Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / A Time for Strong Resolve │ Msg 44

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A Time for Strong Resolve │ Msg 44 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Courage is just another word for inner strength. Courage is
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Speaker 1: the determination to hang in there, to persevere, endure hardship, fear,
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Speaker 1: and all manner of difficulty. The fact is it's impossible
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Speaker 1: to live victoriously for Jesus Christ without courage. We cannot
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Speaker 1: honor God in a godless culture without courage. The real
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Speaker 1: test of courage is isn't so much for those fighting
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Speaker 1: on the battlefield or for witnessing in the midst of
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Speaker 1: opposition or even facing down a burglar in our homes.
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Speaker 1: Real courage demands a strong resolve that goes much deeper
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Speaker 1: than all of that and is much more demanding. Be
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Speaker 1: assured that in some way your resolve will be tested
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Speaker 1: today and every day. Your test of courage may not
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Speaker 1: be as exciting as a beachhead landing or sailing around
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Speaker 1: Cape Horn or making a spacewalk. Instead, it may be
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Speaker 1: as simple as saying no to an improper invitation. It
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Speaker 1: may be as uneventful as facing a pile of laundry
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Speaker 1: with a positive attitude. It may be a private or
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Speaker 1: unknown struggle within yourself between right and wrong. Remember, God's
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Speaker 1: Medal of Honor winners are made in secret because our
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Speaker 1: most courageous acts occur down deep inside, away from the
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Speaker 1: view of the general public. That takes courage. It takes
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Speaker 1: a strong resolve. I think that's why the Apostle Peter
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Speaker 1: issues us a warning in his first letter, the final chapter.
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Speaker 1: Listen to his pressing warning, 1 Peter 5, verses 8
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Speaker 1: and 9. Stay alert. Watch out for your great enemy,
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Speaker 1: the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking
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Speaker 1: for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be
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Speaker 1: strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and
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Speaker 1: sisters all over the world are going through the same
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Speaker 1: kind of suffering you are. For the past seven days,
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Speaker 1: I have gotten my eyes open to another world. I
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Speaker 1: haven't been alone in that experience. A number of our
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Speaker 1: pastoral staff members and wives were with me as we
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Speaker 1: concentrated our time, energy, and attention on rather sizable group
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Speaker 1: of ministers and their mates. It was a time of
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Speaker 1: a great reward and it was quite revealing, quite honestly.
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Speaker 1: It was also a time of real draining of energy
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Speaker 1: and I must admit there were occasions when it was
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Speaker 1: a bit discouraging. We listened to stories of great success
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Speaker 1: and and joyful experiences as God had given His blessing
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Speaker 1: and His growth and His favor to certain ministries. And
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Speaker 1: we sighed with those who told their stories of pain
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Speaker 1: and brokenness and loneliness. As expected, we heard one account
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Speaker 1: after another of how legalism had eclipsed grace. And in
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Speaker 1: spite of the efforts of a faithful minister to teach
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Speaker 1: the truth about God's wonderful freedom that comes through Christ,
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Speaker 1: it seems as though the enemy is still winning some victories.
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Speaker 1: Matter of fact, the last morning we were together, Cynthia
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Speaker 1: and I having breakfast, one of the men stopped by
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Speaker 1: to express gratitude to all of us who had participated
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Speaker 1: in the leadership of this pastor's conference and he said
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Speaker 1: as he requested prayer for his future in the church
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Speaker 1: that God had led him to lead, he said in
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Speaker 1: years past he had begun to see the grace of God.
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Speaker 1: And he had become bold enough to preach the grace
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Speaker 1: of God and it was frowned upon by his particular
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Speaker 1: community And as a matter of fact, a number in
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Speaker 1: the church began to question his teaching. And no less
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Speaker 1: than 300 of them had left rather abruptly when he
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Speaker 1: decided it was time to get specific about the grace
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Speaker 1: of God, to free people from the bondage of traditionalism.
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Speaker 1: Those 300 left not because he was in doctrinal error
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Speaker 1: or because he was morally defecting from the faith, but
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Speaker 1: rather because he announced publicly it would now be all
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Speaker 1: right for Christian women to wear pants. They didn't have
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Speaker 1: to wear dresses or skirts. They could wear pants. He
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Speaker 1: lost his choir some years later, along with all those
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Speaker 1: in music leadership, when he permitted the singing of new songs,
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Speaker 1: one of which was the great piece, Majesty. That was
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Speaker 1: just too much for some of them, and they left. Yes,
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Speaker 1: our hearts were broken over stories like that. Not all
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Speaker 1: of them were that dramatic. Our theme for the conference
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Speaker 1: was a time to renew your joy. And I'm hoarse today,
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Speaker 1: not because I preached all week, not just because of that,
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Speaker 1: but because I laughed with them all week. It was
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Speaker 1: great to see some of them laugh for the first
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Speaker 1: time in a public meeting. One layman said it had
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Speaker 1: been almost two years since he had laughed out loud
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Speaker 1: in his church. And he said, this week I've made
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Speaker 1: up for the next five years and the fun we've
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Speaker 1: had together. We deliberately had fun and laughed and enjoyed
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Speaker 1: the Lord together and opened his word to the theme
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Speaker 1: of grace. And some of them just sat and wept.
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Speaker 1: It was great to be with them. They were so open,
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Speaker 1: so teachable, so warm, some of them in tough places.
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Speaker 1: One man told of how his mentor, who had taught
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Speaker 1: him so much of his theology in his formative years,
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Speaker 1: had recently turned on him because the man had, in
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Speaker 1: studying the scriptures, come to the realization that he no
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Speaker 1: longer believed a person was saved by being baptized. And
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Speaker 1: he no longer believed that once you came to know
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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus, you could lose your salvation. And when
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Speaker 1: he publicly testified against baptismal regeneration and when he spoke
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Speaker 1: of eternal security, at the close of the service, that
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Speaker 1: mentor came forward and publicly discredited him and said the
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Speaker 1: man is a deceiver and cannot be trusted. Yes, there
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Speaker 1: were also accounts of moral defection as well. One man
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Speaker 1: told of being in the unhappy place of confronting a
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Speaker 1: longtime fellow minister with his moral failure. And the deeper
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Speaker 1: they dug, the more they uncovered and found that the
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Speaker 1: man had been living a life of duplicity for 25
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Speaker 1: or more years. Adultery with women on the side and
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Speaker 1: preaching with vigor every Sunday. And, as a matter of fact,
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Speaker 1: is still engaged in ministry. The man spoke holding back
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Speaker 1: the tears as he and his wife talked of how
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Speaker 1: they have become the marked people because they are the
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Speaker 1: ones that are negative rather than the ones standing for
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Speaker 1: the truth. What a privilege it was to be in
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Speaker 1: a new scene and to talk to people who were
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Speaker 1: all the way north, far as north as Canada and
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Speaker 1: as far south as Jamaica. And from most of the states,
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Speaker 1: in these great United States and to rub shoulders with
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Speaker 1: some of the great men in ministry. The authenticity and
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Speaker 1: the joy were wonderful. We were from all varying personalities
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Speaker 1: and temperaments, and yet our last time together, we arm
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Speaker 1: in arm stood in that place and we sang, we
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Speaker 1: are one in the bond of love, and we closed
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Speaker 1: with the Lord's Prayer. As the conference came to a
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Speaker 1: close and Cynthia and I winged our way home along
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Speaker 1: with our other staff members that were there, the Lord
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Speaker 1: began to impress on me three or four thoughts that
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Speaker 1: I have not been able to ignore. They sort of
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Speaker 1: kept me awake through the night thinking about speaking today
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Speaker 1: to all of you. First, I thought of this. The
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Speaker 1: enemy is hard at work. And this is no time
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Speaker 1: to slacken our efforts. If indeed the enemy is at
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Speaker 1: work in secular places, I can assure you he is
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Speaker 1: alive and well in the church. He is at work
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Speaker 1: assaulting and assassinating the lives of men who were once
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Speaker 1: strong in the pulpit. He is cutting the feet out
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Speaker 1: from under individuals who were once effective and full of
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Speaker 1: zeal and courageous. songs and sermons. The enemy is hard
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Speaker 1: at work. If he's done anything in this final decade,
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Speaker 1: he has rolled up his sleeves and intensified his efforts,
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Speaker 1: hopefully to discredit those who now have integrity. Second, I
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Speaker 1: thought the pressure and the needs are enormous on people
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Speaker 1: of all walks of life. Have you begun to notice that?
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Speaker 1: It's especially true of those who are engaged in some
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Speaker 1: kind of spiritual leadership. You may be in music leadership
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Speaker 1: or you may be in teaching leadership or you may
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Speaker 1: be in missions or educational leadership. But if you are
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Speaker 1: a Christian and you are influencing people for the cause
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Speaker 1: and the good of Christ, you are under pressure. Perhaps
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Speaker 1: like you've never known before. My Bible is open to
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Speaker 1: a couple of verses of scripture from Peter's pen. 1
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Speaker 1: Peter 5, verses 8 and 9 seem to say it
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Speaker 1: better than I, in all of my struggling efforts, can
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Speaker 1: say them. Listen to these words and let them sink in,
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Speaker 1: though they are familiar. 1 Peter 5, 8. Be of
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Speaker 1: sober spirit. Be on the alert. Why? Why does he
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Speaker 1: say that with such passion? Why does he write that
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Speaker 1: with such a heavy pen? Because your adversary. It isn't
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Speaker 1: the adversary of some distant body of prelates, some small
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Speaker 1: group of influential leaders who are doing the work of ministry.
