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I shared a video on 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 about a week ago but I revisited the passage in the past 24 hours and a specific portion of chapter 1 caught my attention. And I wanted to share what I gleaned from it with you.
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hello good morning this is.com
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and uh last week I was talking about the
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book of Rome first Thessalonians we went
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to chapter one and I actually shared a
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video of it uh that was like two weeks
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ago last week I think it's last week
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right so if you want to catch the video
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I'll have a link for you in the
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description but this morning
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I wanted to do to go back to uh chapter
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one again and there was something that
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caught my attention last night as I was
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reading on the scripture over and over
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again like it's so amazing because
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sometimes
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you think you've understood something
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fully and you go back to it again and
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again and there are like layers that
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have been like opened up to you so
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that's what happened
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yesterday when I went back and then
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checked out chapter one again so what
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I've been doing is this I've been
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reading this chapter in the French
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version then I also chose the ESV the
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nazbe the Amplified version the complete
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Jewish Bible because I do that because
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sometimes things get lost in certain
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translations I'm not saying that the
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words are lacking but what I'm saying is
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sometimes when you read
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um the scripture in a different
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translation
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you capture more and and I thank God for
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uh that I speak more than one language
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because it does help a lot in this way
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so what I what I really what I wanted to
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go through again was um verses four two
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six and seven those really caught my
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attention and that's what I wanted to go
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back to again before I start let me give
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you again the background to this letter
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so Paul was writing to the Thessalonians
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and uh this is a church that he actually
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pretty much established in less than a
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month if I believe correctly because if
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you go to uh I'm gonna go to uh let me
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go to Bible Gateway and I'm going to
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open up uh something for you here real
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quick
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go back to let's go to acts 17 and we'll
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see how long it took Paul to establish
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this church so if you go to acts 17
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right
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this is where he goes to areopagus at
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some point but before that
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listen to what the scripture says when
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Paul and his companions had passed to
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amphipolis and Apollonia they came to
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thessalonica where there was a Jewish
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synagogue as was his custom hall went
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into the synagogue and on three Sabbath
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days he reasoned with them from the
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scriptures explaining and proving that
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the Messiah had to suffer and rise from
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the dead this Jesus I proclaimed to you
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is the Messiah he said
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some of the Jews were persuaded and
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joined Paul and Silas as did a large
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number of God fearing Greeks and quite a
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few prominent women so you can see that
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this is where
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this church was established as you can
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see from the scripture the scripture
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says in verse 4 some of the Jews were
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persuaded and joined Paul and Silas as
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did a large number of God hearing Greeks
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and quite a few prominent women but
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other Jews were jealous so they rounded
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up some bad characters from The
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Marketplace form the mob and started a
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riot in the city they rushed to Jason's
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house in search of Paul and Silas in
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order to bring them out of the crowd so
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this is where the persecution started
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they wanted to get Paul and they
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actually wanted to kill Paul so Paul had
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to leave the Salonika and from that
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Vantage when this is where he writes
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this letter because people were accusing
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Paul of being a deserter they said he
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was trying to preach the gospel for
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monetary reasons so Paul is going to
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address that further on further later
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in this letter but this is the
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background to the letter okay this is
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what has happened this chart was
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established in a little less than a
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month based on what the scripture says
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and you can see that Paul it was his
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custom to go to the synagogue and
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actually preach there and reason with
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their people in the synagogue he
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reasoned he showed them from scriptures
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listen he says to them listen this is
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what the scripture says and I'm going to
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explain that to you correctly so we are
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told in the book of Timothy to to
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correctly divide the word of God this is
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the job of the expositive you have to
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correctly divide the word of God not
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just an exposited any Christian
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you have to understand the word of God
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and apply it correctly and this is what
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Paul did when he went to the synagogue
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he was trying to persuade his Jewish
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Brothers
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well some of them rejected him and then
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as he was there they were God-fearing
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bricks against personalized they came in
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there they wanted to know about the God
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of the Jews so they heard Paul and they
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believed and then the Church of
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thessalonica was from now let's go back
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to the letter so what caught my
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attention again listen to what Paul says
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in verse four through seven he says that
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when he preached the gospel to the
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Thessalonians they received it as the
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word of God listen to what he says in
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actually let me read uh from verse two
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to seven we give thanks to God always
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for all of you constantly mentioning you
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in our prayers remembering before our
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God and Father your work of faith and
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your labor of love and steadfastness of
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Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ for we
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know Brothers love my God that he has
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chosen you because our gospel came to
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you not only in word but also in power
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and in the Holy Spirit and with full
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conviction you know what kind of man you
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proved to be among you for your sake
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and you became imitators of awesome of
