speaker 1: stay at it. Drive mothers and dad's crazy. One run
38:10
Speaker 1: at the golf coffeetail, hit their head and start to bleed.
38:14
Speaker 1: You patch them up and they get right back up,
38:16
Speaker 1: right toward the coffee table again. They're learning how to walk.
38:20
Speaker 1: That's the Christian life. Continue doing it. Don't quit because
38:25
Speaker 1: you fell. Everybody falls when they're learning to walk. Continue on,
38:31
Speaker 1: stay at it, stay at It's why we need other people.
38:34
Speaker 1: They hold us up. Please ask these chapter four nine
38:40
Speaker 1: through twelve, two are better than one that when you
38:43
Speaker 1: read the whole section three or better than two. We
38:47
Speaker 1: need each other. So keep on walking. Continue to follow him.
38:53
Speaker 1: Now there's more, and you begin to master this walking.
38:57
Speaker 1: You begin to put your roots down. It's fun and
39:01
Speaker 1: it's great. You're beginning to walk. You have not been birthed.
39:05
Speaker 1: You have now begun to walk. So you grow in
39:08
Speaker 1: Christ and you begin to deepen your roots. Let your
39:12
Speaker 1: roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be
39:16
Speaker 1: built on Him, not on some high sounding philosophy, not
39:21
Speaker 1: on some slick wording that you're going to pick up
39:24
Speaker 1: from the false teacher. Don't be mesmerized, because there's a
39:29
Speaker 1: big following. If we go by big followings, the cults
39:33
Speaker 1: are winning. Don't be afraid of minorities. Don't be afraid
39:40
Speaker 1: of being a part of the minority group. Don't be
39:43
Speaker 1: afraid of being the only one in your company or neighborhood.
39:48
Speaker 1: It's okay. You're walking with Christ. You're growing stronger in
39:53
Speaker 1: the truth that you were taught. And now look at
39:56
Speaker 1: the ultimate you begin to overflow with thankfulness. Isn't that
39:59
Speaker 1: a great a couple of verses. We're birthed, we begin
40:02
Speaker 1: to walk, we put our roots down, and then we
40:06
Speaker 1: start to produce. And what do we produce? Thankfulness? Got
40:09
Speaker 1: your pen ready, I'm gonna give you a verse of
40:11
Speaker 1: scripture to put in the margin of Colassians two six
40:14
Speaker 1: and seven. It's Hebrews thirteen fifteen. Hebrews thirteen fifteen. Listen
40:22
Speaker 1: to it. By him, Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice
40:25
Speaker 1: of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of
40:28
Speaker 1: lips giving thanks to his name, by him, none other
40:35
Speaker 1: than the Lord God. Let us offer the sacrifice of
40:38
Speaker 1: praise continually, the fruit of lips giving thanks to his name,
40:44
Speaker 1: naming the name the name of Christ, giving thanks to
40:49
Speaker 1: his name. And right on the heels of that, there's
40:54
Speaker 1: another warning. That's why we need each other. We need
40:59
Speaker 1: people who warn us look at it. Don't let anyone
41:03
Speaker 1: capture you. That is the idea of lead you away
41:06
Speaker 1: captive with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that come
41:12
Speaker 1: from human thinking, from the spiritual powers of this world.
41:16
Speaker 1: It is a subtle reference to the demonic powers. Cults
41:21
Speaker 1: are fed by demonic power. False teachers get their energy
41:27
Speaker 1: from false gods. There's a whole system of demonic authorities
41:34
Speaker 1: that operate in realms, all of which are invisible and insidious.
41:41
Speaker 1: You cannot see them, you will not hear them unless
41:45
Speaker 1: they're speaking through the vocal cords of a false teacher.
41:51
Speaker 1: He speaks of them as those that come from human
41:55
Speaker 1: thinking and spiritual powers, rather than what look look at
41:59
Speaker 1: the universe eight, Rather than from Christ, there we are again.
42:04
Speaker 1: Stay with Christ, keep him in the center. He is supreme,
42:09
Speaker 1: He is our all in all, rather than from Christ.
