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The Word God Said - “God’s People Only Speak What God Has Already Said” - Jeremiah 1:1-12 · Mount Eaton Church

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  If you would, please turn to Jeremiah. At the
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  same time, we're going to go through the doctrinal
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  focus. Jeremiah, and then you're also going to
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  turn to John 12. John 12, and then mark your
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  Bibles, and then we'll start there. Westminster
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  Confession. Of the Holy Scripture, chapter 1,
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  section 4. Let's read together. The authority
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  of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to
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  be believed and obeyed, depends not upon the
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  testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon
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  God, who is the truth itself, the author thereof,
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  and therefore it is to be received, because it
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  is the word of God. All right, so why is this
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  an important topic? Well, we live in some very
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  wild days. I mean, I've seen more prophets come
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  out of the woodwork this year than I've ever
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  seen. That's kind of wild. And a lot of men and
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  women, which is interesting, claim they hear
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  a word from God, but it never matches the word
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  of God. So that's a pause for all of us. It should
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  be a pause for you. That someone hears a word
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  from God, but then it does not match the word
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  of God. And we go, he's a prophet. Let me say
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  it this way. If I lived in the Old Testament
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  as a proclaimer, a messenger of God, and I got
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  one word wrong, they would stone me to death.
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  Stone me to death. I would be killed. In our
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  society, a man or a woman claimed that they have
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  a message from God. They not only get one word
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  wrong, they get it wrong, period. And they're
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  called prophets. Why? Why? And why in Christendom
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  do many believe what they say? And keep going
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  back to these people. It's because they don't
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  know the truth. And so God's people only speak
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  what God has already said. Real true prophet.
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  A messenger from God only speaks what God has
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  already said. There is nothing more that we need
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  besides the word. There's no new revelation.
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  Okay? So we're going to ask the Lord that he
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  would guide us through his word as we read Jeremiah
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  and John, that we would come to understand the
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  importance of speaking only what God has already
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  said, not creating some new revelation. So Father,
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  we come before you and we thank you. We thank
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  you for your word. We thank you that your word
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  is living and active, sharper than a two -edged
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  sword, divides bone and marrow, soul and spirit,
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  judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart
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  of man. We thank you that we can come before
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  you knowing that you have represented yourself
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  through your word, through your church, and that
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  you have given your church everything for life
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  and godliness, which is your word. We thank you
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  that... You have inspired your word that you
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  have, you have through the inspiration guided
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  men to write exactly what you have said. So Lord,
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  as we open up your word and go through Jeremiah
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  and John, and we see Jesus, help us to see that
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  even Jesus only spoke what you have said. We
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  praise you and thank you for your faithfulness
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  and goodness in Jesus name. Amen. So let's read
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  some very important statements here. I want you
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  to notice we're going to go through verse one
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  through 12, and then we're going to go to John
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  44 through 50. The words of Jeremiah, the son
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  of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth
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  in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of
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  the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son
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  of Ammon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of
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  his reign. It came also in the days of Joachim,
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  son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of
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  the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah,
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  king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem
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  in the fifth month. So here's the idea I want
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  you to get. God sent his word to Jeremiah. In
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  these three particular time periods. Specifically
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  up until the captivity of Jerusalem. Why? Because
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  there will be a period of time when God will
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  not be speaking. And he doesn't speak through
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  just anybody. He speaks through this one boy.
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  Now the word. Of the Lord came to me saying,
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  before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
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  And before you were born, I consecrated you and
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  I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then
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  I said, ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how
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  to speak for I am only a youth. But the Lord
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  said to me, do not say I am only a youth for
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  to all. Then the Lord put out his hand and...
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  Touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, behold,
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  I've put my words in your mouth. See, I have
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  set you this day over nations and over kingdoms
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  to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, to overthrow,
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  to build, and to plant. And the word of the Lord
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  came to me. Jeremiah, what do you see? And I
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  said, I see an almond branch. And the Lord said
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  to me, you have seen well, for I am watching
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  over my word to perform it. Turn to John 12,
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  44. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever believes
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  in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent
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  me. Whoever sees me, sees him who sent me. I
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  have come into the world as light so that whoever
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  believes in me may not remain in darkness. If
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  anyone hears my words and does not keep them,
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  I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge
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  the world, but to save the world. The one who
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  rejects me does not reject my words as a judge.
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  That I have spoken will judge him on the last
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  day. Isn't that interesting? For I have not spoken
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  on my own authority. But the father who sent
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  me has himself given me a commandment. What to
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  say and what to speak. I know that his commandment
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  is eternal life. And what I say, therefore I
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  say as the father has told me. Now. Why is this
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  important? Because there's a lot of dudes out
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  there speaking for God. A lot of people out there
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  speaking for God. How do you know which ones
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  are from God and which ones aren't? See, God
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  is the only one who sends his word. Christ is
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  the word sent. We need nothing else. There's
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  nothing new. There's no revelation. There's no,
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  I had a dream. There's none of that. God's word
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  is the dream. God's word is the word. God's word
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  is enough. It's all we need. There's nothing
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  else that man needs. Man does not live by bread
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  alone, but by every word that comes from the
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  mouth of God. We talked about this for like two
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  weeks now, right? Why? Why do we feel like we
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  have to come up with something different or new?
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  To me, every time I open the word, it's new.
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  It should be new to you. John 1 .14. And the
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  word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we
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  have seen his glory. Glory as the only son from
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  the father. Full of grace and truth. You guys
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  know what John 1 .1 says. In the beginning was
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  the word. The word was with God. And the word
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  was God. Christ is the word incarnate. And even
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  Christ. Only spoke what the father told him to
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  speak. Isn't that interesting? The God of all
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  creation who created you and I, who holds all
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  things together in his hands, only speaks what
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  the father speaks. He doesn't even speak his
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  own thing. But we got men who claim they speak
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  for God, speaking their own thing. And we're
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  on this road because I am very concerned we're
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  living in a, not just a post -Christian America,
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  but a anti -truth America. And the only thing
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  that stems the tide that plugs the hole is the
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  church. And she must. Stand on the truth. In
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  Jeremiah 1 -3, the words of Jeremiah, the son
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  of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth,
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  in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of
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  the Lord came. Did the word of the Lord come
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  to you? It did, through Christ. That's the point.
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  There's nothing else we need. The word of the
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  Lord did come to us and he gave us his word.
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  And in his divine preservation, not only has
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  preserved these 66 books, but he has preserved
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  his word from generation to generation. The word
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  of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son
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  of Ammon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of
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  his reign. It also came also in the days of Joachim,
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  the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end
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  of the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah,
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  king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem
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  in the fifth month. You know, there's one thing
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  that the church will never go without that Israel
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  did. God stopped speaking to them. But God never
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  stopped speaking to his church. Because he speaks
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  through his word. How many of us go to him and
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  ask him to speak through his word? Do we spend
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  the time in it to hear what he has to say? Lord,
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  teach me your ways that I may know you and have
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  favor with you. Where do we learn his ways? In
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  his word. Second principle. God is the only one
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  who anoints those who speak on his behalf, not
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  man. God anoints the man. God appoints the man.
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  God ordains the man. No one else. John 12, 44
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  through 45. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever
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  believes in me, believes not in me, but in him
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  who sent me. And whoever sees me, sees him who
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  sent me. Do you see that? Even Christ, who is
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  the second person of the Trinity, God incarnate,
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  was sent by the Father. He was God's. He was,
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  in reality, The one who was appointed since the
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  beginning of time to come and give his word.
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  Jeremiah 1, 4 -6. Now the word came to me. The
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  word of the Lord came to me. Do you see that?
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  The word of the Lord came to me. Saying, before
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  I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before
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  you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed
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  you as a prophet to the nations. Then I said,
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  ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak
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  for I am only a youth. What's the reality here?
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  That God before time has set aside men and preachers
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  and those to bring the word and has consecrated
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  them since before being born for the purpose
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  of proclaiming the gospel and the truth of the
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  word to the people. And it's interesting because
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  if we claim that God is providential and God
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  is sovereign, then we really need to come to
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  the reality that God is the one who chooses that.
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  Just because one seems gifted doesn't mean he's
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  right. There's a lot more to it than that. Principle
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  number three, the one whom God sends speaks only.
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  What the Lord commands and nothing else. This
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  is important. Because you can't speak anything
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  outside of the scripture. Why? Because the scripture
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  is the final authority in all things. It is the
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  word of God. Even in translation. God has divinely
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  preserved it. And you can clearly distinctly
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  see the differences. of those that are bad translations
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  versus those that are good translations. Because
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  the good translations speak the truth consistently,
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  regardless if it's King James to ESV. It's not
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  just the King James. And so we also have men
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  who say that that's the only word of God. See,
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  Scripture says, Jesus says, My sheep know me
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  and they know my voice. We know his word if we
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  belong to him. And we also proved that out last
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  week. Because you cannot know the word and understand
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  the word unless the spirit of God is present
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  in your life. It's impossible outside of the
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  spirit of God to know and hear the word of God.
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  1 Corinthians 2 .14. Along with all the scripture
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  we read last week. Look what it says here. John
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  12, 46. I have come into the world as light so
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  that whoever believes in me may not remain in
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  darkness. What brings us out of darkness? Christ,
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  his word. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and
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  a light unto my path. So in Jeremiah 1, 7 -8,
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  it says this, But the Lord said to me, Do not
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  say I'm only a youth. For to all to whom I send
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  you, you shall go. In other words, you don't
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  have a choice, Jeremiah. Where I tell you you
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  will go, you're going to go. I kind of like Jeremiah.
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  He doesn't have a debate with God, unlike Moses.
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  Moses was like, yeah. And he said, fine, I'll
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  give you Aaron. Remember that? Yeah. Moses is
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  a little braver than Jeremiah, I think. Jeremiah
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  just knows. Okay. And wherever I command you,
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  whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do you
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  see that? Jeremiah only speaks what God has commanded.
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  So should that not also be the litmus test for
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  all of those men who claim to be prophets and
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  speak something outside of the word of God? Verse
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  eight, do not be afraid of them for I am with
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  you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Jeremiah,
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  you're going to go and you're going to speak
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  and they're going to get upset. They're going
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  to want to kill you. That's what Elijah said.
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  Elijah said that. Haven't these people killed
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  all your prophets? But don't worry, I'm with
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  you, Jeremiah. Why? Principle number four, the
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  word of God is the final, is and has, I was supposed
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  to put end there, is and has. The final authority
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  over all things. By it, God sets free, judges,
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  gives life, and destroys. Isn't that interesting?
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  That's how powerful the word of God is. Look
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  what it says in John 12, 47 through 48. If anyone
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  hears my words and does not keep them, I do not
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  judge him, for I did not come to judge the world,
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  but to save the world. The one who rejects me
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  and does not receive my words has a judge. The
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  word that I have spoken will judge him on the
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  last day. What is the judge? The word of God.
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  The word of God judges us. That's why it is sharper
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  than a two -edged sword. I mean, it literally
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  judges my thoughts and intentions. It knows what
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  I'm thinking and why. I'm thinking it. Do you
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  know why you think the way you think? I don't
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  think there's a single person that understands
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  why we think the way we think. I don't understand
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  sometimes. Like, why am I thinking that? But
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  God knows. Jeremiah 1, 9 through 10. Then the
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  Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And
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  the Lord said to me, behold, I have put my words
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  in your mouth. Anyone who says they received
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  a vision or a prophecy from the Lord needs to
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  be very careful what they are about to say. Because
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  here, God put his words in Jeremiah's mouth,
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  and Jeremiah only spoke exactly what God said
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  he should speak. And that's important. Would
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  we not agree? So, see, I have set you this day
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  over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and
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  to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to
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  build and to plant. Why is he saying that? I've
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  put my word in your mouth so that when I send
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  you over the nations and over the kingdoms, you
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  can pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow.
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  It's because the word of God, purpose of the
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  word of God is to reveal to you the condition
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  of your heart. It's to show you that there is
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  a holy, righteous God that you have to answer
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  to. And if anything, it should break me to the
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  point and pluck me to the point that I turn to
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  God in repentance away from my sin. That it should
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  be destroyed and overthrown. When the word of
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  God comes, the word of God comes to build and
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  to plant. So though I'm using an individual description
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  here, the reality is it's the same for every
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  nation and kingdom. And what you see in our world
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  today is the turning away, the nations turning
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  away from the king of all kings, thinking they
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  can rule and govern themselves. So much to the
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  point that they've turned away from sound biblical
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  truth to fallacies and mythology and false philosophy.
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  And I think as a church, just in general, the
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  church in America has to come to the realization
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  that we are living in a post -Christian society.
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  And the only stem, again, of this onslaught is
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  the church. And the only thing the church can
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  do is to preach the entirety of the truth. Because
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  by that, people will turn and repent. And by
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  that, we can build and plant. And Jesus even
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  uses the example of planting. The farmer who
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  sows the seed. He sows the word of God called
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  the gospel. So, fifth principle. God watches
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  over his word to accomplish and succeed in which
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  he sent it. Look what it says in 49 to 50. For
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  I have not spoken on my own authority, but the
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  father who sent me. Has himself given me a commandment.
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  What to say and what to speak. And I know that.
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  His commandment is eternal life. Do you hear
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  that? Remember I talked last week about the gospel.
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  And that the reality of the gospel. Is a command.
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  To salvation. And you can't obey a command. Unless
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  the spirit of God is present there. It requires
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  God for us to be obedient. But here, and I know
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  that his commandment is eternal life. Have we
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  ever heard, talked about the reality of the commandment
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  of the gospel? Not just to go and preach it,
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  but to come. God commands, he calls, and he wants
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  you here. And what I say, therefore. Jesus says,
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  I say as the Father has told me. And that's exactly
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  what Jesus says in Mark chapter 1. Repent and
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  believe the gospel. It's a command. It's an imperative.
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  It's not an option. Especially for those who
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  belong to him. And in Jeremiah 1, 11 through
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  12, very similar. And the word of the Lord came
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  to me, saying, Jeremiah. What do you see? And
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  I said, I see an almond branch. Now that's a
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  whole nother sermon. Not going there. We'd be
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  here at least another 30 minutes. All right.
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  Well, probably longer, but we're not going to,
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  but it's not going to do the almond branch thing
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  right now. Jody will tell you, we were sitting
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  in the office because I go through sermon prep
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  with her and I'm thinking through stuff. And
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  she was like, well, the almond branch. And I'm
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  like, oh, and if we go and look up the almond,
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  it's a whole nother thing. Verse 12, then the
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  Lord said to me, you have seen well. Here's the
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  point. For I am watching over my word to perform
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  it. This should terrify every preacher in the
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  pulpit. That when you don't rightly handle the
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  word of God, God is watching over his word. And
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  he will make sure it accomplishes what he intends.
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  But to us who handle the word, As preachers,
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  we should tremble in awe and respect. And this
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  is one of the things that really brings me trepidation
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  for these men who claim to be preachers and prophets
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  and pastors who don't take in the responsibility
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  of it. There are several prophets, quote unquote
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  prophets out there. Pastors and teachers. And
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  so I want you to be careful when you watch on
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  YouTube. Prophets who claim they're prophets.
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  If they don't preach the word, if they don't
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  teach the word, if they don't proclaim the word,
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  run. They're not prophets. If it doesn't exactly
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  match the word of God, run. Because they're not
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  prophets. If a preacher preaches a message outside
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  of the word, run. He's not a preacher. If a pastor
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  shepherds his people outside of the word, run.
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  He's not a shepherd. If a teacher teaches anything
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  outside of the word, run. He's not a teacher.
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  But the scripture says in the last days, many
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  will turn and heap up teachers who tickle their
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  ears. Because they don't want the truth. And
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  the only way for you to know the truth is spend
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  time in it. And if you're a believer in Christ.
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  The very truth has set you free. So my challenge
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  to you is to get into the word. Read it. Listen
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  to it. Study it. Meditate on it. Memorize it.
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  Whatever you need to do to get it. You need to
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  eat the word. Father, I want to thank you so
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  much for your faithfulness. We give you praise,
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  honor, and glory. We thank you for your word.
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  And we thank you that you've made it very clear
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  that your word is to be proclaimed exactly as
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  you intended it to be proclaimed. We give you
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  praise, honor, and glory that what you have sent
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  your word to do, it will... That you watch over
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  your word to ensure that it is performed. We
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  give you praise. Help us to hold fast to the
• 29:29
  word of God. Hold fast to the sound doctrine.
• 29:32
  To the teachings of the apostles. And to spend
• 29:38
  time listening to your beautiful words. We praise
• 29:44
  you and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Please
• 29:48
  stand as I bless you.