Up next in 10
I woke up this morning right around 3:40 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. And whenever this happens , a thought comes to mind that I begin to wrestle with or make into a topic that I want to develop. This morning what came to my mind was the idea of total depravity and this is the statement that kept ringing in my ears: Because you and I were conceived in Sin, we have no inherent power, ability or desire to choose GOD unless HE Himself graciously enables us to do so.
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and what I'm saying by that is this you
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and I were conceived and were born in
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sin we have pretty much
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no natural or inherent ability to desire
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or to choose God unless he himself
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graciously enables us to do so so I'm
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basically going to put this on a shirt
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at some
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[Music]
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point hello this is tes.com and welcome
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back to our Thursday talk so um earlier
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today as I left my job I was talking to
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my uh my two sisters and my brother and
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uh we were talking about something that
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occurred earlier uh this evening and I
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came to the conclusion and the
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realization that a lot of people do not
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like to talk about like hard things
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everybody just want to keep this the the
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conversation at a superficial level
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because the minute you begin to talk
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about truths like things that are true
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and that could be a little bit consider
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quote unquote like quot controversial
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they get Bann out of shape and they get
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offended and to me it's like I I don't
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want to shy away from like difficult
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conversations and when when I begin to
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see that uh people are not willing to do
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that so my next move is to just exit or
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just leave that conversation because it
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is pointless for me to talk to you about
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like superficial things because I don't
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feel like I'm doing you any service I'm
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actually doing you a disservice so I
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rather just remove myself from that situ
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situation and just leave it at that now
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that's not what I'm here to talk about
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today I want to talk about uh something
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that occurred about two days ago you
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know sometimes I I'm in the middle of
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the night I will get up at like 3:40 or
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4:00 a.m. and I can't go back to sleep
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and it happened on Tuesday night and
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then whenever this happens uh a thought
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like comes to my mind and I begin to
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wrestle with it and I make it into a
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topic that I want to develop so and so
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what happened to me on Tuesday and what
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came to my mind was the idea of total
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depravity and this is the statement that
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kept ringing in my ears and what I'm
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saying by that is this you and I were
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conceived and were born in sin we have
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pretty much no natural or inherent
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ability to desire or to choose God
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unless he himself graciously enables us
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to do so so I'm basically going to put
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this on the shirt at some point and I've
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been doing that a lot with like
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different things now I don't want to
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spark any controversies with it these
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are just like contro uh like
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conversation starters and I've heard
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like that happen I had a Shir on with a
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saying on it and then somebody would
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talk to me at the YMCA and and we engage
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in like meaningful conversation so
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that's what I want to do so what I'm
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essentially essentially saying is that
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you by Nature as a born again Christian
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did not have the ability to choose God
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because you were conceived in sin I was
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conceived in sin and God himself is the
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one that enabled us to do so and then a
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lot of Christians right a lot of
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Christians think or have been deceived
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into thinking that they actually had the
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natural inclination to choose God in
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Jesus right in other words they are so
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presumptuous as to think that they are
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born again Christian because they chose
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God right so my assignment today is to
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completely obliterate that argument okay
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and that way of thinking and why is
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because when you think that way you are
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actually stripping God of his glory let
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me say that again when you assume that
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you chose God because you had the
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inherent or natural inclination to do so
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you are actually still in God's uh Glory
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all right so to do that uh to show you
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why that way of thinking is not right
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we're going to go to scriptures because
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I don't want this to come from me I want
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to go back to the scripture okay now
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again I'm addressing mainly Christians
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here because uh we have to have some
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presupposition before we go into this
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conversation number one we we have to be
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convinced that God exists as Christians
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and that the Bible is his word as John
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17:17 says sanctify Us by your word for
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your word is true and Romans 12 uh
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verses two also says that he EO the same
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sentiment he says that uh as born again
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Christian we are no longer to con to
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conform to the pattern of this world but
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we have to be transformed by the
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renewing of our mind okay it means that
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we can no longer longer think like
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unbelievers but we have to be
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transformed by the r renewing of our
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mind and we have to think like God think
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okay so with that said let's dive into
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scriptures and we're going to try and
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unpack this so first thing I want to I
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want to show you is Psalm
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515 this is David speaking after he uh
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he committed adultery with B Sheba and
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then had her husband killed okay listen
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to what David says behold I was brought
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forth in iniquity and in sin did my
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mother conceive me again this is Psalm
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51:5 so this is King David
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recognizing his own Sinful Nature by
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birth okay he's confessing number one
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his sin adultery and murder before God
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that's what he's saying he was
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confronted by Nathan right so David
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recognizes that he was conceived in
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sin what does that mean he was conceived
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in sin he was born with a natural
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inclination to choose evil instead of
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choosing good let me say that again by
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recognizing that he was conceived in sin
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David also acknowledged and recognized
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that he was born with a natural
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inclination to choose evil instead of
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choosing good and in in God's economy
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the soul that sins shall die that's in
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accordance with uh Ezekiel 18:20 meaning
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that one sin committed is Cosmic Tre
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reason okay it is Defiance against God
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and the price is what capital punishment
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the minute you sin there's no such such
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thing as a slip up if you sin that mean
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you
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choosing that which is evil in God's
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eyes and because you chose that you are
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choosing against God and your you and I
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my friend uh the the consequence of that
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is capital punishment we deserve to die
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okay and this is something that most
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Christians don't understand because they
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don't know the nature of
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God if you don't understand the nature
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of God you will treat God as if he's
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like a cosmic Santa
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Claus this is what happens okay and so
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to understand the nature of God I
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suggest that you read The Book of
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Leviticus for that matter because in the
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Book of Leviticus the scripture talks
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about all the laws for the sin offering
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the guilt offering the burnt offering
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and all these um um laws that had to be
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uh established when somebody committed a
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sin because he he really Pent the the
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the the Holiness a picture of the
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Holiness of God because God is Holy he
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cannot tolerate sin and if you read The
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Book of Leviticus chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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all the way you will understand how the
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Holiness of God is the scripture tells
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us in John that in him there is no sin
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not even one sin so
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so to if you don't understand the nature
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of God you will make some silly comments
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about God all right so again what I'm
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trying to convey through Psalm 515 is
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this that David understood that he
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sinned because he was a sinner by Nature
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again your sin does not make you a
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sinner what it does it proves that you
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are a sinner you see when you sin that
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does not make you a sinner it proves
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that you a sinner you you sin because
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you're a sinner do you see what I'm
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saying the reason why you do wrong
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things is because by Nature this is what
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you are this is who I
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am just because I committed a sin
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doesn't mean that okay now that sin made
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me a sinner no my sinful
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nature was proven by my sin pretty much
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my sin is an extension of my nature it
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proves that I'm a sinner in other words
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you sin because of your sinful nature I
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do wrong things because of my sinful
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nature okay so David was conceived in
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sin how did I happened Genesis 3
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explains it right because Adam and Eve
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sinned against God we were born slaves
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to sin the reason why you and I sin is
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because we received that nature from our
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parents Adam and Eve they sinned they
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chose to do evil and by Nature we
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received their sinful nature this is why
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we choose EV evil instead of choosing
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good by Nature we are slaves to sin you
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see you need to understand that you were
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a slave to sin I'm a slave to sin by
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Nature I have no right for myself my
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master is
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sin this is the problem so you had no
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other right but to obey your master
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because you a slave to that Master a
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slave by Nature has no right this is why
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you sin because you resp responding to
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your master this is why I S because I'm
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responding to my master do you
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understand that right listen to what
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Romans 6:17 and 20 says but thanks be to
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God that though you were slaves of sin
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you were slaves of sin because now if
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you're born again Christian you've been
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born again you've been changed your
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Nature has been changed but before that
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happened you were slaves of sin
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according to Romans
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6:17 and Romans 6:20 says what for when
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you were slaves of sin you were free in
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relation to righteousness see and the
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scripture says in verse 18 and after
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being freed from sin you became slaves
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to righteousness you
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see back then before your salvation
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before your regeneration you were a
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slave of sin because you were conceived
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in sin this is your nature at Birth you
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were a
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sinner this is your last name sinner
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this is my last name sinner
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because our Master is sin all right this
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is stough to understand but this is what
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it is that's the reality of it okay by
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default we were enemies of God and
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that's like understating it it means
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that you hated god with every answer of
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your being I hated god with every answer
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of my being at my birth okay and that
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leads me to Romans 3: 9-18 right but
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because we are we were born with that
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natural to hate God listen to what
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Romans 3:10 and8 says no one is
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righteous no not one no one understands
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this is our nature we were born like
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that no one seeks for god listen to that
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again no one seeks for God not even one
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so how can you choose that which you
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hate when people say I chose God the
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scripture says no one seeks for God you
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may seek the benefits of God you may
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seek Tranquility you may seek peace you
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may seek uh P you may seek all the
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benefit that God give but you do not
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seek God yourself see people make that
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mistake they think by seeking the things
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of God the things that God can give them
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they are seeking for God no the
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scripture clearly says by Nature you
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were conceived in sin and if you
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conceived in sin that means you hate God
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and therefore As Romans 3:10 to18 says
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no one seeks for God all have turned
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aside all you and I all to together they
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have become worthless no one does good
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isn't that crazy no one does good that
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mean we all everything that we do is
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evil before our regeneration no one does
12:12
does good not even one nor Nelson
12:14
Mandela none of his people we are born
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with a sinful nature their throat is an
12:19
open grave they use their tongues to
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deceive the Venom of asps is under their
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lips their mouth is full of curses and
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bitterness their feet are Swift to shed
12:32
blood in their paths are ruin and misery
12:35
and the way of peace they have not known
12:38
there's no fear of God before their eyes
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there's no fear of God before my eyes we
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don't fear God when we are born slave to
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sin we were conceived in sin so as a
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result of that we do not want to retain
12:53
the knowledge of God in our mind so that
12:55
condition leads us to what Romans 1
12:58
verse 18 32 as a result of who we are
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listen to what God says he makes a man
13:04
he makes a declaration through the
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Apostle Paul in Romans 1 for the wrath
13:09
of God is revealed from Heaven against
13:13
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
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men who by their unrighteousness
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suppress the truth what truth we're
13:20
going to find out for what can be known
13:23
about God is plain to them because God
13:26
has shown it to them for his invisible
13:28
attributes
13:29
namely his eternal power and divine
13:32
nature having clearly perceived ever
13:35
since the creation of the world in the
13:37
things that have been made so they are
13:39
without excuse for although they knew
13:42
God they did not honor him as God or
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give thanks to him but they became
13:46
feudal in their thinking and their
13:48
foolish Hearts were darkened claiming to
13:50
be wise they became fools and exchanged
13:54
the glory of the immortal God for images
13:57
resembling mortal men and bird and
13:59
animals and creeping things so basically
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what we do is this we don't want to
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retain the knowledge of God in our mind
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we know that God has created all things
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because God himself has given us the
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proof so he has imposed that in our
14:12
minds but we don't want it because we
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were conceived in sin we hat it so
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therefore we exchange the glory of God
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for a
14:22
lie that's what we do we exchange That
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Glory for a lie we say well yes yes yes
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yes we see all these things we see all
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the creation we but we exchange that and
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we say no we don't want that we're going
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to exchange it for a lie this is why we
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have all these religions right we have
14:40
Islam we have uh Buddhism we have you
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name it there's plenty of religions I
14:45
just mentioned the most popular one
14:47
right it looks like they do acknowledge
14:49
God but they don't listen to what verse
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24 say therefore God gave them up in the
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lust of their hearts to impurity to the
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dishonoring of their bodies among
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themselves
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because they exchanged the truth about
15:02
God for a lie and worshiped and served
15:05
the creature rather than the Creator who
15:07
blessed forever amen so what people do
15:09
is is they exchange the truth of God for
15:11
a lie so you create a god of your own
15:14
construct you create a God that fit your
15:16
own paradigms you create a God that fit
15:19
your own needs you create a God that can
15:21
suit your own needs okay and for this
15:24
reason the scripture tells us in verse
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26 26 for this reason God gave them up
15:29
to dishonorable passions for their women
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exchanged natural relations for those
15:35
that are contrary to Nature and the men
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likewise gave up natural relations with
15:39
women and were consumed with passion for
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one
15:43
another men committing Shameless acts
15:46
with men and receiving in themselves the
15:49
due penalty for their error so because
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this is what as people we've chosen to
15:54
do God gives you up to the desires of
15:57
your own sinful nature he says you don't
15:59
want to retain my knowledge in your
16:01
minds so therefore I'm going to give you
16:03
over to your own debased mind to your
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own depraved mind to your own degenerate
16:10
mind and you're going to choose to do
16:11
things these things and the culmination
16:14
of of evil is seen in what in the
16:17
scripture saying that women begin to
16:19
exchange natural relations for unnatural
16:21
one that which is contrary to Nature why
16:24
did it begin with women and then men
16:25
after because see the scripture tells us
16:28
that women are usually more stable than
16:29
men in terms of like uh keeping
16:32
themselves from like certain vile things
16:35
but the the scripture beginning to
16:37
saying that women have exchanged the
16:38
natural relations for those that are
16:40
contrary to Nature is showing us that
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men are so perverted and the society is
16:46
so perverted that even
16:48
women are now warped in their thinking
16:53
right and then it causes what
16:56
homosexuality transgenderism all the
16:59
nonsense that we see in our day and age
17:01
right so that's the culmination of our
17:03
evil there the culmination this is it
17:05
leads to that when you begin to see that
17:07
in the society that is the sign that God
17:09
has given us over to a reprobate mind
17:13
and listen to what the scripture says in
17:14
verse 28 and since they did not see fit
17:18
to acknowledge
17:20
God God gave them up to a debased mind
17:23
to do what ought not to be done now it's
17:26
going to give a list of things that
17:28
you're going to see that you and I are
17:29
in there as well they were filled with
17:32
all manner of
17:34
unrighteousness evil covetousness malice
17:39
right they are full of Envy listen to
17:42
that Envy because you can say well I'm
17:43
not a homosexual I don't do this but you
17:46
full of Envy murder you full of that
17:49
we've seen a lot of murders Strife how
17:52
many stries have you seen deceit how
17:54
many deception have we seen
17:56
maliciousness malice right they are
17:58
gossips wo gossips wo okay slanderous
18:04
talking behind somebody's back you've
18:06
done it I've done it people have done it
18:08
to us you've done it to people right
18:11
haters of God how much have we seen in
18:13
our society people hate God right
18:16
insolent Hoy boastful prideful inventors
18:21
of evil we've invented new ways of doing
18:24
evil right which is prad more vandalism
18:27
disobedient to parents
18:29
foolish faithless heartless ruthless all
18:33
of that you going to see yourself in now
18:35
you can't say well I'm not a homosexual
18:37
but you are one of these things that I
18:38
mentioned I don't even I mean this list
18:41
is not exhaustive but I know that every
18:43
single one of us has done one of those
18:45
things that the scripture mentions right
18:47
though they knew God's righteous degree
18:50
that those who practice such things
18:51
deserve to die they not only do them but
18:53
give approval to those who practice them
18:55
see that's again our defiance we know
18:59
that in our mind when our Conscience
19:01
Says what you doing is wrong and we know
19:02
that you deserve to die we begin to see
19:05
our conscience we begin to act against
19:07
it to the point where now we are given
19:08
over to a reprobate mind and now we
19:10
begin to approve of those who even
19:12
practice evil which you see right so
19:15
basically that's your condition so as a
19:17
result of that we do not want to retain
19:20
God in our knowledge okay in other words
19:23
the idea and concept and person of God
19:26
the one revealing sacred scripture again
19:28
I want to be very careful here because a
19:30
lot of people when you mention God it's
19:32
easy to say well I believe in God no we
19:33
are talking about a god revealing secret
19:36
scripture the idea and the person of God
19:38
is the most repulsive thing to our
19:42
mind let me say that again the idea and
19:45
the person and the concept of the god of
19:47
the scripture is the most repulsive
19:49
thing in your mind and in my mind okay
19:52
you may to with the idea of God but it
19:55
is not the one in the Bible okay because
19:57
you create a god that fits your desires
20:00
and your
20:01
likings so therefore you will never
20:04
choose the god of the Bible by Nature
20:06
because you are that the scripture
20:08
mentioned gossip slender a hater of God
20:10
so you can't choose what you hate and
20:12
this is what we were before our
20:14
Salvation right we cannot choose God
20:17
because by Nature we absolutely hate him
20:21
right and because of of the last thing
20:23
that the last thing that you ever want
20:25
is to choose God because by Nature you
20:27
hate him you can't choose what you hate
20:30
you are unable to do so because by
20:33
Nature again you hate him passionately I
20:36
hated him passionately and we cannot
20:38
choose him because we are slaves of sin
20:41
to be a slave of sin is to be a hater of
20:44
God if you sin if you've ever sinned in
20:46
your life that means you hate God
20:48
because to sin is to say to God I hate
20:51
what you said I don't want to listen to
20:53
what you said so therefore I'm going to
20:55
sin so to sin is basically to say I hate
20:57
God and this is is what you were all all
20:59
of us were and to hate God by nature is
21:02
to cut yourself away from his presence
21:04
so you cannot choose that which you hate
21:06
because by Nature you are a sinner by
21:09
Nature I am a sinner right listen to
21:13
what and if you don't believe what I say
21:14
right listen to what Jesus himself says
21:18
in John 6 verse
21:20
37-49 again Jesus has has given many
21:24
miracles and listen to what uh he says
21:26
to people all
21:29
that the father gives me will come to
21:33
me the father is the one that does the
21:35
gifting he's giving those people to
21:38
Jesus again all that the father gives me
21:41
will come to me so the father has to be
21:43
the one to give those people to Jesus
21:47
for them to come to him and the one who
21:49
comes to me Jesus says I will certainly
21:51
not cast out why is because the father
21:54
is the one that gave them to him for I
21:56
have come down from heaven not to do my
21:58
own will but to to do the will of him
22:00
who sent me and this is the will of him
22:02
who sent me that of all that he has
22:05
given me I lose nothing but raise it up
22:07
on the last day
22:10
again to this is the will of him who
22:12
sent me that of all that he has given me
22:16
God has given him God take took those
22:18
people and gave them to Jesus right God
22:22
is the one that took them and gave them
22:23
to Jesus okay he says that those that he
22:26
has given me I lose nothing but raise it
22:28
up on the last day again in John 64345
22:32
Jesus answered and said to them do not
22:34
Grumble among yourselves no one can come
22:37
to me unless the father who has sent me
22:41
draws him and I'll raise him up on the
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last day again Jesus is saying no one
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has the capacity no one
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can come to me no one has the capacity
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no one has the power no one no one is
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able to come to me so you cannot do that
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unless
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something happened unless the father
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himself who has sent Jesus draws that
23:03
person to Jesus you see what I'm saying
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here and the scripture says in 45 John 6
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it is written in the prophet and they
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shall all be taught of God everyone who
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has heard and learned from the father
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comes to me again he tells you who comes
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to Jesus those who have heard from the
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father those who were taught of the
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father and we're going to find out what
23:24
that teaching is right and in John 665
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again he says for this reason I've said
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to you that no one can come to me unless
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he has been granted him from the father
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it is the father who does the granting
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God has to Grant it to you for you to
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come to Jesus you can't grant that to
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yourself you can't see like I chose
23:43
Jesus you canot unless the father
23:45
himself grants that to you he grants you
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the desire he grants you the ability he
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Grant you the power to do that and let
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me cap it off with 1 John
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4:19 we love him because he first love
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loved us we love him some versions say
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we love because he first loved us I do
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not like those versions because I think
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they don't really capture the essence of
24:06
the message in I like this version here
24:09
it says we love him because he first
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loved us meaning the only reason why we
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can't love God is because he's the F
24:16
he's the first one to extend the love to
24:18
us he extended our love and that love of
24:21
his transformed your heart to love him
24:23
back because you can love him unless he
24:25
loved you because you hate him by Nature
24:28
you can't you can't love that which you
24:29
hate the only reason why you love God is
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because he loved you first he's able to
24:33
love you and his love changes your heart
24:36
okay so we learn from this that
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everything was initiated by the Triune
24:41
God okay God the Father chooses us out
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of his own will let me pause there for a
24:48
second God chooses you not because you
24:50
are something because he chooses you
24:53
because of his own Sovereign will and
24:56
decision God is good so whenever he
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chooses somebody he chose that person
25:00
because of his own goodness not because
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of your goodness God chose you because
25:04
of he is good by nature and he wants to
25:07
do this because he he deemed that it was
25:09
good for him to save you not because of
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you but because of his own will he
25:15
chooses because God God's plan are the
25:18
best God's plan is always good so he
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decided because of his own goodness to
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save you to to enable you to receive his
25:25
son right and then the spirit of God the
25:28
second the the third person of the
25:30
Trinity applies the grace of God to you
25:33
and the way he applies it he he he gives
25:36
you the ability to receive the sacrifice
25:39
of the son as an atonement for your sin
25:42
so the spirit of God is the one that
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does the prompting of your heart he
25:46
changes your heart he changes your
25:48
callous heart he changes your hate
25:51
towards God into love toward God he's
25:53
the one that does the changing and then
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you receive the gift of Salvation so
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it's all work of God the Triune god of
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the
26:01
scripture okay so in conclusion what I
26:04
want to say is this you are only able to
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love
26:08
God because God himself has given you
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the ability to love him it is not you
26:15
you had nothing to do with your
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salvation absolutely nothing you cannot
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choose that which you hate so if you
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ever thought that your salvation is a
26:26
result of your choosing God you were
26:28
wrong
26:28
your salvation is is is a result of God
26:31
choosing you let me say that again your
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salvation is a result of God choosing
26:36
you by giving you the ability to receive
26:40
Jesus Christ as your lord and savior he
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gave you the strength he gives you the
26:44
power he gave you the the the the the
26:46
desire to do that he changed your desire
26:49
from hating God to loving God and all
26:52
that is possible because God loved
26:56
you have a nice day okay
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