42:12
Speaker 1: For in Christ, and he decides he will just go
42:15
Speaker 1: a little deeper and test their metal when it comes
42:19
Speaker 1: to the ability to grasp in Christ lives all the
42:24
Speaker 1: fullness of God in a human body. I'll keep us
42:28
Speaker 1: busy for a while. Look at it in Christ. In
42:34
Speaker 1: no other or he would have told us there are
42:37
Speaker 1: others but in Christ alone lives the fullness of God
42:45
Speaker 1: in a human body. And to make it even better
42:48
Speaker 1: Verse ten, you are complete through your union with Christ,
42:53
Speaker 1: who is the head over every ruler and authority, referring
42:56
Speaker 1: again to the demonic realm, is head over all of that.
43:02
Speaker 1: By having Christ, you have the fullness of God. One
43:08
Speaker 1: man put it this way. It represents the essence of God,
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Speaker 1: undivided in its whole fullness, dwelling in Christ in his
43:18
Speaker 1: exalted state, so that he Christ is the essential and
43:23
Speaker 1: adequate image of God. How magnificent must have been the
43:28
Speaker 1: experience of the disciples who walked alongside the one who
43:34
Speaker 1: was full of grace and truth. And John admits we
43:39
Speaker 1: beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten
43:44
Speaker 1: of the Father, full of grace and truth. No wonder
43:52
Speaker 1: their lives were transformed. No wonder they lost interest in
43:56
Speaker 1: fishing in galilee and selling, are involved in taxing others.
44:06
Speaker 1: Everything focused on the fullness of what they had in Christ.
44:14
Speaker 1: You are complete through your union with Christ. Will you
44:18
Speaker 1: never forget it? You don't need more. If you have Christ,
44:24
Speaker 1: you're not missing anything, because with Christ you have the
44:28
Speaker 1: very essence of God. He represented Him in human flesh.
44:35
Speaker 1: Through your union with Christ, you have Him. I liked
44:40
Speaker 1: the way Kent Hughes describes this from his book on Collisions.
44:48
Speaker 1: Listen to this illustration. My wife and I once stood
44:52
Speaker 1: on the shore of the vast Pacific Ocean, two finite
44:57
Speaker 1: dots alongside a seemingly infinite expanse. As we stood there,
45:06
Speaker 1: we reflected that if I were to take a pint
45:11
Speaker 1: jar and allow the ocean to rush into it, in
45:17
Speaker 1: an instant, my jar would be filled with the Pacific,
45:24
Speaker 1: the fullness of the Pacific in that jar. But I
45:29
Speaker 1: could never put the fullness of the Pacific Ocean into
45:33
Speaker 1: my jar. Thinking of Christ, we realized that because he
45:39
Speaker 1: is infinite, he can hold all the fullness of deity,
45:43
Speaker 1: and whenever one of us finite creatures dips the tiny
45:47
Speaker 1: vessel of our life into him, we instantly become full
45:50
Speaker 1: of his fullness. I agreed is that that'll take up
45:55
Speaker 1: your lonely nights and fill it with thoughts like you've
45:59
Speaker 1: rarely had. When you have Christ, you carry within you
46:04
Speaker 1: the very essence of the living God. And that's how
46:10
Speaker 1: the Lord sees you complete in Christ, complete, nothing lacking.
46:21
Speaker 1: Before I'm through, I need to get into verses eleven
46:23
Speaker 1: and twelve, even though they're a little delicate because they
46:28
Speaker 1: use a word that is not usually used in public
46:31
Speaker 1: and rarely, if ever, from a pulpit. This is a
46:35
Speaker 1: word that appears in medical places or eight days after
46:40
Speaker 1: birth among the rabbis who were trained to do the
46:45
Speaker 1: work of circumcision. But he isn't referring to a physical circumcision.
46:50
Speaker 1: Think read, listen. When you came to Christ, you were
46:58
Speaker 1: quote circumcised. But and he quickly adds, not by a
47:04
Speaker 1: physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away
47:14
Speaker 1: of your sinful nature. What does that mean? Stay with me.
47:20
Speaker 1: It means this, when I turned to the Lord Jesus
47:24
Speaker 1: Christ by faith, and I trust him and him alone
47:27
Speaker 1: for eternal life. At that moment, sin no longer dominates
47:33
Speaker 1: my life. Until I came to Christ, I couldn't say no.
47:38
Speaker 1: Every temptation was just a matter of time before I yielded.
47:42
Speaker 1: But now that I have Christ and the fullness of
47:45
Speaker 1: God within me, I can say no because the power
47:49
Speaker 1: of Christ working through my mind and through my life,
47:53
Speaker 1: enables me to resist. The old nature was circumcised in
48:00
Speaker 1: the sense that it lost its power it once had
48:03
Speaker 1: over me. Let's read on, For you were buried with
48:07
Speaker 1: Christ when you were baptized, and with him you were
48:10
Speaker 1: raised a new life because you trusted the mighty power
48:13
Speaker 1: of God who raised Christ from the dead. Remember Galicians
48:16
Speaker 1: two twenty. I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I
48:21
Speaker 1: live yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And
48:26
Speaker 1: the life that I now live I live with the
48:28
Speaker 1: faith of the son of God, who loved me and
48:30
Speaker 1: gave himself for me. I'd been co buried, co resurrected,
48:40
Speaker 1: co ascended with Christ, so that I am now complete
48:44
Speaker 1: in him. Having the same power he had over sin,
48:48
Speaker 1: I have it within me, and because of that He
48:53
Speaker 1: becomes all important to me. Now, how does all of
49:00
Speaker 1: this apply? What could we say that could give you
49:02
Speaker 1: something to walk away with? And remember, you've listened so carefully,
49:07
Speaker 1: and it hasn't been an easy section to explain, but
49:10
Speaker 1: I think you begin to get it. Let me give
49:12
Speaker 1: you three thoughts. One has to do with something you
49:17
Speaker 1: will do once a week, the second has to do
49:21
Speaker 1: with something I'll suggest you do every day, and the
49:25
Speaker 1: third has to do with something you do several times
49:28
Speaker 1: a day. Here we go, once a week, affirm and
49:36
Speaker 1: encourage someone you love, just like Paul tells them, you
49:44
Speaker 1: are strong, and I'll rejoice with you because your faith
49:48
Speaker 1: in Christ is strong at firm. At least one other
49:54
Speaker 1: person every week. That's one more than you've affirmed for
49:59
Speaker 1: a long time. So I realize it's a new thought,
50:03
Speaker 1: but how valuable it is. By the way, when you
50:08
Speaker 1: affirm someone, you may want to write them something. Don't
50:14
Speaker 1: send them a text, don't put it on a computer.
50:21
Speaker 1: You've got fingers, write it with your own hand. Something
50:27
Speaker 1: happens when it's a handwritten statement of affirmation. I'll risk
50:33
Speaker 1: a little inside part of our lives. Every once in
50:36
Speaker 1: a while, I'll send Cynthia a love note. What it
50:41
Speaker 1: says is none of your business, but I work on it,
50:46
Speaker 1: and I put the wording together in just such a
50:49
Speaker 1: way that I want her to remember it, and I'll
50:53
Speaker 1: write it and then I usually don't have to sign it.
50:55
Speaker 1: I used to sign it Chuck Swindle, so but she
50:59
Speaker 1: realized she knew who the handwriting, and so I don't
51:01
Speaker 1: have to sign it. But let me tell you what's funny.
51:04
Speaker 1: It's one of the kids. Every once in a while,
51:06
Speaker 1: teach tea you'll take one of my love notes and
51:08
Speaker 1: put it on the mirror in the bathroom which we share,
51:11
Speaker 1: big old mirror in front of our sink, and there
51:14
Speaker 1: it'll be, and I'll read it, and yeah, I remember
51:17
Speaker 1: writing that. But what's funniest when the kids walk in, Oh, sweetheart,
51:22
Speaker 1: you need so much to me. How wonderful dad, that
51:26
Speaker 1: you would write that those kids have no business reading
51:29
Speaker 1: love notes that I write to my kids, my dear wife,
51:34
Speaker 1: having a little fun with you. But I urge you
51:36
Speaker 1: to write a love note, not just to your partner,
51:40
Speaker 1: pick someone you really love in the family. One are
51:44
Speaker 1: your kids. You may add a little glistering tablet because
51:47
Speaker 1: it'll shock them almost to death when they get it.
