Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24415 - Many Shall See God’s Work in You - Acts 3:11-26

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#24415 - Many Shall See God’s Work in You - Acts 3:11-26 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live from Calvary Chapel in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace media, visit us online at Calvary
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Aurora dot org, or download our free app on all platforms.
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And now, here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Amen.
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Would you open your Bibles to Acts chapter?
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03. We're going to pick up where we
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left off last time in this Bible study.
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I think it's a timely one for where we are in light of what's
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happening around us Acts chapter 3.
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We're going to pick up in verse 11 and I titled our Bible.
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Study, many shall see God's work in.
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You many shall see God's work in you.
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And maybe you've heard this phrase before it goes something
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like this. There's a lot of variations to
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it but it goes something like this Believers or the only Bible
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is that Some people were ever read and there's a variation
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like your life is the only Bible that some people will believe.
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I don't think that's entirely accurate but I do, I do enjoy
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the perspective. I think it's a great
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illustration that our lives are on display and you and I we
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represent Christianity to a watching World either in a
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positive way or add a negative way.
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Your life my life represent Jesus to those that are around
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us and a lot of what people think Think about Christianity
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and Christians has come from watching our lives.
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Watching the life of the church. I mean, think about this for a
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second. I know we mentioned earlier on
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and we kind of joke about it and it's fine to joke about it.
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But you know how people will say, you know, I don't go to
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church because it's filled with Hypocrites.
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And then the joke is, of course, we're all here.
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Of course it is, you know, we're all here.
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But with there's hypocrisy and all of our lives and go how we
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want to be and grow in that area.
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It's true. But I want you to consider this
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for a second. That someone coming to the
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conclusion that the church is filled with Hypocrites.
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Most likely came from dealing with hypocrisy in a Christian a
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person. Maybe your life may be mine.
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There's certainly hypocrisy my life and, you know, it's not
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always on purpose. It's not always like, oh, I want
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to wake up in the morning and be the biggest hypocrite that I
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can, but it comes from the Battle of the spirit and the
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flesh, it comes from that place where, you know, I want to
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follow Christ, but my flesh it Wars against my spirit and we
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start making decisions. And before, you know it, we are
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living a life of hypocrisy and that's not okay.
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Because it is what people see, and it is what people conclude,
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you know, it's that sense. Why I have no problem with
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Jesus, but I have a lot of problem with this followers.
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Well, why don't we really pay attention to our own personal
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walk and be one less hypocrite. Somebody needs a deal with one
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less person that is living a life inconsistent with what
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would be expected in a person, following Christ.
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Many people are watching our lives, we were going to read a
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Psalm we didn't, but let me let me read to you the song that I
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chose today in Psalm 40 and just listen to, It's A Beautiful song
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of Salvation. From David, he's declaring his
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Joy of being delivered. And he says this, in Psalm 40
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verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me
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and heard my cry. And he also brought me up out of
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a horrible pit out of the Miry clay.
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And he, Set my feet upon a rock and established my steps.
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He's put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God and listen to
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what he says. Many will see it and fear and
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will trust in the Lord. All that God is doing in your
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life. All the God was doing in David's
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life. All the God's doing in my life
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many will see it. How about I change that a little
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bit and say many do see it. But many will see it and will
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learn to fear God and a whole life change can take place in
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someone else because of your testimony is the power of God
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through you. Many will see it.
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And that's what's happening here in Chapter 3.
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Of the book of Acts, many people are seeing God's work in this
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man. That was lame, who was healed.
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Many people are seeing it. God is getting again, the
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attention of many in that area around the temple.
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And you'll remember in our time last time we learned how Peter
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and John were just headed to what we would call today.
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They're just headed to church, they're headed to the temple for
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a prayer meeting. And they're walking by this man,
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that was laid at the gate every day.
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There's Good chance that they've seen him and known him, but this
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day was different. It's almost as if there was this
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impression of God, it was almost like, God dropped into Peter's
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heart. You know what, Peter I want you
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to stop right now. I want to kill that man, and
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it's a word of knowledge that we learn in First Corinthians
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chapter 12 and with that word of knowledge.
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What is Peter do? He stops?
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He goes as the guys asking him for money.
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He stops he zeros look at me and he tells him silver and gold.
