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Transcript

What is a Christian: By Definition · CCC West Covina

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Father, we thank you for today. We are so grateful, Lord, for
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the opportunity to give us in the middle of the week to study
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Your Word and realize, Lord, that you open doors and You
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close doors. And we realize, Father, that You
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are sovereign. You rule over all.
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So tonight, as we gather together and spend time in the
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Word, we pray that You touch our hearts and cause us, Lord, to
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really search our hearts and to know that which is true in Your
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Word. Everything revolves around Your
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Word. Everything about who You are is
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spoken in Your Word. All that we need to know is in
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Your Word. So we pray, Father, that we
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would be master students of the Word of God, and that Lord, the
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things that you teach us, may they grow on us each and every
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day. And maybe You walk in obedience
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to Your name. I pray for everyone in the room
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tonight. I pray Lord for their situation.
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I don't know what's happening, their own personal lives, but
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you know, and I just pray for them tonight.
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They would be able to set aside all distractions, all those
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things that are encumbrances, and just receive the truth of
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your word this evening and move them on to maturity in Christ
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for the glory of your Kingdom until you come again, as you
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most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.
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What is a a Christian? That's the question.
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Last week we looked at the Christian for the standpoint of
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the fact that he's known by his decision.
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Luke 923 says that if any man came after me, let him deny
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himself, take up his cross and follow after me.
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His decision to deny himself, Self denial.
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His decision to take up his cross, self sacrifice, his
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decision to follow the Lord. Submission, That's the decision
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that he makes. Self denial, A refusal to
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associate with yourself any longer.
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Why? Because you're sold out to doing
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all that Christ has asked you to do.
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That's the decision that He makes, The instruction that
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Christ gave us all throughout the New Testament.
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When he come to the end of his life, He gets an illustration
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about that. When Simon and Cyrene and Luke
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23 was compelled out of the crowd to carry the cross beam of
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our Lord all the way to Calvary, in there you see a living
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illustration of what it means to take up your cross and and
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follow the Lord. He wanted to have an image
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placed in the hearts and minds of everyone on the road to
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Calvary that they would understand not just of the
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message that he preached, but of the model they lived and those
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who followed him lived. And Simon of Cyrene was that
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perfect model. And of course, he was compelled
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to follow the Lord as you and I are compelled to follow the Lord
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by his irresistible grace that calls him, calls us to Himself,
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that we might embrace all that He is.
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That was last week, this week. The Christian is known by by his
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definition. How do you define a Christian?
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Would you be able to go to the Bible and give an accurate
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definition of a Christian so people would know that you
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understand definitively who and what a Christian?
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Really is I told you on Sunday that that some say well a
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Christian is defined by by being a believer in the Lord Jesus
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Christ because the Bible says that Acts 1631 believe on the
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Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
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And yet Jesus says these words in John chapter 2 verse 23.
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Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast.
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Many believed in his name observing his signs which he was
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doing. But Jesus on his part was not
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entrusting himself to them for he knew all men and because he
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did not need anyone to testify concerning man for he himself
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knew what was in man so early on in the mystery of Christ.
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Many believed in Jesus. It doesn't mean that they were
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Christians, It doesn't mean that they were saved because Jesus
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was not entrusting himself to them, because he knew it was
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exactly inside of man. Others would say, well to be a
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Christian means that you are a disciple of of Jesus.
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That would be a good definition of a Christian.
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And yet the Bible says in John 6 verse 60.
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Therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said, this
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is a difficult statement, who can listen to it?
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But Jesus, conscious that his disciples grumbled at this, said
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to them, Does this cause you to stumble?
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What then if you see the Son of man ascending to where he was
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before? It is a spirit who gives life.
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The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to
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you are Spirit in our life, but there are some of you who do not
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believe. For Jesus knew from the
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beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that
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would betray Him. And he was saying, For this
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reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it
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has been granted him from the Father.
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As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and we are
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not walking with him any longer. So just to say that someone is
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the disciple of Jesus does not necessarily define genuine
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Christianity. Just because someone says they
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believe in Jesus doesn't necessarily define the essence
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of Christianity. Notice what it says.
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It says many believed many were disciples, but they walked with
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him no longer. Then see a few a little here
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smattering there. It says many would not walk with
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him any longer and some would say, well, a Christian is
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defined by the fact of his, his ministry and service, service
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for the Lord. Yet Jesus answered that early on
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when he said not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord will enter
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the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father
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who is in heaven will enter many.
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Again many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not
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prophecy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in
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your name perform many miracles? Again, the word many is used.
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Why? Because many, most are self
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deceived. Most believe that they're on the
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way to heaven. Most believe there are
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Christians, many who believe, many are disciples, many who say
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we did this, we did that, we went here, we went there and
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Christ says to them, I never knew you depart from me.
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Those of you who practice lawlessness, that, that's just
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astounding to me. The words of Scripture are very
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particular. When the Lord speaks, he doesn't
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mumble His words. He speaks very clearly as to
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what He wants to say. Many believed but would not walk
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with Him anymore. Many were disciples but would
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not not associate with Him anymore.
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Many would say we did this, we did that, we served you, we were
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faithful to you, we committed our lives to you.
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Christ is saying Luke chapter 6. Why do you call me Lord, Lord
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and yet do not do what I say? Because you see, obedience and
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salvation go hand in hand. Those who are saved obey, but
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just because you obey doesn't mean you're saved.
