Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #174. Biblical Parenting Lessons from Ezekiel 25-30: Teaching Our Children Humility in a World That Rewards Pride

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#174. Biblical Parenting Lessons from Ezekiel 25-30: Teaching Our Children Humility in a World That Rewards Pride · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  This is a Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  I'm Stephanie Hickox, and in today's reading of Ezekiel chapters twenty-five through thirty, we see the jealousy of God on full display as His discipline moves from His people to His protective retribution towards several nations around them.
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  But what is most clearly seen is that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
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  For much of Ezekiel, God has been forewarning of the fall of Jerusalem, but now he turns our attention to the fall of the nations around Israel.
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  In chapter twenty-five, Ezekiel foretells the demise of the Moabites and the Ammonites who descended from Lot and his two daughters, and the Edomites, who are from the line of Esau.
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  The Philistines' downfall is briefly mentioned as well Ezekiel 25:15-17 tells us, Thus says the Lord God, Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, therefore thus says the Lord God,
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  Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.
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  I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes.
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  Then they will know that I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon them.
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  The Edomites were always a provoking presence to the Israelites.
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  And even when Jerusalem was being attacked and some of the Israelites were seeking refuge, the Edomites refused to help them.
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  Historically, they ceased as a nation after the Romans weakened them and after the Maccabean Revolt Though everything prophesied by Ezekiel doesn't seem to have occurred yet to them, they have not been preserved as a nation.
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  many of the cities of Moab that are mentioned here were confirmed on the Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, that was discovered in 1868 detailing the rule of King Mesha of Moab.
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  It confirms these biblical locations and events.
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  But the Moabites and the Ammonites have not survived today It wasn't the glory days of the Philistines during the days of Ezekiel, but they have had a lasting impact on Israel, and I'd like to read to you from
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  my Moody commentary exactly how.
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  by the intertestamental period, which means the time between the Old and the New Testament, the Philistines were no longer a political entity.
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  However, their name continued to be associated with the southern coast of Israel, and their five major cities continued to be significant.
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  After the Roman conquest of Israel in AD seventy to one thirty-five AD, to humiliate the Jews and attempt to wipe Jewish identity off the map of history, the Romans changed the name of the land from Judea to to
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  Palestina.
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  This is Latin, but in English translates to Palestine.
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  And the name comes from Israel's ancient army, the Philistines, But the Bible never uses the word Palestine to identify Israel or Judah.
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  Okay, let me summarize that quick.
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  The word Palestine that you and I know today was not mentioned by God in Scripture.
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  The land was given that title by the Romans when they conquered Jerusalem after the time of Jesus because they were wanting to shame the Jews, take away their heritage, and give them a name that actually belonged to their
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  enemies Next in chapter 26, the chronicles against the nations continue as Ezekiel sets his sight on the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, which some pronounce Tyra.
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  Do you remember Hiram, the king of Tyre?
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  He had supplied materials to King David and to Solomon for building the temple.
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  But later, their name became synonymous with idolatry, and these Phoenicians were widely known to have practiced child sacrifice.
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  God says that they will be plundered and never rebuilt.
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  Historically, I think it's very fascinating to read what happened to this city-state.
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  Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians attacked them for thirteen years.
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  Because of the Phoenicians' strong navy, they were able to withstand the attack.
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  their mainland fell, but they had an island that survived.
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  But again, during that inter-testimonal period between the Old Testament and the New Testament, Alexander the Great, used all of the rubble from the mainland that was still there from Nebuchadnezzar's attack, and he built a mile-and-a-half causeway to their
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  island stronghold.
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  He used wood and rock and threw it in the water so they would have a way to get to the island and attack it And hundreds of years before it happened, Ezekiel described this very event.
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  Beginning in 26:12, They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise.
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  They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses.
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  Your stones and timber and soil They will cast into the midst of the waters And then God says, "You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the Lord.
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  I have spoken," declares the Lord God.
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  And I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that Tyre never really did recover, and no city has been rebuilt on its ancient ruins God continues his lengthy oracle against this proud people, and chapter twenty-eight tells us more of
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  why.
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  The word of the Lord came to me, "Son of Man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: because your heart is proud and you have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat
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  of the gods, in the heart of the seas," yet you are but a man, and no God, though you make your heart like the heart of a God.
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  You are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.
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  By your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.
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  By your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth This reveals the nation's arrogance, and also shows us that Daniel was already well known for his wisdom.
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  I want to remind you that when we study prophecies, they often have a near future application and a distant application.
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  And in the middle of Ezekiel twenty-eight, we encounter some verses that seem to apply somewhat to the king of Tyre, but many also believe they're pointing to Satan.
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  The commentaries that I most heavily rely on lean this direction, and honestly, it's been a teaching I've heard since I was young, and it's hard for me to un-hear the ways that it seems to point to the ruler
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  of darkness.
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  Let me read it for you, but you can try to keep an open mind as it is a debated portion of scripture.
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  Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, Son of Man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect
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  in beauty.
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  You were in Eden, the garden of God.
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  Every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle.
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  And crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.
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  On the day that you were created, they were prepared.
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  You were an anointed guardian cherub.
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  I placed you.
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  You were on the holy mountain of God.
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  In the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
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  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till unrighteousness was found in you.
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  In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned.
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  So I cast you as a profaned thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
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  Your heart was proud because of your beauty.
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  You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
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  I cast you to the ground.
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  I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you.
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  By the multitude of your iniquities and the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries.
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  So I brought fire out from your midst.
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  It consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
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  All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you.
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  You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.'
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  As you hear the reference to this guardian cherub who was created in perfection and dwelt in the Garden of Eden and then fell because of the pride he had over his beauty, you can see why many believe it
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  also portrays Satan There are other portions of scripture, and we'll get into one soon in the Book of Daniel, where we can see that there are spiritual beings who reign over nations and principalities But whether this refers to
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  a spiritual being or an earthly being or both Listen to this absolute contrast from Philippians two, verses three through seven.
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  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
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  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
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  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a
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  servant, being born in the likeness of men.
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  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
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  And because Jesus is worthy of all glory and all praise in verse nine, God's rightful response is to highly exalt Him and bestow on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
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  every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Jesus certainly deserved to be elevated, and at his second coming,
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  he will be.
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  But there are some people that God chooses and blesses even though they do not deserve it.
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  And if we continue on in chapter eight, we reach verse twenty-four, where God issues more promises of hope to His chosen people.
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  And for the house of Israel, there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt.
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  Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
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  Thus says the Lord God, When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land
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  that I gave to my servant Jacob, and they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards.
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  They shall dwell securely when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt.
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  Then they will know that I am the Lord their God God's people were in an all-out rebellion at this moment, And he continues to offer them a hope and a future If you've been with us from the beginning,
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  you know that any person and any nation that submitted themself to Yahweh, was welcomed in.
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  God was not turning anyone away because of their ethnicity, but only because of arrogance, malice, or a lack of hospitality toward His people.
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  In chapter twenty-nine, the sword of judgment gets directed at the nation of Egypt and its pride.
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  Thus as the Lord God, behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own.
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  I made it for myself.'
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  I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
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  God will cast the sea dragon into the wilderness, and it will be scavenged upon this dragon may be referring to one of the crocodiles that are so prevalent in the Nile, but certainly the last place that a water
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  creature wants to be is in the wilderness or in the desert God goes on to say that he will also gather the Egyptians from the peoples.
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  He will restore them in part, but never again will they be an exalted kingdom.
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  they will be the lowliest of the kingdoms And they will never again rule over other nations.
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  And Israel will never rely on them again If you're a student of history or of current events, it doesn't surprise you that this most long-standing of dynasties in the world has never been a threat in our lifetime.
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  From the days of Abraham, God's people tried to align themselves with Egypt, and each time it led to dire consequences In chapter twenty eight, Sidon is mentioned.
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  This was another seaport in Phoenicia about twenty miles north of Tyre.
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  It was headquarters for Baal worship, and it was an awful influence on Israel it also met its demise.
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  In Ezekiel chapter 30, God describes how he has broken the arms of Pharaoh so he can't even lift up his sword to fight against the Babylonians And yet again, the phrase we keep hearing over and over in regard
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  to Israel and all the nations, Then they shall know that I am the Lord."
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  Let's look back at the beginning of chapter thirty as we think about how all of these fallen kingdoms matter deeply to us today.
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  Thus says the Lord God, Wail, alas for the day, for the day is near, the day of the Lord is near.
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  It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
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  If you, like me, believe that every word of the Bible is breathed out by God, perfect and without error, then you know that judgment didn't just come for these wicked people.
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  It will come for all people.
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  One day, each of us will have an opportunity to confess whether Jesus Christ is Lord or not.
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  And in the meantime, we have the opportunity to allow Him to be seated on the throne of our lives Today we read about nations that were strong, wealthy, talented, and beautiful.
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  But all of these accolades and accomplishments led to their arrogance.
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  And as we parent our kids, most of us want them to be talented and achieve great things.
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  There may be a lot of goodness in our motives But may we be abundantly careful That we truly are pointing them to glorify Christ through their attitudes and their abilities.
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  There may be times where you're noticing that an opportunity is producing more pride in your child's heart than praise.
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  It may be a reason to step back and say, I would rather have you humble with dirt on your knees because you bow to the lordship of Jesus Christ than to be elevated on a pedestal with a gold
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  medal around your neck."
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  Let's remind our kids what really matters, and let's not brush aside when we see those little chinks in their character that might be pointing towards self-reliance, pride, or a lust for worldly things.
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  Heavenly Father, we thank you for the peace that comes from elevating you rather than striving to succeed on our own.
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  We pray that our families and our hearts would be marked by humility that rejoices in your holiness and perfection instead of elevating ourselves.
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  for those that already feel humbled by motherhood, marriage, aging, or health struggles, I pray you would help us to have true humility, that we would think less of ourselves and more of you and more of others.
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  And for our kids that are often planning their lives with every thread of optimism and hope, Guide us in how to teach them to pursue plans yet to hold them loosely, being surrendered to however you may direct them.
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  Jesus, we thank you that you emptied yourself.
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  You became a servant.
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  And we're so grateful that you became obedient to the point of death.
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  You deserve all the glory and the praise, and it's in your name we pray.
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  Amen.