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The Prerequisites to Praise · CCC West Covina

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We as a church are on a journey. That journey we've entitled the
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pathway to praise. It's a unique journey because
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not everybody wants to be on that pathway.
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Unbelievers do not. They refuse the pathway to
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praise, but the believer relishes the pathway to praise.
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In fact, the Bible says in Isaiah 4321 that the people that
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I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise.
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And so the believer is on this unique journey to praise and
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honor his God. It's, it's like a, the, the
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journey leads to a great grand crescendo in heaven because
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that's where we're going. And when we get there, the
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praise will be enormous. But while we're here on earth,
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we're, we're on this pathway to, to praise.
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And while the unbeliever refuses the pathway, we we truly relish
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the pathway. We seek to live for the glory
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and honor of God, and we truly want to praise His name.
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The Bible gives commands, and the most frequently repeated
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command in the Bible is the command to praise the Lord or
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give thanks to the Lord. And yet, as often as it's
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repeated, we so infrequently obey it.
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And you would think that as often as the Lord says that we
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are to rejoice in the Lord, we are to give thanks to His name,
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we are to praise his name, that we would be the people that
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would want to do that all the time.
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But we find ourselves at times reluctant to praise the name of
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the Lord. The phrase Hallelujah is a great
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phrase, great word. It's from 2 Hebrew words hallel
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which means to praise or to celebrate or to boast and Yah,
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Yahweh, Yahweh, God. Hallelujah means we are to
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celebrate God, we are to boast in God, we are to praise God.
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And that's why the the unbeliever refuses the pathway
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to praise, because they refuse to to boast in the Lord.
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They refuse to praise the Lord, but the believer relishes to do
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that. They've been created for that,
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they've been formed for that, and therefore they engage in
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praise to their God. That's why the the Bible says,
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let not the rich man boast or praise or celebrate his riches.
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And neither let the the mighty man celebrate or boast in his
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riches, or the wise man boast or glory or celebrate or praise his
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wisdom. But let him who celebrates or
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let him who boasts or let him who praises, praise this way
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that he boasts in the Lord who exercises loving kindness and
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justice and mercy on the face of the earth.
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The unbeliever doesn't want to do that.
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They, they glory in their riches and their wisdom and their might
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and they want to boast all about those things.
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But the believer know that they boast in the Lord.
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They, they give hallelujahs to the Lord.
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They, they praise his name. And that's why the journey is so
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unique. And at the same time it, it can
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be perplexing, but it's a, it's a great journey.
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And as we travel along this journey, we've looked at the
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privilege of praise. We looked at the prophet of
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praise last week. It was the people of praise.
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And yet it's true that we find ourselves, even though we're on
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this pathway, at times reluctant to praise and to boast and to
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celebrate the Christ. The question comes, why is that?
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Why is it if I'm formed by God, and those who are formed by God,
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created by Him, they, they will declare my praise?
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Why is it then then I have trouble doing that?
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Why is it that sometimes as I journey along this pathway, I
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find myself opposed to boasting in the Lord or celebrating His
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name? Well, that's why today's title
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is called the Prerequisites to Praise.
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There are certain prerequisites that, if not a part of your
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life, will keep you from praising the Lord, boasting in
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the Lord, celebrating the Lord, giving thanks at His name,
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rejoicing in who He is. And so I thought that we could
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look at the prerequisites of praise today and in doing so,
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help you understand why at times I, I don't praise the Lord or
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celebrate his name when I should.
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The Bible says in Psalm 33 verse #1 that that praise is, is
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beautifying, fitting to the people of God.
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It's it's, it's that what's, what's fits us the best praise
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is that which beautifies our life more than anything else.
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But yet at times we we are reluctant to be that beautiful.
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The question is why? Why does that happen in its
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centers? I believe around the
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prerequisites to praise and the prerequisites fall into 4
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categories. There there are four legs in
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which you stand on the pathway to praise and as you journey
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along this pathway, these these legs keep you moving in the
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right direction. 1 is the peace of Christ, second is the word of
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Christ, third is the name of Christ, and 4th is the fear of
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Christ. So if the If the peace of Christ
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does not rule in your heart, you will not be thankful.
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If the word of Christ does not reside in your heart, you will
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not give thanks to the Lord. If the name of Christ does not
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radiate from your heart, you will not give praise and
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celebrate the Christ. And if the fear of Christ does
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not reign supreme in your heart, you won't rejoice with
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trembling. There are your 4 principles.
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If you got your Bible, turn to Colossians chapter 3, Colossians
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chapter 3 and we will show you how these all come together.
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It reads this way verse 15. Let the peace of Christ rule in
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your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be
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thankful. Let the word of Christ richly
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dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
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one another, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
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singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
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Then whatever you do in Word or deed, do all in the name of the
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Lord Jesus. Give me thanks through Him to
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God the Father. Those are the first three, the
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peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ.
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The peace of Christ must rule in your heart.
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That's what it says. Possibly let the peace of Christ
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rule in your hearts, for you've been called into one body and be
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thankful. So if the peace of Christ does
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not rule in your heart, you will not give thanks to the Lord.
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So what does that mean? Well, the word rule means means
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to call the shots. It's the word where we get our
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English word umpire and umpires. They call balls and strikes,
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They call fair a foul, They call outer safe.
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They make the call. They're the determining factor
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and whether or not you are safe or out, it's a strike or a ball
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or whatever the case may be. They they call shots.
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Unfortunately, now they they have instant replay to make sure
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that the empire got it right. But when the peace of Christ
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rules in your heart, it means that the very fact that you're
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on God's side, let him be the governing factor in every
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decision that you make. In other words, the Bible says
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in Romans 51, having been justified by faith, we have
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peace with God. Before you were saved, you were
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at war with God. You were the enemy of God.
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But now that you've been justified by faith, you're at
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peace with God. So now that you're at peace with
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God, let that very fact be that which determines every decision
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that you make in life. Let the fact that you're on
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God's side determine which decision that you make.
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How many times have you heard me say over the years that the
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decision you make today will determine your destiny tomorrow?
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Make a bad decision today, it affects your tomorrow.
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Make a good decision today, it affects your tomorrow.
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Excuse me, but whatever decision you make today will determine
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your destiny tomorrow. So whatever decision you're
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going to make today, let the very fact that you're at peace
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with God determine every decision that you make.
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Let the peace of Christ be the ruling factor in whatever
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decision you're going to make today.
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When you do that, you'll be thankful.
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And the reason you're not thankful is because you're
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making the decisions and then you don't like your decision
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because then you got to live with the consequences and you're
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not thankful. But when you let the peace of
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Christ rule in your heart because you have, because you're
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at peace with God and you have the peace of God in you, you let
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him make that decision. So when you decide to to date
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someone, you let the peace of Christ make that decision.
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In other words, you, you let the very fact that you're on God's
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side determine who it is you date or you don't date, what job
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you take or what job you don't take, what clothes you wear
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versus what clothes you don't wear this morning.
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You let the peace of Christ make the deciding factor and whether
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or not you came to church, you're here right there.
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There are those who are not here because they didn't let the
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peace of Christ rule in their heart.
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They let something else rule in their heart and that's what made
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their decision not to come to church.
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And the decision they make today will determine their destiny
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tomorrow, just like your decision today determines your
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destiny tomorrow. Isn't it interesting that when
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you think of the armor of God in the Ephesians chapter 6 and we
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know about the armor of God, we we think about all those
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different instruments that that are part of the armor.
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We think of the helmet of salvation.
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We think of the sword of the spirit.
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We think of the shield of faith, the breastplate of
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righteousness, that the belt of truth, but very few people ever
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think about the gospel of peace in which our our feet are
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furnished with. Paul says that our feet are to
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be shod with the gospel of peace, or fitted with the gospel
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of peace, or furnished with the gospel of peace.
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That does not mean that your armor is about talking to people
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about Jesus and the gospel of peace.
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That's not what that means. It does mean that the very fact
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that you're at peace with God because the gospel that was
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preached to you solidifies your stance as you go to war because
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you're on God's side. And isn't it interesting that
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those those feet that are fitted with the gospel of peace
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determine how you engage in battle?
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For instance, the Bible says flee your morality, flee
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idolatry, flee the love of money, flee youthful lusts.
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Well, how do you do that? You do it because you you have
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the right shoes on you. You have the gospel of of peace
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that fits you perfectly so that when it's time to run, you can
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run. When it's time to stand, you
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stand, but you're at peace with God.
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And because you're at peace with God, the decision you make to
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run rules in your heart. He moves you away from
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temptation. That's why Paul would say there
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is no temptation taken you put such as coming to man.
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But God always provides a way of escape.
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Well, how does he provide the way of skate?
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Because he's fitted you with the gospel of peace.
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That's the shoes you wear. You remember growing up when
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you, when you used to buy new shoes, how excited you were
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about new shoes. And your mom would say, OK, OK,
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just run down the aisle and see, see how fast you run.
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And you take off running down the aisle of the, of the store.
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And then, whoa, man, I, I, I run faster now.
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And you were convinced that you could run faster because you had
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new shoes. Well, when you're born again,
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you're at peace with God, and part of the armor you're fitted
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with is the gospel of peace. They're the shoes you wear that
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are furnished specifically for you so that you can make the
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decision to run when it's necessary to run and flee
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immorality and idolatry and youthful lusts, or to stand firm
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against the Wiles of the devil and be armored with those things
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that are fitted for you in Ephesians chapter 6.
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But when you let the peace of Christ make the decision in your
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life, you're always thankful. Always.
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But when you make the decision, not so much so when you're not
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thankful. As you travel down the pathway
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of praise, ask yourself, did the peace of Christ decide what it
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is I was supposed to do today, tomorrow, and forever?
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When the gospel of peace rules in your heart, you will be
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thankful. Now the Bible says in Isaiah 26
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three that God will keep you in perfect peace, whose mind is
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stayed fixed, focused on thee. And the Bible says in Psalm one
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19165 that great peace have those who love your commandments
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and nothing causes them to stumble.
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Great peace. That's where the second point
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comes in. And that is the word of Christ
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must reside in your heart. The word of Christ must reside
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in your heart. This is how Paul says it.
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He says, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you
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abundantly dwell. The word dwell is the word that
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means to to be at home. Let the word of Christ be at
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home abundantly in your heart. When, when the when the word of
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Christ resides within you, is at home within you, you will teach,
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admonish one another and you will sing to one another in
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psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and you will give thanks.
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That's the byproduct of the word of Christ richly dwelling in
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you. So if on your journey down the
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pathway to praise and you are reluctant to giving thanks and
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praise and hallelujahs to God, you must ask yourself, is the
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word of Christ. Residing within my heart.
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Is it overwhelmingly at home in my heart or or is God's word a
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stranger to you? You see, we, we like to, we like
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to snack on the word of God instead of scarf the word of
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God. There's a big difference there.
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You know, snacks are are great in between meals, but you need
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to scarf on the word of God, devour the word of God every
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opportunity you get to hear the word of God, to read the word of
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God, to listen to the word of God, to be in the word of God
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must consume you because you want the word of Christ to be at
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home in your heart. In other words, it's it's shed
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all over your insides and when the word of Christ resides
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within you, richly dwells within your heart, there'll be
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instruction, admonition, and expression.
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You'll teach one another. That's instruction.
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You'll admonish one another. That's admonition.
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And look what Paul says. He says with psalms and hymns
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and spiritual songs singing with thankfulness.
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Where in your church, in your hearts to the Lord, that there's
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a certain song you sing in your heart to the Lord, that there is
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an expression of of praise to God, because the word of Christ
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dwells in me richly, and that expression is I.
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I sing to one another with psalms, which are the Old
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Testament psalms, hymns, which simply are the expressions of
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praise to God. Spiritual songs are are personal
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testimonial songs such as the new song or Mary's song in Luke
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1 or Zachariah's song. Those are personal testimonies
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of of songs in the scripture and it says singing with grace.
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In other words, the songs you sing are prompted by the grace
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that's within you in your hearts to the Lord.
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There's a certain expression of praise you give to the Lord in
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your heart. In other words, your heart
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matches the praise on your lips. Sometimes we, we come to church
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and, and we sing songs of praise, but they're not really
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matching what's on the inside of our heart, are they?
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They're they're we're, we're doing all the outward motions,
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but our hearts are really some place else in another direction,
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affection for something else other than God.
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We're to sing in our hearts to the Lord.
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And that's the expression of the, of the word of Christ that
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resides within your heart. When the peace of Christ rules
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in your heart, you give thanks. When the word of Christ resides
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in your heart, you give thanks and you do it in song and praise
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to God. And then there's the name of
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Christ says in verse 17, Whatever you do in Word or deed,
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do all the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks through him
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to God the Father. The name of Christ, the name of
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Christ simply is who he is. It's his character, it's his
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nature and and the the name of Christ needs to radiate in our
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hearts. So whatever you do in Word or
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deed, whatever you say today, tomorrow, for the rest of your
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life, whatever you do today or tomorrow, the rest of your life,
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whatever you do in Word or deed to all in line with the
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attributes and character of God. In other words, what you say
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today should reflect, should radiate that your heart is right
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with God and you know God. What you do today should reflect
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that you know God and you honor God and serve God.
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So whatever you do in Word or deed to all, not some all in the
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name or in line with the character in nature of the Lord
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Jesus, and you will be thankful. But if what you're doing in Word
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or deed is not in line with the character and attributes of God,
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you will not be thankful, you'll be miserable, you'll be
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unthankful, you will not be delightful.
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So you got to ask yourself, what am I doing today?
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What am I saying today that's in line with the character and
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nature of the Lord? I say I serve.
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Are my words radiating the truth that I know Christ?
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Are my words radiating the fact that I, my, my, the places I go
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read the fact that I know Christ?
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That is just so incredibly important.
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My kids will tell you that when, when they were growing up, I
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used to always use this phrase with them.
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Don't defame the name. Whatever you do when you leave
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the house, don't defame the name.
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So they always thought it was the name of Sparks.
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No, it's not my name, it's God's name.
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Don't defame, don't profane, don't bring a reproach upon the
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name of Christ. And whatever you do in Word or
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deed, do all in the name of Christ.
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If you're a parent today, I would I would challenge you to
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adopt that with your children. When they get ready to go to
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school, they get ready to leave the door, say hey, remember,
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don't defame the name. See you?
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That should be the last words they hear from you as they leave
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their house. Don't defame the name.
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Let those words ring in their ears all throughout the day.
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They go to school, they go to work, they go on a date.
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Don't defame the name. Why?
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Because whatever you do in Word or deed, do all in line with the
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name of Jesus Christ our Lord and be thankful.
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Give thanks through him. See, you can't give thanks to
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Him if you're opposed to Him and living not in line with who He
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is. Aren't you glad you came today?
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This is just so basic, but yet so beneficial.
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Such a blessing for all of us because we go through life and
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some days are just bad days and we don't give thanks to God.
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We don't praise him. Things go bad, things go
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haywire. Things don't go the way I want
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them to go. Well, did you live according to
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the peace of Christ? Was he ruling in your heart when
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you make that decision as to what you did that day?
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And and is the word of Christ residing in your heart?
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Is it all throughout you are Are you richly indwelt with the word
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of Christ because you you hear it, you hear it correctly, you
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heed it constantly, you honor it entirely, you hide it inwardly
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because it's all about who you are, the word of Christ, and it
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resides within your heart in the name of Christ.
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Is it radiating all throughout your being each and every day,
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so that when you speak, you speak Christ's words?
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When you go places, you go where Christ's name is not defamed or
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profaned, but glorified and honored #4 turn me to Psalm 2.
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Psalm 2 studies around the the fear of Christ.
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If you want to live in peace, if you want to love His word, if
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you want to lift his name, you must fear the Christ.
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So the Bible says in Psalm 2, worship the Lord verse 11 with
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fear and rejoice with trembling. Rejoice with trembling.
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How do you do that? What does that mean?
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Worship the Lord in fear? Maybe your text says reverence.
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That's an OK word because you want to Revere the Lord.
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Those who fear him do Revere him.
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The unbeliever has No Fear of God before his eyes.
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The unbeliever does not fear God.
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Only the believer fears him. Psalm 130 verse #4 There is
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forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
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Why does God forgive you so you'll fear him?
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Because the unbeliever doesn't fear God, only the believer
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does. So God wants you to worship him
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in fear. He wants you to rejoice your
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trembling, so he forgives you. So you will do that because the
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unforgiven don't do that. That's important to understand,
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but isn't it interesting? Psalm 100 verse 2 says worship
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the Lord with gladness or serve the Lord with gladness.
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Psalm 2 says worship the Lord with fear, serve the Lord with
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fear. So which is it?
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Do I serve him with fear or with gladness?
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But if there is No Fear, there is no gladness, because there is
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no peace. Remember the the the Christmas
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story, peace on earth with those with whom God is pleased.
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Peace does not come on earth to those with whom God is not
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pleased, only with those with whom he is pleased.
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So who is God pleased with? Psalm 14711 says God is pleased
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with those who fear His name. See that So only those who fear
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his name please God. Those who fear His name receive
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the peace of God. Therefore we are to worship the
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Lord, fear the Lord, serve the Lord in fear, so that we can
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rejoice with trembling. To this man will I look, Psalm
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66, I mean Isaiah 66 verse #2 To this man will I look to him who
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is broken and of a contrite heart, and who trembles at my
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word, who shakes uncontrollably under the authority of what I
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say. They live in the fear of the
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Lord all day long. We don't like to use that word
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because we we want a candy coat and say, well, it just means to
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to reverence and be in awe of the Lord, which is good, but
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that's not what it means. It means you fear the Lord.
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What does that mean? Exactly what it says.
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It means you fear the Lord because the unbeliever does not,
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not afraid of the Lord because they don't know Him.
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But when you come to know Him, it strikes fear in your heart.
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Not because you'll ever be condemned, because perfect love
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casts out fear, right? The love of Christ casts out
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fear. So there's not the fear of
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condemnation. It's not the fear of judgement.
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We don't have that kind of fear. Why?
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Because we know that the love of Christ cast all that out.
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I will never be judged or condemned by God because of what
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he's done for me at Calvary. But I do fear.
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Fear that I would displease him, dishonor his name, profane his
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name. So Psalmist says, fear the name
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of Christ. Let it be that which reigns
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supreme in your heart, so you can rejoice with trembling.
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It's interesting that the Christmas story is more about
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fear than anything else. When the angels would have the
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glory of the Lord shine all around the shepherds, they were
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terrified. They were in fear.
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So what did the Angel say? Fear not, fear not.
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Why? Because you bring your good news
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with great joy. When the Angel appeared to to
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Mary, he said don't be afraid Mary, because she was terrified.
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Look at the people who encountered the Christ in the
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Scriptures. Absolutely terrified.
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Why? Because he's a consuming fire.
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It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
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God. But yet the Lord, his grace and
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mercy, reaches out to save the lost and those who are saved.
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They understand him, they get him, and they fear him.
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That's why the Bible says these words Proverbs 2317 Live in the
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fear of God always. That's what Solomon said as he
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wrote to his son. He said in Proverbs 2814,
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Blessed is the man who fears all day long.
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That's the blessed man. The Bible says in Proverbs 3130
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that charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but the woman
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who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
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The Bible says over in the book of Isaiah, the 8th chapter,
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Isaiah chapter 8 verse #13 it is the Lord of hosts whom you
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should regard as holy, perfect, sinless, absolute perfection.
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It's the Lord of hosts, the Lord of army armies.
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Yavay Savayoth is the one you should regard as holy.
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When you do, He shall be your fear and He shall be your dread.
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And then and only then will he become your sanctuary, your
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place of refuge, your place of safety.
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The Bible says in Psalm 128, Blessed is everyone who fears
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the Lord, who walk in his ways. When you shall eat of the fruit
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of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with
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you. Your wife should be like a
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fruitful vine within your house. Your children like olive plant
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plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man
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be blessed who fears the Lord. Do you fear the Lord?
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Just look at your wife. Does she climb like a vine all
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over you? Maybe you don't fear the Lord.
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Maybe you fear her more than you fear the Lord Could be.
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How are your children? Like olive plants around your
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table? Similar great blessing and joy?
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Are your children a heartache to you?
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Ask yourself, do you fear the Lord, or do you fear the
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reaction of your children to your decisions?
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When you fear the Lord, you fear no man, you fear no woman.
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You fear nothing else. You only fear the Lord.
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If you fear something else or someone else, you do not fear
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the Lord. It's just that simple.
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In fact, listen to this Psalm 112.
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How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights
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in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty
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on the earth. Are your descendants mighty on
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the earth? The generation of the upright
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will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his
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house, and his righteousness endures forever.
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Are there wealth and riches in your house?
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It's not talking about money. It's not talking about diamonds
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and jewelry. It's talking about, as Solomon
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said in Proverbs 24, that by wisdom a house is built, by
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understanding it is established, and by knowledge all the rooms
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are filled with precious and pleasant riches.
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In other words, it's the richest of character.
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It's it's the richness of Christ likeness.
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It's the beauty of Christianity and all that it entails.
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He goes on to say in verse 6, this man who fears Lord will
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never be shaken, never never shaken.
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The righteous will be remembered forever.
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He will not fear evil tidings, not fear of title, evil tidings,
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because it's hard to steadfast trusting in the Lord.
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Do you think we fear the evil tidings that come through the
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election process? Of course not.
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We don't trust in politics, we don't trust in the election
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process. We trust in the Lord.
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That's where our trust is. And the man who fears God does
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not fear evil tidings, and his heart is upheld.
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He will not fear. In other words, there is
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stability, security and strength in those who fear the Lord.
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And those who fear the Christ have the Christ reigning supreme
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in their hearts, and they rejoice with trembling.
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The four prerequisites to praise the peace of Christ.
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It must rule in your heart, and you'll be thankful.
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The word of Christ, it must reside in your heart.
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And you will teach, admonish one another, and you will sing
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psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and you'll sing in your
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heart to the Lord, and you will give thanks the name of Christ.
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It must radiate in your being, in your heart.
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So whatever you do, in Word or in deed, it's all done in
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accordance with the character and nature of God.
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And you will be thankful that when you fear the Christ, you
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fear his name because of the great holiness that's within him
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that makes him who he is. You are the person who has that
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fear, reigning supreme above all else, so that you fear nothing
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else or no one else, because you only fear the Christ.
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Those are the four legs, the four prerequisites to praise.
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If you ever wonder why you've, why you've gone through a day or
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a week or a month, God forbid, without ever praising God,
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singing Hallelujah to God, giving thanks to God, it's
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because one of those four elements are not true in your
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life. Because once they're true,
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you'll be thankful. You'll be grateful.
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You'll sing the Hallelujah chorus.
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You'll boast in the Lord. Let's pray.
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Father, thank you for today. Thank you for the chance to look
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into your word. Answer a question that many of
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us have on why is it there are days I am reluctant to praise
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you instead of relish the opportunity to praise you.
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Our prayer, Father, is that we would understand the, the peace
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of Christ, the word of Christ, the name of Christ and the fear
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of Christ. Basically, Lord, we just need to
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understand the Christ who you are.
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That's the the basis for all we do because we give thanks
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continually through your name, through you, based on who you
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are. So I pray for everyone in the
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room today. You'd encourage their hearts,
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strengthen their souls, help them to look at their lives in
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light of those scriptures and ask themselves the question, am
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I living a Hallelujah life, boasting in the Lord, praising,
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celebrating His name? And then ask the question, If
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not, why not go back and look at the text and Colossians and
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Psalms and measure their life against what the Bible says?
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God, go before the people of our church, this church, Christ
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community, use them to radiate the beauty of your name.
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Thank you in Jesus name, Amen.