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And people say, well I'm so confused.
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I believe I'm a disciple, I serve the Lord, I know the Lord
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and Jesus said these words. I would declare to them, I never
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knew you. It's not so much that you know
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him, it's just that he knows you.
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And again you'll say, well, wait a minute, I know the Lord.
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What do you mean he doesn't know me?
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I'm a disciple of the Lord. What do you mean?
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If I if I walk away from him, does that mean I don't believe
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any longer? Was I never really truly born
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again from the very beginning? Again, the Bible says many, many
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and many. There are many on the broad road
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to destruction. Few are on the narrow Rd. that
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leads to life, but many are on the broad road to destruction.
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And so it's very important for us to understand, listen, every
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pastor needs to be concerned with the spiritual condition of
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his flock. Every pastor needs to be
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overwhelmed by the fact that there are many people in this
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church that profess Christianity but don't possess the Christ who
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is the author of Christianity. And every pastor who's concerned
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about his flock is going to continually warn them over and
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over again, compel them to match their life to the standards of
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the Scriptures. What does the Bible actually
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say? That's why Paul said for three
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years that Ephesians church, I warned you day and night.
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I never ceased to not warn you. I was always compelling.
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You and Paul all throughout his letters would talk about the
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examination, the testing, the learning, the growing.
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Are you sure you're saved? John and 1st John, James and
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James's epistle, Peter and Peter's epistles, everything was
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the same. Jude and his epistle, it's over
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and over and over again. Christ would even say to the
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Pharisees, the religious elite, everybody thought the Pharisees
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were going to heaven. Everybody thought the Sadducees
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were going to heaven. These were the religious people
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of His day. Everybody knew that they were
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close to God. And Christ says to them in
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Matthew 23 verse #27 Who? Woe to you, scribes and
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Pharisees, you're hypocrites. For you are like whitewashed
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tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside
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they are full of dead men's bones, and all in cleanness.
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So you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly
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you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
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You you have all the outward trappings, but none of the
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inward transformation. People can look a certain way on
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the outside but never be changed on the inside.
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And and Satan is a master at deception.
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That's why in 2nd Corinthians 11 he's called or he disguises
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himself as an Angel of light. That that's why.
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But even in justice chapter 3 was so easily deceived.
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That's why the Bible says in in Revelation 12 verse #9 that
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Satan deceives the whole world. That's why John says he's the
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Prince and the power of the air. That's why Peter says he goes
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about like a roaring lion seeking Who made me devour?
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We, we can't set aside the Wherever there's the true, there
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will always be the counterfeit. Wherever there are the wheat,
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there will always be the tares. Wherever there's the genuine
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believer, there will be the false believer.
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Wherever those who who possessed the Christ, there were those who
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professed the Christ, but no possessed the Christ.
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That's the way Satan works. He's a master deceiver.
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And any pastor that doesn't compel his church to search the
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Scriptures to measure their lives against the standard of
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the Scriptures should, should step out of the ministry.
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That's that's his, his ministry because he doesn't want anybody
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to be deceived. He doesn't want anybody to end
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up in hell. He wants everybody to know for
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certain that they are on their way to glory and that there is
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no discrepancy about their walk with the Lord, that they know
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Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That is just so important.
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And all the while, Satan gets people to believe that because
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they do believe in Jesus or they're a follower of Jesus, or
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they serve in the church for Jesus, that that's good enough
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and that they're OK and that he can he can solve their
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conscience by getting into believe that you're doing all
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the right things. But having the outward trappings
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is no guarantee that there's been an inner transformation.
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And Paul would address this in in great detail.
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He does it in a very unique way, which gives us the the supreme
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definition of a Christian. So if you got your Bible term
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with me to Philippians chapter 3, Philippians chapter 3.
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So many religions are designed around human achievement,
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whether it's Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness,
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Christian Science, liberal Protestantism.
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It's centered around the things that I am doing that gave me
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merit before God. But in Christianity, it's it's
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all about the work of God. It's all about what God does in
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the life of a person because God is a savior of man.
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And so Paul wants to make that very clear.
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And so he says these words in verse #1 or chapter 3.
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Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
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Now he says that several times throughout the book of
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Philippians because he wants them to have joy in the Lord.
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Because that's the only place you really have joy.
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It's not joy in your job or joy in your marriage, although
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hopefully you have joy in your marriage and hopefully you find
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some kind of sympathetic joy in your job.
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But real joy comes because of your relationship with the
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living God. So, so Paul says rejoice in the
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Lord because that's the relationship that matters.
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That's the relationship that counts.
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That's the relationship that that gives you security.
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That's the relationship that gives you all the grace and
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mercy and love that you can possibly ever understand because
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it's the Lord himself who grants it.
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So he says rejoice in the Lord. He says to write the same things
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again to you is no trouble to me.
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And it is a safeguard for you. See, Paul's concerned that he
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protects the people at the Church of Philippi.
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We should be protecting the people of God, giving them as a
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safeguard. What does the Bible actually
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say? And so Paul says what I'm going
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to write to you. I, I, I've said to you before
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and but it's not a problem for me to say it again.
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It's not a problem for me to repeat myself.
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It's not a problem for me to re emphasize things I've already
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talked to you about. Why?
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Because this is a safeguard. This is a protection for you.