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the Lord for you received the word in
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much Affliction with the joy of the holy
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spirit so that he became an example to
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all the Believers in Macedonia and in a
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care so basically now this is Paul is
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rejoicing every time he prays for the
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Thessalonians he find Joy why because as
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Paul is praying for these people he
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realizes these people are truly saved
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because they've had a true encounter
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with the Holy Spirit and God has changed
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them they understand the gospel they
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know and they have been convinced that
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Jesus Christ is our atonement he is the
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propitiation and Expedition for our sins
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they've understood the gospel and then
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Paul says something profound here okay
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he mentions that their work was on their
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work of Faith their labor of love and
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their steadfast hope in the return of
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Christ these three elements are pretty
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much key in the life of any true Born
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Again believer and I kind of want to go
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through each one of them uh individually
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before actually give you uh the gist of
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his whole presentation so if you go back
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to uh Faith what is faith we are told in
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the book of uh Hebrews that without
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faith is impossible to please God and
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the Bible says that faith comes by
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hearing and hearing by the word of God
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so faith is produced by the holy spirit
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in our lives so this is why some people
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hear the same thing and he does nothing
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for them and other people hear the same
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word and he does something because God
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when he sends his word he says my word
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will not come to me will not return to
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me void will accomplish the purpose for
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which I send it in verses in Isaiah 55
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chapter 10. so when the Thessalonians
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heard the word of God there was change
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meaning the word was effectual there was
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an effect and that produced Faith so
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that faith pretty much was conducive of
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actions and those actions were again
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inspired by faith they didn't just do
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things for the sake of doing them they
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did it because it was inspired by the
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faith that was birthed in them but that
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was birthed in them through the holy
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spirit because Jesus says somewhere man
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does not leave our bread alone over
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every word that proceed from the mouth
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of God meaning when the Thessalonians
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heard the word he produced an action he
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produced Faith this is why they were
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acting out of Faith he didn't just do
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something and again we need to
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understand that faith
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is not wishful thinking okay again faith
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is birth from the promises of God that
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are true so faith comes from the word of
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God so his objective the word of God is
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objective so when you hear by faith
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meaning you heard it you believe it
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because you know it came from the one
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who spoke the word and things happen so
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that word produced faith in the
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Thessalonians and Paul witnessed it now
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the second thing that he mentions is the
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love of God now the love of God is not
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something that you can produce out of
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self-will okay I struggle with this
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every day sometimes you do things that
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you wonder am I doing this after of the
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love from the love of God am I doing
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this for my own personal reasons now the
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love of God has nothing to do with your
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emotions or your sentiment in the sense
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that it's not it's not this bubbly thing
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okay we have to understand if you go to
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Romans 5 verse 5 the scripture is so
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clear it says that listen to this and
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hope does not put us to shame because
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God as love has been poured out into our
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hearts through what through the Holy
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Spirit who has been given to us okay so
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basically that love that the
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Thessalonians were displaying and
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exuding was a result of the Holy Spirit
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pouring that love into their heart in
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the sense that think about a cup okay
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somebody pour something into something
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meaning the Holy Spirit pours that love
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into your heart and my heart and that we
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are able to love like God lost so it's
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not a love that is internal to us it's
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external in the sense that it comes from
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the Holy Spirit now because the Holy
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Spirit lives in The Believer he is able
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to exude that law because that love is
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not part of us
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you see that so their labor was out of
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love in the sense that he came from God
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I hope this makes sense to you and the
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third thing that Paul mentions is they
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hope that they have now what is that
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hope we need to talk about that hope is
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important if you go
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to Romans 8 listen to what the scripture
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says here for the creation was subjected
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to frustration not by its own choice but
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by the will of the one who subjected it
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meaning God in hope that the creation
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itself will be liberated or freed from
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his bondage to Decay and brought into
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the freedom and glory of the children of
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God we know that the whole creation has
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been groaning as in the Pains of child
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birth right up to this present time not
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only so but we ourselves who have the
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first fruit of the spirit grown inwardly
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as we wait eagerly for our adoption to
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sonship the Redemption of our bodies for
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in this hope
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we were saved well hope that is seen is
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no is no hope at all who hopes what they
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already have but if we hope for what we
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do not yet have we wait for it patiently
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so they hope that Paul is mentioning
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about the Thessalonians is this hope the
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Redemption of their bodies the
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Redemption and their adoption are sons
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of God we still grown because we still
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live in this body of death in the sense
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that there is still a struggle between
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the old nature and the new nature but
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eventually when Jesus comes back for his
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bride we will be that old body will be
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done away with and that we will have a
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resurrected body that no longer is prone
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to sin
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so that's the hope that the
