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Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - 1 Timothy 4 - Foundations of Biblical Leadership - How Men Of God Must Lead · Mount Eaton Church

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And so we are in chapter 4 of 1 Timothy. We are
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going to go back to chapter 1 during this message.
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So just get ready to have a little walk. You
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guys know how this is. Are you guys ready? Father,
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I want to thank you so much for your faithfulness
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and goodness. Thank you, Lord, for your word.
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Thank you that it does accomplish all that you've
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set it out to do, that it does not return to
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you void, that your word is living and active.
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We thank you that it is everything we need for
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life and godliness. We thank you that you have
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clearly defined what it is to be a man and what
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it is to be a woman, but specifically what it
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means, what it is to be a man and woman of God,
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a family of God, to raise up children for you,
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children of God. Lord, we praise you and thank
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you for your faithfulness and your goodness.
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Help us to be a shining light in a very dark
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world. We praise you. To you be honor and glory
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forever in Jesus' name. amen so principle number
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one we are in first timothy chapter four let
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me let me read first timothy four first before
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we um before we go into the principles so it
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says now the spirit expressively says that in
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the latter time some will depart from the faith
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by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and
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teachings of demons, through the insincerity
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of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid
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marriage and require abstinence from foods that
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God created to be received with thanksgiving
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by those who believe and know the truth. For
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everything created by God is good, and nothing
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is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
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for it is made holy. by the word of God in prayer.
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If you put these things before the brothers,
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you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being
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trained in the words of the faith and of the
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good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing
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to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather, train
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yourselves for godliness. For while bodily training
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is of some value, godliness is of value in every
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way, as it holds promise. for the present life
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and also for the life to come. The saying is
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trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
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For to this end, we toil and strive because we
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have our hope set on the living God, who is the
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Savior of all people, especially those who believe.
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Commend and teach these things. Let no one despise
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you for your youth, but set the believers an
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example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith.
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impurity. Until I come, devote yourself to the
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public reading of scripture, to exhortation,
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to teaching. Do not neglect the gift which was
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given you by prophecy when the council of elders
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laid hands on you. Practice these things. Immerse
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yourself in them so that all may see your progress.
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Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.
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Persist in this. For by doing so, you will save
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both yourself and your hearers. What an imperative.
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What an encouragement that Paul gives. He exhorts
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Timothy to be one who rightly handles, preaches,
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teaches, walks, lives, is committed and fully
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devoted to the word of God. That is the necessity
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here. So as men, we must commit. To the word
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of God. Our wives, our children are watching.
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The world is watching. So the teaching and the
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schemes of demons continue even today. And the
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inoculation of false doctrine is Christ's true
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and faithful doctrine. There is a doctrine. There's
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one doctrine. One true and real doctrine. The
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doctrine of Christ. The complete truth of His
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Word. This is what it says in 2 Peter 2, verse
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1. But false prophets also arose among the people,
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just as there will be false teachers among you
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who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
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even denying the Master who bought them, bringing
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upon themselves swift destruction. Isn't it interesting
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that Peter says the same exact thing that Paul
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says to Timothy here? Now the Spirit expressively
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says that in later times. So this is a prophecy
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that the Holy Spirit is giving Paul to tell Timothy.
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This is from God himself. The Spirit of God says
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this. In latter times. What's interesting about
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this word times is it's a fixed and definite
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time. What time? Today time. How do we know?
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Look at the world. Look at the preachers. Look
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at the teachers. We live in that time now. That's
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the time. Some. This word some, as I explained
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to you last week, this word tis means certain
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ones. Which ones? The ones that were not of the
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family, who came in as if they were of the family,
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wolves dressed in sheep's clothing, and they,
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those ones, will depart. They were never of us.
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If they had been of us, they would have remained
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with us. But because they're not of us, they're
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gone. Eventually they'll leave because they've
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came in and devoured the sheep and tried to wreck
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the church and as a result have left the church
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in a dismantled way. That's the idea. Or they
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get caught and then they're slain like a bad
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wolf that they are, right? Slain with the word
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of God. Now, to this word, some means certain
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ones will depart, episteme, withdraw oneself.
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They will withdraw themselves from the faith,
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from the pistis. The word faith here means gospel.
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They will withdraw from the sound doctrine of
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the gospel. But what happens in our day that
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we live? The day that we live is these men who
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have withdrawn from the sound doctrine of the
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gospel have built up churches to teach bad doctrine.
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And they draw in thousands. And people give thousands
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of dollars to these people. Because they write
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a book that we think is Christian, they've got
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to be believers. I mean, you're promised that
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if you give $1 ,000, you're going to get that
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new car. It's only a matter of time if the only
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new people have been deceived. And to some degree,
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I can't help but think that this deception is
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a judgment upon them from God himself, which
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we will read later on. So these people, these
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men have departed. have withdrawn themselves
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from the sound truth of the gospel, and they
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have devoted. This word devoting means to apply,
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attach, hold, or cleave oneself to. They have
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fully committed themselves to deceitful spirits.
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Like, think about that. This word deceitful means
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actuated or moved by. It's an attitude of disposition.
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What are they? actuated or moved by they're actuated
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and moved by the teachings of demons that's what
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moves them that's what that's what motivates
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them to do what they do now these teachings of
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demons this word teachings is our teachings the
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demons means teachings disseminated by evil spirits
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and seducing people from the truth now what we'll
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read here is that these particular men had said
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that they need to They need to stop marrying.
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They need to stop having intimacy with their
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wives. They need to stop eating food that God
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has declared clean. Why? Think about Ephesus.
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What was all over Ephesus? If you stop having
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sex with your wife, where are you going to go
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have sex? At the next temple down the road. Because
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that's what they did. If you stop eating food
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that God has declared clean, what have you done?
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You end up being a hypocrite. Because you can't
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gather with those who eat differently than you.
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They live in Ephesus. It's a very different type
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of city than Jerusalem. And so what we end up
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seeing is they have given themselves over to
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these teachings of demons. Now what's interesting
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is that as they've given themselves over to the
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teachings of demons, through the insincerity
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of liars, this term, insincerity of liars, means
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lies. Or false teachings, hypocrisy. They are
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hypocrites. You call yourself a believer in Jesus,
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but you live as if you're not. You want to follow
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the law and deny the grace of God. When in reality,
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the law is the teacher. The law is the proof
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that you are lost and desperately wicked. But
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they commit to the law, not commit to Christ.
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The fulfillment of the law. whose consciences
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were seared. This word, conscience, is burned
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in with a branding iron. Now, how many of you
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guys ever looked at a cow get burned with a branding
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iron? Can you make that brand go away? You've
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got to kill the cow. So the point is that their
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consciences have been seared with a branding
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iron that will always be there. They have given
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themselves over to these bad, evil teachings.
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Now, How do we know this? Go to 1 Timothy chapter
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1. Why was Paul telling Timothy this? It's a
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reminder of what he says to Timothy in chapter
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1, verse 5 through 7. Look what it says. The
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aim of our charge is love. What Paul is doing
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here in telling Timothy about these evil men,
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and we know who these evil men are because they're
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mentioned at the end of chapter 1. Is that our
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aim for you, Timothy, and for the brothers and
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sisters in Ephesus is love. And our love that
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issues from a pure heart and a good conscience
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and a sincere faith. We're telling you this because
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it is of a clear conscience that what we're telling
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you is absolutely true. It is with sincere faith,
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knowing the gospel, that we share this to you.
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And then he says in verse 6, Certain persons,
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by swerving from these, by swerving from what?
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Love, good conscience, sincere faith, have wandered
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away into vain discussion, into doctrines of
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demons. That's what he means here. Into these
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deceitful, actuated, and moved attitudes. concerning
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the word of God, desiring to be teachers of the
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law without understanding either what they are
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saying or the things about which they make confident
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assertions. They spoke to the people in Ephesus
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as if it was factual. You know you need to abstain
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from sex with your wife. Don't get married. You
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know you can't eat this type of food. And what
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Paul does in verse 3, chapter 4, verse 3, he
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says, These particular men say, who forbid marriage,
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require abstinence from food? This is a false
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sense of high moral standard, a self -righteousness
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by following the law. Look at what I can do.
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But he says this, but, right, that God created
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to be received with thanksgiving. These foods
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that God created, these marriages that God has
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united, should be received with thanksgiving.
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The whole point, men, of marriage is to be an
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example of Christ and his church. Without marriage,
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what other example will the world see? The first
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institution that he created was family. The family
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is necessary for the proclamation of the gospel.
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Without the family, where does the gospel go?
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Because families build the family of God. Isn't
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that interesting? Look what it says. By those
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who believe and know the truth. That we who know
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the truth, who believe in Christ, should receive
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these things with thanksgiving. Verse 4. For
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everything created by God is good, and nothing
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is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.
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Why? For it is made holy by the word of God and
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prayer. Every wedding that I have done has been...
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has been clearly articulated through the scripture
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of Christ and his church, and has been poured
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out in prayer in that service. When we sit down
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and eat, we pray. And we praise God for his creation,
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that he has given us all things. And it says
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in Genesis, when he had finished the work, he
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said, it is very good. Why do we call things
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as if they're bad? Second principle. Faithful
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men commit to the full gospel and sound doctrine
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by which they can avoid false and silly doctrine.
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Now, these verses might be slightly offensive
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a little bit, and I'm okay with that. So please
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make sure you understand the heart of why I'm
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saying what I'm saying, okay? But before we go
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there, 2 Peter chapter 3. Verse 17 through 18
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says this. You therefore, beloved, knowing this
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beforehand, take care that you are not carried
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away with the error of lawless people and lose
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your own stability. If you do not stand on the
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chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, upon the foundation
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of the apostles and the prophets, which is the
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word of God brought to us and given to us on
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paper, then where else are you going to stand?
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But on sand. Now. but grow in the grace and knowledge
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of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be
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the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
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Amen. 1 Timothy 4, 6 through 7a. If you put these
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things, what's these things? The instructions
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that have been supplied to you. What instructions?
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Everything that I've talked to you about, Timothy.
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All the things that you've learned under my mentorship.
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Everything I've said from chapter 1 to chapter
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4 so far. These things. Supply these things before
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the brothers. Give them to the brothers. This
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is what a pastor does. This is what a teacher
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does. We come before you and we give you these
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things. And your responsibility is to diligently
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search them out and prove them. And when you
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prove them, apply them. Now, if you put these
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things before the brothers, you will be a good
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servant. Of Christ Jesus. You hear that? What
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happens if you don't put these things before
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the brothers? You're a bad servant. So when I
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share with you things that are difficult. I have
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a responsibility to put them there. Especially
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if I search them out to be true. Based upon all
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of the study and teaching that I've gone through
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myself. Now that being said. Let's keep reading.
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Being trained. And trefo is the word here. Means
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to educate or form the mind. What's the proof
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of this? Romans chapter 12, verse 2. Do not be
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conformed to the pattern of this world, but be
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transformed by the renewing of your mind. This
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word training means to educate or form the mind
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in the words of faith, in the words of the gospel
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of Christ, in the sound doctrine of Christ. And
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that's what it says next. And of the good. the
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teachings of Christ that you followed. You, Timothy,
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must educate, continue to educate, form the mind
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in the words of the gospel of Christ and of the
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sound doctrine, the teachings of Christ that
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you have followed, that you have committed your
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life to. This word follow is the word perakal.
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I knew I was going to mess that up. I do that
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every time. Every week I've got a Greek word.
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I'm not even going to say the word because it's
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not going to come out right now. But this word
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means conform oneself to. I still want to say
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it, but I'm not going to. That's my ADD. I see
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it. I've got to do it, but I'm not going to do
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it. Anyway, it means to conform. What are you
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conforming yourself to, Timothy? The gospel and
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the teachings of Christ have nothing to do with
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irreverent, profane, silly myths. This word silly,
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here's where. I'm so sorry. But when I read this,
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I'm like, oh, Lord, do I? Yes, I have to. This
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word silly means grandma or old womanish. Now,
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what? I noticed everybody starts laughing at
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that. Like, what are you talking about? Well,
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grandma with the little kids. Grandmom says silly
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or old womanish things. And the children go,
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what are you talking about, grandma? That doesn't
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even make sense. That's because we think differently.
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So when you're thinking about this issue, he's
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really getting us to understand that we should
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have nothing to do with profane or things that
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don't make sense, right? And myths, this word
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myths means fiction or falsehood. Now that I'm
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older and getting older, I know that I'm going
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to say something to my kids that are going to
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be silly. I know when I was a youth pastor because
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of my age, I say stuff and they're going, Pastor
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Joe, you're just dumb. Like, you don't even know,
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right? So think of it this way. It's this idea
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of the big fat Greek wedding. Does Windex really
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make any sense? So if you ever watched my big
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fat Greek wedding, they would put Windex on everything.
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You get a scrape, Windex. You want to clean the
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countertop, Windex. Everything's Windex. Windex
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fixed everything. That's silly. Where'd it come
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from? Grandma. It makes no sense. That's the
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idea here. So let's move on from that. I figured
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you would laugh at that. Third principle, men
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of God fight, contend for the sound doctrine
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of God by the consistent study of the word and
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must expose all who contradict it. He must hold
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firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that
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he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine
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and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus
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chapter 1 verse 9. Look what it says in 1 Timothy
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4, 7b to 10. Rather, train yourself for godliness.
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This phrase, train yourself for godliness, means
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purpose to exercise vigorously the mind to become
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godly or to become like Christ. You have a responsibility
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to exercise vigorously the mind. You've got to
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spend time in the word. You wonder why Christians
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walk defeated lives all day long. It's because
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they haven't spent time in the Word. And then
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when they look at the Word, they haven't searched
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it out for a while. Bodily training is of some
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value. Godliness is of value in every way. Why?
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Because if the word of God is renewing my mind
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and if the word of God is really saturating my
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life, then the stewardship and the care of all
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things will be lived out. As it holds promise
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for the present life and also for the life to
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come. Can you imagine that godliness today is
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not a waste because of what's to come. What you
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do today... is going to and is actively impacting
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your eternity. Like, it's not a waste of time.
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God doesn't put us on earth here, and then once
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it's all over, we go, well, he just washes it
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clean and starts over again. No, he started the
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process for you in the beginning of time. When
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he wrote your name in the Lamb's book of life.
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And then through that time period as he brings
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you to salvation. And then progressively starts
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to sanctify you. To make you more like Christ.
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The scripture says that he will complete the
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work that he started. You have been predestined
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to be conformed into the image of his son. You
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are a work in progress. And he will finish that
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work when Christ returns. He doesn't come and
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then start all over again. And wash you clean
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and just give you everything you wanted. It's
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not how God works. Now, understanding that, how
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should you live? How should you be living out
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your life now? What kind of effort should you
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be putting in now? Now, godliness is a value
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in every way as it holds promise for the present
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life and also for the life to come. This promised
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life, present and future. The more perfect state
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of things. The saying. What saying? The saying
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that's in verse 7 and 8. That saying, the one
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we just talked about. is trustworthy and deserving
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of full acceptance. Live now. Work now. Spiritually
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exercise now. It's not a waste of time. Look
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what it says this here. For to this end we toil,
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we labor, and strive, contend. So to this end
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we labor and contend because we have our hope
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set on the living God. I love when Paul uses
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this term, living God. He's not a God who's dead
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like the rest of the idols and false gods. This
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is the living God. Like all we do for him now
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is effective and purposeful. And he is the savior
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of all people. All what people? Especially, chiefly,
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those who believe. He saves those who believe.
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And has commanded... that we must command and
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teach these things, Paul says, that we should
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be commanding these things and teaching these
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things. Now, you guys know, love God, love his
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word, love his ways, love his things, right?
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Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
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them in the name of the Father, Son, and the
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Holy Spirit. A lot of churches stop there. It
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doesn't stop there. What we see is surrender,
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conformity. Conformity. Sanctification. You cannot
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understand the purpose of the work of the sanctifying
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work of God unless you are in the word. You must
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obey. There is not an option here. Teaching them
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to observe all that I command. Not the things
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I want or the things I don't want. All that I've
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commanded you. I can't help but think in Romania
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that they do this. This is a common understanding
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in different countries. But here in America,
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it's not a common teaching. Because all we want
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to do is tickle ears and make people feel like,
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oh, God loves me. But Jesus says, if you love
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me, you obey my commands. This is not an issue
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of legalism. It's an issue of surrendered heart
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and life to the purpose of glorifying God in
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how I live. It's good for you. That's why he
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says here, train yourself. Exercise vigorously
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the mind to become godly. Lastly, I can't believe
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we got this entire chapter done. Praise God.
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Men of God, keep careful attention to that which
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is entrusted to them. You must keep careful attention
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to that which God has entrusted to you. And I'm
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going to give you some basic things that God
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has entrusted to you. First and foremost, he's
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entrusted the gospel to you. The most important
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thing on the planet, more important than your
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wife, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the life -giving
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word of God. There is nothing more important
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than that. The second, your wife. Take good care
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of her. Be the example of Christ in the church
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by being sacrificial to her. And then third,
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your children. The future of what God has given
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as a gift to you. Your children are his. He desires
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godly offspring. So men of God, keep careful
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attention to which God has entrusted to you.
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The word of God and the gospel of Christ. Let
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us hold fast the confession of our hope. without
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wavering, for he who promised is faithful. What
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is he faithful to do? Everything that he's promised.
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You must be careful to care for and contend for
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what he's entrusted to you. 1 Timothy 4, 12 through
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16. Let no one despise you. Let no one think
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little, disdain you for your youth. If you are
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young, good. Youth has nothing to do with godliness.
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If you're a godly man, or a godly woman and you're
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young, be an example of godliness. Because there's
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a lot of old people that need to see that. Timothy,
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roughly around 19 to 20 years old, like I've
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said, he was an example of godliness to the older
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men in the community. And they said, don't let
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anyone look down on you, disdain you, or despise
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you, Timothy, but set the believers an example.
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And there is no other word in the Greek, I looked
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them all up, This list is exactly what he means.
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An example in speech and how I speak. In conduct
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and how I live. In love and how I give my life
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for God and his people. In faith and how I contend
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to the gospel and the doctrine of truth. And
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in purity and how I live so that no one can say
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anything about me. Do this, Timothy says, until
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I come. And then he says, devote. Devote thought
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and effort, Timothy. To what? to public reading
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of scripture, of exhortation and teaching. Do
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not. This is an imperative statement. It's a
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command. Do not neglect. Amaleo is the word here.
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Do not be careless with the gift. What gift?
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The God -given power to discharge the office
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of an evangelist is the word here. This word
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gift means that. Do not stop being an evangelist
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and preaching the full counsel of God's word
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and the gospel. You have ensue is the word here.
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You have in you what's in us. God, you have,
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that word you have means in you. Do not be careless
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with the gift that is in you, which was given
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by prophecy. The word prophecy means this, that
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which comes through and by the gospel. It's not
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by. Men laying hands on the person and some power
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comes out and all of a sudden they have received
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something that they never had before. That's
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not what it means here. The power of the evangelist
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comes by the power of the Holy Spirit by which
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he has been given through the gospel. All things
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come through Christ. That which comes through
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and by the gospel. When the council of elders...
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Presbyterion is the word here. It's where they
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get the word presbytery from or presbyterians.
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The council of elders. That's why the elders
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have a very important role that we play in how
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we look at, evaluate deeply those who are the
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elders and the deacons of the church. The church
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doesn't make that choice. God makes that choice.
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What do we do? This council of lepers that have
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been laid, they laid their hands. Epithesis is
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the word here. They imposed. Imposed what? Imposed
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the power and the truth of God to Timothy. They
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have imposed God truth upon him. He says this,
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Timothy, practice. Attend carefully these things.
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Immerse yourself in them. Do you hear that, men?
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How much do you immerse yourself in the word
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of God? How much time do you spend listening,
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singing, hearing, writing, thinking about? You'll
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be like, that's a little bit too much. Man does
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not live by bread alone, but by every word that
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comes out of the mouth of God. The very word
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of God keeps you alive. And you can't devote
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yourself 15, 20 minutes to that. I'm too busy.
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There's nothing in your life that's so busy that
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you can't spend time with God and his word. There's
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no reason. There's no excuse. You've got 24 hours
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a day. I don't have enough time. God is giving
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you enough time. He's giving you 24 hours. And
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you don't know the day when it's all done. You
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better get it in now because when the day is
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over, you ain't getting it in no more. Practice
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is done. Practice. Attend carefully to these
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things. Immerse yourselves in them. Why? So that
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all may see your progress. You hear that? That
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all may see the sanctifying work of God in your
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life. So it's not, I don't do this because I
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want to feel good. I'm doing this so others can
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see. When others see, others may want. Very interesting.
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This word progress means make known. Make known
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what? The effectual work of the word of God.
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Make known. Now, keep a close watch. Give attention
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to what? Yourself. Watch yourself, Timothy. Pay
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attention. Keep the word. That's what he says
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here. Keep watch. On yourself and on the teaching.
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What teaching? That which has been taught. The
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doctrine that you've been given. Not some new
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doctrine. There's no new truth coming. It's what
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you've been given now through the word. And then
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he says this. Persist in this. In what? In the
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work of the teaching of the doctrine that you've
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been given. For by so doing, you will save both
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yourself. And your hearers, what's he mean you
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will save? The word means to maintain, to keep,
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to live in such a way that your life is so impactful
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that your hearers will be impacted. In other
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words, the effectual work of God will not be
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a waste. And it's never a waste. Now, so as men,
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we have a high responsibility. And as men of
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God and preachers, we have the greatest responsibility
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within the church. And so one of the things I
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want you to continue to hear over this next year,
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as men and women of God, as we really look at
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the importance of biblical manhood, biblical
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womanhood, get this basic, simple motto deep
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down. Love God, love his word, love his ways,
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and love his things. When you can do that, you
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will continue to walk in a way that honors him.
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You have to love his word. You love his word,
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you will love to live. When you love to live
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His ways, then you will love and steward His
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things. Father, I want to thank you so much for
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your faithfulness and goodness. We praise you
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for your word. We praise you that you are actively
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working in the hearts and the lives of your people
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to conform us in the image of the living Son
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of God. We praise you and thank you in Jesus'
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name. Amen.