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This is how you watch out for your life.
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That's the way pastor should be. So he says this pursue, beware
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of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the faults,
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circumcision, beware, beware, beware the words of warning,
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stand alert, watch out, be careful.
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There are dogs that are out there.
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There are evil workers that are out there.
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There are the false circumcision that is out there.
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And you need to beware of this, He warns them.
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Because that's what pastors do. They want to make sure that
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their people are alert to the dogs.
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Well, why would they say dogs? Well, Jews call Gentiles dogs,
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and here is a Jew, Paul, calling Jews dogs.
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Now, these are not little pet dogs.
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I have two of those, OK, really nice fluffy, smell good kind of
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dogs who lick you and love you and that kind of stuff.
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This is not a pet dog. This is a, this is a ravenous
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dog. This is a rabid dog.
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This is a dog filled with disease because in those days
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most dogs were, were scavengers, scoundrels who ate from garbage
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bins, who were filled with diseases.
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He's calling these false people. He gives a command, rejoice in
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the Lord always. Then he gives the caution,
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beware, beware, beware. And then he gives the contrast
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and the contrast in between the false circumcision and the true
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circumcision, the false marked ones and the true marked ones.
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He gives a contrast because he wants them to understand that
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the unbelievers are dogs, evil workers, and they are the false
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circumcision. And so he's warning them about
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these, these people who are diseased like people because the
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ultimate disease is the disease of sin that leads you to hell.
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And you want to be aware of those people.
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And then he says beware, beware of the evil workers.
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And the word is cacaos, which is evil at its core, evil at its
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core. Earlier, Paul would talk about
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ravenous wolves. In in Matthew Chapter 7 he would
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say that that these false teachers are purveyors of demon
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doctrines. Here he calls them dogs because
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they're they're scavengers who who feed on innocent lives.
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He calls them evil workers because at the depth of their
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heart they are vicious. They don't care for your soul,
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they only care about their own lives.
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And then he calls them the false circumcision.
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The literal translation would be the mutilation, which is more of
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an explanation of what he's trying to say.
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This is very, very important. To understand true circumcision,
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you must understand false circumcision.
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Therefore, you must understand what circumcision is all about.
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And if you know anything about the Abrahamic covenant in
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Genesis chapter 17, in fact, let me read it to you.
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Genesis chapter 17 verse #9 God says this.
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God said further to Abraham, Now As for you, you shall keep my
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covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout
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your generations. This is My covenant, which you
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shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you.
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Every male among you shall be circumcised, and you shall be
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circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the
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sign of the covenant between me and you.
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And every male among you who is 8 days old shall be circumcised.
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Throughout your generations. A servant is born in your house,
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or who is brought with money from any foreigner who is not of
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your descendants. A servant who was born in your
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house, or who has bought with your money, shall surely be
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circumcised. Thus shall my covenant be in
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your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
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But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of
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his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people.
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He has broken my covenant. The sign of the Abrahamic
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covenant was circumcision. That was a sign.
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Now note this. It's a marking.
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It marked three things. One, it marked the Jews
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identification with God #2 it marked the Jews separation from
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the world. And that marking symbolized
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their commitment to purification.
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So let me explain that to you. It's a mark of identification.
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The Jews were responsible to their God, and they were
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responsible in such a way that they were to obey and honor
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their God. And because their God was holy,
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they were to be separate from sin.
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Because they identify with His Holiness, so their
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identification was with His Holiness.
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Their separation was from their sinfulness and their
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purification would would affect their eternal destiny.
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But over time, the Jews messed that whole thing up.
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You see, what made a Jew a Jew was was was was circumcision.
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That was the identifying mark of a Jewish man.
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And all the Jews revelled in this, so much so that the
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identifying mark of circumcision became more important to them
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than what that mark actually symbolized.
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And the word is circumcised means to, to, to cut away.
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And it's the, it's the cutting away of the foreskin of, of the
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male organ. Now, now, why would God do this?
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What was so unique about this? Who would know this?
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The Jews would. But you see, it's very, very
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important. Let me ask you a question.
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How is sin passed from generation to generation?
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Through the procreative act, right?
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You know why Jesus was born of a virgin?
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Because no man could conceive A sinless child.
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It's impossible because man's a Sinner.
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Man's a Sinner not because he sins.
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Man's a Sinner because he's born a Sinner.
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It's in his DNA. That's who he is.
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And ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, everybody born after
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that is born into sin. You're born separated from God.
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And so the Jews were the people of God and the people of God
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were to model the way to to what it means to be a follower of
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God. And so God gave them a very
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unique and distinguishing mark of identification with God in
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His Holiness and separation with God from their sinfulness.
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But it didn't take that course with them.
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But it should have. Because you see, every time man
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would procreate, he would pass on sin and more sin and more sin
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with everybody who came from the womb of a woman.
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And yet, and yet that circumcision was to remind every
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drew that cleanliness on the outside was no substitute for
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cleanness on the inside. And that's why Christ always
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emphasized the circumcision of the heart.
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Leviticus 2641 talks about the circumcision of the heart.
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Deuteronomy 6 Excuse me 10 verse #16 circumcise the heart.
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Deuteronomy 30 verse #6 circumcise the heart.
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Jeremiah 4/4 circumcise the heart.
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Ezekiel 34 or Excuse me 44 seven circumcise the heart.
