Latest / Crosswalk / The Word That Changes Lives — Romans 10:17–21

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The Word That Changes Lives — Romans 10:17–21 · Crosswalk

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Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow
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Him. You're listening to Crosswalk with Pastor
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Steve Winnery. Crosswalk is the radio ministry
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of Calvary Chapel Tri -Cities and it is our aim
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to lead you to the cross through the teaching
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of God's Word. I went on a trip to Russia this
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one time and it was my first trip I was going
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with another church and so the pastor probably
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about two events into the trip there he asked
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me if I wanted to teach and we were out in the
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park and I said sure I'll get up and preach the
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gospel and so I got up And again, I don't just
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get up and stand up and, I don't know, say stuff.
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Standing up and saying to people that Jesus died
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on the cross for your sins, and that he rose
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from the third day, and that there were a bunch
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of people who saw him rise. Just going through
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and stating those words doesn't reach people.
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That's not the way that this works. It's not
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magic words. There has to be something that's
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compelling. There has to be something that opens
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their eyes and generally speaking it's the Word
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of God. And so Jesus, for example, in John chapter
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4 had an appointment with a woman at the well
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and so I use that. So I get up and I stand up
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and I start going through the Bible study and
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as I'm going through the Bible study people are
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gathering around and it only ended up being 15
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to 20 people. that were gathered around. About
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halfway through the study, I saw these two girls
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come from behind me. They were looking at me
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from the side, and then they went around, they
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got right in front, and they stood there. And
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as they were standing there, and again, going
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through John 4, their eyes are getting bigger
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and bigger, and then at the end, I give an invitation.
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John 4 is a woman at the well. Jesus meets with
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her, talks with her about a relationship, and
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then she ends up not only believing on Christ,
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but going down into the town and grabbing everybody
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that she knows. and bringing them to the Lord
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saying that he's the Messiah, right? So that's
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basically the story. What had happened with those
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girls where they were walking, I talked to them
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afterwards, they were walking down the street
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and they were talking about somebody that had
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witnessed to them and they were talking about
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their lives and their lifestyle and they said
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we need to do something and what do you think
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about this Jesus stuff? They walk into the park
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and there I am talking about their lifestyle
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and that is one of the reasons that they gave
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their life to the Lord. It ends up that there
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were about 12 people who gave their life to the
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Lord out of that group of max 20 people. And
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that was the most fruitful ministry that we had
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while we were there. And it came from teaching
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a Bible study and then asking people for a response
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after they'd seen what Jesus did and what the
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word of God had to say. And I know that afterwards,
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actually the pastor that I was there with thought
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I was doing it wrong. All he needs to do is stand
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up and tell people that Jesus loves them and
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ask him if they want to give their heart to the
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Lord and things like that. And he actually was
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on a on an interview type show from his church
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talking about the fact that it looked like I
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was doing it wrong. And then he talked about
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all these people that got saved. His attitude
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was God can use anything. My attitude is you
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do this. The thing that changed the person's
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heart was the fact that the word of God began
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speaking to them. That's what was going on and
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it's because I had experienced that. He was a
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guy who grew up in church. You need to watch
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it if you've grown up in church and understand
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that what you're dealing with is the actual God
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-breathed Word of God. Here's another thing that
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guys do in church. They go, Jesus taught in parables
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and so we need to tell stories because the way
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that Jesus got people to understand things is
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through his parables and so we'll tell little
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stories and then tack a Bible verse on it and
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we're doing the same thing. Okay, when I tell
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one of my great stories, what is it? Is it the
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word of God? No, it's just a great story, right?
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Amen? When Jesus tells a story, what is it? It's
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the word of God, immediately, as soon as it comes
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out of his mouth. It's the word of God. My parables
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do not compare with Jesus' and neither do yours.
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And so I'd much rather be speaking things that
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Jesus had to say than things that I've come up
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with because I don't have that kind of wisdom,
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right? And so again, you have to watch out for
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all this kind of stuff. And so the Israelis were
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informed and they weren't paying attention. Thus
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says the Lord, this is Isaiah 66, one and two,
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heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. Where
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is the house that you will build me? Where is
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the place of my rest? For all those things my
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hand has made and all those things exist says
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the Lord, but on this one will I look on him
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who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who
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trembles at my word. And again, that's the attitude
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that we as Christians are supposed to have towards
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the word. Paul says that the word of God is like
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a sword. It's the sword of the spirit. And actually,
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the word that's being spoken about here, hearing
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by the word of God, it's rama in Greek. And so
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there's a word for word in Greek, logos, that's
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used in John chapter one. This is a word that
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means the word spoken, the word spoken. So when
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I'm quoting a verse to you, that is the word
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spoken, that is the rama, it's the word of God.
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And to be able to do that, you're going to have
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some things memorized. If you're gonna be able
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to witness to people, you're going to have to
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know some things that the Bible has to say about
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issues. And the reason is because you're not
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gonna be carrying your Bible around all the time.
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And so this is my sword. It's the word of God,
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it's a sword, and I don't always have a Bible.
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There's been all kinds of times over the years,
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and actually I was just listening to one of my
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tapes, and in the tape I was actually, you know
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what I mean. We don't use tapes anymore. People
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are going, what's a tape, Steve? Isn't that something
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you put down when you're painting? Anyway, I'm
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listening to one of my studies and I was talking
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about an issue, a situation where I was going
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over to a believer's memorial service and they
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didn't actually... They invited me to it, but
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the family said, we're not going to really do
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anything formal. We're just going to get together
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and tell stories about the guy and just have
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food and stuff. I get there and actually the
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non -believing family members came up to me and
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said, Steve, you're a pastor. You knew this guy.
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And can you please say a few words from the Bible
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about that? And I'm just like, I didn't bring
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my Bible. And so I did bring my pocket knife.
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So this is my sword. This is my pocket knife.
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So I had a phone and so I flipped it up to the
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Bible app, that kind of thing, and I get up and
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I stand up and somehow I had touched the screen
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in the wrong way and it was all messed up and
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I'm like, I'm not gonna sit here for five minutes
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messing around with my stupid phone and having
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to call a teenager to help me on top of it. And
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so what I did was I just took off from things
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that I knew in scripture, passages that I knew.
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and I taught a whole study in that period of
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time and shared with them. That's not happening
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if you don't memorize things. It's not going
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to happen. And so if you want to be effective
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in reaching people, you have to know the word
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of God. When I'm talking with people, when I'm
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counseling with people, when I'm sharing the
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gospel with people, I'm peppering my speech with
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passages that I've memorized. And again, the
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reason for that is because my words don't do
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diddly, but God's word does. And sometimes I'll
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preface it with the Bible says, if I'm talking
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to a non -believer, they don't care if Paul said
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it, they don't care about Paul, they don't care
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if Peter said it, they don't care about Peter.
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They do care if Jesus said it. And so if Jesus
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said it, I'll say Jesus said, and it gives it
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weight, gives it authority. The Bible says, gives
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it weight, gives it authority. And sometimes
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I'm not even quoting, or I'm not even giving
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a reference, I'm just using the passage, and
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that's always the thing that impacts people.
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It's never my words. It's always those words
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that impact people. And again, you got to keep
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that in mind. We need to tremble at his word.
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Here's another thing. When you're talking about
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the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels, we think
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that the ministry of Jesus is to the whole world.
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It is not. You are wrong. The ministry of Jesus
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was specifically to the Jews. And so there are
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a couple of different times where Jesus is dealing
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with a Gentile who comes and asks something from
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him or wants to hear something from him, and
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he's always kind to them, he's always very gracious
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to them, but he always says something along these
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lines, I wasn't sent to anyone, but to the lost
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sheep of the house of Israel. And he says it
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over and over again. And so the gospel itself
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was something that God, through Christ, was bringing
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to the Jewish people. They did have it presented
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to them. It wasn't like they were uninformed.
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He goes on in this passage and he talks about
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the fact that the whole world is accountable.
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Verse 18, their sound has gone out to all the
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earth and their words to the end of the world.
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And there, he's quoting from Psalm 19. He doesn't
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reference it, but he's quoting from Psalm 19.
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Psalm 19 is, the heavens declare the glory of
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God. The firmament shows his handiwork. Day and
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the day they uttered their speech. There's not
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a voice, there's not a language where these things
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are not understood. And he goes through and he
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talks about the heavens and he talks about the
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creation as a testimony of God. Then he goes
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into the law of the Lord. And he talks about
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the fact that the law of the Lord is something
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that is perfect, converting the soul. He talks
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about the testimonies of the Lord, that they're
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sure and they make wise the simple. The statutes
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of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. And
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he goes through and talks about the revealed
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word of God. at the same time and so obviously
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again that's given to the Jewish nation whether
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you're talking about the creation or whether
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you're talking about the word it's all given
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to those guys and it declares the truth of who
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God is it goes on and says but I say did Israel
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not know first Moses says I will provoke you
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to jealousy by those who are not a nation I will
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move you to anger by a foolish nation but Isaiah
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is very bold and says I was found by those who
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did not seek me I was made manifest to those
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who did not ask for me. And so the Gentiles get
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it, why didn't the Jews? And the reason, again,
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is because of their hard -heartedness and the
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fact that they were into, they were just not
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hearing the word, and they were into justifying
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themselves. He quotes from, when he says, Moses
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says, verse 19, I will provoke you to jealousy
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by those who are not a nation. That's from Deuteronomy
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chapter 32, verse 21. Let me give you the lowdown
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on Deuteronomy. It's the second law. These guys
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have been wandering in the wilderness for 40
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years. They're going into the land of promise.
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Moses makes a new covenant with the generation
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that lasted through the wilderness. And at the
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end of that covenant, he talks about, we've talked
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about this before, if you'll follow me, I will
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bless you. You're gonna be a witness to the nations.
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If you'll follow me, I will bless you. If you
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don't follow me, I'm going to curse you. And
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again, basically, he lets them know, this is
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going to be your history. This is what you are
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going to do. You're going to end up walking in
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disobedience to me. And all these things are
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going to come down on you because of your disobedience.
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And here's what my response is going to be. I
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will provoke you to jealousy by those who are
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not a nation. I will move you to anger by a foolish
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nation. He said, I'm going to turn from you and
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I'm going to go to these other people to make
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you jealous. And so God's not beyond making somebody
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jealous to follow after him. And in the same
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way, I use the same kind of stuff when I'm witnessing
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to people. So when the Mormons come over, they
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don't come over much anymore, I'm marked. Jehovah's
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Witnesses either. They don't come over to my
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house much anymore because I am marked. But when
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they come over, I always invite them inside.
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They always go by twos, right? And so you always
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have a guy who knows his stuff, his Mormon stuff,
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doesn't know his Bible stuff, but knows his stuff,
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and you always have the newbie. And it's the
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same thing with the JWs. Always have somebody
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who knows their stuff, and then you have the
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newbie. And so I'll be having a conversation
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with them. I let them do their spiel, but then
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I have a conversation with them. And when I'm
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having that conversation, usually the person
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who thinks that they know their stuff starts
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getting snitty with me. and I'm just sharing
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the Bible with them and I'm contradicting them
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because the Bible contradicts them and I'm sharing
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it with them and they start getting snitty and
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when they do that I stop talking to them and
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I purposefully turned away from them and I start
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talking to the newbie and then the person I'm
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talking to the newbie and then the person who's
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been snitty to me starts to break in I go no
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I'm not talking to you anymore they go why aren't
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you talking to me because you're snitty and so
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I'm not going to talk to you now now I'm going
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to talk to this person right here And then I'll
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go on talking to them and they'll go, but nope,
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nope, none of you. No Jesus for you, only for
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this guy right here. And I'll keep doing it.
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And at some point though, I've had conversations
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with them, why won't you let me talk? Why don't
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you talk to me too? And I go, because you don't
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want to hear it. And if you don't want to hear
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it, I'm going to go to someone who does. This
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guy obviously wants to hear it. And so that's
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what Jesus said to do. So he said, don't cast
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pearls before swine. Don't give what's holy to
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dogs. And it's not that he doesn't like swine
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and dogs. He does like them. They just can't
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appreciate those things, and they have to be
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prayed for before they're going to receive those
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things. You stop talking to people who don't
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want to hear it, and you start talking to people
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who do want to hear it, is the point that he's
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making in that passage. And I've done this on
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my construction jobs, too. I've had guys, and
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numerous times I've told this story before, guys
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will come up to me and say, Steve, talk to me
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about that Jesus stuff. What about this? What
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about that? And I'll start answering the question.
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They get uncomfortable. And one guy said to me,
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stop shoving it down my throat. And I go, how
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am I shoving it down your throat? You're the
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one who asked me the question. Would you like
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the answer or not? And he goes, I want the answer,
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but you don't have to be all radical about it.
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And I go, I didn't do anything but read the Bible
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to you. And he goes, this makes me uncomfortable.
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I go, fine, if you don't want to hear it, then
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for the rest of your life, you're never gonna
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hear it from me. How about that, Bucky? And the
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guy, he'd go, you don't have to be radical. Yeah,
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I do. I'm not talking to you anymore about Jesus.
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No more. You're not gonna hear anything about
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Jesus from me ever again, dude. And then he's
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all backing off and stuff like that. And I go,
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now you want to hear it? Can I proceed? And I'll
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do that. And what I'm doing is not just getting
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in the guy's face, what I'm doing is making him
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respect the word of God. And this is what jealousy
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does. If I'm no longer willing to talk to this
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person, I'm willing to talk to this person over
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here. This person feels like they're losing out,
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and this person over here is getting all the
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attention, and it's a way that God reaches people.
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And so if God does it with Israel, then I could
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do it with a construction worker. I could do
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it with a Mormon, right? I could do it with you.
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Right? Yeah, it goes on and That's exactly what's
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happened. Here's one of the things that goes
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on with this When not only when I'm witnessing
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to people is this happening actually just to
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people in general Gentiles this works with Jews,
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too so I've gone over to Israel a number of times
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and I've gotten in conversation with tour guides
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and even people that I've just met and one of
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the things that happens with them because I'm
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Talking to them out of the Old Testament. They're
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Jews. They don't believe in the New Testament,
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right? So I'm talking to them out of the Old
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Testament showing them who their Messiah is how
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he was going to die Why he was going to die how
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the people of Israel rejected and just got going
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through their history doing the same thing I'm
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talking to you about and they'll somewhere in
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the conversation go I thought you were a Christian
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and I go. Yeah, I am a Christian How come you're
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not sticking to the New Testament? I go because
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the New Testament comes from the Old Testament
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I read the whole thing. They go, you know the
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Old Testament better than I do. And I go, I don't
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know, read it. Because they don't. They don't
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read it. And what's happening there is they're
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getting jealous because the stupid white gentile
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dude from America knows the Old Testament better
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than they do. And it's provoking them to jealousy.
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And God uses that in a person's life, especially
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a Jew's life, to bring them. into a relationship
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with Christ. Isaiah's very bold and says, I was
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found by those who did not seek me. That's you.
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That's me. I was made manifest to those who did
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not ask for me. Then he goes on and he says,
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but to Israel, he says, all day long, I've stretched
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out my hand to a disobedient and contrary people.
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And so that's out of Isaiah chapter 65 in verse
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one and two. They're disobedient and contrary.
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Look at what God says. all day long I have stretched
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out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."
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And it looks like God would be saying, I'm done.
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And that's not what he says. Look at the next
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verse. I say then, has God cast away his people?
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Certainly not. The reason that God stretches
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out his hands all day long to a disobedient and
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contrary people is because that's what we all
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are before we know Jesus. We're disobedient and
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we're contrary. And so God goes after them just
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like he goes after us. If God wasn't into going
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after the disobedient, contrary people, I wouldn't
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be here and probably most of you wouldn't be
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here either. And so again, God has not cast off
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his people. Look at verse one again of chapter
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11. I say then, has God cast away his people?
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And what he says is maybe, or probably, or yes,
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these are all doctrinal positions. And what he
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says is certainly not. It hasn't happened. First
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verse in Isaiah chapter 11 says there is no casting
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off of the Jews. It doesn't work that way. He
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still loves them, he still wants them, he's still
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reaching out to them, and we're gonna see this
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in chapter 11, and he's going to be majorly reaching
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out to them in the not too distant future. And
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he flat out says it, Old Testament and New Testament.
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He goes on and he gives examples. First example
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he gives is himself. He says, for I also am an
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Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe
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of Benjamin. And so Paul uses himself as the
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first example of how God has not cast away his
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people. The grace of God is still at work. You
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know what Paul was? Paul was Saul of Tarsus.
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Saul of Tarsus thought Christians were cultic,
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that they were turning away from the Old Testament
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law of Moses, and so he went after them with
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a vengeance. Saul of Tarsus was a guy who would
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come up to your door, knock it down, take your
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children away from you, put you in prison, and
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then hopefully get you killed, as far as he was
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concerned. He was a punk. And then he decides
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that he's gonna transport that whole... Batch
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of nonsense to Damascus, and he's on the way
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to Damascus on his little horsey, and Jesus meets
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him and knocks him off his horse. And then he's
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sitting there on the ground, and Jesus goes,
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Saul, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for
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you to kick against the goats. And Saul says,
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who are you, Lord? And he probably didn't want
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to hear the answer. He's probably afraid of it.
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And he goes, I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting.
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And basically, what Jesus does is he comes up
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to Saul of Tarsus and says, Saul, why are you
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doing these things? You are just a punk that's
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there in the Greek, man. You little punk, get
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on the ground. And then Saul responds, and he
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responds rationally, and he becomes Paul the
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apostle. Paul said, if Jesus can save me, he
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can save anyone. And that's out of the pastoral
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epistles. The second example he gives, and this
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is the last example we're going to talk about,
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is with Elijah. He says, or do you not know what
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the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with
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God against Israel, saying, Lord, they've killed
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your prophets, torn down your altars, and I alone
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am left, and they seek my life. But what does
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the divine response say to him? I have reserved
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for myself 7 ,000 men who have not bowed the
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knee to Baal. Baal was a storm god. He was the
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god of thunder, he was the god of lightning,
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he was the god of rain, he was the storm god.
21:52
And so Elijah, first time you meet this guy,
21:55
is in 1 Kings 17. He walks into Ahab's court
21:58
and he's in the palace and he says, it's not
22:01
raining until I say so. And then he turns around
22:04
and walks out. Doesn't introduce himself, doesn't
22:07
do anything. He just looks at the king and goes,
22:09
it's not raining till I say so. And he walks
22:12
away. Three and a half years later, it still
22:15
hasn't rained. And Elijah comes up and God lets
22:19
him know that it's time for the rain to come.
22:21
And so Elijah comes up to the people of Israel
22:24
and he goes, how long are you going to basically
22:26
waffle between choices? Either God is Lord or
22:30
Baal is Lord. Choose which one is Lord. And he
22:34
goes, got an idea. I'm going to have a little
22:37
contest here. And so we're going to set up a
22:39
couple of sacrifices. You sacrifice to your God
22:42
Baal and talking to the priests of Baal. And
22:45
by the way, Baal worship included killing children.
22:49
So they were butchering children every day in
22:52
Baal worship. And so he says, you guys set up
22:55
your little sacrifice and I'll set up my sacrifice.
22:59
The God who answers by fire, he's the one who's
23:01
God. How about that? And they go, yeah, storm
23:04
God. Yeah, he'll answer by fire. And so they
23:06
set up a sacrifice. They start in the morning,
23:08
and they go all the way through noon, and they're
23:11
saying, oh, Baal, hear us. Over and over, for
23:14
six hours. Remember the mom in the grocery store?
23:17
Yeah, they're doing the same thing. Oh, Baal,
23:19
hear us. And there is no voice. No one answered.
23:23
No one heard them, is what the passage says at
23:26
that point. At noon, Elijah's probably hungry.
23:28
He wants lunch or something, and he starts mocking
23:31
them. And he says, you need to cry louder. Because
23:35
maybe he's on a journey. Maybe he's left. Or,
23:38
I don't know, maybe he's asleep. Cry louder.
23:41
Maybe he's pursuing, it says in the King Jimmy.
23:44
And pursuing means going to the bathroom. Maybe
23:48
he's in the restroom and he can't hear you. When
23:51
I go in the restroom here, if somebody's walking
23:53
down the hall saying, Steve, where are you? I
23:55
never answer. When you go into restrooms, you
23:57
don't talk. This is a rule. Ladies, you're weird.
24:04
You've been listening to Crosswalk with Pastor
24:06
Steve Winnery. Crosswalk is the radio ministry
24:09
of Calvary Chapel Tri -Cities in Kennewick, Washington.
24:12
If you're wanting to know more about what it
24:13
means to follow Christ, then please contact our
24:16
church office by phone at 509 -736 -2086. You
24:21
can also look us up online at calvary -tricities
24:24
.org. Calvary Chapel Tri -Cities is offering
24:27
two in -person training courses for those seeking
24:30
to serve in missions or ministry. The School
24:33
of Missions starts with 12 weeks of classroom
24:35
-style learning and local outreach in the Tri
24:37
-Cities, Washington, followed by a 10 -week cross
24:40
-cultural mission outreach. The School of Ministry,
24:42
this course is 18 weeks of in -person learning
24:45
environment, followed by a four -week mission
24:48
trip. Find out more at calvarytrainingcenternw
24:51
.com.