Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Counsel from a Concerned Christian Msg 510

Transcript

Counsel from a Concerned Christian Msg 510 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: One of the important works of the Spirit of God
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Speaker 1: is to enlighten us with understanding. It's called the ministry
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Speaker 1: of illumination. The word of God has been revealed, that's
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Speaker 1: revelation God giving his truth to various people who would
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Speaker 1: write it, and then that meets directly with inspiration, or
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Speaker 1: those who are recipients of the revelation write his word
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Speaker 1: without error. It is called an inerrant document, the original
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Speaker 1: text of scripture. So there's revelation, there's inspiration. Both of
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Speaker 1: those have ceased. There is no further divine revelation, and
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Speaker 1: there is no further inspiration as we know it revealed
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Speaker 1: in the scriptures. But there is regularly illumination. For example,
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Speaker 1: if per chance today you discover, you learn, you realize,
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Speaker 1: you observe something from the scriptures that you had not
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Speaker 1: known or seen or learned before, you have been illumined.
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Speaker 1: If it weren't for the work of the Spirit, that
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Speaker 1: could not take place. That explains why some are completely
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Speaker 1: bored when the Word of God is taught, and others
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Speaker 1: are on the edge of their seat. If you are
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Speaker 1: here without Christ, you haven't the spirit of God. That's
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Speaker 1: not meant to be insulting. It's meant to be accurate,
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Speaker 1: and without the presence of the Spirit in your life,
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Speaker 1: the Word of God is just another ancient book, black
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Speaker 1: print on white pages that sort of meanders from one
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Speaker 1: subject to another without much to say. And so I
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Speaker 1: would say to you who live with those who have
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Speaker 1: never trusted Christ, be patient. There will be a time,
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Speaker 1: by the grace of God, that they will come to Christ.
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Speaker 1: And when they do, the whole work of the Spirit
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Speaker 1: will begin to take place, and there will be illumination
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Speaker 1: even in their lives. Now we're learning these days about
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Speaker 1: the letter Paul wrote to the Colossians. Colossians not to
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Speaker 1: be mistaken with Gullations or the Little Letter of Philippians.
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Speaker 1: This is Colossians. And we're in the second chapter in
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Speaker 1: our study, looking at verses one through twelve today, which
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Speaker 1: I would like to read for you from the New
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Speaker 1: Living Bible. And as you find your to Colossians two,
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Speaker 1: please join with others in standing for the reading of
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Speaker 1: the scriptures. Colossians two begins. I want you to know
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Speaker 1: how much I have agonized for you and for the
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Speaker 1: church at Laoticea, and for many other believers who have
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Speaker 1: never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged
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Speaker 1: and knit together by strong ties of love. I want
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Speaker 1: them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan,
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Speaker 1: which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the
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Speaker 1: treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I'm telling you this so
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Speaker 1: no one will deceive you with well crafted arguments. For
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Speaker 1: though I am far away from you, my heart is
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Speaker 1: with you, and I rejoice that you are living as
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Speaker 1: you should, and that your faith in Christ is strong.
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Speaker 1: And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as the Lord,
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Speaker 1: you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow
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Speaker 1: down into Him, and let your lives be built on him.
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Speaker 1: Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you
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Speaker 1: were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don't let
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Speaker 1: anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense
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Speaker 1: that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers
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Speaker 1: of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ
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Speaker 1: lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
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Speaker 1: So you also are complete through your union with Christ,
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Speaker 1: who is the head over every ruler and authority. When
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Speaker 1: you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by
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Speaker 1: a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision. The cutting
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Speaker 1: away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with
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Speaker 1: Christ when you were baptized, and with him you were
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Speaker 1: raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power
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Speaker 1: of God who raised Christ from the dead. Our hope
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Speaker 1: is that we will be illumined with an understanding and
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Speaker 1: also realize the practical application of these twelve verses as
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Speaker 1: we live our lives these days. You who stood earlier,
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Speaker 1: I would like you to remain standing, and the others
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Speaker 1: of you, please be seated, join with me for a
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Speaker 1: few moments of prayer. How grateful we are our Father
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Speaker 1: for this land in which we live, for most of us,
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Speaker 1: our homeland, the place of our birth, the place where
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Speaker 1: we were first loved and trained and taught. For the
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Speaker 1: freedom that has been ours, as we have enjoyed throughout
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Speaker 1: our lives, liberty and the pursuit of Your will. How
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Speaker 1: grateful we are to have been privileged to live in
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Speaker 1: this land. How thankful we are for the men and
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Speaker 1: women who stand among us today, for what they represent,
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Speaker 1: the grief and the loss of a loved war one
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Speaker 1: who once wore the uniform of our country, and those
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Speaker 1: who served faithfully and well, who completed their calling and
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Speaker 1: lived today with the memory of the things learned through
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Speaker 1: the hardship of the training and in many cases the combat.
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Speaker 1: How beautiful is this world around us, How delighted we
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Speaker 1: are to be able to enjoy the beauty because of
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Speaker 1: the liberty that has been provided, for the beauty of
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Speaker 1: the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the
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Speaker 1: love which from our birth over and around us lies,
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Speaker 1: Lord of all, to thee we praise. We give you
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Speaker 1: this prayer with gratitude. Today. Our gifts are yours, and
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Speaker 1: rightly so, because you own it all, and we trust
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Speaker 1: you to use these gifts to disseminate the good word
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Speaker 1: of God to places that have heard before and rejected,
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Speaker 1: and to those places that have never, for the first
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Speaker 1: time heard of Christ. Give courage to those who represent
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Speaker 1: You in difficult places, and protection for those in dangerous
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Speaker 1: places today, and give us an overwhelming sense of gratitude
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Speaker 1: because of the privilege we have to worship freely without interruption,
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Speaker 1: because of the courage and the faithfulness of heroic men
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Speaker 1: and women, and ultimately, because of your grace in the
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Speaker 1: name of the Savior. We give you our thanks and
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Speaker 1: our gifts. Everyone said, amen, please be seated. We need
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Speaker 1: each other. We really do. I need you and you
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Speaker 1: need me. You need the person near you, sitting around you,
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Speaker 1: beside you, living with you. How much we need one another.
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Speaker 1: There was an adolescent period in my spiritual growth where
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Speaker 1: I went through the idea, heretical though it was, and
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Speaker 1: I really didn't need anybody. I knew Christ, I was
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Speaker 1: able to read his word. I was engaged in the
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Speaker 1: study of the scriptures. I had a wife who and
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Speaker 1: I had a future that seemed fairly bright, good parents,
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Speaker 1: And now they had played their part, and I was
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Speaker 1: now on my own. What a stupid way to think
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Speaker 1: that I don't need anybody else. The Wall Street Journal
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Speaker 1: came out several years ago with a great list. It begins,
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Speaker 1: how important are you? Well more than you think. A
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Speaker 1: rooster minus a hen equals no baby chicks. Kellogg minus
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Speaker 1: a farmer equals no cornflakes. If a male factory closes,
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Speaker 1: what good is the hammer factory. Paderewski's genius wouldn't have
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Speaker 1: amounted to much if the piano tuner had not shown up.
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Speaker 1: A cracker maker will do better if there's a cheesemaker.
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Speaker 1: The most skillful surgeon needs the ambulance driver who delivers
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Speaker 1: the patient just as Rogers Hammerstein. You need someone and
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Speaker 1: someone needs you. You may not be convinced of that
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Speaker 1: because you, like I used to be, are an independent thinker.
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Speaker 1: You'll make it on your own, thank you. So I
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Speaker 1: need to warn you that's a dangerous way to live psychologically.
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Speaker 1: It's dangerous and it may be dangerous physically. Phillips Embardo,
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Speaker 1: when he was professor of psychology at Stanford University, wrote
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Speaker 1: a piece in Psychology Today titled The Age of Indifference.
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Speaker 1: He puts his finger on the problem. I know of
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Speaker 1: no more potent killer than isolation. There is no more
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Speaker 1: destructive influence on physical and mental health that the isolation
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Speaker 1: of you from me and us from them. It has
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Speaker 1: been shown to be a central agent in the etiology
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Speaker 1: of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, mass murder, and a
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Speaker 1: wide variety of disease states. Check it out next time
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Speaker 1: you hear of a mass murder. Chances are good the
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Speaker 1: one who did the murdering has been alone and isolated,
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Speaker 1: living unto himself or herself far too long. What an
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Speaker 1: unhealthy way to live. And by the way we seem
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Speaker 1: to promote that whole concept, no longer are we a
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Speaker 1: share and sharel Like people moving to a home, one
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Speaker 1: of the first things we do is build a fence
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Speaker 1: to keep the barbarians at bay. We are independent in
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Speaker 1: complex corporate structures. We wear headsets as we jog or
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Speaker 1: do our lawns, or walk to class or eat in cafeterias.
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Speaker 1: Our watchword is privacy. Our commitments are short term, and
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Speaker 1: haven't you band at restaurants where nobody at the table
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Speaker 1: is talking to the other person. They're all thumbing their
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Speaker 1: texts to somebody somewhere else that ought to be talking
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Speaker 1: to somebody, and they're all lost in their chilly little phone.
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Speaker 1: How valuable is that little phone? How did I ever
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Speaker 1: get along without it? Very well, very well? Honestly, the
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Speaker 1: lone ranger wants a fantasy hero is now our model mask.
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Speaker 1: And all listen to the admission of a man who
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Speaker 1: became a pastor. I was raised in the Jesus and
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Speaker 1: me privatized individualized Christianity of the fundamentalism of the sixties
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Speaker 1: and seventies. No one knew my father and mother, I
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Speaker 1: mean really knew them. No one had a clue what
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Speaker 1: was going on in our home. No one helped my
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Speaker 1: father to see through the blindness that allowed him to
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Speaker 1: live a double life of skilled deception and duplicity. No
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Speaker 1: one knew how troubled my mother was beneath her encyclopedic
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Speaker 1: knowledge of the scriptures. No one knew. We were a
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Speaker 1: Christian family and active participation in a vibrant church, but
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Speaker 1: what we were involved in lacked one of the primary
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Speaker 1: and essential in greet of healthy New Testament Christianity, a trained,
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Speaker 1: mobilized and functioning body of Christ. For much of my
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Speaker 1: Christian life and a portion of my ministry, I had
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Speaker 1: no idea that my walk with God was a community project.
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Speaker 1: I had no idea that the Christianity of the New
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Speaker 1: Testament is distinctly relational from beginning to end. I understood
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Speaker 1: none of the dangers inherent in attempting to live the
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Speaker 1: Christian life on my own. I had no awareness of
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Speaker 1: the blinding power of remaining sin. I had no idea
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Speaker 1: that I was living outside of God's normal means of sightedness, encouragement, conviction, strength,
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Speaker 1: and growth. I had no idea I honestly fear on
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Speaker 1: occasion when we emphasize the importance of studying the Word
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Speaker 1: and becoming stabilized in the scriptures that we leave the
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Speaker 1: impression just you and God. You're on your way. Don't
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Speaker 1: bother with the others who aren't in legue with where
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Speaker 1: you are. What an unhealthy way to think and frightening
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Speaker 1: way to live, if it's any comfort to you. The
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Speaker 1: great Apostle Paul Astute, theologian brilliant mind, surrounded himself with people.
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Speaker 1: His letters are filled with unfamiliar to us, very familiar
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Speaker 1: to him because they were his friends. He ends the
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Speaker 1: magnificent Doctrinal Treatise of Romans with one name after another,
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Speaker 1: after another, after others, and others and others that you
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Speaker 1: find nowhere else mentioned in the Bible because they're his friends.
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Speaker 1: Matter of fact, when we get to the to the
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Speaker 1: second chapter of Coalitions, we find him writing words of
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Speaker 1: love and understanding and compassion for people he's never met.
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Speaker 1: The only way he knows them is through a friend
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Speaker 1: named Epiphrats, who is mentioned more than once in this
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Speaker 1: little letter. But he cares about them, which reminds me.
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Speaker 1: You remember that litany of suffering and sorrow and hardship
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Speaker 1: that he lists in Second Corinthians eleven. You remember in
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Speaker 1: the Deep shipwrecked many times, beaten with rods on other
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Speaker 1: occasions left to die under a pile of stones, and
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Speaker 1: on and on, and he comes to the very end
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Speaker 1: of this list, which is heartbreaking Verses twenty three through
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Speaker 1: twenty seven. He comes to the end in chapter eleven
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Speaker 1: of Tewod Corinthians by adding, and besides all this, there's
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Speaker 1: the care of the churches. Besides all the things I
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Speaker 1: was going through, I couldn't get off my mind. The
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Speaker 1: people that I'd ministered to I built into their lives,
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Speaker 1: and I'm concerned about them, if nothing else. I hope
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Speaker 1: you will pick up from this message today that people matter.
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Speaker 1: Your relationship with others is far more important than anything
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Speaker 1: other than your relationship to Christ. We need each other.
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Speaker 1: Paul begins this second chapter of Colossians. By the way,
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Speaker 1: the letter runs on without chapter breaks, as all of
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Speaker 1: you would realize, there's simply a letter that starts at
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Speaker 1: the beginning and runs all the way to the There
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Speaker 1: are no chapter breaks anymore than there are chapter breaks
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Speaker 1: and letters you write. So, continuing with the thought of
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Speaker 1: Christ's power that works within me, he says a personal
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Speaker 1: word at the beginning of chapter two. I want you
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Speaker 1: to know how much I've agonized for you, and for
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Speaker 1: the church at layout to Sea. He doesn't even know
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Speaker 1: that people. By that, I mean he's not sat with them,
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Speaker 1: been in their homes. They've not sat in his tent.
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Speaker 1: They've not known each other face to face. But he says,
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Speaker 1: I've agonized for you. Agonize a goon is the Greek word.
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Speaker 1: I've been in agony thinking about what you're going through.
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Speaker 1: In other words, I care about you. My heart is
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Speaker 1: touched knowing what you're going through, and we'll realize what
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Speaker 1: that is in a moment. I've agonized for you and
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Speaker 1: the church at Laouta Sea. For as we know, he
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Speaker 1: was never there, only a few miles from Korn from Colossi.
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Speaker 1: He mentions toward the end of the letter Hyropolis, another church,
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Speaker 1: another location, As far as we know, he wasn't there,
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Speaker 1: but he cared about them. In fact, look how he writes,
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Speaker 1: I've agonized for you and for the church at Laouta Seea,
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Speaker 1: and for many other believers who have never met me personally.
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Speaker 1: We don't know each other face to face, but I
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Speaker 1: pray for you. I have you on my heart, And
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Speaker 1: he continues, I want them to be incuraged and knit
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Speaker 1: together by strong ties of love. Look at those words.
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Speaker 1: I don't know them personally, but I long for them
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Speaker 1: to be encouraged and to know what it is to
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Speaker 1: have loving arms around their shoulders. I hope they're not
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Speaker 1: trying to make it on their own. We need each other,
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Speaker 1: he continues. I want them to have complete confidence that
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Speaker 1: they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In
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Speaker 1: him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. By
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Speaker 1: the way, it's a slap in the face of the
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Speaker 1: cult of the Nustics, not a cult in our day,
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Speaker 1: not by that name. But in that day there were
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Speaker 1: those who spoke of the great emanations that came from
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Speaker 1: the heavenlies. And among the emanations that came from the
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Speaker 1: heavenlies was Jesus, you can name him among them, and
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Speaker 1: there were many others. And this higher knowledge, this great
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Speaker 1: understanding of the light, I mean, it's smacks of new Age.
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Speaker 1: In fact, this is a great time for me to add.
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Speaker 1: Anytime you're engaged in a teaching that demotes or decentralizes
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Speaker 1: the person of Christ, you're in error. Christ is the
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Speaker 1: supreme one, in him or hidden all the fullness of
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Speaker 1: the Godhead. Bodily, as we will read but the cults
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Speaker 1: come and they let you head your Jesus. If you
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Speaker 1: want to talk about Jesus. Remember, they use our vocabulary,
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Speaker 1: but they don't use our dictionary. Same words, but when
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Speaker 1: they say light they mean something different than when we
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Speaker 1: say light. When they refer to Jesus, they mean someone
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Speaker 1: different than when the Bible refers to Him in whom
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Speaker 1: we're hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now
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Speaker 1: you're getting a hint as to why he's concerned, why
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Speaker 1: he's agonized over them. Verse four tells us, I'm telling
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Speaker 1: you this so no one will deceive you with well
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Speaker 1: crafted arguments. The terms well crafted convey the idea of persuasive.
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Speaker 1: We call it smooth talk. You've seen it. We often
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Speaker 1: attribute it to a salesperson. Watch out for him, he's
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Speaker 1: a smooth talker. Or don't let her talk you into
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Speaker 1: something that you don't really want to go to or
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Speaker 1: you want to buy. That's the term used here. I'm
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Speaker 1: concerned that no one deceive you with well crafted argument.
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Speaker 1: It's a great time for me to pause and say,
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Speaker 1: those who want to seduce you into false teaching won't
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Speaker 1: do so by insulting you. Oh, that would attract no one.
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Speaker 1: They'll tell you how valuable you are and how concerned
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Speaker 1: they are that you're missing truth, a higher truth than
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Speaker 1: you'll ever get from between the bindings of a book
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Speaker 1: called the Bible. Watch out for folks like that, smooth talking.
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Speaker 1: If you can't think of another analogy, just think of
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Speaker 1: a politician. I will work. They say all kinds of things,
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Speaker 1: most of them don't mean a bit of it, but
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Speaker 1: it gets them elected. And you look back and go,
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Speaker 1: what was I thinking? The fact is you weren't you
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Speaker 1: believed them? How do you know they're lying? Their lips
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Speaker 1: are moving? Plus does watch out for people like this?
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Speaker 1: Wake up. I care about you, just as you would
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Speaker 1: care about the kid you send off to college, knowing
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Speaker 1: that he or she is a little weak, and they're
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Speaker 1: stepping right into those classes, and you know the prophet
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Speaker 1: takes great delight in shattering their faith. Years ago, I
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Speaker 1: knew of an individual who told me that said there
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Speaker 1: were several props on our faculty who had one great desire,
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Speaker 1: and that was to shatter the faith of the freshmen.
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Speaker 1: You care about your freshmen. Paul cares about these people
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Speaker 1: living in Colossie, said, I want anyone to deceive you
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Speaker 1: with their well crafted arguments. For though I am far
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Speaker 1: away from you, my heart is with you. Those are
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Speaker 1: words of love. By the way, I'm not near you,
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Speaker 1: but man, I've got you on my heart. I'll reach
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Speaker 1: chors that you're living as you should, and your faith
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Speaker 1: in Christ is strong. I wanted to stay strong. I
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Speaker 1: don't want it to get weak. I don't want you
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Speaker 1: to hear the siren song of some false teacher who says,
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Speaker 1: let me tell you what you're missing by that kind
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Speaker 1: of narrow thinking. Christ isn't all you cracked him up
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Speaker 1: to be. Let me teach you what you're missing, And
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Speaker 1: they come with their smooth talk. In fact, while I'm
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Speaker 1: on the subject of a warning, let me have you
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Speaker 1: mark some warnings verse four, so no one will deceive
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Speaker 1: you with well crafted arguments. Verse eight. There's another one.
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Speaker 1: Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high
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Speaker 1: sounding nonsense. The word capture is to take you captive.
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Speaker 1: Who march you into their place where they will hold
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Speaker 1: you captive. It's like an addiction. You can't get free
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Speaker 1: of some of the calls. Sometime your life is in danger.
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Speaker 1: Look at verse sixteen. Don't let anyone condemn you for
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Speaker 1: what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain
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Speaker 1: holy days or New Moon ceremonies or sabbaths. That's a
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Speaker 1: list of legalistic things that the leader is saying you
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Speaker 1: need to start doing or stop doing. If you don't,
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Speaker 1: you won't know the pleasure of God. They give you
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Speaker 1: the list. That's their list, not a biblical list. So
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Speaker 1: he warns them about falling in the trap of a legalist.
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Speaker 1: Some of you have lived there. You could stand and
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Speaker 1: speak on your own to tell others around you what
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Speaker 1: you went through, not only trying to live up to
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Speaker 1: the list, but when you decided to break free from it,
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Speaker 1: you were shunned, You were ostracized, and perhaps still are.
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Speaker 1: This is still going on. Look at eighteen. Don't let
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Speaker 1: anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self denial or
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Speaker 1: the worship of angels. The whole as setting sism that
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Speaker 1: he's emphasizing. Don't let anyone rob you of your prize
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Speaker 1: or disqualify you. You see now why we need one another.
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Speaker 1: What if Paul weren't there to warn them, they fall
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Speaker 1: into the trap. It's very appealing. In case you don't
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Speaker 1: know koultis don't wear a little badge that says I
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Speaker 1: represent a cult. They don't do that. I'm being factious. Obviously,
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Speaker 1: they're very attractive people and Mike, and they sell you
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Speaker 1: in there on their doctrine and how attractive they can
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Speaker 1: make it. Oh, you'll think, how could I have missed this?
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Speaker 1: In fact, it reminds me of Second Corinthians eleven. Go
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Speaker 1: back to that, will you do that? Please? Right quick?
29:19
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians eleven. Beginning at verse two, I'll show you
29:23
Speaker 1: something about the beauty of simplicity of Christ. Eleven two.
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Speaker 1: I am jealous for you, with the jealousy of God himself.
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Speaker 1: I promise you as a pure bride to one husband Christ.
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Speaker 1: But I fear not often you hear Paul admitting a fear.
29:42
Speaker 1: But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion
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Speaker 1: to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived
29:53
Speaker 1: by the cunning ways of the serpent. Remember the scene
29:58
Speaker 1: in the Garden of Eden. Here's the serpent not crawling
30:04
Speaker 1: on his belly. That happened after he was cursed. The
30:08
Speaker 1: serpent is a very attractive animal created by God, and
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Speaker 1: having turned against his creator, he's now engaged in the
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Speaker 1: subtle drawing of thinking minds to his own teaching. And
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Speaker 1: so he says to Eve.
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Speaker 2: Look at this, you could be like God. You'd know
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Speaker 2: what God knows.
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Speaker 1: And she took it. She gave to Adam. Look at him. Yeah,
30:46
Speaker 1: that looks good. She's deceived. Adam's dumb. He just bites
30:55
Speaker 1: right into it. How could these people do that having
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Speaker 1: been given the garden and all the things beautifully because
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Speaker 1: they moved away from the simplicity of the rules. Don't
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Speaker 1: eat of that fruit. You don't have to know Hebrew
31:11
Speaker 1: to understand what that means. In Genesis, you don't need
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Speaker 1: to know an original language. It means exactly what it says.
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Speaker 1: And suppose as I'm concerned that somehow your pure and
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Speaker 1: undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted. There it is.
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Speaker 1: I just really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Stay there.
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Speaker 1: Stay there. Well, it's a pretty simple belief. Stay with
31:38
Speaker 1: the simple. It has death that you've not become aware of,
31:43
Speaker 1: but your commitment to Christ. In fact, look at what
31:49
Speaker 1: he goes on to say you, Corinthia's happily put up
31:52
Speaker 1: with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a
31:55
Speaker 1: different Jesus than the one we preach keep reading, or
31:58
Speaker 1: a different kind of spirit the one you received, or
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Speaker 1: a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
32:05
Speaker 1: Why are you going there? Because they're deceived. They're sucked
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Speaker 1: into this, into this subtle seduction. Look across the page.
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Speaker 1: Let me show you what those deceivers look like. Verse thirteen.
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Speaker 1: These people are false apostles. But you love it that
32:30
Speaker 1: he calls it what it is. It's because he's not
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Speaker 1: politically correct. That's why we like Paul, one of my heroes.
32:38
Speaker 1: There aren't many left. These people are false prophets. They're
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Speaker 1: deceitful workers. They disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. Of
32:49
Speaker 1: course they do, of course they do. They're appealing, they're attractive.
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Speaker 1: They're deceitful workers who disguise themselves. But I'm not surprised.
33:07
Speaker 1: Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So
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Speaker 1: it's no wonder that his servants who disguise themselves as
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Speaker 1: servants of righteousness. Get away from the old medieval idea
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Speaker 1: that the devil is this little red creature that sits
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Speaker 1: on his shoulder, going, I got this pitchfork, I'm a
33:32
Speaker 1: jambs in your ear and make you listen. That's not
33:36
Speaker 1: the devil. He loves it if you think bad. He
33:42
Speaker 1: is the most winsome, attractive, gorgeous, appealing creature you could
33:48
Speaker 1: ever meet. Sweep you off your feet. Plus he's been
33:53
Speaker 1: at it long before you were even born. He knows
33:58
Speaker 1: every cheek in your armor. Why with a little bit
34:04
Speaker 1: of deception you get sucked right into it. It's like
34:10
Speaker 1: a vortex of current that you can't fight. Now, you
34:19
Speaker 1: see why you need other people. You need to be accountable,
34:25
Speaker 1: those people that have the right to ask you the
34:28
Speaker 1: hard questions. You know, I'm concerned about what you're starting
34:32
Speaker 1: to read. I'm troubled that it takes those potshots at
34:39
Speaker 1: the things you've been taught to believe. And I know
34:44
Speaker 1: it sounds attractive, and I know he's got several letters
34:46
Speaker 1: after his name. I realized there are a number of
34:50
Speaker 1: people that follow him. But wait, wait, wait wait, I'm
34:55
Speaker 1: concerned for you. If I'm living an isolated life, chances
35:01
Speaker 1: are great that I'll be sucked right into it. You
35:04
Speaker 1: check it out, You check out those that get drawn
35:08
Speaker 1: into cults. They're often isolationists who've gotten a little bit
35:14
Speaker 1: disillusioned in life and this new teaching sounds very attractive.
35:21
Speaker 1: Now back to Colaussians too, So one, no one deceive
35:25
Speaker 1: you with well crafted arguments. I rejoice that you're living
35:30
Speaker 1: as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
35:32
Speaker 1: Isn't that affirmation fabulous? Don't you love that? He says
35:37
Speaker 1: to them, I commend you for living as you should,
35:40
Speaker 1: and your faith in Christ is strong. Notice how he
35:43
Speaker 1: puts it, your faith in Christ is strong. Each of
35:46
Speaker 1: these is a slap in the gnostic's face. They're not
35:50
Speaker 1: hearing that they're faith in Christ is important. They're hearing
35:53
Speaker 1: the opposite. It's not really that important. Oh, the apostle says,
35:57
Speaker 1: you're strong because you're faith in Christ is strong. Never
36:01
Speaker 1: get far from the person of Christ. When you do,
36:04
Speaker 1: you're headed for trouble. And now having affirmed them, he
36:11
Speaker 1: gives the basic rudiments of Christianity. Look at them in
36:17
Speaker 1: verses six and seven. You talk about versus worth memorizing.
36:21
Speaker 1: There they are Collausians two, six and seven should be
36:25
Speaker 1: on the lifts and in the mind of every believer
36:28
Speaker 1: in Christ. Those are two verses that are worth your memorizing.
36:35
Speaker 1: Listen to them. And now, just as you accepted Christ,
36:40
Speaker 1: Jesus as the Lord. That's salvation. That's the new birth.
36:48
Speaker 1: Christianity begins for each individual by our putting our faith
36:54
Speaker 1: and trust in Christ, by our accepting him the Lord,
36:59
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. That's that's the first part. Now notice further on,
37:06
Speaker 1: you must he uses the word. You must continue to
37:11
Speaker 1: follow him, just as you have trusted in Christ, given
37:17
Speaker 1: him your soul for eternity. So you must begin to
37:21
Speaker 1: walk with him. It's just like life. We're born little infants,
37:28
Speaker 1: little tiny babies. We can't walk, we can't talk, we
37:33
Speaker 1: can't feed ourselves. We don't even have teeth. We are
37:37
Speaker 1: totally helpless. We're little babies. And as we get a
37:40
Speaker 1: little older, we start to grow teeth, we bite, and
37:45
Speaker 1: we can begin to crawl. We like to sit up
37:49
Speaker 1: before long. We like to walk. But it's called toddlers
37:54
Speaker 1: because they walk like this, and they're stumbling around and
37:57
Speaker 1: they're falling, getting back up, and then falling getting back
37:59
Speaker 1: up up. Toddler never says that's it. I am never
38:03
Speaker 1: gonna walk because I cannot walk. Now, Toddmer's keep at it.
38:07
Speaker 1: They stay at it. Drive mothers and dad's crazy one
38:10
Speaker 1: watching to go off for coffeetail home, hit their head
38:13
Speaker 1: and start to bleed. You patch them up and they
38:15
Speaker 1: get right back up, right toward the coffee table again.
38:18
Speaker 1: They're learning how to walk. That's the Christian life. Continue
38:23
Speaker 1: doing it. You'll quit because you fell. Everybody falls when
38:28
Speaker 1: they're learning to walk. Continue on, stay at it, stay
38:33
Speaker 1: at That's why we need other people. They hold us up.
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Speaker 1: Please ask these chapter four nine through twelve. Two are
38:41
Speaker 1: better than one that when you read the whole section
38:44
Speaker 1: three or better than two. We need each other. So
38:49
Speaker 1: keep on walking. Continue to follow him. Now there's more,
38:55
Speaker 1: and you begin to master this walking. You begin to
38:58
Speaker 1: put your roots down. It's fun and it's great. You're
39:02
Speaker 1: beginning to walk. You have now been birthed. You have
39:05
Speaker 1: now begun to walk. So you grow in Christ and
39:09
Speaker 1: you begin to deepen your roots. Let your roots grow
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Speaker 1: down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him,
39:18
Speaker 1: not on some high sounding philosophy, not on some slick
39:22
Speaker 1: wording that you're going to pick up from the false teacher.
39:27
Speaker 1: Don't be mesmerized because there's a big following. If we
39:31
Speaker 1: go by big followings, the cults are winning. Don't be
39:37
Speaker 1: afraid of minorities. Don't be afraid of being a part
39:40
Speaker 1: of the minority group. Don't be afraid of being the
39:44
Speaker 1: only one in your company or neighborhood. It's okay. You're
39:51
Speaker 1: walking with Christ. You're growing stronger in the truth that
39:54
Speaker 1: you were taught. And now look at the ultimate you
39:56
Speaker 1: begin to overflow with thankfulness. Isn't that a great a
40:00
Speaker 1: couple of verses. We're birthed, we begin to walk, we
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Speaker 1: put our roots down, and then we start to produce.
40:07
Speaker 1: And what do we produce? Thankfulness? Got your pen ready,
40:10
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you a verse of scripture to put
40:12
Speaker 1: in the margin of Colassians two six and seven. It's
40:16
Speaker 1: Hebrews thirteen fifteen. Hebrews thirteen fifteen. Listen to it. By him, Therefore,
40:24
Speaker 1: let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
40:27
Speaker 1: That is the fruit of lips giving thanks to his name,
40:33
Speaker 1: by him none other than the Lord God. Let us
40:36
Speaker 1: offer the sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of lips
40:42
Speaker 1: giving thanks to his name, naming the name the name
40:46
Speaker 1: of Christ, giving thanks to his name. And right on
40:51
Speaker 1: the heels of that, there's another warning. That's why we
40:57
Speaker 1: need each other. We need peace. People who warn us
41:02
Speaker 1: look at it. Don't let anyone capture you. That is
41:04
Speaker 1: the idea of lead you away captive with empty philosophies
41:09
Speaker 1: and high sounding nonsense that come from human thinking, from
41:14
Speaker 1: the spiritual powers of this world. It is a subtle
41:17
Speaker 1: reference to the demonic powers. Cults are fed by demonic power.
41:24
Speaker 1: False teachers get their energy from false gods. There's a
41:30
Speaker 1: whole system of demonic authorities that operate in realms, all
41:36
Speaker 1: of which are invisible and insidious. You cannot see them,
41:43
Speaker 1: you will not hear them unless they're speaking through the
41:46
Speaker 1: vocal cords of a false teacher. He speaks of them
41:52
Speaker 1: as those that come from human thinking and spiritual powers,
41:57
Speaker 1: rather than what look look at the universe eight, Rather
42:01
Speaker 1: than from Christ, there we are again. Stay with Christ,
42:06
Speaker 1: keep him in the center. He is supreme, He is
42:10
Speaker 1: our all in all, rather than from Christ. For in Christ,
42:14
Speaker 1: and he decides he will just go a little deeper
42:17
Speaker 1: and test their metal when it comes to the ability
42:20
Speaker 1: to grasp in Christ lives all the fullness of God
42:25
Speaker 1: in a human body. I'll keep us busy for a while.
42:30
Speaker 1: Look at it in Christ. In no other or, he
42:36
Speaker 1: would have told us, there are others. But in Christ
42:39
Speaker 1: alone lives the fullness of God in a human body.
42:46
Speaker 1: And to make it even better Verse ten, you are
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Speaker 1: complete through your union with Christ, who is the head
42:54
Speaker 1: over every ruler and authority, referring again to the demonic
42:58
Speaker 1: realm over all of that. By having Christ, you have
43:04
Speaker 1: the fullness of God. One man put it this way.
43:10
Speaker 1: It represents the essence of God, undivided in its whole fullness,
43:16
Speaker 1: dwelling in Christ in his exalted state, so that he
43:21
Speaker 1: Christ is the essential and adequate image of God. How
43:27
Speaker 1: magnificent must have been the experience of the disciples who
43:31
Speaker 1: walked alongside the one who was full of grace and truth.
43:36
Speaker 1: And John admits we beheld his glory, the glory as
43:43
Speaker 1: of the only begodden of the Father, full of grace
43:47
Speaker 1: and truth. No wonder their lives were transformed. No wonder
43:55
Speaker 1: they lost interest in fishing in galilee and selling, are
44:02
Speaker 1: involved in taxing others, everything focused on the fullness of
44:09
Speaker 1: what they had in Christ. You are complete through your
44:16
Speaker 1: union with Christ. Will you never forget it? You don't
44:21
Speaker 1: need more. If you have Christ, you're not missing anything,
44:27
Speaker 1: because with Christ you have the very essence of God.
44:31
Speaker 1: He represented him in human flesh. Through your union with Christ,
44:39
Speaker 1: you have him. I liked the way Kent Hughes describes
44:45
Speaker 1: this from his book on Collisions. Listen to this illustration.
44:50
Speaker 1: My wife and I once stood on the shore of
44:52
Speaker 1: the vast Pacific Ocean, two finite dots alongside a seemingly
45:01
Speaker 1: infinite expanse. As we stood there, we reflected that if
45:09
Speaker 1: I were to take a pint jar and allow the
45:14
Speaker 1: ocean to rush into it, in an instant, my jar
45:19
Speaker 1: would be filled with the Pacific, the fullness of the
45:25
Speaker 1: Pacific in that jar. But I could never put the
45:30
Speaker 1: fullness of the Pacific Ocean into my jar. Thinking of Christ,
45:37
Speaker 1: we realized that because he is infinite, he could hold
45:41
Speaker 1: all the fullness of deity, and whenever one of us
45:44
Speaker 1: finite creatures dips the tiny vessel of our life into him,
45:49
Speaker 1: we instantly become full of his fullness. Agreed is that
45:55
Speaker 1: that'll take up your lonely nights and fill it with
45:58
Speaker 1: thoughts like you've rarely had. When you have Christ, you
46:03
Speaker 1: carry within you the very essence of the living God,
46:09
Speaker 1: and that's how the Lord sees you complete in Christ, complete,
46:16
Speaker 1: nothing lacking. Before I'm through, I need to get into
46:23
Speaker 1: verses eleven and twelve, even though they're a little delicate
46:27
Speaker 1: because they use a word that is not usually used
46:30
Speaker 1: in public and rarely, if ever, from a pulpit. This
46:35
Speaker 1: is a word that appears in medical places or eight
46:39
Speaker 1: days after birth among the rabbis who were trained to
46:43
Speaker 1: do the work of circumcision. But he isn't referring to
46:48
Speaker 1: a physical circumcision. Think read, listen. When you came to Christ,
46:58
Speaker 1: you were quote circumcised. But and he quickly adds, not
47:04
Speaker 1: by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the
47:13
Speaker 1: cutting away of your sinful nature. What does that mean?
47:18
Speaker 1: Stay with me. It means this. When I turned to
47:23
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, and I trust him
47:26
Speaker 1: and him alone for eternal life. At that moment, sin
47:31
Speaker 1: no longer dominates my life. Until I came to Christ,
47:36
Speaker 1: I couldn't say no. Every temptation was just a matter
47:40
Speaker 1: of time before I yielded. But now that I have
47:43
Speaker 1: Christ and the fullness of God within me, I can
47:47
Speaker 1: say no because the power of Christ working through my
47:51
Speaker 1: mind and through my life, enables me to resist. The
47:56
Speaker 1: old nature was circumcised in the sense that it lost
48:01
Speaker 1: its power it once had over me. Let's read on,
48:05
Speaker 1: For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized,
48:08
Speaker 1: and with him you were raised a new life because
48:11
Speaker 1: you trusted the mighty power of God who raised Christ
48:14
Speaker 1: from the dead. Remember Galicians two twenty. I have been
48:18
Speaker 1: crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I, but
48:24
Speaker 1: Christ lives in me. And the life that I now
48:27
Speaker 1: live I live with the faith of the son of God,
48:29
Speaker 1: who loved me and gave himself for me. I'd been
48:35
Speaker 1: co buried, co resurrected, co ascended with Christ, so that
48:42
Speaker 1: I am now complete in him. Having the same power
48:47
Speaker 1: he had over sin, I have it within me, and
48:51
Speaker 1: because of that He becomes all important to me. All
49:00
Speaker 1: of this apply. What could we say that could give
49:02
Speaker 1: you something to walk away with? And remember, you've listened
49:06
Speaker 1: so carefully, and it hasn't been an easy section to explain,
49:10
Speaker 1: but I think you begin to get it. Let me
49:12
Speaker 1: give you three thoughts. One has to do with something
49:17
Speaker 1: you will do once a week, The second has to
49:21
Speaker 1: do with something I'll suggest you do every day, and
49:25
Speaker 1: the third has to do with something you do several
49:27
Speaker 1: times a day. Here we go, once a week, affirm
49:36
Speaker 1: and encourage someone you love, just like Paul tells them,
49:44
Speaker 1: you were strong, and I'll rejoice with you because your
49:48
Speaker 1: faith in Christ is strong at firm. At least one
49:54
Speaker 1: other person every week. That's one more than you've affirmed
49:59
Speaker 1: for a long time. So I realize it's a new thought,
50:03
Speaker 1: but how valuable it is. By the way, when you
50:08
Speaker 1: affirm someone, you may want to write them something. Don't
50:14
Speaker 1: send them a text, don't put it on a computer.
50:21
Speaker 1: You've got fingers, write it with your own hand. Something
50:27
Speaker 1: happens when it's a handwritten statement of affirmation. I'll risk
50:33
Speaker 1: a little inside part of our lives. Every once in
50:36
Speaker 1: a while, I'll send Cynthia a love note. What it
50:41
Speaker 1: says is none of your business, but I work on it,
50:46
Speaker 1: and I put the wording together in just such a
50:50
Speaker 1: way that I want her to remember it, and I'll
50:53
Speaker 1: write it and then I usually don't have to sign it.
50:55
Speaker 1: I used to sign it Chuck Swindle, so but she
50:59
Speaker 1: realized he knew who the handwriting, and so I don't
51:02
Speaker 1: just sign it. But let me tell you what's funniest
51:04
Speaker 1: when the kids, every once in a while, tea Steel
51:07
Speaker 1: take one of my love notes and put it on
51:08
Speaker 1: the mirror in the bathroom which we share, big old
51:11
Speaker 1: mirror in front of our sink, and there it'll be
51:16
Speaker 1: and I'll read it, and yeah, I remember writing that.
51:18
Speaker 1: But what's funniest when the kids walk in. Oh, sweetheart,
51:23
Speaker 1: you need so much to me. How wonderful dad that
51:26
Speaker 1: you would write that those kids have no business reading
51:29
Speaker 1: love notes that I write to my dear wife, having
51:34
Speaker 1: a little fun with you. But I urge you to
51:36
Speaker 1: write a love note, not just to your partner, pick
51:41
Speaker 1: someone you really love in the family. One are your kids.
51:45
Speaker 1: You may add a little glistering tablet because it'll shock
51:48
Speaker 1: them almost to death when they get it. Because some
51:51
Speaker 1: of you can't remember the last time you affirmed the kids,
51:53
Speaker 1: after all you've been given to criticize them. Really, I
51:58
Speaker 1: can't find that in the Bible. How about being remembered
52:02
Speaker 1: for your affirmation and encouragement? How about the kids when
52:08
Speaker 1: you're finally gone, saying the thing I miss most, or
52:12
Speaker 1: the notes he used to send me. Or it might
52:15
Speaker 1: be a phone call you're on your way somewhere, or
52:19
Speaker 1: maybe you are a long ways away. Just thinking of
52:23
Speaker 1: you today and want you to know how much you
52:24
Speaker 1: mean to me. How grateful I am for whatever. Once
52:29
Speaker 1: a week. Once a week, affirm and encourage someone you love.
52:34
Speaker 1: Here's the second. Once a day. Once a day, think
52:39
Speaker 1: of something for which you are grateful and tell the
52:43
Speaker 1: Lord thank you. Once a day, think of something for
52:52
Speaker 1: which you are grateful. Something will prompt you to think
52:56
Speaker 1: of that happened to me today. When I drove onto
53:00
Speaker 1: the church property. It was ten minutes until seven this morning.
53:05
Speaker 1: I drove on. There was another car or to here,
53:09
Speaker 1: but I saw three American flags flying. I hadn't asked
53:14
Speaker 1: anybody to put up the American flags on all three poles,
53:19
Speaker 1: but our very thoughtful custodial staff planned ahead and they
53:23
Speaker 1: put a big flag on this end. Did you notice
53:25
Speaker 1: If you didn't, you need your eyeglasses changed. It is huge.
53:31
Speaker 1: And I saw the flags and I said, thank you, Lord,
53:36
Speaker 1: and I live in this country. Thank you. It may
53:42
Speaker 1: be a little thing, Bruce Martin wrote, sometimes when I
53:47
Speaker 1: consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I'm tempted
53:52
Speaker 1: to think there are no little things. Before you let
54:00
Speaker 1: your head now sunk into the pillow for a night's sleep,
54:06
Speaker 1: find a reason to say thank you Lord for and
54:10
Speaker 1: tell him this passage says you'll be overflowing with thankfulness
54:17
Speaker 1: every day, several times every day. Here's your third assignment,
54:23
Speaker 1: little simple project through the hours of the day. Pause
54:27
Speaker 1: on occasion and remind yourself, I am complete in Christ.
54:36
Speaker 1: Tell yourself that I am complete in Christ. I'm fully
54:46
Speaker 1: accepted by you, dear Father, because of Christ. I'm freed
54:51
Speaker 1: from the domination of Sin's control. Because of what He
54:54
Speaker 1: did for me on the Cross. I'm absolutely secure now
54:58
Speaker 1: and forever my salvation because of Christ. I'm complete in Him.
55:05
Speaker 1: Got Him. Let's see how your week looks about a
55:09
Speaker 1: week from now. Abow with me. Will you so much
55:18
Speaker 1: fun to be together? Lord? And it's such a delight
55:22
Speaker 1: to open this magnificent book. As we see black print
55:29
Speaker 1: on white pages, we realize it isn't just print, it's
55:35
Speaker 1: just truth. To live by, truth, if necessary, to die for.
55:43
Speaker 1: Deliver us from a frivolous, shallow, indifferent spirit in a
55:52
Speaker 1: day in which all of that is so popular. Give
55:57
Speaker 1: us someone to care for, to care about, free us
56:03
Speaker 1: to say so, catch us up short when we resist
56:11
Speaker 1: being vulnerable with words like I love you, I need you,
56:19
Speaker 1: You're important to me. And finally, Lord, thank you for
56:24
Speaker 1: Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us. Thank you.
56:37
Speaker 1: He is all in all. We need nothing else but
56:43
Speaker 1: him when it comes to eternal life. We worship him
56:48
Speaker 1: now in his great name. Everybody said Amen.
57:00
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Council from a Concerned Apostle was copyrighted
57:05
Speaker 2: in two thousand fourteen and two thousand twenty two, and
57:08
Speaker 2: the sound recording was copyrighted in two thousand twenty two
57:11
Speaker 2: by Charles Arswindall, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication
57:17
Speaker 2: of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited