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Love His Word: Delight In His Word… - Psalm 119 · Mount Eaton Church

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  So Psalm 119 is where we're going to be sitting
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  for all of our service today. I'll have one verse
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  from Deuteronomy. If you ever get a chance, like
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  Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God. Like
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  why would God dedicate... one entire psalm, and
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  it's 174 verses to the word, it's because it
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  is crucial. It's the one psalm that was given
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  for parents to teach their kids the Hebrew alphabet.
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  So when you see, when they would read Psalm 119
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  verses 1 through 8, and each letter has eight
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  verses, each of those verses would start with
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  the letter of the alphabet, Aleph. So we, in
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  English, you know, kind of like English isn't
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  great when it comes to translation. So I wish
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  we had a rhyme and we could sing them with that,
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  but we don't. So I want us to really pay attention
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  to the importance of the word of God. As you
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  know, we are on a mission to really talk about
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  our purpose as a church. Why does God have us
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  as a church? Why has God brought you into his
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  family? Why does God do anything? Well, it's
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  for his glory. But he calls us, commands us,
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  and causes us. Calls, commands, and calls. C
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  -A -U -S -E. Causes, commands, and calls us to
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  love him. So we are going to love God, love his
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  word, love his ways, love his things. And that
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  is really looking at the reality of the broadness
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  of the Christian life, what we're to be doing.
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  So we talked about loving God, and we talked
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  about loving God last week from the perspective
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  of where our treasure is. And that expression
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  of that treasure is the least value of the thing
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  that you have. We talked about that money really
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  has no real true intrinsic value in reality.
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  You are born without it. You die without it.
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  There is nothing within reality of money. But
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  why do we hold on to it so tightly and not willing
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  to give it away? So we deal with that issue last
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  week. Now we're going to talk about loving his
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  word because we can't really learn to give away
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  our treasure until we understand God and his
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  character and what he commands for us and the
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  ways that we should live. So he tells us those
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  things through his word. Love his word. Delight
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  in his word. It is impossible to know God unless
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  he has been pleased to make himself known to
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  man. I want you to think about that. So if God
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  had created all of us, which he has, placed us
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  on the earth, the only reason why you know about
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  him is because he was pleased to tell you about
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  himself. God didn't have to say a single word
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  to you about who he was. He could let us as ants
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  just live our lives and die and not even think
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  about us. But that's not what God intended for
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  us to be when he communes. So it's impossible
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  to know God unless he has been pleased to make
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  himself known to man. He recognizes the force
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  of Zophar's question in Job 11 .7. Can you, by
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  searching, find out God? Can you, in your own
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  purpose, drive, ever really find out God by your
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  own desire? It seems utterly impossible to him
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  that man, by his unaided reason, should discover
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  God, and he therefore considers the question,
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  has God spoken? Numbers 23, 19. As one of the
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  utmost importance. Lewis Berkhoff, 1942. Really?
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  Why does man seek God? Because God was pleased
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  to reveal himself. Why would man, after God is
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  pleased to reveal himself, even have the desire
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  to go and seek after him because God has placed
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  it there? What is the Word of God? There are
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  many answers that I could give that would describe
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  biblically and scripturally what the Word of
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  God is, really well for itself in its own definition.
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  And he clarifies this definition pretty revealing
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  throughout the scripture of what his word is.
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  So we're going to answer that question. The revealing
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  of God by inspiration given through men as he
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  led them to accurately record and communicate
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  his character and message is known as inspiration
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  of scripture. and the revealing of God in his
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  incarnation through the virgin birth by the power
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  of the Holy Spirit, he is called the Logos, known
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  as the living word. 2 Timothy 3 .16, John 1 .1.
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  The word of God is living and active, sharper
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  than a two -edged sword, piercing to the division
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  of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow,
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  and discerning the thoughts and intentions of
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  the heart. Hebrews 4. The word is the sustainer
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  and giver of life. The very word of God sustains
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  you and gives you life. Matthew 4, 4. But he
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  answered, it is written, man shall not live but
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  by bread alone, but by every word that comes
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  from the mouth of God. Psalm 119, 93. I will
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  never forget your precepts, for by them you have
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  given me. So what is the word of God? Jesus the
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  Christ. He is the word of God. And he was pleased
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  to put his character and his message on display
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  for us to read and to know him. And it's only
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  enough for life and godliness. All the answers
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  that you will ever desire to be answered by God,
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  not all of them, are written. Example, the Trinity.
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  Is there anything in all of Scripture, in all
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  of creation, that can clearly give us a full
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  understanding of the triune, the triuneness of
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  God? That God in his wisdom as Yahweh Elohim
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  has represented himself as the three in one,
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  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing
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  that the only way to fulfill the promise he made
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  to Adam and Eve when he cursed the snake, I will
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  put an enmity between you and the woman, between
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  your seed and her seed, could only come by the
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  God -man himself. That the purpose of the triune
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  God in his wisdom and in his foreknowledge That
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  through the very plan of the Father, the fulfillment
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  in the Son, and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit,
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  that salvation is an impossibility without the
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  Trinity of God. How would we know that? Ephesians
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  1. Because the Word of God tells us so. You cannot
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  have salvation without the Father planning it.
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  You cannot have the fullness of salvation without
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  the Son fulfilling it. And you can't have the
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  guarantee of your inheritance without the Holy
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  Spirit being your guarantee as a deposit. It's
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  an impossibility. That's the importance of the
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  Trinity. To go any further than that, I would
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  really do it in injustice to try to explain why
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  God is triune. but communion. God has caused
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  and commands us to love his word. John 14, 15
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  said this to you last week. If you love me, you
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  will keep my commandments. Psalm 119, 97. Oh,
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  how I love your law. It is my meditation all
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  the day. Do you love God's word where you are
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  willing to drive in your car, sit in your house?
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  And just listen to the word of God spoken to
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  you. Go home when you have the time. Sit down
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  and open it and read it and let him speak to
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  you. Are you willing to listen to his word through
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  the music that he's provided? Are you saturating
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  your life with the logos? Or is Christian life
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  just a means to an end where you can come and
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  do your ritual responsibility on a Sunday morning
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  and say, I've done my job. Listen to this psalmist
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  says, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation
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  all the day. It's all he thinks about. You'd
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  be like, that's a little crazy. That man doesn't
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  get involved with the craziness that's going
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  on in our world today because his mind is where
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  it needs to be. Set your mind on things above,
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  not on things of the earth. Oh, Psalm 119, 113.
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  I hate the double -minded, but I love your law.
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  I hate those who are wavering all the time, that
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  never really can make a final decision. They
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  just one minute here, next minute there. Why?
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  Because they have nothing to stand on. There
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  is nothing that their feet is steady on. But
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  this man loves God's law. Psalm 119, verse 119.
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  Therefore, I love your testimonies. I love your
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  testimonies. I love your words. Psalm 119 verse
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  32, I will run in the way of your commandments
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  when you enlarge my heart. God is busy sanctifying
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  and enlarging your heart and your love for his
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  word. Do you hunger and thirst for his word?
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  As a deer pants after the water, so my soul longs
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  after you. God commands us to obey his word.
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  1 John 2, 4 -6. Whoever says I know him but does
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  not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth
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  is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in
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  him truly the love of God is perfected. By this
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  we may know that we are in him. Whoever says
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  he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
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  in which he walked. Do we live like the Logos?
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  Psalm 119, verse 1 through 4. Blessed are those
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  whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of
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  the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
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  who seek him with their whole heart, who also
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  do no wrong, but walk in his ways. You have commanded
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  your precepts to be kept diligently. You hear
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  that? Not an option. Psalm 119 verse 44 through
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  45. I will keep your law continually forever
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  and ever and I shall walk in a wide place for
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  I sought your precepts. Now I want you to get
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  that. For those of us who walk according to the
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  law and the word of God, we have a broadness
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  to our ability to live within the confines of
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  the world that he's placed us in. I'm not confined
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  to the way of the world. Where Christ is in my
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  life, I have the freedom now to go outside of
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  that and to touch and to preach and to teach
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  and to walk with and to love and to serve those
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  outside of that little narrow way. Which in reality,
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  that little narrow way that the world says is
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  narrow because it's their way or the highway.
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  God's way is... Really, narrower, if that's a
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  word. My English is terrible, so I don't really
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  care. But my ability to live outside of the lines
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  is much more greater. You have any questions
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  about that? Look at Jesus' life. What did he
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  do? Hey, Matt, I'm going to your house to have
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  dinner. I'm a tax collector. Hey, don't stop
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  her from anointing my head. What? She's a prostitute.
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  Writes in the sand. He who is without sin cast
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  the first stone. Where are your accusers? Then
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  neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.
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  That's a really broad way of living, don't you
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  think? Why? Because he lives narrow. He lives
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  according to the word. Because he lives here,
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  he can serve here. That's the idea here. I shall
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  walk in a wide place, for I have sought your...
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  God commands us to teach his word. Colossians
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  3 .16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
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  teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
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  singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
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  and with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
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  Do you see that? That not only are we teaching
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  and preaching, we are teaching and preaching
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  through music. Every opportunity we have. By
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  every means that God has provided, we can teach
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  and preach and richly bless those who need to
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  hear the word of God. Psalm 119, verse 13. This
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  is the only verse outside of Psalm 119 I told
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  you I was going to give you. Well, that's not
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  true. I gave you some Johns and stuff, but this
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  is specifically one that I'm using. Deuteronomy
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  6, 4 through 9. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
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  God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord
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  your God with all your heart and with all your
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  soul and with all your might. And these words
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  that I command to you today shall be on your
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  heart. You shall teach them diligently. You shall
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  teach them diligently. You shall teach them diligently
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  to your children. and shall talk with them when
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  you sit in your house and when you walk by the
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  way and when you lie down and when you rise.
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  You shall bind them as signs on your forehead,
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  on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets
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  between your eyes, and you shall write them on
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  the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
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  Can you imagine that? Where you walk into someone's
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  house and the only thing that you see is Scripture
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  everywhere. I want you to notice something here.
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  I think this is one of the things that parents
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  have a difficult time understanding. You don't
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  schedule time teaching your kids. You teach your
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  kids throughout the day. You teach them when
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  you're sitting in your house. You teach them
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  when you're walking down the road. You teach
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  them when they go to bed and when they get back
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  up. You teach them when you go to Walmart or
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  Weiss. You teach them about Christ everywhere.
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  It's not just, you know, hey, I'm going to schedule
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  my time with you today. It's in your daily walk
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  and driving that you talk about Jesus all the
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  time. That doesn't mean that you don't set apart
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  time for family worship or family reading. That's
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  okay too. But notice it says here, when you lie
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  down and when you sit and when you walk and when
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  you rise. It's in your everyday moment. Give
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  Christ richly in their lives. Do you delight
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  in God's word? How important is God's word to
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  you? Psalm 119, verse 14 and 16. In the way of
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  your testimonies, I delight as much as in all
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  riches. Verse 16, I will delight in your statutes.
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  I will not forget your word. Verse 20. My soul
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  is consumed with longing for your rules at all
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  times. Verse 24, your testimonies are my delight.
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  They are my counselors. 34, give me understanding
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  that I may keep your law and observe it with
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  all my whole heart. Verse 35, lead me in the
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  path of your commandments for I delight in it.
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  Verse 47, I'll read verse 46 first. I will also
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  speak of your testimonies before kings and shall
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  not be put to shame for I find my delight in
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  your commandments which I love. Verse 77, let
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  your mercy come to me. That I may live for your
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  law is my delight. Verse 89. Forever, O Lord,
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  your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Verse
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  92. In your law, if your law had not been my
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  delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
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  Verse 143. Trouble and anguish have found me
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  out, but your commandments are my. delight. Even
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  he has to continue to walk in the commandments
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  of God. Why? Because your sin will find you out.
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  And the only way he gets through his sin is the
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  fact that he delights in the word of God. Do
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  you see that? Delight in the word of God and
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  you will live. I rise before dawn and cry for
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  help. I hope in your words. That's 147 and 174.
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  I long for your salvation, O Lord, for your law
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  is my delight. Do you get the point? How important
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  is the word of God to you? Or do you just let
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  it go throughout your days and weeks or months
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  and it really has no means to you? Your very
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  existence, you live because God says you do.
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  Psalm 119 verse 151 and 152. I want you to hear
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  these last few verses. But you are near, O Lord,
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  and all your commandments are true. Hear that?
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  This is true. Fox News is not true. CNN, not
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  true. MSNBC, not true. What's true? God's word
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  is true. It has always been true. They can say
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  whatever they want to say. It's not true. There's
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  only one thing that's true. It's called the word
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  of God. We live in the days of lies. Walk in
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  his truth. So you can see the lie. Psalm 119
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  verse 60. Let me keep reading. I'm sorry, I forgot.
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  152, I forgot. Long have I known your testimonies
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  that you have founded them forever. Do you know
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  why God's word is true? Because it is everlasting.
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  Psalm 119, 116. The sum of your word is truth.
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  And every one of your righteous rules endures
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  forever. The world's going to tell you this isn't
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  true. It doesn't matter. I really don't care
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  what they say. I know it's true. I'm a listening
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  testimony of his truth. He's changed my life.
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  If you knew what I was before you ever knew me
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  here, I was a dog. Men are dogs. I was a dog,
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  man. Thank God I'm not no more. You got an entire
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  room full of testimonies of God's word. active
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  in their lives where Christ has used his word
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  to instill, deposit, and grow faith. The sum
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  of your word is truth, and every one of your
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  righteous rules endures forever. Psalm 119 verse
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  172. My tongue will sing of your word, for all
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  your commandments are right. I'm sharing these
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  things with you. So that you love his word. When
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  you love his word, you will obey his word. When
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  you obey his word, there is nothing you won't
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  do to honor and please him. You won't listen
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  to those around you who listen to his word because
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  his word is true. His word is life. You won't
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  be paying attention to the narratives and the
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  nonsense because the word of God is true. It
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  is life. I'm so glad that we talked about this
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  today. I think we live in such a rich, overwhelming
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  time where all the information that you could
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  ever want and desire is at your fingertips, literally.
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  And the one place we don't go to, because we
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  know it's true, at least we hope, is His Word.
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  I'd rather listen to the morning show for truth.
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  And every day, we're disappointed. It's sad,
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  but I should have expected it, right? That justice
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  for the children who have been mistreated, abused,
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  neglected, sold, will one day come under the
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  wrath of a mighty God. Because the malarkey that
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  we're being fed today, how do I know that? Scripture
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  says, Vince's mind says, Lord, I will repay.
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  Every evil deed that man covers, God will expose
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  on his day. On his day. Because God is true.
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  We must be different. We must shine differently.
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  We must be different than any movement. We must
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  be different. We must be a light on a hill. A
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  shining city on a hill. We must not put our light
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  under a bowl. We must walk. In the word. Thy
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  word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto
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  my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and
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  a light unto my path. Father, I want to thank
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  you so much that your word is true. It has been
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  established forever that you have, as the Logos,
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  have put on flesh and have shown us the word
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  in action, in living. And then in your wisdom,
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  through thousands of years, through 40 men, 66
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  books, you have given us your... canon, your
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  word, that declares and proclaims the goodness
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  of our God, the fulfillment of his promise in
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  the redemption of mankind through the Son. We
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  praise you and thank you. And we are reminded
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  in the same way that Jesus had mentioned to the
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  men on the road to Emmaus, have you not read
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  all that Moses and the prophets have said about
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  me? We thank you that you are the living To you
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  be honor and glory. And may we read the inspired
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  word to see our God and to know you better. In
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  Jesus' name, amen.