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I don't have. But I'll tell you what, I do
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have in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk
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and he grabs him and pulls him up which I think.
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At that moment, God gave him a manifestation of Faith to obey
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that command because that was a wild time.
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And what could have been seen as an interruption, what could have
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led to frustration, what could have been even using?
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I don't have time for your now. I'm going to a prayer meeting.
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I'm doing something spiritual I'm doing something religious,
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I'll get back to, you know, none of that.
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He stops he obeys the Prompting in the leading of the Holy
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Spirit and God heals that, man. And let's just be clear.
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Let's make it abundantly. Clear?
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God healed that man. Not Peter.
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Peter is merely the instrument just the instrument.
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It is God that healed him. So with that in mind, pick up
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with me in verse 11 of Acts chapter 3, You got this guy,
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leaping praising God clinging to Peter and John.
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So check this out. Verse 11, he says Now, as the
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lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the
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people ran together to them in the porch, which is called
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Solomon's greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, so Peter
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just witnessed the miracle and now he Witnesses everybody
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running in this large crowd coming when Peter sees this, he
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responded to the people men of Israel, Why do you Marvel at
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this? And why do you look so intently
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at us as though, by our own power or godliness?
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We made this man walk. Now, let's pause there because
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something important is happening.
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There is a recognition of God's power interrupting lives
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Gathering, attention, Peter sees it.
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He's filled with the Holy Spirit and now again, he takes this
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Divine appointment and chooses to address the crowd crowd with
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the gospel. He's going to tell them about
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the condition of their life. They're so concerned about the
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condition of this man that was healed.
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There's, they're so concerned and amazed and surprised and
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shocked by it all, but God is more concerned about them.
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And this is his Divine appointment for them.
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The lame man is super excited but actually the lame man, he's
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being used for all of them. And so notice what he says, he
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has two questions to questions that he poses to them.
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The first one is why are you surprised by this?
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That's what the word marvel is. Why are you so shocked by it?
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What why? And why is that an important
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question? Because these guys were
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religious, they studied the scriptures there.
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Where are they? They're in the same region of
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the Temple. Where that was the religious
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Center of Israel. So they're they're religiously,
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they're, they're following God. And what he has, why you got?
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So surprised the same God you were, this is what God does God
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heals people, why are you shocked by it?
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Why is this such a big deal to you?
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That's a great question. Number two is even a greater
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question. And he says, why you guys, why
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are you looking at us? Why are you looking so intently
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at us as though? It was our power and our
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godliness that we made this man walk?
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You see, Peter understand something that you and I need to
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understand and that is he is in a very dangerous place.
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This this this moment in time is one of the most dangerous times
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in Peters entire life. It wasn't under great duress, it
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wasn't under great persecution. It wasn't when he was wrestling
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with whether he believed or not or doubting.
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This is one of the most dangerous times and his entire
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life and the her lies on whether he will take credit for the work
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of God. Whether he will take the credit
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and draw attention to himself, do you know that's very popular
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today, right? That God is at work on the Earth
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today and men, and women love to take credit for the work of God.
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They love to draw people after themselves.
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They love the Applause. They love people following them.
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They love their name in lights and they sinned greatly by
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taking God's glory to themselves.
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It's something not just them. We all have to be careful.
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I've had the Learn this. The hard way we were taught very
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early on in Ministry, even as we teach the men and women in our
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school Ministry, the same thing. Listen, if God ever does
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anything good through you, he gets all the glory and if
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there's anything that back comes from you, that's your fault.
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That's you. You don't blame God for it.
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That's us. If we, if we stumble and fall,
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what are we to do? Where to repent, humble
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ourselves, and allow the truth to come out.
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We aren't to respond while, you know, if this and with a bunch
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of excuses. Isis and well, you know, it's
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God's fault or, you know, making excuses like you could have like
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we learned last time. You know, I'm not going to heal,
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I'm not going to be a part of it because God wants me to pray,
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whatever. That might be God gets all the
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glories. Matter of fact, the Bible says
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that this way and the so important, let me just read to
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you. What the Bible says, Isaiah 42,
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verse 8, I'll read it to you because I like to NLT on this.
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I am the Lord, that's my name. I will not give my glory to
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anyone else nor. Share my praise Carved Idols God
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shares his glory with no one and I've had to learn this.
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The hard way we were taught. Hey look just give all the glory
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to God. Don't get a big head and my
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pastor Jeff used to say you know there's pastors they get big
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head and they grow like a balloon, you know, but God has a
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pain that he can pop it in any moment and there have been a few
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seasons in my Ministry where my head I did allow with through
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pride, and arrogance my head to get Big as if something happened
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that wasn't God as the origin and God and my pastor was
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correct, you know, here's the thing.
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You can humble yourself under the mighty hand of God?
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That's painful. He lifts you up or God will
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humble you himself? And that's painful.
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But either way God requires humility in our lives.
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And the less painful way is for you to obey God, humble
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yourself. It is not, you were just an
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instrument. You were just an instrument
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anyone that's used by. God has to learn how to give God
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the glory. But like, for example, in a time
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like this, just the gifting that God has given to me.
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In Pastor teacher, God will use this Bible study, he will use
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his word. And this teaching to minister to
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many people and some of those will email me or come up after a
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service. Thank you.
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Like the brother last night, brother comes up last night.
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He thanks me for the Bible. Study, it really ministered to
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his heart. He was here at the right time
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and God did a great thing. I have learned over over the
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years to respond to that. This way, if someone says, thank
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you Pastor for the Bible study. Here's my answer.
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You are welcome. And then almost immediately in
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the same breath, I'll say, but isn't God.
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So good that he uses word in your life, God gets the glory
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either. There's a human instrument
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involved. But what happened in his life,
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wasn't me, it was God, it was God taking his word and shooting
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it right to his heart. And in his story was amazing,
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his story's. Amazing, you sharing with me,
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how he was Texas at a live in treatment center and and now
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he's out and he's been sober. Check this out for eight months
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sober for eight months. I mean we Rejoice with the
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brother. I was able to look at him and go
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home. Ambro, I was eight months once
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but I have been sober now for 31 years, 31 years.
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You see the glory of God, the strength of God that kept him
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sober for eight months. He left here knowing you know
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what eight months can become eight years can become 16 years.
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Like it's not going to be some program that keeps you sober.
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It's not going to be some steps that keep you sober.
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The sobriety and strength. That's in this room.
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Comes alone from God. There might be some tools along
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the way, but even being able to look him in the eye and go, not
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only have I been sober for 31 years but God has kept me from
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alcohol completely. I don't want anything to do with
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it. Why in the world would I go back
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to something that I've been delivered from, haven't I learn
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my lesson that it can destroy me.
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Take me under its under its control and hurt everyone.
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On me. Why would I go back?
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What butthead butthead? You have freedom.
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You're right. I have freedom to stay away from
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something that's so destructive. So I can look a guy in the eye
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right here. And say look bro, I am Sober by
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the grace of God and you can too.
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That's the that's the power of God.
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You don't take it all. You know, I've been sober all
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this time and now I'm a pastor and no, no, you got to step back
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because the lightning is going to come through here.
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It's going to like you just step back and go.
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No, you don't take Take that Glory.
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Thank you. You know, you're welcome, I'm
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glad that the Lord used his word, isn't he?
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So good that anytime you open the Bible, anytime it's taught
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to you. The holy spirit will make it
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activate into your life. It's so good.
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You want to be careful with your Sunday school teacher or small
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group leader. Whether you're a worship leader,
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you have a little prayer meeting.
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You got a Bible study in your house, let me tell you
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something. The first way out of ministry is
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to take the glory to yourself. That's the first step.
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It could be the only step that will take you out a minute.
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Stree completely because God won't share his glory with
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anyone with just instruments. We need to keep that varium, you
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know, we don't, we don't want to dwell.
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We look at we look at us where the healers, you know, people
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will rent out the Pepsi Center and invite everybody in town.
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Come on, out to here will heal, you will heal you, you know, you
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will kill nobody. It's only God that heals and he
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does that Sovereign lie. He doesn't do what you might see
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or hear today, or charlatans, come around and draw attention
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to themselves. And even during these last
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couple years is just big emphasis on prophets and
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prophetesses and you can follow them.
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Don't you be following prophetesses or Prophets?
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You Follow the Lord. You follow the lord and you test
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all things and you hold fast to what is good?
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You don't follow some pastor. Some pastor and his wife, you've
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got to learn to follow the lord and anything a pastor says
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anyone that teaches anything that's taught you test it and
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you hold fast to what is good because Jesus himself is the
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embodiment of sound Doctrine. He is good.
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And you don't want to follow, man.
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You also don't want people to follow you, Peter.
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He takes the way of Escape. Do you know, any time there's a
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Temptation in your life. According to First Corinthians,
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10:13, there's always a way of Escape.
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You are never stuck with temptation.
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God will always make a way for you to escape it.
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You can always say no, you can always cite step in the power of
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the spirit. You don't you're not, you're not
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overwhelmed to the point where I just can't get out of this, you
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can get out of it right now. There is a way of Escape
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available to you right now. You do not have to follow
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through with the sin. You've planned.
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You don't have to sign those documents.
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You don't have to go through with whatever you've plotted and
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planned. You can't.
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I think of where we're going to get in later on in the book of
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Acts, we're going to look at ananias and Sapphira.
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Do you know they could have that chapter could have been written
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differently? They didn't have to lie to the
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Holy Spirit and after after Ananias is wiped out for his
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lies. It says, that Safari comes
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later, you can read ahead. We'll be there soon.
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Enough in Ox, says, his wife comes, you know, she didn't have
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to lie either. They could have changed their
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mind and I say that as a word from the Lord, to someone to a,
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you can change your mind right now and choose not to send, you
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don't have to go through with it, you can choose to follow the
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Lord and He will honor you. So back in Acts chapter 3, here
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he is, he says, don't look at us, it's not about us.
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And then in verse 13, He says the god of Abraham, Isaac, and
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Jacob, the god of our fathers has glorified his servant,
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Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate
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when he was determined to let him go, but you denied the, Holy
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One. And the just, and you asked for
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a murderer to be granted to you and you killed the Prince of
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Life. Whom God raised from the dead of
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which we Are Witnesses. You don't understand something.
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This these are heavy words. He says you guys you know you're
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looking at us like we're something special and again this
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was a momentous time in his ministry.
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He could have taken all their Glory.
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He could have asked them to follow.
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You know, he could have built on that.
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But he did the exact opposite. He spoke the truth in love and
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said, three very hard things. Did you see him?
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Number one, he said you delivered up Messiah.
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Number 2 and verse 14. He says you denied that's the
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second time. He said that you denied the,
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Holy One in the just. And then finally in verse 15 he
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says you guys killed him. Yeah.
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Now they didn't literally kill him, and many of them weren't
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there. The authorities were the ones
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that handed him over to Rome so it's not like by their hands.
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They did. So how is it that they denied
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him? How is it that they turn on him?
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How is it that they killed him? They're sent.
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Which you could say today. As we prepare our hearts for
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communion, you could say today that it was your sin that put
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Jesus on the cross. He was mine.
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These are the very same things that could be said of us because
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of our sinful ways. Yeah, surely some of them might
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have said, crucify him crucify him. and perhaps some of them,
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they're listening could be some of the religious rulers there
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and they were literally the ones that did this But you see, we're
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all guilty because of sin, it's not a select few. and Peter, he
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knows this is what needs to be shared because he's walking in
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the spirit You ignored the Bible?
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You ignored and denied and killed the Savior, you know,
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Peter uses all these paradoxes here to prove a point.
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He says Jesus was a servant but God exalted him.
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Jesus was a deliver but the nation delivered him to pilate.
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They rejected the holy and righteous one and they received
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a murderer, an Unholy unjust murderer.
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They print to death the prince of Lies life.
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But ask for one who literally took life And what is he doing?
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But leading them down the road to repentance.
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So notice with me, he says, in verse 16, he says his name
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through faith, in his name, has made this man, strong whom you
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see and know, yes, the faith that comes through.
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Him has given him this. Perfect.
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Soundness in the presence of you all yet.
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Now, Brethren I know that you did it in ignorance as did your
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rulers so he's leading them down this.
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And in order to bring someone to a place of repentance, you have
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to tell him the truth. The truth about life.
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We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
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All of us, there isn't an innocent one Among Us here
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online. You're listening on the radio
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right now, You're Not Innocent. Now many of us could have sent
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in ignorance and that's where he, you know, it's such a tense
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time. What does he do?
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He the releases the pressure a little bit.
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He says but you did it in ignorance and you know you're
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there can be A little bit of relief there.
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Little bit of rest. Like okay, I did own ignorance
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but that doesn't make you innocent just makes you
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ignorant. Ignorance doesn't make you
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innocent. Doesn't mean you didn't do the
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deed, you did, but God he knows you, he cares, he acknowledges,
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he acknowledges, your Humanity, He recognizes that we have all
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failed, you know the psalmist would put it this way in Psalm
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103 that God. He cares for us.
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He has compassion on us like a dad to his child.
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That's from the new living. I paraphrase a little bit
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because in the Old King James in the new King James, it says like
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a father. He has pity on us and it just
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sounds like he feels sorry for his.
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He doesn't feel sorry for us. He has a compassion over what
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we've done to ourselves through sin. it's like he has so much
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more for us, but we chose the route that destroyed us And he
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cares about us. He knows, he knows that you're
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just dust is what the new King James.
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He knows you're human. It doesn't excuse you.
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But he does relate to you. So much.
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So he sent his own son. Jesus Christ to take on a human
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body fully man fully God to die in your behalf.
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He says. In verse 18 now but those things
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which God foretold by the mouth of All His prophets that the
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Christ would suffer. He has fulfilled.
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So even though you are involved in it, this was the plan of God
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all along God. God's plan from the foundations
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of the Earth was to send a savior.
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And with that in mind he gives the the turning point in verse
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19. He says repent, therefore and be
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converted Friend. That's the only answer to your
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sinful condition. That's it.
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There's no other. There's no second or third
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alternative. The only alternative to your
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condition in life is to repent where this word is so important
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in the Bible that we're going to spend a whole bible study on it.
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So I can explain to you from the scriptures.
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What repentance means it's so important, there will be no one
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in heaven, no one born again without repentance.
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And so there's a long definition to repentance that.
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I'll share with you, but suffice it for our time today.
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Say the word literally means in the original language to change,
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it speaks of changing your mind because if you will change your
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mind, your behavior will change. We have it all backwards.
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Everybody's trying to change their behavior, change their
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behavior and they keep going back to it.
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Keep going back to it, keep going back to it.
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Why? Because you haven't changed your
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mind. Yeah, you maybe you're upset
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with the consequences and I'm always in trouble.
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My wife's always mad at me, my husband was doing and so you
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like, okay, I'll just stop this Behavior.
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Know, you have to change your mind or biblically.
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You have to repent and you know, the pathway of repentance deals
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with truth. And the conclusion of Truth, is
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a Godly sorrow. Not a sorrow and sadness.
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All I got caught but a Godly sorrow that I've sinned against
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a holy and a righteous God. But I'm far from him that my
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life doesn't honor him. I say I'm a Christian but I live
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this way. Or I don't want anything to do
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with Christianity. I mean I think of some that
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might even be here today. Here's the day this is the day
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that finally you visited this church.
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You've been putting it off, put it off, you don't want to come.
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Don't want anything to do with church?
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I get it's how I walked into a church.
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I totally get it but your deal has always been on go to church
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because it's filled with Hypocrites.
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And what is the pastor talked about the hypocrisy in the room
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and then you're sitting there going?
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Yeah. Yeah, bunch of Hypocrites.
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He agrees with me. I actually Do I do the biggest
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Hypocrites. A few feet off the ground right
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now. Yeah they're always in
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consistencies in our lives for sure.
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Keeps Us humble and dependent upon the Lord and they get less
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and less as we get closer to the Lord.
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But can I ask you a question? If you are unwilling to
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acknowledge that you're a sinner, but you continue to live
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in sin saying that you're a good person who's the bigger
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hypocrite. if the room is filled with Hypocrites which there are
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getting consistencies among us and we wear the admit that But
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have you ever considered your life?
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Oh I'm a good person. Yeah, but look at your life, you
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call that good and on what scale doesn't?
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Good. Keep changing depending on your
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behavior. Who's the bigger hypocrite?
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They've all had, man. That was a nice man.
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Not slow. That's not nice.
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Yeah, but you need to hear the truth, you've been living behind
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this excuse for so long. Overlooking.
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The inconsistencies in your life.
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And why would God even have you here today except to hear how
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much he loves you and cares for you even with those
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inconsistencies because those Believers that are hypocritical,
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many of them actually are not wanting that they don't wake up
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in the morning going, I want to be the biggest hypocrite today
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but rather there's a battle in their lives between living for
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God and living their old way of life.
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And unfortunately, the old ways can overtake us very quickly and
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we readily agree to them which you interpret is hypocrisy.
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But you have to ask yourself who's the bigger hypocrite,
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because the truth is with believer and unbeliever alike.
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The room is filled with all of us that have hypocrisies in our
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lives. All of us.
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And the way the Bible says that is that we have all sinned and
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fallen short of the glory of God.
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There isn't an innocent one in the room.
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There isn't anyone innocent? We all must repent and be
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converted. So what that your sins may be
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blotted out? And that times of refreshing may
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come from the presence of the Lord, that he might send Jesus
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Christ who was preached to you before.
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Whom Heaven Must receive until the time of restoration of all
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things which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets
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since the world began that times of refreshing, I find no more
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refreshing thought than to think my sins have been forgiven by
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the blood of Jesus Christ. That he is wiped away.
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The guilt and shame from my life because there is a lot of regret
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and This is are not we look back and we went, we could have and
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we should have. And we wish we would and all of
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its like, there's so much regret, but if our sins have
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been blotted out, then we can't live in regret, we need to press
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on. We need to live a life that is
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not in the past. There's nothing we can do about
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the past, can't change one part of it, but we can certainly deal
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with today. We can make new decisions.
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Today, times of refreshing means now it's your converted and
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you're born again, you can make different decisions for your
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life. Yes.
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I know, we've all got a past, some better than others, but our
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pastas are passed now. We're living for the Lord.
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We're pressing on. We're moving forward.
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You're living with the free and that word blotted out from the
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Greek. Talks about Erasure.
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And the idea is in the ancient world.
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The ink that was used didn't have the kind of acids that we
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have in ink today, so that when you write on a with a ballpoint
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pen or with a marker, you can't just wipe it off.
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You know, the erasers they used to give us just destroy the
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paper but doesn't take the ink off but in the ancient day the
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inks were much more much more simpler with all that without
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all these assets. So when they would ride on the
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Vellum or they'd write on the Papyrus, it would be very easy
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for them to wipe. The ink away.
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This is to wipe it away and that's the idea behind this word
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blotted out. Just wipe it away.
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It's not that, it didn't happen, it did but by the blood of Jesus
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Christ is not held against you anymore.
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I'm telling you, that's pretty refreshing that God had give you
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a new start. Give you eight days of sobriety
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eight weeks of sobriety I eight months a year, the lifetime to a
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legacy into the presence of Jesus delivered from the
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difficulties of this world. That's what he tells them.
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He's going to send Jesus times of refreshing but not only that
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verse 21. It also points to the times of
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restoration for you Bible students.
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You know, that this is a reference to the time where King
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Jesus Will Rule and Reign on the earth for a thousand years.
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We call that the millennial period.
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So not only will you be enjoying the refreshing times of now but
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there's coming a day where Kings and kingdoms they pass away,
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presidents and and and cabinets and they all pass away.
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They come and go. But King Jesus.
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Can you imagine just in your holy imagination what it will be
29:39
like to live on the earth under the rulership of Jesus Christ to
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rule and reign with Jesus forever.
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All eternity. This stuff was going to pass
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away. It's all temporary but God is
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going to restore. What has been broken to?
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What he desires? That's all wrapped up here.
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And then he goes on to say about Moses in verse 22.
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He says, you know, Moses talked about this, he prophesied it,
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the Lord, your God will raise up for you.
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A prophet from me like your brethren him, you show here and
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all things, whatever he says to you, and it shall come to pass.
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That every soul who will not hear the prophet shall be
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utterly destroyed. So there's a danger repent or be
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destroyed. Then he says, in all the
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prophets from Samuel and those who follow as many have spoken
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have foretold these days to. This isn't a surprise, these are
30:30
men that knew the Bible study the Bible was in synagogue all
30:33
the time and Peter's taking advantage of that you guys like
30:36
Moses. He said this, you like all the
30:38
profits they said this you are sons of the prophets verse 25.
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You have a you don't just Revere them.
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M, you are related to them and he says, you are sons of the
30:51
Covenant, which God made with our fathers and in your seed,
30:54
all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.
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So, to you first God, having raised up his servant, Jesus
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sent him to bless you in turning away.
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Every one of you for your iniquities.
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Again, if you like to write in your Bibles, would you just note
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that it would be easy to pass it over?
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But I don't want to Jesus was sent to bless you.
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That's his purpose. In life.
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He sent to bless you. Yes, he's going to tell you the
31:17
truth. Yes, he's going to reveal sin.
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Yes. It's going to be a battle.
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Yes, there's a flight. Yes, Jesus.
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He was sent to bless you. To revolutionize your life.
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Not for you to give a little piece here in a little piece
31:30
there and maybe I'll do this. Maybe I'll know he came to bless
31:34
you by taking over your life. By giving you times of
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refreshing by restoring, what the years have been eaten up by
31:43
restoring what has been lost through sin.
31:45
Jesus came to bless you. Would you just let that soak in
31:49
as we come to the communion table?
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One of the things to remember is Jesus came to bless you.
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He came to bless you, why? Because God loves you.
32:00
There's no way around it. God's love for you is so immense
32:03
that it's even hard to to conceive of the greatness of his
32:07
love for us, his care and concern for us.
32:12
And I don't want you to miss in chapter 3 now, looking back at
32:16
Peter and John that what began as a possible Interruption, was
32:21
yielded to the Holy Spirit as a Divine appointment, and that
32:24
Divine appointment, as he sees the opportunity led to an open
32:28
door to share the Spool and a guy got healed.
32:33
That was lame his entire life and he's jumping and leaping and
32:36
clinging to them. And a whole group of people come
32:39
because they know this guy. They can walk they walk by him
32:41
all the time too. And God has everybody's
32:44
attention. Why?
32:45
Because he cares about the lame man, but he also cares about
32:48
everyone else. He cares for everyone on the
32:51
Earth today. He cares for you.
32:55
In our lives are a lot like that if we will just embrace the
32:58
opportunities, not be so mad about.
33:00
I'm so frustrated about is my time, my schedule my life, but
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yield Our lives, our time, our schedule our life to the one who
33:09
has opened or after opened or available to us because God is
33:13
opening doors. All around us to share the
33:15
gospel to love people. In Jesus name to practically
33:18
serve them. And even as we are walking into
33:21
more difficult times. The Lord is with us, we're not
33:26
alone. And let's remember that as we
33:29
come to the communion table. So father, we pray for your
33:31
spirit to speak to us. It's been, you know, it's been a
33:36
kind of a heavy morning this morning, Father, But I am
33:40
grateful that you gave that impression to give opportunity
33:45
for Testimony to give opportunity for care and
33:48
concern. So that the church we More than
33:54
a text message more than a notification more than an email.
33:58
But these are real live people, a part of our church family,
34:03
even if this is the only time they've ever been here, this is,
34:07
there are friends And because there are friends, their
34:12
families are friends. And we care for them.
34:19
And so enlarge our hearts God, Enlarge our hearts, forgive us
34:25
for being sidetracked. For no yielding to our flesh.
34:34
Not walking in love. And thank you God for helping us
34:43
to walk in the spirit to walk in love and let today be forever.
34:48
Ingrained in us that what happens around the world affects
34:52
us today because people are connected to people that are
34:57
connected to people. And as we prepare our hearts to
35:02
take of the elements, may you have your way with us in Jesus
35:06
name? We pray that you've been
35:10
encouraged by this Bible. Study delivered live from the
35:12
sanctuary of Calvary, Aurora for prayer or a copy of the study,
35:17
call us at 877, 30 Grace, that's eight 77304, 2:53 or visit us
35:26
online at Calvary, Aurora dot-org, be blessed as you
35:30
worship Jesus this week. We pray that you've been
35:10
encouraged by this Bible. Study delivered live from the
35:12
sanctuary of Calvary, Aurora for prayer or a copy of the study,
35:17
call us at 877, 30 Grace, that's eight 77304, 2:53 or visit us
35:26
online at Calvary, Aurora dot-org, be blessed as you
35:30
worship Jesus this week.