51:50
Speaker 1: Because some of you can't remember the last time you
51:52
Speaker 1: affirmed the kids, after all you've been given to criticize them. Really,
51:57
Speaker 1: I can't find that in the Bible. How about being
52:01
Speaker 1: remembered for your affirmation and encouragement. How about the kids
52:08
Speaker 1: when you're finally gone, saying the thing I miss most,
52:12
Speaker 1: or the notes he used to send me. Or it
52:15
Speaker 1: might be a phone call you're on your way somewhere,
52:19
Speaker 1: or maybe you are a long ways away just thinking
52:22
Speaker 1: of you. Today and want you to know how much
52:24
Speaker 1: you mean to me, how grateful I am for whatever.
52:28
Speaker 1: Once a week. Once a week, affirm and encourage someone
52:33
Speaker 1: you love. Here's the second. Once a day. Once a day,
52:38
Speaker 1: think of something for which you are grateful and tell
52:43
Speaker 1: the Lord thank you. Once a day, think of something
52:52
Speaker 1: for which you are grateful. Something will prompt you to
52:56
Speaker 1: think of that happened to me today. When I drove
53:00
Speaker 1: onto the church property, it was ten minutes until seven
53:04
Speaker 1: this morning. I drove on. There was another car or
53:07
Speaker 1: to here, but I saw three American flags flying. I
53:13
Speaker 1: hadn't asked anybody to put up the American flags on
53:16
Speaker 1: all three poles, but our very thoughtful custodial staff planned
53:22
Speaker 1: ahead and they put a big flag on this end.
53:24
Speaker 1: Did you notice if you didn't, you need your eyeglasses changed.
53:29
Speaker 1: It is huge. And I saw the flags and I said,
53:34
Speaker 1: thank you, Lord, and I live in this country. Thank you.
53:42
Speaker 1: It may be a little thing, Bruce Bartin wrote, sometimes
53:46
Speaker 1: when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things,
53:51
Speaker 1: I'm tempted to think there are no little things. Before
53:59
Speaker 1: you let your head now sunk into the pillow for
54:02
Speaker 1: a night's sleep, find a reason to say thank you
54:08
Speaker 1: Lord for and tell him. This passage says you'll be
54:14
Speaker 1: overflowing with thankfulness every day, several times every day. Here's
54:21
Speaker 1: your third assignment, little simple project through the hours of
54:26
Speaker 1: the day. Pause on occasion and remind yourself I am
54:33
Speaker 1: complete in Christ. Tell yourself that I am complete in Christ.
54:46
Speaker 1: I'm fully accepted by you, dear Father, because of Christ.
54:50
Speaker 1: I'm freed from the domination of Sin's control. Because of
54:54
Speaker 1: what He did for me on the cross. I'm absolutely
54:57
Speaker 1: secure now and forever in my salvation because of Christ.
55:02
Speaker 1: I'm complete in Him. Got it. Let's see how your
55:07
Speaker 1: week looks about a week from now. Abow with me?
55:14
Speaker 1: Will you so much fun to be together? Lord? And
55:20
Speaker 1: it's such a delight to open this magnificent book. As
55:28
Speaker 1: we see black print on white pages, we realize it
55:32
Speaker 1: isn't just print. It's just truth to live by, truth,
55:39
Speaker 1: if necessary, to die for. Deliver us from a frivolous, shallow,
55:47
Speaker 1: indifferent spirit in a day in which all of that
55:53
Speaker 1: is so popular. Give us someone to care for, to
56:00
Speaker 1: care about, free us to say so, catch us up
56:08
Speaker 1: short when we resist being vulnerable with words like I
56:15
Speaker 1: love you, I need you. You're important to me. And finally, Lord,
56:24
Speaker 1: thank you for Jesus.
56:25
Speaker 2: Who loved us.
56:31
Speaker 1: And gave himself for us. Thank you. He is all
56:38
Speaker 1: in all. We need nothing else but him when it
56:45
Speaker 1: comes to eternal life. We worship him now in his
56:52
Speaker 1: great name. Everybody said Amen.
57:00
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Counsel from a Concerned Apostle was copyrighted
57:05
Speaker 2: in two thousand, fourteen and twenty twenty two, and the
57:08
Speaker 2: sound recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty two by Charles Rswindall, Inc.
57:14
Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited