Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Out of the Shadows │ Msg 622

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Out of the Shadows │ Msg 622 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Our Father, we pause in an unusual experience of silence
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Speaker 1: in our back-to-back, non-stop world to express to you our
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Speaker 1: adoration for the Lamb, for the mercy, for the grace,
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Speaker 1: for the blood, for the plan that of all things
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Speaker 1: included people like us. Our Father, we have not the
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Speaker 1: words to say, and therefore we entrust to you the
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Speaker 1: feelings of our hearts, even as your word speaks these
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Speaker 1: groanings that cannot be uttered. And we pause as a
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Speaker 1: people of yours to reflect again upon that priceless gift
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Speaker 1: that came from your heart of love and out of
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Speaker 1: grace came down to this earth, even to those who
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Speaker 1: did not receive him, did not welcome him, and he
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Speaker 1: gave himself fully. Thank you, Father, for lifting the curse
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Speaker 1: that was against us. Thank you for freeing us from
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Speaker 1: the command of our enemy ruler who controlled our thoughts
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Speaker 1: and dominated our wills. Thank you for the victory he
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Speaker 1: brings through Christ. Our Father, we now want you to
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Speaker 1: know that these offerings express to you just a measure
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Speaker 1: of our gratitude. We give them joyfully and gratefully and generously. Again,
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Speaker 1: because of the Lamb who loved us and gave himself
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Speaker 1: for us. In his name we pray. And everyone sit.
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Speaker 1: I want to speak today to all of you who
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Speaker 1: find yourself in God's waiting room. For whatever reason, you've
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Speaker 1: been pulled away from the action, certainly the action you
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Speaker 1: once knew. And even though you are fairly well educated, experienced,
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Speaker 1: and perhaps greatly gifted in that particular field, for some reason,
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Speaker 1: you're not there now. And for some unrevealed reason, you
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Speaker 1: are or have entered into a period of waiting. Now, admittedly,
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Speaker 1: your response to this waiting may not be all that great.
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Speaker 1: It isn't easy to wait. And to make matters worse,
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Speaker 1: you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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Speaker 1: Matter of fact, it bears all the markings of being
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Speaker 1: a long wait. And that doesn't seem fair. I want
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Speaker 1: to encourage you today, but I don't want to encourage
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Speaker 1: you to the point of unrealistic expectations. It may be
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Speaker 1: a long time. And in fact, the plan God has
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Speaker 1: may not be revealed for a number of months, maybe years. However,
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Speaker 1: I have found that one of God's favorite methods of
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Speaker 1: preparing us for something great is waiting and waiting and
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Speaker 1: waiting and waiting. One fine British author named James Stalker
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Speaker 1: puts it this way. Waiting is a common instrument of
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Speaker 1: providential discipline. For those to whom exceptional work has been appointed.
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Speaker 1: The exceptional work for David was that he lead the
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Speaker 1: nation Israel for 40 years. And he did that by
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Speaker 1: divine appointment. However, it is easy to forget that the
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Speaker 1: previous 12 or more years he waited. Haunted and haunted
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Speaker 1: by Saul, his predecessor. who was jealous of him, in fact,
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Speaker 1: despised him and attempted to kill him more than once.
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Speaker 1: Don't forget, he waited before he was the king. The
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Speaker 1: exceptional appointment for the point man of the Exodus was
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Speaker 1: the leading of the children of Israel to the land
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Speaker 1: of Canaan. And that was Moses' privilege to do that. However,
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Speaker 1: it is easy to forget that 40 of the previous
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Speaker 1: years he waited as a Bedouin, as a shepherd in
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Speaker 1: the wilderness, keeping his father-in-law's sheep in the shadows of Sinai.
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Speaker 1: The exceptional appointment The exceptional work of Elijah was to
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Speaker 1: stand toe to toe against the forces of Ahab and Jezebel.
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Speaker 1: And he did that. How easy it is to forget
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Speaker 1: the long time he spent at the brook Kareth. And
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Speaker 1: when that brook dried up, his move to the unknown Zarephath,
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Speaker 1: where no headlines were made, no significant ministry or involvement
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Speaker 1: took place. He was just hidden away there. The exceptional
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Speaker 1: work of Joseph was to become the prime minister of
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Speaker 1: Egypt and to hold that nation and part of other
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Speaker 1: nations together during a time of enormous drought. And so
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Speaker 1: it was his calling and so he fulfilled it. However,
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Speaker 1: it is easy to forget what led up to his
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Speaker 1: becoming prime minister. His brothers sold him into slavery. And
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Speaker 1: once he came to Egypt, Having to learn a foreign
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Speaker 1: culture and a foreign tongue, he lived there, if you will,
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Speaker 1: as a houseboy to Potiphar. And while there, Potiphar's wife
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Speaker 1: attempted to take him sexually. He resisted her. She screamed rape.
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Speaker 1: They threw him in prison, and he was in prison,
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Speaker 1: forgotten for more than two years, waiting, waiting, waiting. The
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Speaker 1: list goes on. Esther, because of God's using her to
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Speaker 1: preserve her people from wholesale annihilation, extermination, one of the
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Speaker 1: early holocausts, she stepped out of the shadows and she
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Speaker 1: faced her husband with the truth of the one whose
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Speaker 1: conspiracy was well underway. She saved her nation. However, it
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Speaker 1: is easy to forget that the other years of her
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Speaker 1: life were spent in the shadows, waiting. Waiting. Waiting for
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Speaker 1: her moment. For her time. Let me give you a
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Speaker 1: principle I hope you never forget. Exceptional work is preceded
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Speaker 1: by extended waiting. Very, very, very few people jump into
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Speaker 1: exceptional work. Even though we all want to. We get
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Speaker 1: our diploma. We are ready for the big time. We're
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Speaker 1: told how to write that resume that always looks better
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Speaker 1: than we are and paints us in such a way
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Speaker 1: they would think we were Billy Graham at age 23,
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Speaker 1: ready for the next revival, when in fact most guys
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Speaker 1: who were 23 and just out of seminary know just
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Speaker 1: enough theology to be dangerous. And if you turn them
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Speaker 1: loose at that time, they would be. and at 33
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Speaker 1: and often at 43. It takes honing. It takes shaping.
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Speaker 1: If you will, it takes breaking. It takes polishing. It
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Speaker 1: takes reshaping. It takes waiting. Listen to some verses. Psalm 27, 14.
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Speaker 1: Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart
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Speaker 1: take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 62, 5.
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Speaker 1: My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my
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Speaker 1: hope is from him. Psalm 37, 7. Rest in the
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Speaker 1: Lord and wait patiently for him. Verse 34. Wait for
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Speaker 1: the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 91, 1. He who dwells in the shelter of
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Speaker 1: the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
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Speaker 1: The shadow. The shadow. The shadow. Isaiah 49, 23, those
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Speaker 1: who hopefully wait for me will not be put to shame.
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Speaker 1: Isaiah 40, 31, those who wait for the Lord will
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Speaker 1: gain new strength. Isaiah 40, verse 23. Isaiah 40, verse 31.
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Speaker 1: Isaiah 12, verse 6. The book is full of verses
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Speaker 1: like that. That's just a sampling. My chorus, my concordance
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Speaker 1: that I checked to find those verses had column after
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Speaker 1: column after column of the tiniest print, each verse containing
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Speaker 1: the word wait or rest, wait, rest, wait, rest. Matter
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Speaker 1: of fact, I can hardly find the word hurry in
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Speaker 1: the scriptures or easy. Perhaps it was one of those
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Speaker 1: verses that lingered in Saul's mind and led him to
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Speaker 1: move into the shadows of Tarsus for a period of four, five,
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Speaker 1: six more years. If you figure correctly, he was about
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Speaker 1: age 42, 43, before he stepped back to the limelight
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Speaker 1: and began to minister effectively for the next 20 or
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Speaker 1: so years. John Pollock writes, The best years of Paul's
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Speaker 1: life were slipping away between the Taurus Mountains and the sea.
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Speaker 1: It was harder to bear because he cared so deeply
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Speaker 1: that all everywhere should hear and believe. Yet during his
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Speaker 1: later 30s and into his early 40s, when a man
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Speaker 1: approaches his prime, he drops out of history. When's the
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Speaker 1: last time you encouraged someone who did very well in
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Speaker 1: school to just wait? Don't be ambitious. You're gifted. You're good.
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Speaker 1: You're capable. I got news for you. They'll find you.
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Speaker 1: They'll find you. And I say that especially in God's work.
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Speaker 1: Few things are more distasteful than ambition among the young
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Speaker 1: who are called. Don't be ambitious. Don't push yourself. Don't
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Speaker 1: get in a hurry. God knows what he's about. On
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Speaker 1: your way to Acts 11, stop off at Romans chapter 8.
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Speaker 1: Will you do that? Romans 8 verse 25 says, I
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Speaker 1: rarely tell congregations this, but I'm going to do it today.
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Speaker 1: I wish you would memorize Romans 8.25. I wish you
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Speaker 1: would make that your project this week. Put it on
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Speaker 1: a card. Put it under the glass at your desk
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Speaker 1: or on your mirror in your bathroom. Preferably not on
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Speaker 1: your sun visor. Your car. You need to pay attention
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Speaker 1: where you're driving. But look at Romans 8.25 enough to
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Speaker 1: where you can memorize it. If we hope For what
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Speaker 1: we do not see, with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it.
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Speaker 1: Look at that verse. He's on another subject, and I
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Speaker 1: won't go into it, the whole subject of the creation
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Speaker 1: and the travail of the creation in our bodies, longing
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Speaker 1: to be clothed upon with the eternal, and we wait
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Speaker 1: for that eagerly. But the point is taken, and it's
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Speaker 1: taken well. I think Paul learned this in Tarsus. between
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Speaker 1: ages 38 and 42, 43. I think he learned waiting.
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Speaker 1: It happens when we hope for what we do not see,
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Speaker 1: and who doesn't? Every person hearing my voice at this
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Speaker 1: moment has something she or he is hoping for that
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Speaker 1: hasn't yet happened. My answer, wait eagerly for it with perseverance. Relax.
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Speaker 1: Be still. As my kids would say to me, cool
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Speaker 1: your jets. Chill. Chill. I don't find that in the scriptures,
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Speaker 1: but maybe it is there. Hidden in the meaning of
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Speaker 1: the Greek or something. Look at Acts chapter 11. Acts 11.
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Speaker 1: Our culture says just the opposite. Remember our sayings? If
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Speaker 1: you've got it, flaunt it. That's a good verse to claim, huh?
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Speaker 1: How about name recognition is everything. I mean everything. Don't
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Speaker 1: worry about character. Worry about image. Don't concern yourself with substance.
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Speaker 1: Make sure you look good on television. After all, image
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Speaker 1: is what sells. Name recognition, nonsense. In God's work, neither matters.
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Speaker 1: It is always substance. It is always character. And that's
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Speaker 1: what happened in Saul's life when the Lord pulled him aside,
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Speaker 1: set him aside from all of the activity that's going
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Speaker 1: on in Acts chapter 10 and Acts chapter 11 and
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Speaker 1: hides him away in Tarsus. We'll get to that in
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Speaker 1: just a minute. In the meantime, this is no sleepy
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Speaker 1: village we come upon in chapter 11. An enormous number
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Speaker 1: of things are happening. First of all, the spotlight has
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Speaker 1: turned from Saul to Peter. Peter's gotten a glimpse of
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Speaker 1: the Gentile ministry. The sheet was let down in chapter
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Speaker 1: 10 and all kinds of food were provided for him
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Speaker 1: to eat. And he wrestled with his kosher diet as
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Speaker 1: opposed to what the Lord said was now provided under grace.
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Speaker 1: And his eyes were opened and Gentiles began to believe,
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Speaker 1: including Cornelius. And along with the Gentiles, the people of
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Speaker 1: Cyprus and the people of Cyrene. And they move across
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Speaker 1: the islands of the eastern Mediterranean and they come all
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Speaker 1: the way to Antioch. And by the time you get
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Speaker 1: to Antioch, it is downright electric. There is a revival
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Speaker 1: that is broken out. Look at verse 19. Those who
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Speaker 1: were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection
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Speaker 1: with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch.
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Speaker 1: Check the map sometime. You'll see it all moving to
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Speaker 1: the east and then up from Jerusalem, speaking the word
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Speaker 1: to no one except Jews only. But there were some
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Speaker 1: men of Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch and
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Speaker 1: began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
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Speaker 1: And the result? Well, the hand of the Lord was
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Speaker 1: with them. And a large number who believed turned to
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Speaker 1: the Lord. And the news about them reached the ears
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Speaker 1: of the church in Jerusalem. I imagine it did. And
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Speaker 1: they sent, of course, Barnabas. Why would they send Barnabas
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Speaker 1: to Antioch? Well, check chapter 4 of Acts. You'll find
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Speaker 1: Barnabas was a Cyprian. There were people from Cyprus. Barnabas
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Speaker 1: knew that culture. He knew that language. He understood those people.
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Speaker 1: He had also had his eyes open regarding the Gentiles.
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Speaker 1: So Barnabas was prime and ready for this call. And
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Speaker 1: the people of Jerusalem sent him to Antioch. Look at
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Speaker 1: the revival at Antioch. Verse 23. When Barnabas had come
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Speaker 1: and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began
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Speaker 1: to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true
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Speaker 1: to the Lord. For he was a good man, full
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Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and considerable numbers
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Speaker 1: were brought to the Lord. They weren't brought to the church.
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Speaker 1: They were brought to the Lord. This isn't about a church.
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Speaker 1: It's about revival, bringing people to Christ. The church does
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Speaker 1: form and take shape in Antioch. It becomes a significant
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Speaker 1: first century church. But observe, a considerable number were brought
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Speaker 1: to the Lord. A.T. Robertson, in his book, Word Pictures
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Speaker 1: in the New Testament, writes, These people were added to
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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus before they were added to the church.
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Speaker 1: If that were always true, what a difference it would
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Speaker 1: make in our churches. How true that is. Revival is
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Speaker 1: not about what happens in a church. Revival is about
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Speaker 1: what happens when people turn their lives over to the Lord.
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Speaker 1: And these people do that in large numbers. I can't
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Speaker 1: speak for you, but I've been in a setting where
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Speaker 1: that kind of thing was happening, and it's absolutely phenomenal.
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Speaker 1: You can't stop it because you didn't start it. You
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Speaker 1: can't explain it because you didn't manufacture it. You can't
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Speaker 1: duplicate it because you didn't create it. You are witnessing
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Speaker 1: the Lord's hand and he moves through his spirit in
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Speaker 1: and among his people so that the lost are saved
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Speaker 1: and the saved are revived. That is what revival means.
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Speaker 1: A re-giving of life to those who have life. The
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Speaker 1: saved are revived and the lost are evangelized. And all
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Speaker 1: of this is happening in Antioch. You know what's also interesting?
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Speaker 1: Saul isn't anywhere alone. Around. Where's Saul? You ready for
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Speaker 1: a shock? Probably in some cave near Tarsus. Because I
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Speaker 1: think by now his family has thrown him out. The
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Speaker 1: synagogue has flogged him, according to several New Testament students.
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Speaker 1: Back in those days, flogging was accepted when you were
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Speaker 1: being excommunicated. He was adopting the Gentile lifestyle far too
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Speaker 1: much for them. He had changed his diet from kosher
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Speaker 1: to more of a Gentile diet. He probably found himself
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Speaker 1: in Gentile homes and places of establishment. He was held
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Speaker 1: aloof from that when he grew up in Tarsus. His
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Speaker 1: whole life is changing. And the Lord is using these four, five, six,
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Speaker 1: however many years to reshape him for an incredible ministry.
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Speaker 1: But he's not ready for it until he goes through
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Speaker 1: the breaking of what happens in Tarsus. Do we get it?
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Speaker 1: While he is in Tarsus, he loses confidence in the flesh.
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Speaker 1: While he is in Tarsus, he realizes he doesn't have
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Speaker 1: it within himself. You know what else happens in Tarsus?
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Speaker 1: The thorn in the flesh emerges. What else happens is
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Speaker 1: great revelations are given to him according to 2 Corinthians
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Speaker 1: chapter 12. Let me show you something. Hold your place here.
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Speaker 1: Look at 2 Corinthians 12. I think it's about verse 2.
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Speaker 1: Where he mentions a period of time which ties in perfectly. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: verse 2. 2 Corinthians 12. I know a man in
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Speaker 1: Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I
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Speaker 1: do not know or out of the body I do
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Speaker 1: not know, God knows, such a man was caught up
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Speaker 1: to the third heaven. Pause a moment. If you go
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Speaker 1: back 14 years, 2 Corinthians was written A.D. 56. That
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Speaker 1: would take you back to A.D. 42. Saul is about 41,
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Speaker 1: 42 years old. That's when he's in Tarsus. So he
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Speaker 1: doesn't tell us he's at Tarsus, but if you figure
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Speaker 1: it chronologically, you go back, that's where you find him.
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Speaker 1: He describes himself as a man, whether in the body
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Speaker 1: or out of the body, I do not know. God knows.
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Speaker 1: We'll look at that in more detail later. I know
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Speaker 1: all of you are saying, what does that mean? Let's
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Speaker 1: just go past it for right now. Let me just
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Speaker 1: solve it by saying, I don't know. Verse 4. He
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Speaker 1: was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which
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Speaker 1: a man is not permitted to speak. I'm being facetious
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Speaker 1: with you. Perhaps after a flogging when he was halfway
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Speaker 1: between conscious and unconscious. Perhaps had been stoned by now.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps he was in a trance, which the Lord took
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Speaker 1: him into back in the days when revelation was not
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Speaker 1: completed in the scriptures. He says, on behalf of such
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Speaker 1: a man, I will boast, but on behalf of such
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Speaker 1: a man will I boast, but on my own behalf,
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Speaker 1: I will not boast except in regard to my weaknesses.
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Speaker 1: He learned that in Tarsus. I do not wish to boast,
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Speaker 1: he says. Verse 7, because of the surpassing greatness of
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Speaker 1: the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself,
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Speaker 1: there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a
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Speaker 1: messenger of Satan to buffet me, to keep me from
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Speaker 1: exalting myself. That happened while he was in the shadows,
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Speaker 1: hidden away. Back to Acts chapter 11. There are so
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Speaker 1: many things we'd want to go into, but time doesn't permit.
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Speaker 1: I just want you to see this was Saul's while
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Speaker 1: he was hidden away in the shadows. Nobody knew about it.
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Speaker 1: It never made the headlines. Your waiting period will never
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Speaker 1: be something that will be all that significant in other
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Speaker 1: people's minds. All they know is you sort of dropped
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Speaker 1: out of history. You're gone from the scene. It may
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Speaker 1: begin with a bankruptcy. It may start with some horrible
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Speaker 1: experience you go through. It may be a tragic accident.
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Speaker 1: Car accident. It may be an illness. Perhaps it would
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Speaker 1: be a torn reputation passed along by someone who didn't
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Speaker 1: tell the truth. And it breaks you and it hurts you.
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Speaker 1: And you go to your own Tarsus and you're in
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Speaker 1: the waiting room. And you live there for an undetermined
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Speaker 1: period of time because that's where God begins to work
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Speaker 1: on you deep within. I hope you're hearing this. You
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Speaker 1: who are there are hearing it. You who haven't gone
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Speaker 1: there yet can hardly imagine the need for this. F.B.
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Speaker 1: Meyer writes, The disciples brought the hunted preacher to Caesarea,
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Speaker 1: sent him forth to Tarsus, and not improbably he resumed
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Speaker 1: his tent-making there, content to await the Lord's will and bidding.
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Speaker 1: But the years passed slowly. Possibly four or five were
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Speaker 1: spent in comparative obscurity neglect. And I want to tell
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Speaker 1: you our society respects neither. Obscurity means forgotten, unproductive, unimportant.
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Speaker 1: Neglect means irresponsibility and who needs you. But it's in
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Speaker 1: obscurity and neglect, it's when you are hidden in the shadows,
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Speaker 1: God does his best work in your life. That's when
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Speaker 1: Saul became Paul the Apostle. That's when the Pharisee was broken,
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Speaker 1: stripped of his self-will, and through the thorn in the
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Speaker 1: flesh was molded into Paul, the man God could use,
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Speaker 1: who said, when I am weak, he is strong. Now
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Speaker 1: in verse 25 of Acts 11, Something happens to Barnabas.
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Speaker 1: Considerable numbers were brought to the Lord and between verse
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Speaker 1: 24 and verse 25, Barnabas gets alone with the Lord
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Speaker 1: and realizes he needs help. He needs help. He's got
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Speaker 1: this enormous revival on his hands. He doesn't have the
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Speaker 1: gifts necessary or the energy necessary or for that matter,
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Speaker 1: the knowledge necessary to teach these people as he should.
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Speaker 1: And he remembers one who does. Conspicuous by its absence
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Speaker 1: is Saul of Tarsus. That's why the next verse reads
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Speaker 1: like it does. He left for Tarsus to look for Saul.
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Speaker 1: You know what I'm impressed with? Saul had not sent
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Speaker 1: him his resume. Saul had not sent a couple of
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Speaker 1: messengers saying, Barnabas needs a hand. I got the gifts.
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Speaker 1: He didn't do that. He stayed in Tarsus, removed from
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Speaker 1: the limelight for as long as was necessary. And Barnabas went,
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Speaker 1: next verse says, and found him. That implies a search.
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Speaker 1: Where was he? I don't know. Barnabas didn't know. He
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Speaker 1: found him. Yes. Saul, is that you? Yeah. It's Barnabas. Barnabas,
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Speaker 1: come in. Have a seat on the rock there by me.
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Speaker 1: It's kind of damp in here, but it's the best
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Speaker 1: I can do. Barnabas says, Saul, you'd never believe it.
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Speaker 1: Remember Antioch? Yeah, I do. Do you have any idea
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Speaker 1: what's going on there? I haven't heard. Oh, let me
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Speaker 1: tell you. And he tells him about the work that
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Speaker 1: God's doing in Antioch. And he says, Saul, come with me.
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Speaker 1: Help me out. He brought him to Antioch. It came
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Speaker 1: about that for an entire year they met with the
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Speaker 1: church and taught considerable numbers. And the disciples were first
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Speaker 1: called Christians in Antioch. Isn't that great? Saul goes, all right.
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Speaker 1: This is great. But there's no self in it. It
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Speaker 1: took four, five, six years to get rid of that stuff.
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Speaker 1: Those things that were considered great to him earlier were
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Speaker 1: nothing now. He wasn't there to make a name. He
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Speaker 1: wasn't there so his folks would brag on him. He
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Speaker 1: wasn't there because his mama thought he ought to be
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Speaker 1: a preacher. He was there for all the right reasons.
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Speaker 1: The Lord called him from weakness and brokenness and obscurity
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Speaker 1: and neglect. The Lord placed his feet on a rock,
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Speaker 1: and said, Now is the time. And he did it.
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Speaker 1: And they're first called followers of Christ in Antioch. What
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Speaker 1: a difference Saul's teaching made. Because Saul was different. Under
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Speaker 1: the shadow of the Almighty, he had been humbled. And
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Speaker 1: while there he had been given fresh revelation of the
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Speaker 1: Lord's plan and insight regarding the church and grace. While
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Speaker 1: there the thorn in the flesh intensified so that he
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Speaker 1: needed the Lord just to survive the pain. We'll look
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Speaker 1: at that closer next time. And in great weakness he
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Speaker 1: ministered with great strength. Because he waited. I want to
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Speaker 1: give you four principles that I think you can take
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Speaker 1: with you. and they will mean something to you perhaps
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Speaker 1: more later than now, but I've thought them through carefully
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Speaker 1: and I'd like to pass them along. Number one, when
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Speaker 1: God prepares us for Ephesians, ministry, He includes what we
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Speaker 1: would rather omit, a period of waiting. Let me say
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Speaker 1: it again. When God prepares us for effective ministry, He
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Speaker 1: includes what we would rather omit, a period of waiting.
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Speaker 1: Add to that, that cultivates patience. You know what occurs
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Speaker 1: to me? I've never met anyone young and patient. Matter
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Speaker 1: of fact, I've not met many old and patient either,
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Speaker 1: come to think of it. We don't like to miss
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Speaker 1: one panel of a revolving door. We really don't like
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Speaker 1: yellow lights. And red lights? If you're like me, you
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Speaker 1: time them. They're all too long. I'd have red lights
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Speaker 1: three seconds and green lights five minutes and ten seconds.
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Speaker 1: And then a quick yellow light, quick red, and then
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Speaker 1: green again, especially on my lane. It would be green.
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Speaker 1: Patience is hard for me. Hard for me. When God
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Speaker 1: prepares us for effective ministry, he includes what we'd rather omit,
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Speaker 1: a period of waiting that cultivates patience. Here's a second.
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Speaker 1: As God makes us wait, hiding us in his shadows,
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Speaker 1: he shows us we're not indispensable. And that makes us humble.
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Speaker 1: As God makes us wait, hiding us in his shadows,
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Speaker 1: he reminds us, he shows us that we are not indispensable.
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Speaker 1: And that makes us humble. You know what I believe?
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Speaker 1: When Saul heard that God's hand was on Peter and
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Speaker 1: God's hand was on Barnabas and the revival had struck
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Speaker 1: at Antioch, I think Saul thought, hot dog, that's wonderful news.
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Speaker 1: And never once thought, well, why don't you call on
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Speaker 1: me earlier? Never once. By now he's humble. He's amazed
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Speaker 1: if he's ever going to be used. It's another subject.
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Speaker 1: I'll get to that on my fourth one. Number three.
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Speaker 1: While God hides us away, he reveals new dimensions of
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Speaker 1: himself and new insights regarding ministry. And that makes us deep.
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Speaker 1: While God hides us away, he reveals new dimensions of
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Speaker 1: himself and new insights regarding ministry. And that makes us deep.
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Speaker 1: Remember I've said before, what we need today is not
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Speaker 1: more intelligent people or busier people. What we need is
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Speaker 1: deeper people. Deep people will always have a ministry. Always.
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Speaker 1: While God hides us away, he reveals new dimensions of
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Speaker 1: himself and new insights regarding ministry, and that results in
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Speaker 1: our deepening. Here's the fourth. When God finally chooses to
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Speaker 1: use us It comes at a time least expected when
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Speaker 1: we feel the least qualified. When God finally chooses to
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Speaker 1: use us, it comes at a time we would least
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Speaker 1: expect it when we feel the least qualified, and that
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Speaker 1: makes us effective. The perfect setup for a long-lasting effective
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Speaker 1: ministry Begins with surprise. Me? You sure you don't want
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Speaker 1: the guy next door? He's a great guy in that cave.
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Speaker 1: You may want to talk to him. F.B. Meyer. At
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Speaker 1: last one day as he waited, Saul heard a voice
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Speaker 1: saying in the doorway, Does Saul live here? And in
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Speaker 1: another moment, the familiar face of his old friend was
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Speaker 1: peering in on him. with a glad smile of recognition,
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Speaker 1: and he brought him to Antioch, and he taught many people.
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Speaker 1: This man adds, be not afraid to trust God utterly.
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Speaker 1: As you go down the long corridor, you may find
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Speaker 1: that he has preceded you and locked many doors which
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Speaker 1: you fain would have entered, but be sure that beyond
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Speaker 1: these there is one which he has left unlocked. Open
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Speaker 1: it and enter, and you will find yourself face to
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Speaker 1: face with a bend of the river of opportunity broader
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Speaker 1: and deeper than anything you dared to imagine. Launch forth
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Speaker 1: on it, it conducts to the open sea. That's it.
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Speaker 1: The tragedy is because of our impatience, because of our
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Speaker 1: hurried nature, if we're not careful, we'll push at the doors.
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Speaker 1: And with our crowbar of self-will, we'll break the locks
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Speaker 1: because we are determined this is his plan for me.
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Speaker 1: That is what I had in mind. I've waited long enough.
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Speaker 1: You can step into it. He won't necessarily make you
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Speaker 1: blind or take your life, but he sure will make
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Speaker 1: the ministry miserable. And there'll be no sense of satisfaction
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Speaker 1: and the pressure will get to you and you'll look
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Speaker 1: back and regret the day you ever forced a door
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Speaker 1: that was locked. Don't go there. God's able. I know
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Speaker 1: you're weary of waiting. I know it's hard. But it's
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Speaker 1: plan A in God's curriculum. It starts there. Let's bow
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Speaker 1: our heads, please. Lord, I want to thank you for
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Speaker 1: loving us enough to crush us, to break our wills,
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Speaker 1: and to push us in such a pressured situation that
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Speaker 1: we're forced to surrender. I want to thank you also, Father,
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Speaker 1: for your patience with us when we have so often
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Speaker 1: rushed and run ahead, when we have dictated to you
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Speaker 1: what the plan ought to be rather than quietly listened
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Speaker 1: to what plan you have for us. Forgive us, our Father,
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Speaker 1: for wasted effort, for hurried moments when we must have
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Speaker 1: tried your long suffering. Now I pray that you will
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Speaker 1: use this simple message in a special way in the
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Speaker 1: lives of a few people, Saul-like people, greatly gifted, who
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Speaker 1: seem to be eminently qualified but ill-timed for the task,
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Speaker 1: that you'd pull them back Deliberately teach them to wait.
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Speaker 1: And in the process, deepen them for that exceptional work
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Speaker 1: to which you have called them, whatever it may be.
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Speaker 1: I ask it through Christ. And while our heads are
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Speaker 1: bowed as we prepare for this time around the table,
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Speaker 1: we're in a perfect mood for soul-searching. This is the
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Speaker 1: Lord's table. That means he is the host and we
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Speaker 1: are the guests. It's not the church's table. So you
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Speaker 1: don't have to be a member of this church to
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Speaker 1: take of the Lord's table. But you do need to
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Speaker 1: know the Lord. It must have been a time in
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Speaker 1: your life when you've given your heart to Christ. If
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Speaker 1: that's true, you're walking in the light. Please partake with us.
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Speaker 1: This is also a time for you to make a
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Speaker 1: determination if your heart isn't right. I invite you to
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Speaker 1: come to Christ and celebrate this first moment of new
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Speaker 1: birth by tasting the bread and drinking from the cup.
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Speaker 1: Those who know the Lord, I urge you to make
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Speaker 1: sure that your heart is pure and clean. If there's
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Speaker 1: any area that needs to be addressed, ask the Lord
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Speaker 1: to reveal it to you. some sin that's come between
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Speaker 1: you and him, some selfish act, some misspoken word, some
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Speaker 1: willful decision. You just claim his forgiveness and his blood
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Speaker 1: will cleanse you and make you ready for the table.
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Speaker 1: If you're not willing to make these adjustments, then I
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Speaker 1: urge you to let the cup pass and let the
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Speaker 1: bread pass. This is not about impressing the person sitting
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Speaker 1: next to you. You show the courage to let it
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Speaker 1: pass if you're determined to stay in your own will
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Speaker 1: rather than walk in his. And may our time now
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Speaker 1: around the table be meaningful as we sit quietly before him. First,
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Speaker 1: to take the bread and we'll all retain it until
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Speaker 1: everyone has been served and then we'll take it together.
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Speaker 1: And then we'll take the juice. The bread represents his
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Speaker 1: body and the juice his blood. Set apart these moments,
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Speaker 1: our Father, in a special way as we walk with
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Speaker 1: you through the garden of our memories. As we take
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Speaker 1: your hand and claim your forgiveness. We take this bread
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Speaker 1: now and we hold it. in remembrance of your Son,
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Speaker 1: the Lamb, in whose name we pray. Amen. Just a
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Speaker 1: small piece of pastry, just a piece of the bread
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Speaker 1: from the last meal they had together. And our Lord
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Speaker 1: Jesus looked his disciples, bewildered as they were, and told
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Speaker 1: them that he would not eat or drink with them
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Speaker 1: again until he did so in the kingdom. Paul said
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Speaker 1: that he told him to tell the church that they
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Speaker 1: were to do this as long as we are in existence,
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Speaker 1: to do it in remembrance of him. That's how we
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Speaker 1: eat this bread now, in remembrance of Christ. In the
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Speaker 1: same manner also, he took the cup after supper, saying,
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Speaker 1: the cup is the new covenant in my blood. As
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Speaker 1: often as you drink from it, drink it in remembrance
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Speaker 1: of me. We now hold this little representation of the
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Speaker 1: blood of Christ in our hands, and we, in a
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Speaker 1: few moments, will drink it in remembrance of him. It
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Speaker 1: was at the cross the lamb was slain. It was
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Speaker 1: there his blood was given on our behalf. It only
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Speaker 1: stands to reason that the symbol be that which represents
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Speaker 1: that which washes away our sins. We take it in
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Speaker 1: remembrance of Him. The preceding message, Out of the Shadows,
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Speaker 1: was copyrighted in 2001, 2003, and 2024, and the sound
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Speaker 1: recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 1: commercial use is strictly prohibited.