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Thessalonians were looking forward to
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okay that hope of being redeemed because
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of Jesus Christ sacrifice so this is the
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hope that we have it's not wishful
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thinking it's not well I hope it doesn't
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rain tomorrow no this hope is based and
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finds its foundation in the word of God
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which is true
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so it is no hope that is based on what I
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want but it's based on what God has said
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in his word so this is not wishful
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thinking it is a hope that is sure and
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it's a anchor to our soul if you go to
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women's uh 15 listen to what the
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scripture says for everything that was
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written in the past was written the
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teachers so that through the endurance
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taught in the scriptures and the
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encouragement they provide we might have
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hope so this hope is based on the
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scripture that was written for our sake
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so that we read the scripture and now we
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have hope because the scripture is what
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lead us to Christ and say he is coming
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back again to redeem his bride and we
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are part part of the house of God and if
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you are a born-again Believer then you
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have this hope so those three things
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faith
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love and hope faith produced by the word
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of God love produced by the Holy Spirit
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who pours the love in our heart and then
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hope the Hope base again on the word of
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God so those three things are
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characteristics of the true Born Again
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believer you have these three things in
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your life and the Thessalonians were
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exuding that so he made Paul Rejoice now
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the next thing we're going to talk about
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now is that punch line that I mentioned
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so
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Paul says the Thessalonians
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you know what kind of man he says
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because our gospel came to you not only
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in word but also in power and in the
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Holy Spirit and with full conviction you
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know what kind of man we proved to be
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among you for your sake and you became
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imitators of us and of the Lord for you
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received the word in much Affliction
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with the joy of the holy spirit so when
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Paul preached to the Thessalonians
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they received the word of God
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ask the word of God
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and the important when we came to you we
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were aware that really God was in your
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midst because the gospel came not only
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in the word we didn't just speak it and
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that was it but there was something else
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that happened it says with power and the
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Holy Spirit meaning the word produced
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something and the Holy Spirit and full
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conviction and then he gives the
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punchline you know what kind of man
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we prove to be among you for your sake
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meaning their lives also spoke the
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gospel Paul and Silas and Timothy did
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not just preach the gospel and then left
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he also lived it before the
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Thessalonians and the Thessalonians saw
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it they were eyewitnesses of the power
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of the Gospel in Paul Silas and
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Timothy's life so they also said they
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didn't just preach it they lived it up
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we believed this and God did the grace
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of God did that in the sense that Paul
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and Silas and Timothy were only able to
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do this because of the grace of God
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because Paul said somewhere I am what I
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am by the grace of God he said for it is
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God who works in US listen to that for
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it is God who works in us both to Will
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and act according to his good purpose so
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the good purpose of God here was for the
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Thessalonians so God worked in Paul he
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preached the gospel and then God also
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God also gave power to Paul in the sense
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of his life was exuding The Life of
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Christ and in Thessalonians received
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this and they were also changed they
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were they were being Afflicted but the
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scripture says that they received the
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joy of the Holy Spirit
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why am I saying all this
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I'm talking to myself and I'm talking to
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you does your life
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does your life exude the power of the
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Holy Spirit and the power of the changed
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life because listen to what Paul says
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next he says this he became he
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meditators of us and of the Lord Jesus
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because the Thessalonians so-called they
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heard the gospel and they said we want
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what you have because we see it in your
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life there is fruit in your life and we
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want that life because you are pointing
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us to Christ Jesus and this is what you
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and I have to do in our lives by the
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power of the holy spirit so we need to
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get up every day and ask the Holy Spirit
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to prick our hearts to convict us to
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constantly convict us so we have to live
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in fear now I'm not saying crippling
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fear I'm not talking about crippling
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fear I'm talking about a fear that wants
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to lead you to a holy life that wants to
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lead me to a holy life so when I live
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that Holy life before people
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God enables and honors his word in my
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life
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and it gives me the power to live a
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righteous life I'm telling you there is
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power behind it because the scripture
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proves it so my prayer for you and I is
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that we be Christians that live this out
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we don't want to talk about the word of
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God but we also ask God to prick our
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hearts because we live in a day and age
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where everybody wants to talk about the
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love of God which is amazing but the
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love of God is also seen in his
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discipline in the sense that he
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discipline who he loves
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and we want our lives to reflect that
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righteousness Holiness because that's
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the only attribute of God that is raised
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to the power of three the scripture says
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in the book of Isaiah God is Holy Holy
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Holy
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so you and I our job is to live that
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life before people
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so that they can see and glorify Our
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Father who is in heaven and then embrace
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the Christ for their salvation for their
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Redemption
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that's all I wanted to say today have a
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wonderful day and I'll see you next time
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