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But over time, the Jews saw this as their as their badge of
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eternal security. We are children of Abraham.
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We have been circumcised. We are children of God.
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This is our way into eternity. But it wasn't.
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It was it was a sign that led to something else.
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It was a sign that led to the ultimate symbol of inner
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purification that they needed to have, that needed to be pure
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from their own sin. And the only way that would
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happen is through the arrival of the new covenant.
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And that new covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus
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Christ our Lord. And so Paul says, I want you to
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beware of the dogs. I want you to beware, beware of
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the evil workers. Now I want you to beware of the
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mutilation because all these false Christians who claimed
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that circumcision gets them into heaven, all they are is
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mutilating themselves. It means absolutely nothing.
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They're like the prophets of of Baal in first Kings 18 who used
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to cut themselves open, try to get their God to to pay
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attention, but he did not because there was no God except
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the one true God. So there's a mutilation.
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That's how Paul says that in Romans chapter 2.
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Listen to what he says, For indeed circumcision is a value
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if you practice the law. But if you are a transgressor of
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the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
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In other words, your circumcision means nothing as he
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speaks to help Jews understand, because all these Judaizers
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would follow Paul wherever he went.
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Paul would go into a city. He'd preach the gospel.
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Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ
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alone. And people would give their
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lives to Christ, and the Judaizers would come in and say,
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hey, you know what? It's more than that.
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We believe in Jesus and we believe in grace, and we believe
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that Jesus died on the cross. But there's more to it than
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that. You got to be circumcised.
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You got to keep the Mosaic law. You got to keep the ceremonial
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law. And Paul says those are dogs,
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those are evil workers. They're they're, they're the
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mutilation, they're the false circumcision.
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They're not the true circumcision.
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And they were adding works to the saving grace of God.
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And whenever you add works to salvation, it's an error.
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Let's let's say someone says to you, OK, are the 7th day
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Adventists saved? Are they going to heaven because
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they go to the 7th Day Adventist Church?
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They may be, they may be. But if they believe that going
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to church on Saturday gets them to heaven, they're not.
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It's like the person in the Catholic Church.
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I don't care what church you go to.
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That's the irrelevant If God's going to save you, he's going to
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save you. But if you're going to a
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Catholic Church, can people in the Catholic Church be saved?
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Yes, they can be. But if you believe as going to
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the Catholic Church that what I'm doing by taking Mass and by
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being baptized as an infant or particularly the sacraments,
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then that's going to get me into heaven, then then you're not
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saved. You can't add works to grace,
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can't do that. And Paul's very, very concerned
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that you need to be aware of these people that are trying to
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add something to the true essence of the Gospel.
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So then he defines the Christian for them, makes it very clear.
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He says we are the true circumcision.
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Oh, by the way, Paul goes on to say this in Romans chapter 2.
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He says this for he is not a Jew who is 1 outwardly, nor a
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circumcision, that which is outward of the flesh, but he is
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a Jew who is 1 inwardly. And circumcision is that which
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is of the heart by the Spirit. The true Jew is one who is
30:54
circumcised in the heart inwardly.
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Just because you've been circumcised on the outside,
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because you've done the external trappings, if there's been no
31:06
internal transformation, the external trappings mean
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absolutely nothing. And so Paul says this, he says
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very clearly, we are the true circumcision, we are the true
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marked ones who are the ones that are marked by God.
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OK, these are the false marked ones, but these, these are the
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true marked ones. He says this who worship in the
31:34
Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no
31:39
confidence in the flesh. There's your definition of a
31:47
Christian. It's the best concise definition
31:52
in the Bible of a Christian. They worship God in spirit or by
31:57
the Spirit. They glory only in Christ Jesus,
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and they put no confidence in the flesh.
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In other words, the true believer has a heart adoration,
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a heart exaltation, and a heart humiliation.
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We are the ones who worship in the Spirit of God or by the
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Spirit of God. The word worship with trio is an
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all-encompassing term. It's more than just singing
32:36
hymns on a Sunday. It's more than going to church
32:40
on a Sunday. It's about true worshippers.
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Remember the conversation that Jesus had with the woman of
32:47
Samaria in John chapter 4? We told her that there's coming
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a day where you're not going to worship on this mountain, Mount
32:56
Garrison, or in this temple, but you're going to worship in
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spirit and in truth, because God is seeking true worshippers.
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Everybody's a worshiper, right? Everybody worships something.
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Everybody worships someone. There's, there's an idol,
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there's a God in our lives that we bow down to, maybe not
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physically, but it it governs our lives.
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All of us are worshippers. Man by nature is a worshipper,
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but the true worshipper worships in spirit or by the spirit.
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And God is seeking true worshippers.
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Remember First Thessalonians 19, They turn to God from idols to
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serve the true living God. That's the true worshipper when,
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when you become a Christian, right when you give your life to
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Christ, you turn to God and you turn away from idols, you turn
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away from that which you worshipped before, you turn away
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from that which was governing everything that you did before,
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and you embrace the Messiah. And so those in Thessalonica,
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they turn to God from idols in order to serve, worship the true
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and living God. So Paul says we are the marked
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ones, we are the true circumcision.
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We are the ones who worship in spirit.
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So how do you know that's you? What are the characteristics,
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the marks of someone who worships in spirit or by the
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Spirit? How do you know this is you?
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There are certain qualities that make up your worship.
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Listen, if you don't worship God Monday through Saturday, don't
35:00
think that you can come in here on Sunday and truly worship God
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because worship is a lifestyle. The adoration we have for God
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happens not just on Sundays, it happens every day of our lives.
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And so there are certain characteristics that that make
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the worshipper distinguish the true worshipper, distinguish
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from the false worshiper #1 I'll give you several words here.
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First word is recognition. Recognition.
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You recognize who God really is, and you bow before Him.
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Matthew 17 Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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And God the Father speaks from the from the cloud that envelops
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everybody, saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well
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pleased. And Peter, James and John fell
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flat on their faces before the Lord and worshipped him.
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All, all true worship stems from a recognition of who God is.
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The reason you bow before Him is because of His identity.
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He's the God of the universe. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm
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211, worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with
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trembling. This is very important.
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Why? Because from recognition the
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second word is trepidation. Trepidation Worship the Lord
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with trembling. Everybody who's a true
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worshipper trembles under the authority of God.
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Psalm, Isaiah excuse me 66 verse #2 To this man will I look to
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him who's broken and of a contrite heart, and who trembles
36:54
at my word. This is the man I look to the
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one who trembles at my my word. Over in Isaiah chapter 8, the
37:08
Lord says this. It is the Lord of hosts whom you
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should regard as holy. He shall be your fear, He shall
37:23
be your dread. Then He will become your
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sanctuary. It's the Lord of hosts whom we
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regard as holy. It's a recognition that the Lord
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of armies, Yahweh Sabatath, is, is holy.
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Well, if that's the case, if he's a holy God, the more I see
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my holiness or see His Holiness, the more I'm able to see and
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view my sinfulness. Therefore, I rejoice with fear
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and trembling. So once there's a recognition,
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there's also a trepidation. The Bible says in Psalm 33 verse
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#8 that all the earth fear the Lord, that all the inhabitants
38:09
of the world stand in awe of him, stand in awe of him.
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Two worshippers are marked by recognition of who God really,
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truly is. That recognition is followed by
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a by a trepidation. That trepidation is followed by
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an examination. An examination.
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Why is that? I love what AW Tozer says when
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he said no worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is
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nothing in me displeasing to God.
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That is just so good. No worship is holy pleasing to
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God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God.
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That's true worship. That's the examination.
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That's why David said search me, O Lord, Psalmist Psalm 139,
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search me, O Lord, try me, see if there be any wicked way in me
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and lead me in the way of righteousness.
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David would say over in Psalm 55 created me a clean heart, O Lord
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and and renew a right spirit within me.
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There's the cry of the true worshipper is Lord, cleanse me
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from within deal with my sin. I want to confess my sin to you
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knowing that you are faithful and just to forgive me of all my
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sin and because there's a recognition of His Holiness.
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There is an absolute enormous task of seeing nothing but my
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sinfulness. That's how you know you've truly
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seen and recognized God. That recognition leads to a
39:50
trepidation. That trepidation leads to an
39:53
examination. Search me, O Lord, try me.
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See if there'd be any wicked way in me.
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And then that examination leads to an affection for him, a love
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for him, great affection. Why?
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Because you let you serve a forgiving God, a merciful God.
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And there's this great affection for for the Lord.
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Hero is with the Lord, our God is 1.
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They should love the Lord of God with all your heart, soul, mind
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and strength. The intensity that's there, the
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inclusiveness that's there. You love him with all your
40:28
heart, all your soul, all your mind.
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Not just partially. That's why.
40:34
That's why at the end of of the ministry of Christ, after he had
40:37
been resurrected, he found Peter on the Sea of Galilee.
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And what was the question he asked Peter?
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Peter, do you love me? Why?
40:46
Because the essence of worship is an affection for the God you
40:49
say you recognize as the supreme Lord of host, the Holy One of
40:54
Israel. The answer Three times.
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Peter, do you love me? Because if you love me, you're
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going to follow me even to your death.
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But the affection for God is so strong.
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I love again what Tozer says when he says this.
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He says true worship is to be personally and hopelessly in
41:14
love with God, That the idea of a transfer of affection never
41:19
even remotely exists. That's worship.
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The transfer of an affection from my God to something else or
41:28
someone else doesn't even remotely exist in my life
41:32
because I am all enamoured, all encumbered with the Lord God of
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Israel. That's a true worshipper.
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And Paul says we are the marked ones.
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We are the ones who worship God in spirit or by the spirit.
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Very important. The characteristics of that is
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1A recognition, second, a trepidation, third, an
41:56
examination, 4th an affection, and 5th a jubilation.
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Rejoice in the Lord. There is great joy in worship.
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Numbers 8 verse #10 the joy. The Lord is your strength.
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Romans 1417 The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy
42:22
in the Holy Spirit. That's why that Matthews 5-6 and
42:28
seven are so important. Remember in Matthew chapter 4,
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Christ is going around healing all the paralytics, all all the
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blind, all the lane. He's healing everybody and
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people are coming to him in droves.
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Thousands upon thousands of are all around him.
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Why? Because they were sick and
42:44
diseased and they wanted to be healed.
42:46
And Christ healed them all because he was graceful and
42:50
merciful. And then he sits down and
42:54
chapter 5 of Matthew and says, blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
43:14
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
43:21
they and they only shall be satisfied.
