Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Words of Life" by Chris Young - Part 6

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"Words of Life" by Chris Young - Part 6 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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Good evening.
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Neil is away still at a meeting, so I'm going to try to stand in for him tonight.
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If you would, be turning to 1 Peter chapter 4.
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We are going to finish the book of 1 Peter tonight.
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That was my instructions from Neil.
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So we are going to finish chapter 4, and then we're going to go through chapter 5 tonight.
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Of course, Peter writing, and writing to these Christians in the 1st century, in the early 60s A.D.,
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and warning them, preparing them for persecution.
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That's a heavy theme within this particular book.
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In chapter 3, suffering was talked about a lot, and that's what we're going to talk about here, starting in verse 12 of chapter 4.
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It was talked about a lot in chapter 3, but it was kind of a theme of preparing for persecution.
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As in chapter 3, chapter 4 is about persevering through persecution.
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He's going to give them some good advice and counsel,
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knowing that they're getting ready to go through some trials and tribulations.
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We'll go ahead and get going in this 1 Peter chapter 4, starting in verse 12.
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Beloved, do not think it is strange concerning the fiery trials which is to try you,
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as though some strange thing happened to you.
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Peter is absolutely not sugarcoating what they are going to be up against.
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We know we've talked about the persecution that's going to be coming up against these 1st century Christians.
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Historically, primarily, a lot of times it's been from the Jews,
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but this is going to be a more organized and more institutional effort from the governing bodies even.
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A lot of pressure is going to be put on these folks.
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He even uses a term similar to what he used in chapter 1.
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He says, fiery trials.
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He's also saying, don't be surprised when this happens.
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He's warning them.
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But this isn't the first warning.
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If you'll recall, Jesus told them, if you want to maybe put a marker in your place there,
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in 1 Peter chapter 4, and if you go over to John chapter 15.
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John chapter 15, starting about verse 18.
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He says, here Jesus talking,
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If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
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If you were of the world, the world would love its own.
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Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
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therefore the world hates you.
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Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.
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If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
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If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
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But all these things they will do to you for my namesake,
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because they do not know who sent me.
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And so here Peter is writing, you're going to go through some fiery trials.
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He's really giving them full disclosure.
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Very similar to what he says in the 7th verse of chapter 1 of 1 Peter.
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He says there, he says,
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That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
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though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory
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at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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Of course, we go through trials and we go through tribulations,
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and it's kind of like refining a precious metal.
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How's that done?
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It's a fire, isn't it? Heat.
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And they're getting ready to go through that very same thing.
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And then he gives them some admonition here in verse 13
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that seems very difficult to do.
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So he's telling them, hey, you're going to be under a lot of pressure.
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You're going to have fiery trials, he says.
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You're going to go through some things here,
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but don't be surprised when it happens.
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Don't be taken off guard.
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And also rejoice. Rejoice.
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He says, but rejoice to the extent.
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Rejoice in what?
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To the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.
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That's one thing Peter does.
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He keeps reminding these people who are going to be going through
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all these persecutions and all these sufferings,
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he keeps reminding them of the suffering that Jesus Christ went through.
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And we can learn from that as well.
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Of course, he's writing this to these first century Christians,
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but by extension, us as well.
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He says, you rejoice that you partake of Christ's sufferings.
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Because when we suffer for being a Christian,
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for doing what is right, we are, he says, partaking in Christ's sufferings.
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That when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
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If you are reproached for the name of Christ,
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blessed are you, or blessed or worthy of praise or worthy of commendation.
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Blessed are you for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
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On their part, he is blasphemed.
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But on your part, he is glorified.
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And when we talk about sufferings and persecutions,
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they're going to be up against something here
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that we probably here in 2026 United States of America,
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we don't understand quite being persecuted for our faith
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necessarily in the same way as them, but we are persecuted.
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Remember, Paul writes that anyone who tries to live godly,
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you will suffer persecution.
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Jesus warns the same thing.
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Now, ours is a little bit different, maybe a little different.
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Ours takes the form of what?
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Maybe we're ostracized.
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Maybe we're made fun of.
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Maybe we're ridiculed.
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Maybe we will lose friends when we decide to put on Christ.
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But we still need to keep these things in mind.
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When we do suffer, as a Christian, we are partaking in the suffering of Christ.
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And then he also gives them a warning.
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He says, you know, you're worthy of praise
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if you're suffering for the cause of Christ because of good that you're doing.
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But he also gives them a warning here in verse 15.
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He says, but let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer,
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or a busybody in other people's matters.
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So I think we pretty well understand what a murderer is.
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We pretty well understand what a thief is.
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We understand what an evildoer is.
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We know that that's somebody who's, you know, doing evil, right?
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But what is a busybody?
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What is somebody that's a busybody in other people's matters?
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What does that mean?
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What does that mean?
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What kind of activities do those folks engage in?
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What is that?
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Gossip. Gossip.
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Okay.
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Anything else?
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What's that?
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Meddler.
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Trouble pot stirrer, we say.
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Meddles.
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Okay.
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Anything else?
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He said, you stay away from these things.
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He said, if you suffer for that, that's not worthy of praise.
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But he says, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed,
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but let him glorify God in this matter.
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Don't be engaging in those things that are ungodly, that are evil.
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He lists a few, you know, busybodies, gossip, thief, murderer.
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He says, but if you suffer as a Christian,
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And actually, the word Christian there in verse 16, you know, we are Christians.
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Those of us that obeyed the gospel, we are Christians.
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How often is that word utilized in the New Testament?
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How many times do you see that word Christian in the New Testament?
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Three.
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Three.
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Three times.
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Brother Becker, you want to tell us where we hear those words?
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Yep.
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Yep.
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Because I don't know where it is either.
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I was asking you because I didn't know where the third one was either.
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I knew the Christians first in Antioch.
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I knew about this one, but...
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Ah, there you go.
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There you go.
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There you go.
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Yeah, three times.
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But you would think, you know, it would be more, but here it's only three times.
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He says, but let him glorify God in this manner.
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For the time has come, verse 17, for judgment to begin at the house of God.
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Okay?
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What's the house of God?
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Church.
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The church is the house of God.
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And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
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Okay?
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In other words, if you think what you're going through is bad and it's difficult,
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and it may very well be,
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in the end you're going to be a lot better off than those who refuse to obey,
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who do not obey the gospel of Christ.
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He says, now if the righteous one is scarcely saved,
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where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?
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You know, as far as the question that he asked here, he says,
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back in verse 17, he says, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
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It's pretty incredible how all Scripture just fits together so well.
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Go over to 2 Thessalonians and that question is actually answered.
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2 Thessalonians chapter 1, let's start in verse 3.
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This answers the question that we see here in verse 17 of 1 Peter 4.
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In 2 Thessalonians 1, starting in verse 3.
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We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren,
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as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly,
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and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,
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so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God
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for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.
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Kind of the same theme as we read in Peter,
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which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God,
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that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer,
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since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you
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and to give you who are troubled rest with us
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when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
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In flaming fire, here's the answer to the question,
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in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God
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and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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These shall be punished with everlasting destruction
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from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power
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when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints
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and to be admired among all those who believe
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because our testimony among you was believed.
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So here in 2 Thessalonians, that very question in verse 17 is answered.
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Verse 18, now if the righteous one is scarcely saved,
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so the ungodly and the sinner appear.
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And then he kind of wraps up this particular section by saying,
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therefore, okay, so therefore, in light of everything I've just said,
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let those who suffer according to the will of God
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commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator.
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In other words, you're going to be going through a lot.
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Put your trust in God. He's going to get you through it.
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And he's going to fulfill the promises that he's made to you
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if you stick with it. That's the whole thing.
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Perseverance during persecution.
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Chapter 3 was preparing for persecution.
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Chapter 4, the latter part of chapter 4, is persevering through persecution.
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Any comments or questions on chapter, as we conclude chapter 4?
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All right. If not, let's go on into chapter 5.
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Chapter 5.
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The elders who are among you I exhort.
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So he says, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ
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and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed,
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shepherd, shepherd.
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So here he's got an admonition, some admonitions here
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for those that are in the role of elders.
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The verb here is shepherd. Shepherd.
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We talked a little bit about this a few weeks ago.
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He says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you.
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What does that involve?
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So here he's going to be talking to, he's talking to those
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that have taken on the responsibility of elders.
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So the metaphor here is sheep and shepherd.
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So if you are a baptized believer, if you are a child of God,
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if you are a Christian in the room tonight,
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you are either going to be a shepherd or you are a sheep.
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I don't know if we've got, yeah, there's one shepherd back there.
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I don't know if we've got any others or not. So the vast majority are sheep.
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So here he's talking to the elders,
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but we're also going to, so he's going to tell the elders
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what their responsibility is.
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He's basically giving them here in this passage their job description.
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But Scripture also is very clear about those of us who are sheep,
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what our responsibility is to the elders, to the shepherds.
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To shepherd, what's involved in shepherding?
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What's involved there?
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Okay, so it's guidance, absolutely.
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He says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you,
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serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,
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not for dishonest gain but eagerly.
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Okay, so a shepherd guides.
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What else does a shepherd do?
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Protects.
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Example, yeah.
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He specifically mentions that in this passage as well.
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There to be examples.
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So a shepherd is an example.
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A shepherd protects.
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Okay, so a shepherd protects sheep from wild animals and such.
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What does the shepherd, the elders in the church,
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how do they protect?
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What do they protect those of us who are sheep from?
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The evil one, Satan, false teaching.
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Absolutely, false teaching.
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Okay, so they are protectors, they protect.
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They serve as examples.
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What else do they do?
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They feed.
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Okay, a shepherd will feed sheep.
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What do the elders make sure the sheep of the church are fed?
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God's Word, right?
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Not only just the whole counsel of God, right?
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They're making sure that the Word in its fullness and in its entirety
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is being made available to the sheep.
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There's a lot of places in the brotherhood where the sheep are starving
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because they're not getting the full counsel of God.
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Here that's not the case.
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If you are...
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Sometimes you need to be very uncomfortable when listening to a lesson.
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If you're listening to Neil and Hiram on a regular basis,
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you're going to get the full counsel of God
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and sometimes it's going to be a little uncomfortable.
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That's how you know you're getting fed.
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And our elders make sure that we get the full counsel of God,
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the whole counsel.
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What else do shepherds do?
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They tend, protect, they feed.
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Okay, all right.
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All right, absolutely.
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They lead by example.
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Has anybody ever had that has livestock?
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Any of them ever gotten out of the fence?
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Gotten out of the pasture?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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That's usually when it happens at the most inopportune times.
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What's a shepherd do when the sheep get out?
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Goes after them, right?
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Goes after them, tries to get them back.
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What's that?
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They fix the fence, is that what you said?
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Absolutely.
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They go after the one that got away, okay?
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All right, what else?
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Anything else you can think of?
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So how do they do it?
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That one word is a pretty encompassing job description.
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He says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you, among you.
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So what flock is the elders of a congregation responsible for?
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The congregation where they are, right?
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They're among them.
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A shepherd smells like what?
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Sheep, right?
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He's to be among the sheep.
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What does an overseer do?
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They oversee, right?
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They see over.
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They see over.
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Doesn't mean overlook.
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It means to see over, right.
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Not by compulsion.
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In other words, they're not made to do this but they do this willingly.
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Not for dishonest gain.
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For the big money that they make doing the eldership, right, Kevin?
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Not for dishonest gain.
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Not by compulsion but willingly.
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Why is that important?
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How well do you do something that you really don't like doing?
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Is the quality of your work typically as good when you don't like doing something
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as it is when you're doing something that you really do enjoy?
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And then he also tells them how.
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He says, not as being lords over those entrusted to you but being, we said it earlier,
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examples to the flock.
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Remember Paul made the comment, he said, imitate me.
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Why?
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Because he's imitating Christ, right?
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That's what we do to our elders.
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And when the chief shepherd appears, there will be a chief shepherd,
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there is someone that they report to as well, appears,
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you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
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And eldership, that's part of God's plan.
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If you go to Acts chapter 14, let's see here, Acts chapter 14,
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go down to about verse 21.
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And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples
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and returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples,
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exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying,
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we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.
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So when they had appointed elders in many of the churches,
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no, every church, every church, and prayed with fasting,
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they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
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It is God's plan for the congregation to be under the oversight of local elders.
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So that's the responsibilities that elders have.
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And that is a huge responsibility.
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We need to be encouraging these men often.
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We need to be praying for these men often.
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There's no more important work than what they're engaged in.
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So that's the responsibilities that the elders have to the flock.
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But we also have a responsibility to them.
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Let's take a look at a few of those passages.
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Let's start with 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.
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1 Thessalonians chapter 5.
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And let's go down to verse 12.
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1 Thessalonians chapter 5, starting in verse 12.
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And we urge you, brethren, Paul writing here to the church at Thessalonica,
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to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.
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He's pretty clear who he's talking about here.
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And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.
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Be at peace among yourselves.
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We are to esteem them highly.
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Go to 1 Timothy chapter 5.
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1 Timothy chapter 5.
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And starting in verse 17.
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Paul writing here again to Timothy.
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Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
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especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
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For the scripture says,
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you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.
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This is a reference here.
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In some cases, if an elder is compensated, that's biblical.
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That is biblical.
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And the labor is worthy of his wages.
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Do not receive an accusation against an elder
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except from two or three witnesses,
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those who are sending rebuke in the presence of all that the rest also may fear.
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Showing respect to those who rule over us.
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Hebrews chapter 13.
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Hebrews chapter 13.
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And let's go down to verse 17.
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Here the Hebrew writer says,
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Obey those who rule over you and be submissive.
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Why?
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For they watch out for your souls as those who must give account.
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Now look at this last verse real carefully.
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Let them do so with joy and not with grief,
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for that would be unprofitable for you.
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We need to be careful that we do not unnecessarily grieve
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these men who have a big job,
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a huge job, the most important job.
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We need to be sure that we don't fall in that category
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where we are grieving them unnecessarily
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for they can do their work and enjoy that work.
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Because it is a tough job.
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They're dealing with heavy issues many times.
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It's like I told my youngest daughter
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when she went to work at the emergency room at the medical center.
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I said, the one thing you've got to keep in mind,
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you're going to be dealing with a lot of heavy stuff.
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I don't mean heavy as, but a lot of issues.
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They're not coming to see you because they're having a good day.
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You've got to remember that when you're dealing with people.
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So we need to keep that in mind as well.
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That we give them the honor that was talked about here,
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that Paul writes about and that the Hebrew writer writes about.
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Any comments or questions on that?
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All right, verse 5.
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Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders.
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Yes, all of you be submissive to one another
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and clothed with humility for God resists the proud
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but gives grace to the humble,
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which is a quote from Proverbs 3 in verse 34.
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Okay, what's he talking about here?
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Is he talking about the elders?
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Or is he talking about those that are older, more generally speaking?
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What do you think?
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Okay.
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It would include both, right?
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The elders and those that are,
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because elders are going to be,
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typically they're not immature, right?
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So they've probably got a little,
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I'm trying to be careful how I word this,
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a little seasoning, right?
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Is that a good word, Kevin? Seasoning?
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A little more seasoned in life, okay?
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Submit yourselves to your elders.
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Yes, all of you be submissive to one another.
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Clothed with humility.
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He's going to go into a discussion here about kind of,
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he's going to try to give them some comfort and a warning
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all at the same time.
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He says God resists, he talks about this pride,
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he talks about humility.
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We've had several lessons recently in the adult class on Sunday morning
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about humility and pride.
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He says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
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He says you gird yourself, you clothe yourself with humility.
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In verse 6 he says,
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therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.
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Now look, he's talking about humility and pride
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and then look what he says.
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Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
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that he may exalt you in due time.
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These folks are going to be going through a rough time.
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He's reminding them that they will be exalted in due time.
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Now these folks are going to be under pressure.
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They're going to have a lot of stress.
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They're going to have a lot of concerns.
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They're going to have a lot of anxiety.
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He says, remember be under the mighty hand of God
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that he may exalt you in due time.
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And he says, casting all your care on him for he cares for you.
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Just a few passages here I'd like for us to take a quick look at.
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Go to Psalm chapter 3,
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talking about humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
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He's reminding them that God is more powerful
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than anything they're going to be up against.
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So if you go to Psalm 3,
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and let's look at verses 5 and 6.
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I lay down and slept.
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I awoke for the Lord sustained me.
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I will not be afraid,
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because these folks are going to be fearful,
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of ten thousands of people
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who have set themselves against me all around.
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And then if you go to chapter 4 and verse 8,
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it says, I will both lie down in peace and sleep.
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For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
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Let's go over to the New Testament.
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Let's take a quick look at...
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It would help if I could read my writing.
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Romans chapter 8.
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Yeah, let's go to Romans chapter 8.
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And let's look at verses 31 and 32.
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Romans 8, 31 and 32.
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What then shall we say to these things?
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If God is for us, who can be against us?
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He who did not spare his own son,
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but delivered him up for us all,
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how shall he not with him
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also freely give us all things?
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So here, he's going to be addressing in 1 Peter 4,
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this little section here,
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the anxieties that they're going to be facing
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due to the suffering that they're going to be enduring.
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And he says, you deal with this.
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He reminds them about this mighty hand of God,
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how he is our protector.
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And he says, cast all your care,
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casting all your care on him for he cares for you.
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What's it mean to cast?
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Now, I don't mean like within a rod and reel,
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but a cast.
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If I wanted to cast something,
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I'm going to throw it, right?
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I'm going to toss it.
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I'm going to throw it.
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What's required in order to throw something?
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If I'm going to throw something at you,
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I've got to let it go, right?
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I've got to let it go.
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And that's why he brings in humility and pride.
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Sometimes we're so prideful
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that we think we can fix everything on our own.
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And there are some things
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that we're going to come up against from time to time
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that we can't fix ourselves.
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We've got to cast it.
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We've got to throw it.
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We've got to throw it to who?
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God.
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Let him take care of it.
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We have to humble ourselves.
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We have to gird ourselves
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in the humility
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and humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
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And when we're facing these things,
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we've got to throw it to him.
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We've got to cast it to him.
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That's how you deal with the anxiety.
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That's how you deal with these things
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that you just can't control.
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We're so proud sometimes
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that we think we can control everything.
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We think we can fix this
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and we think we can fix that
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and we try to fix this ourselves
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and we try to fix that ourselves.
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We need to make every effort we can to do what we can.
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But at the end of the day,
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there's some things that we just can't fix by ourselves.
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And we have to be humble enough to realize that
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and cast it and throw it to God.
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Yeah, knowing the difference is the key.
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That's right.
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That's right.
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Then in verse 8, he says,
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Be sober.
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Be vigilant.
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Here's the warning.
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He goes back and forth.
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He gives them some encouragement
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and some advice and counsel.
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And then he also couples that with warnings.
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He's getting ready to give them a big warning here.
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Big warning.
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Be sober.
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You be vigilant.
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Sober.
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It means, you know, clear-eyed, focused, okay?
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Be vigilant
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because your adversary,
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that's a legal term, okay?
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Legal term.
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Adversary.
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Plaintiff versus defendant.
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The devil walks about,
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here's a comparison,
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like a roaring lion seeking, okay?
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He's active.
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He's seeking whom he may devour, okay?
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That's a huge warning
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because Peter knows that, you know,
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as they're enduring these persecutions
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and they're enduring this suffering,
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that they're going to be prone to Satan coming in
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and snatching them away
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because it's real.
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What's easier to do?
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Is it easier to stand firm?
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Is it easier to, you know,
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just stay in the fight?
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Is it easier to just endure the ridicule?
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Or is it easier just to kind of go along to get along?
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Is it easier to just compromise and go along?
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He knew that a lot of them would be easier
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to just compromise and go along and give up.
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So he's warning them here.
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And he says, resist him.
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Resist him.
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Okay?
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We all realize that Satan is real,
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but how do we resist him?
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How do we resist him?
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Got to know who he is and what he's up to.
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Absolutely.
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That's absolutely right.
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You need to know your enemy before you go into battle.
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You know, there are some places
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that it's a lot more difficult to be a Christian
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if you have a choice of whether to go there or not.
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Stay away.
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That's how you resist him.
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Don't make it easy for him.
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Steadfast in the faith,
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knowing that the same sufferings,
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and here he goes back,
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had the warning,
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now he's going back to a little bit of comfort here,
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knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
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by your brotherhood in the world.
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You know, sometimes if we're going through something,
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we think we're the only ones that's experiencing this.
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No, it's happening throughout the brotherhood.
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But may the God of all grace,
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who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
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after you have suffered a while,
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all right, here's what's going to happen.
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He's going to perfect, complete, establish,
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strengthen, and settle you.
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To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
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Amen.
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Here he's making a point.
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Suffering is temporary.
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Glory is eternal.
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We have to remember that.
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Suffering is temporary.
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Glory is eternal.
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And he's trying to make this point
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to these folks who are going to be,
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as he said in chapter 4,
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they're going to be up against some fiery trials.
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Some fiery trials.
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He says, any comments or questions up to this point?
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By Silvanus, my research said that also Silas,
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our faithful brother as I consider him,
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as he winds up the book,
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I've written to you briefly exhorting and testifying
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that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
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She who is in Babylon elect together with you, greet you,
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and so does Mark, my son.
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He considered Mark a son in the faith.
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Greet one another with a kiss of love, peace to you,
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all who are in Christ Jesus.
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Amen.
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So here he's kind of, he's wrapping things up here.
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And so when you look at the book of 1 Peter,
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1 Peter is basically a warning and advice and counsel
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to these early Christians about threats
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that they're going to be receiving from outside the church.
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Now, when he writes the book of 2 Peter,
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he's going to be addressing threats from inside the church.
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There are threats outside the church,
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but there are threats inside the church,
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which is why we have elders to help protect us
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from those threats both outside and inside.
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And so, you know,
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Neil titled the book of 1 Peter in his class, Words of Life.
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And there are a lot of words that stand out.
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But I think the word that stands out the most
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that Neil went over is the word hope.
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That's what they had, that's what they had to have
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in order to get through these trials
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that they were getting ready to face
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there in that first century.
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All right.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, Mike and I were talking about that
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before services tonight.
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There are a lot of what I would call biblical scholars,
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I guess, that, you know, that I guess have published material.
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I guess that makes you the scholar.
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But yeah, like you said,
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they referred to Babylon as a,
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they say that Babylon is referring to Rome
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and that he's using symbolism here,
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much like John did in the book of Revelation 30 years later.
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There are some who think it is the literal Babylon.
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I don't know.
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I wasn't there at the time.
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But Mike, you want to expound upon that?
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Yeah, yeah.
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Right.
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Right.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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Mm-hmm.
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Right.
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Mm-hmm.
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Right.
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Right.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I think you take a literal interpretation of Scripture
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unless there's compelling reason not to, right?
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There's compelling reason to look at Revelation in a figurative sense
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because at the beginning of the book of Revelation,
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it tells you this is figurative language.
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It says, I have signified.
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Well, if you're signifying,
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that means you're expressing something in signs and symbols.
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The book of 1 Peter is more of a literal writing.
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So, yeah.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Anybody want to go up against that?
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Huh?
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Anybody?
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Any other counterpoints?
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Thank you, Mike.
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That's good information.
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All right.
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Anything else before we wrap up?
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I think that was the second bell.
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All right.
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Everybody have a good evening.
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Thank you.