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Speaker 1: Your adversary, fellow Christian, fellow minister, fellow leader, fellow teacher,
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Speaker 1: fellow elder, fellow deacon, your adversary, Christian parent, Christian leader,
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Speaker 1: Christian businessman or woman, your adversary, the devil, look at
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Speaker 1: his method, prowls about, isn't marching to some heavy cadence, invisibly, insidiously, cleverly, brilliantly,
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Speaker 1: with stealth and strategy. Your adversary prowls about like a
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Speaker 1: roaring lion, and he is on a pursuit. He is
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Speaker 1: deliberately seeking someone to devour. Put your name in place
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Speaker 1: of someone. I'll do that. Like a roaring lion, he
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Speaker 1: is seeking to devour Chuck Swindoll or the Swindoll family
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Speaker 1: or the integrity of the Swindoll name. You do that
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Speaker 1: with your name and with your family. He deliberately is
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Speaker 1: prowling about to ruin, to discredit, to take the ring
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Speaker 1: from your voice and the power from your influence. So
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Speaker 1: be of sober spirit, be on the alert. What do
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Speaker 1: I do with an enemy like that? This is no
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Speaker 1: day for a wimp. I don't know that it has
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Speaker 1: ever been so for people in ministry. As I read
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Speaker 1: through history, I find that it's just from one battle
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Speaker 1: to another as the church has stood against all odds.
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Speaker 1: This is certainly no time for hiding. resist Him is
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Speaker 1: the command, and doing it firm in faith. Not in
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Speaker 1: the energy of your own strength, but firm in faith,
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Speaker 1: knowing that you're not alone. The verse concludes, knowing that
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Speaker 1: the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your
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Speaker 1: brethren who are in the world. And I've got a
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Speaker 1: whole new group of brethren today That I didn't know
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Speaker 1: 10 days ago. Who are in the same world I'm in.
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Speaker 1: The same world you're in. And they're going through the
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Speaker 1: same stuff we're going through. We're in this together. For
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Speaker 1: the long haul. For the cause of Christ. I also
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Speaker 1: thought of this. Thirdly. The temptation to overreact is great.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps greater than ever. By overreacting I mean. Just giving in.
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Speaker 1: The pressure mounts. Greater and greater tests come, and it's
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Speaker 1: easy to just succumb, sort of quietly surrender, to compromise
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Speaker 1: the message. Just don't make waves. Just keep the peace
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Speaker 1: at any price. Or another reaction is to fight back
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Speaker 1: with a bigger fist. And if you're being shouted at,
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Speaker 1: shout back. If you're being accused, accuse in return. If
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Speaker 1: you're being assaulted, then roll up your sleeves and find
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Speaker 1: a way to assault in an even more evil manner.
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Speaker 1: Or simply, the ultimate overreaction is to quit. Just fold
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Speaker 1: up the book and go into some other work. Just
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Speaker 1: get away from the pressure. It is a little frightening,
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Speaker 1: men and women, for me to realize afresh how many
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Speaker 1: Ministers today in confusion are whipped like dogs, are intimidated
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Speaker 1: by a few powerful people in their church. It's a
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Speaker 1: little frightening for me to remember how many today minister
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Speaker 1: from hearts that are angry or even bitter. If God
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Speaker 1: ever wanted to do a significant work, it is now.
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Speaker 1: It is now. Some of us by grace have seen
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Speaker 1: the beginning of the century, but to see the end
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Speaker 1: of it. These may very well be your last days.
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Speaker 1: How important not to end them in a whimper or
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Speaker 1: with a sigh. Which leads me to the fourth and
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Speaker 1: causes me to move into the message that I really
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Speaker 1: have from the Lord today for all of us. This
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Speaker 1: is a time for strong resolve. A time for strong resolve.
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Speaker 1: We cannot, we dare not just sit back and sort
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Speaker 1: of hope for the best. You with small children, you
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Speaker 1: cannot simply fold your hands or go out into the
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Speaker 1: workplace and just earn enough money to give them the
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Speaker 1: best and hope they turn out right. They need attention
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Speaker 1: and training and time and discipline and love and care
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Speaker 1: and affection. They need it deliberately from parents. They need touch.
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Speaker 1: They need affirmation. They need presence. This is a time
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Speaker 1: of strong resolve. It is a time of strong resolve
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Speaker 1: for people in pulpits, for those who write music, for
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Speaker 1: those who put into pages of books truth for the
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Speaker 1: next generation to read. Billy Graham's perhaps best book released
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Speaker 1: back in the late 60s was entitled World Aflame. I
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Speaker 1: have quoted from this before, but it's worth repeating. In
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Speaker 1: a declining culture, says the evangelist, one of its characteristics
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Speaker 1: is that ordinary people are unaware of what is happening.
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Speaker 1: Only those who know and can read the signs of
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Speaker 1: decadence are posing the questions that as yet have no answer. Mr.
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Speaker 1: Average Man is comfortable in his complacency and as unconcerned
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Speaker 1: as a silverfish ensconced on a carton of discarded magazines
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Speaker 1: on world affairs. He is not asking any questions because
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Speaker 1: his social benefits from the government give him a false security.
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Speaker 1: This is his trouble and his tragedy. Modern Man has
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Speaker 1: become a spectator of world events. observing on his television
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Speaker 1: screen without becoming involved. He watches the ominous events while
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Speaker 1: he sips his beer in a comfortable chair. He does
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Speaker 1: not understand that his world is on fire and that
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Speaker 1: he is about to be burned with it. Now understand
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Speaker 1: as I present to you a number of references that
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Speaker 1: I am not advocating that leadership take on an iron
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Speaker 1: fist or that there no longer be vulnerability among those
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Speaker 1: who are God's spokesmen and women. I'm not suggesting that
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Speaker 1: there be influence by intimidation or by mind control or
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Speaker 1: by verbal threats, you know me well enough to know
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Speaker 1: that I stand against everything that represents. I'm not calling
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Speaker 1: for bullies in pulpits or for unteachable and inaccessible teachers
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Speaker 1: in places of importance. But first and foremost, I want
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Speaker 1: to promote the idea of modeling truth, authenticity, always patterning
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Speaker 1: our lives after the one who came before us and
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Speaker 1: has gone on beyond us. Jesus Christ who came, remember,
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Speaker 1: full of grace and truth. Perfect balance. But we need
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Speaker 1: strong resolve. I don't think Christians can survive the next
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Speaker 1: ten years, certainly as the events of on the horizon
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Speaker 1: began to emerge into reality. I don't think we can
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Speaker 1: survive sort of yawning our way through the decade, taking
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Speaker 1: our cues from the media. While in prayer about so
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Speaker 1: much of this, I was led ever so gently back
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Speaker 1: into the great book of Psalms in Scripture, the book
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Speaker 1: of Psalms. How unusual it seemed to me that God
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Speaker 1: would lead me there. stop off at Psalm 102. I,
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Speaker 1: like you, have always thought of the Psalms as a
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Speaker 1: book of great praise and a book of devotion, but
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Speaker 1: suddenly it seemed to pulsate with exclamation points that were
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Speaker 1: inherent in the text. Psalm 102, for example, if I
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Speaker 1: may set the stage for Five strong resolves for the decade.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 102, if you read the superscription, which is originally
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Speaker 1: in the Hebrew text, we're told it is a prayer
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Speaker 1: of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out
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Speaker 1: his complaint before the Lord. We don't know who he is.
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Speaker 1: No one knows. We know who wrote Psalm 101 because
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Speaker 1: the superscription reads, A Psalm of David. And the same
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Speaker 1: for 103, A Psalm of David. But there's no man
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Speaker 1: by name connected with 102. Could have been one of
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Speaker 1: the lonely prophets. Could have been a man that is
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Speaker 1: never named in Scripture. But for some reason, the Spirit
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Speaker 1: of God chose his writings and included them in the
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Speaker 1: sacred text. But what a moving account of a man
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Speaker 1: in need. It's a pleading psalm. Hear my prayer, O Lord.
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Speaker 1: And let my cry for help come to thee. I
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Speaker 1: can just see his hands lifted in a dark place.
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Speaker 1: And he pleads to be heard. He pleads for divine assistance.
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Speaker 1: He says, do not hide thy face from me in
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Speaker 1: the day of my distress. Incline thine ear to me
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Speaker 1: in the day when I call. Answer me, Quickly, there's
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Speaker 1: urgency in his words, isn't there? For my days have
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Speaker 1: been consumed in smoke. Listen to the vivid imagery. My
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Speaker 1: days consumed in smoke. My bones scorched like a hearth.
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Speaker 1: My heart has been smitten like grass. You get the
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Speaker 1: meter of the psalm. My days, my bones, my heart. Consumed, scorched,
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Speaker 1: smitten like grass and withered away. There's a loss of
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Speaker 1: motivation and passion. My heart has been smitten like grass.
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Speaker 1: And something is withering inside me. Let me tell you something.
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Speaker 1: The person who speaks for God knows the mandate. And
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Speaker 1: there is nothing so depressing as feeling that the blow
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Speaker 1: has gone out of the voice. Or the passion is
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Speaker 1: now missing that was once there. or that there is
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Speaker 1: indifference and apathy in place of zeal and direction. There's
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Speaker 1: nothing more tragic than a leader who has lost the
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Speaker 1: drive to lead. Maybe he was one of those. There's
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Speaker 1: also a loss of appetite. He says, indeed, I forget
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Speaker 1: to eat my bread because of the loudness of my groaning.
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Speaker 1: My bones cling to my flesh. You ever been so distressed,
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Speaker 1: so discouraged that fixing a meal seems a Herculean task?
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Speaker 1: Or you see a time to stop and eat as
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Speaker 1: an interruption in your grief and mourning? And involuntarily you
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Speaker 1: realize that you're losing weight. Oh, for the good old days,
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Speaker 1: I can hear some of you say. But what gets
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Speaker 1: you there is misery and heartache. And you say... When
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Speaker 1: will I ever get back on my feet? There's a
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Speaker 1: loss of self-respect. Look at how he refers to himself.
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Speaker 1: I resemble a pelican in the wilderness. I've become like
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Speaker 1: an owl in waste places. And worst of all, I
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Speaker 1: am like a little lonely bird on a housetop. I
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Speaker 1: talked to men last week like that. Not all of them.
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Speaker 1: And maybe not even most in places of leadership today
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Speaker 1: are like that. But I want to assure you many
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Speaker 1: are like that. I don't know when my heart has
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Speaker 1: been so moved over those who have God's message and
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Speaker 1: have the position and the authority to declare it, and
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Speaker 1: they're not doing it because of such a distress. Look
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Speaker 1: at verse 11. My days, another analogy, are like a
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Speaker 1: lengthened shadow. And he repeats it, I wither away like grass.
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Speaker 1: Whole loss of determination. He's being eaten alive with anxiety.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 109 is a similar sounding psalm. Again, now it's
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Speaker 1: from David, but similar scenery. Oh God of my praise,
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Speaker 1: do not be silent, he says. Ever begun a prayer
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Speaker 1: like that? Lord, listen up. Lord, listen, listen. I care
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Speaker 1: about this, God. Don't turn your back on me. Don't
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Speaker 1: ignore me, Lord. That's the passion of verse 1. Oh,
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Speaker 1: God of my praise, don't be silent. The implication is speak.
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Speaker 1: Enter into my world. And here he realizes the causes
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Speaker 1: of those losses we just thought about. They, the ubiquitous they,
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Speaker 1: they're always those Always those people. Those sources of discouragement.
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Speaker 1: We all have them. For they have opened the wicked
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Speaker 1: and deceitful mouth against me. They have spoken against me
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Speaker 1: with a lying tongue. Remember his command. Don't be silent, Lord.
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Speaker 1: Listen to where I am. They have surrounded me also
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Speaker 1: with words of hatred and fought against me without cause.
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Speaker 1: In return for my love, they have accused me. I'm
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Speaker 1: in prayer about it. Thus they have repaid me evil
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Speaker 1: for good, hatred for love. Lord, don't be silent. I'm
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Speaker 1: withering under the accusations and under the evil and hateful attacks. Speak, Lord.
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Speaker 1: Enter in. Act. Defend. One more, 120. Psalm 120. Again,
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Speaker 1: there's no author named, but it's yet another plea. The
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Speaker 1: writer is in trouble and he admits it. One of
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Speaker 1: the wonderful things about prayer is you can tell it
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Speaker 1: all and nobody will tell. God won't tell anybody. You
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Speaker 1: can unload your heart and he will hear, accept, understand,
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Speaker 1: and renew. He says, I'm in my trouble. I cried
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Speaker 1: to the Lord. Now he says he answered me. Deliver
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Speaker 1: my soul, O Lord, from lying lips. That's plural. And
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Speaker 1: from a deceitful tongue, I take it literally, that's singular.
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Speaker 1: One deceitful tongue has created numerous lying lips who believe
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Speaker 1: the deception. And now I'm the victim of the verbal assaults.
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Speaker 1: What shall be given to you and what more shall
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Speaker 1: be done to you, you deceitful tongue, strong, sharp arrows
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Speaker 1: of the warrior with the burning coals of the broom tree?
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Speaker 1: Woe is my situation. Woe is me. For I sojourn
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Speaker 1: in Meshach. I dwell among the tents of Kedar. And
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Speaker 1: too long has my soul had its dwelling with those
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Speaker 1: who hate peace. Look at that. I am called to
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Speaker 1: keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
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Speaker 1: I'm called to be a man or a woman, a
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Speaker 1: leader of peace. But there are those that want to fight.
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Speaker 1: They want war. Look at the last verse. I'm for peace.
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Speaker 1: But when I speak, they want to fight. They're for war.
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Speaker 1: Tragic stories. Made me appreciate all over again this great
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Speaker 1: church God has raised up and has maintained over the years.
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Speaker 1: Why would his favor rest on us like this? He
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Speaker 1: is in a situation where he speaks for peace and
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Speaker 1: shalom is his theme, but he's surrounded by those who
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Speaker 1: want to fight back. They want to wrestle. They want
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Speaker 1: to bear arms. I don't know what all of this
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Speaker 1: is saying to you, but you can't deny the scenery
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Speaker 1: is stormy. And the battle is raging. It occurred to
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Speaker 1: me that it's time for some strong resolve. As I
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Speaker 1: said earlier, we can't just sort of sail and drift
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Speaker 1: aimlessly and expect to do much. That will change much.
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Speaker 1: The idea of resolutions is nothing new. Jonathan Edwards, 1703
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Speaker 1: to 1758. Listen to those dates. From the early to
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Speaker 1: the mid-18th century, this strong resolve. philosopher, theologian, this preacher
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Speaker 1: of grace, set forth resolves, listen to a few of his, resolved,
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Speaker 1: that I will do whatsoever I think to be most
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Speaker 1: to the glory of God and my own good profit
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Speaker 1: and pleasure in the whole of my duration without any
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Speaker 1: consideration of the time, whether now or never, so many
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Speaker 1: myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think
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Speaker 1: to be my duty, and most for the good and
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Speaker 1: advantage of mankind in general. Resolved never to lose one
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Speaker 1: moment of time, but to improve it in the most
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Speaker 1: profitable way I possibly can. Resolved never to do anything
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Speaker 1: which I should be afraid to do if it were
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Speaker 1: the last hour of my life. Resolved never to do
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Speaker 1: anything out of revenge. Continues, resolved never to speak evil
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Speaker 1: of anyone so that it shall tend to his dishonor
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Speaker 1: more or less upon no account except for some real good.
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Speaker 1: You know what I'm talking about in these resolutions I
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Speaker 1: want to suggest? I'm talking about your character. I'm talking
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Speaker 1: about being people of character, even more than reputation. John Wooden,
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Speaker 1: former coach of the UCLA Bruin basketball team for so
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Speaker 1: many championship years, writes, care more about your character than
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Speaker 1: your reputation. Your character is what you really are. Your
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Speaker 1: reputation is only what people think about you. I want
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Speaker 1: you to care about your character more than your reputation.
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Speaker 1: And I think these strong resolutions will help make it happen.
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Speaker 1: You may not be the type to write things down,
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Speaker 1: and I understand if you're not, but if you are,
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Speaker 1: I suggest you locate a blank page in the front
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Speaker 1: or back of your Bible and put at the top
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Speaker 1: of it your own writing, strong resolutions. And I want
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Speaker 1: to suggest, with the little bit of time I have left,
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Speaker 1: five things. statements that I want to resolve before you.
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Speaker 1: And I will ask nothing of you that I will
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Speaker 1: not give myself to with equal vigor and commitment. First, resolved.
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Speaker 1: To be alert to the presence of evil and the
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Speaker 1: strategy of the adversary. I am resolved to be alert
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Speaker 1: to the presence of evil and the strategy of the adversary. Admittedly,
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Speaker 1: I know much of what we face does not come
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Speaker 1: directly from the devil, but I want to assure you
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Speaker 1: most of it, if not all, indirectly is from the
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Speaker 1: pit of hell. Who wants nothing more than to demoralize
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Speaker 1: and discourage and discredit every one of us, myself included.
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Speaker 1: He is the original murderer, the first deceiver. He is subtle.
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Speaker 1: He is invisible. He masks and masquerades. He has insidious plans.
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Speaker 1: His strategies are clever, may I even say brilliant, more
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Speaker 1: than you and I would ever imagine. Be alert to
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Speaker 1: his presence and to the ugly workings of evil. I
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Speaker 1: so resolve. Second, resolved. To stay fervent in prayer. I
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Speaker 1: want to make that resolution public so that you can
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Speaker 1: hold me accountable. I want to be more a minister
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Speaker 1: of prayer than I have ever been. I resolve, you
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Speaker 1: if you are with me, resolve to stay fervent in prayer.
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Speaker 1: Let me add a thought to that. Not hesitating to
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Speaker 1: to call down supernatural assistance. Not hesitating to call down
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Speaker 1: supernatural assistance and when necessary, divine discipline. To stay fervent
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Speaker 1: in prayer and to call down supernatural assistance without hesitation
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Speaker 1: and when necessary, divine discipline. All the way through the Psalms,
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Speaker 1: I read courageous words Strong words. In fact, you would
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Speaker 1: think the man wrote them out of sheer anger. As
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Speaker 1: he commands in prayer, commands God to silence the enemy,
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Speaker 1: to confuse the chronic complainer and critic, to remove the
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Speaker 1: cause of unrest, to make miserable the one who makes war.
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Speaker 1: Those are strong prayers. Let's make the decade that will
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Speaker 1: follow this year a decade of passionate petition and courageous intercession.
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Speaker 1: Let's fight our best battles on our knees. How about it?
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Speaker 1: Rather than becoming better at debate and more clever in
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Speaker 1: our sarcasm, and if you are in ministry using the
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Speaker 1: pulpit as your favorite hammer, Let's drop to our knees
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Speaker 1: and do our best work on our knees. And if
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Speaker 1: it's some great cause, if it's some great vision, if
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Speaker 1: it's some great concern, whether it be worldwide or in
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Speaker 1: your own tiny cubicle of life, take it first to God.
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Speaker 1: To stay fervent in prayer through the decade. Third, resolved.
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Speaker 1: To refuse to retaliate. in the energy of the flesh.
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Speaker 1: I so resolve to refuse to retaliate, take our own
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Speaker 1: revenge in the energy of the flesh. When I'm swung at,
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Speaker 1: the great tendency is to swing back. I was taught
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Speaker 1: how to do that. It comes naturally, and so it
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Speaker 1: is with most of you. The adversary loves it when
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Speaker 1: we take him on one-on-one. He loves that. Remember the
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Speaker 1: story I told you some time ago about the man
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Speaker 1: who had listened to me preach on another occasion and
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Speaker 1: he had come to know Christ and early on he
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Speaker 1: gave me a phone call and he said, I just
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Speaker 1: want to tell you, Chuck, I'm a new Christian and
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Speaker 1: I'm ready for the devil one-on-one. Oh boy, I said, wait, wait, wait, no.
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Speaker 1: Don't kid yourself. Well, he called me just the other day.
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Speaker 1: It's been several years now. He says, Chuck, remember me?
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Speaker 1: I'm the one who called you and said, I said, yeah,
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Speaker 1: I remember. He says, I'm not ready to take the
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Speaker 1: devil on one-on-one. I said, you've learned. He said, have
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Speaker 1: I learned? That's like my taking on Larry Bird one-on-one
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Speaker 1: in a game of basketball. Why are you laughing? Or Michael,
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Speaker 1: I started to say Michael Jackson. That's not the right name.
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Speaker 1: Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan. You know who I need to
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Speaker 1: take on Larry? I need a substitute. I need Magic Johnson,
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Speaker 1: who could beat both of them at the same time.
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Speaker 1: One on one, he certainly could win, but I couldn't
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Speaker 1: hold a candle. I could get two dribbles and watch
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Speaker 1: them do a layup. I can't do it because they
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Speaker 1: are better. They are stronger. They are taller. They are
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Speaker 1: more capable, more gifted. And so is your adversary. You
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Speaker 1: attempt to retaliate in the energy of the flesh, you
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Speaker 1: will experience defeat again and again. Joseph wouldn't do it
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Speaker 1: with his brothers. David wouldn't do it with Saul. Paul
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Speaker 1: wouldn't do it with Alexander the coppersmith. His last lines
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Speaker 1: in the dungeon, Lord, you take care of Alexander the coppersmith.
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Speaker 1: He has been misery to me in the ministry. It
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean at times you won't confront. And it doesn't
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Speaker 1: mean that you don't as a leader at times have
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Speaker 1: to do a strong thing and make tough decisions. But
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Speaker 1: it means you are not by nature a fighter. You
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Speaker 1: are by nature one who substitutes when you know you
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Speaker 1: are outmanned. How important to stay accountable, not to live
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Speaker 1: our lives as Christian lone rangers, Not to think we
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Speaker 1: can handle whatever pressure comes. We cannot. We cannot. We
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Speaker 1: are inadequate. So we resolve to refuse to retaliate in
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Speaker 1: the energy of the flesh. Listen to the living Bible's
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Speaker 1: rendering of Psalm 5, 8 to 10. Just sit and listen. Lord,
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Speaker 1: lead me as you promised you would. Otherwise, my enemies
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Speaker 1: will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, which
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Speaker 1: way to turn. For they cannot speak one truthful word.
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Speaker 1: Their hearts are filled to the brim with wickedness. Their
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Speaker 1: suggestions are full of the stench of sin and death.
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Speaker 1: Their tongues are filled with flatteries to gain their wicked ends.
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Speaker 1: Oh God, hold them responsible. Catch them in their own traps.
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Speaker 1: Let them fall beneath the weight of their own transgressions.
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Speaker 1: For they rebel against you. What wise perspective. The enemies
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Speaker 1: of righteousness are not your enemies. They're enemies of God.
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Speaker 1: He can handle them.
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Speaker 2: Let him.
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Speaker 1: Release them to him. The devil is given an advantage
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Speaker 1: whenever we retaliate in the flesh, and he comes in
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Speaker 1: like a flood. Fourth, resolved. To refuse to slacken, yeah,
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Speaker 1: the word is slacken. To refuse to slacken, surrender, or
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Speaker 1: quit the path of obedience. no matter how intense the pressure.
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Speaker 1: To refuse to slacken, surrender, or quit the path of obedience,
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Speaker 1: no matter how intense the pressure. It is so easy
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Speaker 1: to agree to this and think, yeah, that's us. We're
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Speaker 1: all sitting together, hovering around the same book. But I'll
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Speaker 1: tell you, when it's Tuesday afternoon in the middle of
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Speaker 1: June and you feel all alone, or you're thousands of
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Speaker 1: miles from home and a temptation drops in your lap,
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Speaker 1: I'll tell you, it's another story, unless this is your
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Speaker 1: strong resolve. Ours has become a soft generation, men and women,
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Speaker 1: a generation of greed, a generation of self-satisfaction. For whatever reason,
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Speaker 1: we are now more prone to give up or take
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Speaker 1: a path of least resistance. Many of us raised by
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Speaker 1: work ethic Parents picked up a work ethic mentality, but
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Speaker 1: our kids have not. And the whole idea of hard
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Speaker 1: work at tough times and standing like a steer in
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Speaker 1: a blizzard at cold times are against all odds at
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Speaker 1: tempting times is foreign to many in our times. Chances
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Speaker 1: are good our children are weaker than we are. And alas,
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Speaker 1: some of them have learned it from us. Let's take
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Speaker 1: on resolve. Let's stop the whole idea of if it's uncomfortable,
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Speaker 1: then just don't pursue. If it might offend someone, then
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Speaker 1: don't make waves. No, obedience is a lonely path. Let's
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Speaker 1: walk it together. Let's determine today to walk it together.
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Speaker 1: I hope you can say as you watch my life
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Speaker 1: and as you hear my words and as you Read
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Speaker 1: what I write in the coming decade. I hope you
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Speaker 1: can say there is a man who has not slackened
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Speaker 1: or surrendered or quit the path of obedience. I hope that.
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Speaker 1: I so resolve. Fifth and finally, resolved. To seek to
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Speaker 1: glorify the Lord God and trust the word of God regardless.
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Speaker 1: To seek to glorify the Lord God and to trust
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Speaker 1: the word of God regardless. How much do I mean that?
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Speaker 1: I mean that more than pleasing people. I mean that
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Speaker 1: more than promoting self. I mean that more than escaping affliction.
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Speaker 1: This ultimately becomes the major filter of one's life. Whatever
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Speaker 1: we do in word or deed, do all in the
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Speaker 1: name of the Lord Jesus, for the glory of God
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Speaker 1: the Father and the power of the Spirit of God.
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Speaker 1: What a way to live. Doesn't mean we become killjoys,
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Speaker 1: grim reapers in a day of joy. No. No one
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Speaker 1: can laugh like a believer. No one has a freer
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Speaker 1: conscience than one whose conscience and heart have been washed
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Speaker 1: by the blood. No one has reason to laugh at
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Speaker 1: life like the believer. To glorify God doesn't turn life
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Speaker 1: into a series of grim demands. It's load lifting. It's freeing.
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Speaker 1: May I repeat the resolves one after another? To be
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Speaker 1: alert to the presence of evil and the strategy of
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Speaker 1: the adversary. To stay fervent in prayer, not hesitating to
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Speaker 1: call down supernatural assistance and when necessary divine discipline. To
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Speaker 1: refuse to retaliate in the energy of the flesh. To
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Speaker 1: refuse to slacken, surrender, or quit the path of obedience,
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Speaker 1: no matter how intense the pressure. To seek to glorify
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Speaker 1: the Lord God and to trust the word of God.
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Speaker 1: And that little word, regardless. You might think, this is new.
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Speaker 1: I don't think anything like this has ever been said
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Speaker 1: around here. This isn't new. I did a little research
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Speaker 1: and found Martin Luther's words a couple of years ago, 1531,
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Speaker 1: and I got new courage from a sermon preached in
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Speaker 1: the early part of the 16th century. Listen to this
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Speaker 1: courageous man. Christendom must have people who can beat down
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Speaker 1: their adversaries and opponents and and tear off the devil's
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Speaker 1: equipment and armor that he may be brought into disgrace.
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Speaker 1: But for this work, powerful warriors are needed who are
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Speaker 1: thoroughly familiar with the scriptures and can contradict all false
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Speaker 1: interpretations and take the sword from false teachers, that is,
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Speaker 1: those very verses which false teachers use and turn them
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Speaker 1: round upon them so that they fall back defeated. But
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Speaker 1: as not all Christians can be so capable in defending
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Speaker 1: the word and articles of their creed, they must have
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Speaker 1: teachers and preachers who study the scriptures and have daily
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Speaker 1: fellowship with it so that they can fight for all
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Speaker 1: the others. Yet each Christian should be so armed that
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Speaker 1: he himself is sure of his belief and of the
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Speaker 1: doctrine and is so equipped with the sayings from the
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Speaker 1: word of God that he can stand up against the
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Speaker 1: devil and defend himself when men seek to lead him astray.
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Speaker 1: A man of great resolve. Are you sure you have
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Speaker 1: the power within? to make these resolutions occur. These are
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Speaker 1: not New Year's resolutions said in passing after some New
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Speaker 1: Year's Eve party. These are strong resolutions. that can only
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Speaker 1: be a reality through the power of Jesus Christ living
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Speaker 1: through us. So these imply that you know him in
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Speaker 1: a personal way. Let's take care of that. Let's bow together.
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Speaker 1: You may have sat patiently through this message and heard
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Speaker 1: words that, for the most part, you agree with. You
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Speaker 1: accept the analysis that we are a people who have
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Speaker 1: become indifferent and even somewhat apathetic. And you are at
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Speaker 1: a loss to know why that continues to be the
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Speaker 1: plague of your life. Could it be you've never received
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Speaker 1: the power that only Christ can give? Have you become
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Speaker 1: more a defender of your reputation than one whose character
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Speaker 1: models righteousness? So you're surrounded in this world today by Christians,
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Speaker 1: people who have admitted their inability to do it on
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Speaker 1: their own. And they've come with sins in hand to
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Speaker 1: the cross. And they've acknowledged the only way to find
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Speaker 1: relief From sin and power for the future. Is through
50:45
Speaker 1: faith in Jesus Christ. And they've deliberately and consciously. We
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Speaker 1: have turned our lives over. To him who can make
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Speaker 1: a difference. Who can transform us. And give us radical faith.
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Speaker 1: And passionate zeal. Wonderful forgiveness. Come today. Come today. Give
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Speaker 1: your life to Jesus Christ. Father, thank you for strength
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Speaker 1: that comes in just verbal reminders of the truth. Now,
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Speaker 1: as we attempt to take truth that has been verbalized
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Speaker 1: and appropriated, make us men and women of courage that
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Speaker 1: will create within us men and women of character. begin
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Speaker 1: today building a body of strong Saints so that we
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Speaker 1: are able to resist the adversary firm in faith. Enable
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Speaker 1: us to see the future as a challenge, not as
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Speaker 1: a tragic problem, and to see victory written across it
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Speaker 1: because of the victory of Jesus Christ in his mighty
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Speaker 1: and powerful name, we pray. And everyone said, amen.
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Speaker 2: The preceding message, A Time for Strong Resolve, was copyrighted
52:24
Speaker 2: in 1990, 2000, 2014, and 2024. And the sound recording
52:29
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated. All
52:34
Speaker 2: rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial
52:39
Speaker 2: use is strictly prohibited.