43:23
And he goes on and gives all these blessings.
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Why? Note the context.
43:27
He says, look, I know you're happy because I healed you.
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I know you're ecstatic. You're on cloud 9 because you
43:33
feel better. You know, it's like to be sick
43:36
and all of a sudden you feel better.
43:37
Or you've had surgery, you've been in pain.
43:39
All of a sudden, no more pain. Things are great.
43:41
I feel wonderful, right? Crisis.
43:44
I know you're feeling good physically, but you're not
43:47
feeling good spiritually. I'm going to heal you
43:50
physically. But guess what?
43:52
I got bad news. You're still going to die.
43:54
You're still going to get sick and die.
43:56
OK? But here's the good news.
43:59
You'd experience the true joy of the Lord by coming to me on my
44:03
terms. That's what the Sermon of the
44:06
Mount is all about, true blessing and joy and coming to
44:11
know Christ. And the Lord knew that.
44:15
He knew that their physical healing was not enough.
44:19
They need to be spiritually healed from the inside out and
44:23
therefore, once they were, joy would envelope them and listen,
44:31
what's the fruit of the Spirit? It's love, that's affection,
44:37
joy, that's jubilation, peace, that's consolation that that's,
44:45
that's the next word of an outline Why?
44:47
It's all produced by the spirit. All of it's produced by the
44:50
spirit. How do I, how do I recognize who
44:53
God is? What, what did Christ say to
44:56
Peter? Flesh and blood do not reveal
44:57
this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed this to you.
45:00
Revealed what? That I'm the crisis of the
45:02
living God. There's a recognition that
45:05
recognition leads to trepidation.
45:07
That trepidation leads to examination.
45:11
That examination leads to affection, that affection to
45:14
jubilation, that jubilation, great consolation, peace,
45:20
serenity, knowing I'm a child of the living God.
45:27
That's why you let the peace of Christ rule in your Christ said
45:29
in John 1426. My peace I give unto you, not as
45:33
the world gives, give I unto you, but my peace.
45:37
There's the consolation there, there, there.
45:39
There's the comfort. It comes because of the peace
45:43
that God gives us. That's why we let the peace of
45:45
Christ, as we talked about on Sunday, rule in our hearts.
45:48
I'm at peace with God. I'm on God's side.
45:52
He's going to he's going to dictate which way I go and what
45:55
I say and where I live and where I work because he's the empire
46:01
at peace with God. Isaiah 26 three.
46:06
He says what I will keep him in perfect peace.
46:08
Whose mind has stayed on me? What are the distinguishing
46:15
characteristics of one who worships in spirit or by the
46:20
Spirit, one's recognition of who God is to his trepidation before
46:28
the God you've recognized? With that comes an examination
46:33
of my life, because I don't want there to be any wicked way in me
46:38
when I know that my God Forgives because of His grace and mercy.
46:41
There's great affection for my God, great love for the Lord, so
46:47
much so that the transfer of affection never even remotely
46:51
exists. How about you?
46:55
Who's vying for your affection as we speak?
46:59
What's vying for your attention as we speak?
47:05
With that affection comes jubilation, great joy in the
47:08
Lord. For that jubilation comes great
47:11
consolation. From that consolation comes
47:15
great satisfaction. Psalm 73.
47:22
Psalmist said these words, Whom have I in heaven but you?
47:26
And besides you I desire nothing on earth.
47:32
Why? Remember Christ told Abraham in
47:37
Genesis 15 verse #1 I am Abraham, your very great reward.
47:46
I'm it, I'm it, I am your very great reward.
47:53
That's why Peter says, quoting from Isaiah 28 in first Peter
47:57
chapter 2 verse #6 He who believes in him will never be
48:03
disappointed. Why?
48:06
Because two worshippers find their satisfaction in Christ,
48:12
that's why. And lastly, devotion.
48:20
I'm not sure how many that is. 8 The great 8 devotion.
48:28
Devotion when? When Satan came to tempt Christ
48:31
in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4.
48:33
I will give you the kingdoms of this world if you just bow down
48:36
and worship me. Bypass the cross.
48:38
You don't need the pain. I'll give you all the reward
48:42
without the pain. That's what Satan always does,
48:44
right? You can have the blessing, the
48:46
joy without the pain. Whenever you think that you can
48:50
have joy without the pain. No, it's Satan and not Christ.
48:54
And Christ says, the Bible says that you shall only worship the
49:01
Lord your God, in him only shall you serve.
49:06
Every true worshiper has a supreme devotion to their God.
49:09
They don't want to compromise. They don't desire to do that.
49:16
They are completely undivided. They know they can't serve 2
49:22
masters Matthew 624 Because if you love one, you're going to
49:26
hate the other. You can't serve 2 masters.
49:28
It's like trying to go to two churches.
49:29
You can't go to two churches and go to one church.
49:33
You can't serve 2 churches. You only serve one, right?
49:35
You can't be married to two people.
49:38
You only be married to one. Everything's divided.
49:41
You're going to love one and hate the other, so you got to be
49:44
completely devoted to Christ and that's the way it should be for
49:50
every single one of us. Remember Genesis chapter 22?
50:00
Genesis 22 is the first time the word worship is mentioned in the
50:03
Bible. It's mentioned in this context,
50:11
Abraham says to his fellow travellers as he come to the
50:16
base of Mount Moriah says, wait here and I and the lad will go
50:22
up and we will worship and we'll return to you.
50:31
I I find that so remarkable because that's in Genesis
50:35
chapter 22. The Decalogue wasn't given to
50:38
Exodus chapter 20, right? Years later about worship, you
50:46
shall have no other gods before me, right?
50:49
But Abraham knew in Genesis 22 what it meant to worship his
50:54
God. What there was supreme devotion
50:58
in Abraham's life. There was supreme affection for
51:02
his God. He so much so that he would be
51:03
willing to sacrifice his son on the altar for the sake of his
51:07
love for his God. When he says, take now your son,
51:10
your only son, your only begotten son, the son of your
51:13
love, take him and sacrifice him.
51:16
And Abraham said, I would do it because I'm devoted to you.
51:20
My, you are my affection. You are my complete and total
51:25
adoration and Genesis chapter 22 embodies all of the 8
51:30
characteristics I just gave you. And if we had time, we'd go back
51:33
to Genesis chapter 22 and show you how each of them are
51:36
manifested in the life of Abraham and Isaac on Mount
51:39
Moriah. Because that's a characteristic
51:42
of a true worshipper, because he worships by the Spirit.
51:49
And then it says second characteristic defines him.
51:54
He glories in Christ Jesus. What a great statement.
52:01
It's it's a word that means to boast with exuberant joy.
52:05
We we think of boasting as as a, a negative term and it is in the
52:11
human realm, but in the divine realm it's a great term because
52:15
you're glorying, you're boasting in Christ.
52:18
Paul said these words in Galatians chapter 6.
52:23
He said, But may it never be that I would boast or glory
52:28
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the
52:32
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world, for neither
52:35
a circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new
52:37
creation. Far be it from me that I should
52:41
I should glory in anything other than the Christ, because I've
52:44
been crucified with him. And what's the true believer do
52:48
he? He boasts in Christ Jesus.
52:52
He has great joy because of Christ.
52:55
He glories in Christ Jesus. We live in a age today where
52:58
where man is so enamored with himself.
53:01
He wants to receive all the glory, all the attention, all
53:05
the praise, but not, not the genuine believer, not the
53:09
genuine worshipper, not the genuine Christian, Oh no, the
53:14
believer. He doesn't want praise coming to
53:16
himself. He doesn't want a recognition
53:18
coming to himself. He doesn't want admiration
53:21
coming to himself that if if that's you, you got to check
53:24
yourself at the door and ask yourself, am I truly wanting to
53:28
glory in Christ Jesus or do I want to be glorified?
53:31
Do I want to be seen? Do I want to be recognized?
53:33
The true believer glories in Christ Jesus.
53:36
He boasts in Christ. That's why Jeremiah, God said to
53:42
Jeremiah, Jeremiah and 23 and 24.
53:44
Let not the the wise man boast in his wisdom, neither let the
53:51
rich man boast in his riches, or neither let the mighty man boast
53:57
in his might, because that's what we boast in.
54:02
I like the glory in my riches, my wisdom, my intellect, my
54:06
education, my PhD or my double PHDI want to boast in those
54:11
things. I want to glory in those things.
54:12
I put them on my wall so when everybody walks in, they can see
54:16
Doctor this and Doctor that. We want everybody to see who I
54:19
am and what degrees I have, because I want to boast in my
54:24
wisdom. I want to boast in my riches.
54:28
I want to boast in my might, my power, and my strength.
54:33
And God says to Jeremiah, Let not the mighty man boast in his
54:36
might, or the rich man in his riches, or the wise man in his
54:41
wisdom, but let him who boasts boast in this.
54:45
Then it stands and knows that I am the Lord who exercises his
54:49
loving kindness and mercy and justice on the face of the
54:54
earth. You want to boast in something,
54:57
you want to glory about something during the fact that
55:01
you just know who I am, you recognize me for who I am, and
55:07
you give all the praise and direction to whom it is due.
55:14
The true worshipper, he wants no glory.
55:19
He wants no praise. He wants no honor.
55:24
He wants no recognition. He wants God to be put on
55:28
display. He wants God to be seen.
55:33
He wants God seen in his family. He wants God seen at work.
55:37
He wants God seen on the field. He wants God seen in the
55:40
operating room. He wants God seen at church, all
55:44
he cares about. Do people get a clear glimpse of
55:51
the Christ? It's all that matters.
55:55
Nothing else matters. See we live in a world where
56:01
that is just so hard today because we are so self absorbed.
56:07
We are so into us. To me, we just can't stand it if
56:14
somebody doesn't recognize me throughout the day.
56:18
We can't stand it if someone doesn't like my Instagram post,
56:22
we can't handle it. That's why you got to ask
56:26
yourself, are you a true child of God?
56:32
Many believe that we're not saved.
56:37
Many were disciples who walked away.
56:41
Many will say and Christ will say, depart from me.
56:49
Never knew you. So a true worshipper.
56:56
He's the one who worships in spirit.
57:00
He's the marked one. He's the one who glories only in
57:04
Christ. And I love this next one.
57:07
He puts no confidence in the flesh.
57:09
None, no confidence in the flesh.
57:13
I think it, Paul says to those in Galatia in Galatians chapter
57:16
3 verse number 30. You foolish Galatians, who has
57:21
bewitched you, thinking that you could be saved by the Spirit,
57:29
but now try to perfect yourself in the flesh, that somehow you
57:33
can grow yourself without the work of the Spirit of God.
57:38
Can't do that. See, everything in the spiritual
57:41
realm is energized by the Spirit.
57:44
I'm going to talk about this on Sunday, because Sunday we're
57:48
going to talk about how how you don't quench the Spirit.
57:51
First Thessalonians 5, verse #19 we're making our way slowly
57:55
through the end of the chapter, one verse at a time.
57:57
And we'll look at verse #19 how you don't quench the Spirit.
58:01
You'll be surprised how many times you go through the day and
58:05
you quench the working of the Spirit in your life.
58:09
How you stifle the work in the Spirit, how you smother the work
58:13
of the Spirit, how you dampen the work of the Spirit in your
58:16
life. You'll be surprised how many
58:18
times that happens throughout each day.
58:20
And for the most part, we don't even recognize it.
58:23
And then we wonder why my marriage is as bad as it is.
58:28
My ministry stinks. My life is in shambles, not even
58:33
knowing that we've stifled the work in the Spirit in our own
58:36
lives. But that's for Sunday.
58:38
I'm not going to talk about tonight.
58:40
But the bottom line is that you put no confidence in the flesh,
58:44
no confidence in the flesh. The flesh profits nothing.
58:48
God doesn't want the spiritual, the Christian life lived in by
58:52
fleshly means. And you can, you can judge this
58:56
by just ask yourself about your prayer life.
59:00
Just ask yourself about your prayer life and ask yourself do
59:04
do I We talked about on Sunday a couple weeks ago.
59:07
Pray without ceasing unceasing prayer.
59:11
It might be seeking the feeling of grace.
59:12
Am I in prayer about everything but but but as you go to prayer,
59:18
you are relinquishing you are relinquishing your involvement
59:24
in begging for God's involvement to do everything.
59:29
It's it's the spirit controlled life and and to believe the the
59:34
genuine Christian, the true marked 1.
59:36
He puts no confidence in his flesh.
59:39
Paul would say I, I am nothing. I am nothing without Christ.
59:45
I like what John the Baptist said he must increase.
59:48
I must decrease that that should be tattooed on your forehead.
59:55
Put it there. He must increase.
59:56
I must decrease. So every time you look in the
59:59
mirror, you can see it. You have to read it backwards,
1:00:01
but you'll be able to see it at least in the mirror.
1:00:03
OK, so that the God gets all the glory and that I don't put any
1:00:07
confidence in my own flesh, but I just Lord, I trust you, I I
1:00:12
believe in you. That's why the Bible says for by
1:00:16
grace are you safe to faith that not of yourselves, it's the gift
1:00:18
of God, not of works, lest than imagine what boast, boast.
1:00:24
There's no works involved in salvation except the work of
1:00:28
God, right? Not by works of righteousness,
1:00:32
which we have done, but by the washing of regeneration and by
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the renewing of the Spirit of God.
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Titus 35. That's how a man is born again,
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not by works of righteousness, which we have done.
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And the true genuine believer, he puts no confidence in the
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flesh. Why?
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Why? The false circumcision is
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putting all their confidence in their flesh, in their heritage,
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in their lineage. The true believer has no
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confidence in his flesh. That's why we've said the
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Christian is defined by heart adoration, heart exaltation, and
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heart humiliation. That's why I, Psalm 21st #7 says
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some boast in Chariots, others boast in horses.
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But we, we will boast in the name of the Lord our God.
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We're not going to put our confidence in human things.
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We're not going to put our confidence in armies.
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We're not going to put our confidence in Chariots and
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horses. We're not going to put our
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confidence in the things that man does.
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We're going to put our confidence in God.
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We're going to, we're going to boast in God, in the name of the
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Lord our God. They will be brought down and
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fall, but we will rise up and stand firm.
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That's the mark of a genuine believer.
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Christian is known by a definition.
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He's the one who worships by the Spirit of God.
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He's the one who glories only in Christ Jesus, and he puts
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absolutely no confidence in his flesh.
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Is that you? I would trust that it is just
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another way you can examine your life in light of what God's Word
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says so that you are not a part of the many who said they
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believed, or the many who said they were disciples, or the many
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who said they served And the Lord said, I never knew you.
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Don't be a part of the many, be a part of the few.
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The few that find the narrow, the narrow road and enter into
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glory. Let's pray together.
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Father, we are grateful for today all that you do.
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Thank you for your word. Your word is so clear.
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It makes it so, so understandable.
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And I pray Lord, for everyone in the room as they match their
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life against the word of God. They would ask themselves, am IA
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genuine worshipper of my God? Am I the one who glory is only
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in the Christ? Am I the one who puts no
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confidence in my flesh but completely and totally trust in
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the Lord God of Israel? That should be us.
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Lord, I pray that it is and that Lord you encourage us.
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Lord, none of us are perfect. Do we worship you perfectly?
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We do not. Do we glory in Christ Jesus
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perfectly? No, we don't do that either.
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Do we put confidence in our own flesh?
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Many times, Yes, we do. Yet Lord of Hearts, desire is to
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do what you've asked and what you've commended, and because it
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is we want to serve and follow our King, maybe faithfully do so
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until you come again, as you most surely will, in Jesus name,
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Amen.