The Gifts
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Welcome to Insights. This is Pastor John
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and today we're going to be talking
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about
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the gifts.
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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just
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thank you and praise you for your word.
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We thank you for your knowledge and for
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your
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desire to share with us
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the depths of your own
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wonderful wisdom, God. In Jesus name we
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pray. Amen.
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So
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in Romans chap 11 starting at verse 25
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it says for I would not brethren that
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you should be ignorant of this mystery
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lest you should be wise in your own
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conceits that blindness in part has
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happened to Israel until the fullness of
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the Gentiles be come in. And so all
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Israel shall be saved, as it is written,
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there shall come out of Sion the
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deliverer, and shall turn away
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ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my
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covenant unto them, when I shall take
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away their sins. As concerning the
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gospel, they are enemies for your sakes,
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but is touching the election, they are
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beloved for the Father's sakes. For the
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gifts and calling of God are without
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repentance. For as ye in times past have
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not believed God, yet have now obtained
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mercy through their unbelief, even so
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have these also now not believed, that
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through your mercy they also may obtain
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mercy. For God has concluded them all in
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unbelief, that he might have mercy upon
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all. You know,
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I uh talk to people a lot about
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different things and uh one of the most
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important things that we as believers
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need to do is have a very solid
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foundation of what scripture actually
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says. And um so when it comes to
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studying the Bible,
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we need to make sure that we're using
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good Bible study tools.
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And uh
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to use the exact terms, it's uh
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homalytics, hermeneutics, and ex Jesus.
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And basically what that is is putting
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the Bible into context and studying it
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based on who it was written to, when it
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was written, why it was written,
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and
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really trying to understand what God is
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trying to tell us based on who he spoke
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to at the time. And so Paul is in in
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this passage in Romans. First of all, we
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need to understand that Paul wrote this
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letter
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to the believers
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in Rome and that and the church in Rome
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at the time was a mixture of Jews and
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Gentiles.
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And
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if if we really want to understand why
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Paul made these statements the way he
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did is we need to understand that Paul
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was in Rome uh facing trial
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because the Jews rejected the message of
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Jesus that Paul preached
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and they tried to kill him and Paul
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appealed to Caesar because he was a
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Roman citizen therefore they couldn't
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kill
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they had to send him to Rome to be tried
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by Caesar.
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And uh there's a lot of things that we
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really really need to take a look at
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when it comes to studying and
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understanding the church.
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um
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in the when Jesus was teaching
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the sermon on the mount, his longest
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sermon in the book of Matthew, it covers
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three chapters.
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And uh
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one of the things he said was not one
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jot or tit of the law shall fail until
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that which is perfect is come.
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Paul says, uh you're a new creature in
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Christ Jesus. Behold, old things are
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passed away. Behold, and all things
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become new. And one of the things we
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have to keep in mind is that
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when Jesus is hanging on the cross
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and he says, "It is finished."
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He's fulfilling what he said back in
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Matthew chapter 5.
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The law had come to its conclusion. It
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was no longer active because
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the redemption price was paid at that
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point when Jesus said it is finished.
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His body was broken and his blood was
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shed
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and that fulfilled the Old Testament.
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And so we have to take a look at when we
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uh the law of Moses compared to the law
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of God. God's laws, there's only 10, the
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ten commandments, and we follow those
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even today as Christians, those ten
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commandments are put in place.
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But the other things that are listed in
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the book of Leviticus
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ended when Jesus said, "It is finished."
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And the new covenant, the new testament
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in Christ's blood was enacted and it was
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empowered when he came out of the grave
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three days later. So we have to be able
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to take a look at the Old Testament with
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the proper uh
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interpretation of scripture. There are a
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ton of promises to corporate Israel in
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the Old Testament that
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don't apply to the church
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because the promises that God makes us
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where um in the New Testament are
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personal. You have to personally accept
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that promise. It's no longer based on
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the whole country accepting the promise
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which is what you have in uh the Old
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Testament but that those promises those
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gifts that God promised to give
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are fulfilled individually.
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Each person is responsible for their own
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sin. just you can take a look through
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all all the different passages as
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Israel's going into uh the conquest of
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Canaan under Joshua's leadership and the
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whole country they they came to Ai and
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one of the one person one person had
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kept gold silver and idols and buried
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him under the floor of his tent and it
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brought defeat to all of Israel. one
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person sin.
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And so in the Old Testament,
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one person
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could cause a problem for the whole
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country. Whereas in the New Testament,
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you're held responsible for your own
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sins. I'm not if you sin against God, it
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doesn't come against me. Where in the
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Old Testament, it did. And uh so one of
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the passages of scriptures people like
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to stand on is Deuteronomy 28 uh:es
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1-14. It it lists the blessings.
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And if we go back there, if we flip back
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to Deuteronomy,
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it starts out, it says, "And it shall
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come to pass, if thou shall hearken
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diligently unto the voice of the Lord
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thy God, to observe and to do all his
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commandments, which I command thee this
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day, that the Lord thy God will set thee
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on high above all nations of the earth.
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And all these blessings shall come on
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thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt
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hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy
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God.
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So, we get focused in on this. Oh, man.
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I I' I've been grafted into the true
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vine. That's my that that I'm part of
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that blessing. Well, that's true in one
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way, but it's not completely true
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because if you want to understand the
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blessing that you partake in, you have
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to go into
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what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6.
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And um
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he starts talking
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in the sermon on the mount he starts
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talking about worry
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and he says to take no thought for your
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life what you shall eat what you should
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drink or yet for your body what you
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shall put on is not the life more than
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meat and the body than raignment and he
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goes on through and he talks about the
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fowls of the air and God takes care of
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them and how not to worry you can't make
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yourself any taller than God created you
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to be and uh not to worry about what
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you're going to wear or um
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not to worry in verse 31 it says
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therefore take no thought saying what
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shall we eat or what shall we drink for
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wherewith all shall we be clothed for
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after all these things do the Gentiles
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seek he says for your heavenly father
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knoweth that you have need of all these
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things. But seek you first the kingdom
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of God and his righteousness. All these
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things shall be added unto you. And
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therefore take no thought for tomorrow.
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For uh tomorrow will take thought for
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the things of itself and sufficient to
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the days evil thereof. So as we're
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looking through this and he talks about
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the gifts and calling of God are without
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repentance.
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He took the message to the Jews first.
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He took them to Israel and they rejected
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when they rejected him. They rejected
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the very gifts that God had promised.
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And what happened? It became uh our
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thing where
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when we accept Jesus Christ and what he
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did through the gospel of grace because
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we are saved by grace and not by works
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lest any man should boast.
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Um we become an inheritor of those
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promises that are listed in what Jesus
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said. And if you want to determine for
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yourself
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if these gifts that God promised in the
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Old Testament to Israel apply to you as
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a believer through the New Testament
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through the gospel of grace. You have to
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find out by reading the New Testament if
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Jesus restated
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those things and brought them in under
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the new covenant.
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And there's a change in application
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under the Old Testament. You had to keep
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the law. You had to practice the law.
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You couldn't fail in keeping any part of
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the law. And Paul talks about Galatians
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chapter 3 that if you uh that the law is
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actually a curse because it makes you it
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brings you knowledge of sin. And so when
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you're there and you're looking at this,
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you have to ask yourself a question.
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What is the difference between a
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believer follower of Jesus Christ
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under the New Testament,
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the gospel of grace
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and the Old Testament under the law of
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the promises that God made the Jews or
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made to the children of Israel.
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And we have to be able to balance
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between the two and say, "Okay, so under
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the law, I'm required to do all of these
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works to receive this blessing, but
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under grace, I'm required to trust and
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believe in God because
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I'm not keeping these laws out of duty.
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I'm not following Christ out of duty.
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I'm following Christ because of the love
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and the grace and mercy that he showed
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me. And it's personal. It's no longer
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corporate. In other words, it's not
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uh for the whole country where one
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person can sin and it brings a curse on
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the whole country. Now, it's in your
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life. If you're following along and
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following Christ
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and you sin, it only affects you or your
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immediate family, especially if you're a
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man. And uh a lot of people don't like
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to hear that. A lot of people don't like
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to be responsible, especially this day
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and age. But I say this to the men that
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are listening to this message. You are
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responsible for the spiritual health and
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welfare of your family.
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You are not your wife, not your kids.
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You are. God gave you that
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responsibility to lead your family in
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spiritual things. to lead them in
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prayer, to lead them in Bible study, to
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lead them in knowledge according to what
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God's word says. Now,
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if you're not a man and you're not
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married and you're a single person,
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um, guess what? You're responsible for
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doing it for yourself. But if you're a
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man and you get married, you're
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responsible to lead your family
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according to the to what God's word
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says. Uh Proverbs 22:6 says to train up
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a child the way he should go and when
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he's old, he shall not depart from it.
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God put this leadership responsibility
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on men and said for you to be a man of
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God, you have to lead your family.
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You have to lead them in prayer. You
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have to lead them in praise. You have to
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lead them in worship. Uh don't send your
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kids to church. Take them to church. And
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don't just go to church out of duty. Go
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to church because it's where God said to
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be.
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And we as
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Christians
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like to blame other people. It's a human
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nature. Uh you go all the way back to
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where uh Cain says to God when God asks
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him, "Where is your brother?" He says,
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"I don't know. I'm not my brother's
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keeper. Uh you are your brother's
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keeper. You do have to warn those that
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are walking a far off, but more
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especially your first and most important
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ministry is to your own family.
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Um I I find it strange how I look and
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and you see these things where women
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these days, they don't want to get
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married, they don't want to have kids or
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focus on their careers. Um,
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and they will do whatever they can to
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continue being successful in their
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careers when the most successful thing
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they can do is to be a wife and mother
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and to raise their children
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to honor and respect God.
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To do that successfully, you have to
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also have a man that's following God.
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And um there's a reason God put things
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together the way he did. Have you ever
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noticed that?
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Well, if you look at national statistics
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right now, 45% of people being raised
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today are being raised by single
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parents, most of them mothers. There is
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no male influence in that family. There
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is no leadership in that family. There
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is no man that is standing there saying,
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"Come with me. I'll show you the way."
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because as I follow God, you can follow
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me. And that's uh important because
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the enemy's biggest weapon
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these days is the destruction of the
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family, the nuclear family. Just look
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around and see how many people that uh
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even married people, even Christians.
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This is this is scary. Even Christians,
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they're still focused on me, me, me, me,
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me, me. What does it do for me? What do
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what is the benefit to me? And we are in
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the me generation.
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And when you're serving Christ, there is
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no me generation.
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We we're following Christ because of
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what he did, not because of what we did.
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The only thing good about me is Jesus in
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me. Uh before I knew Jesus, I was the
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worst sinner on the face of the earth.
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But after Jesus, I became forgiven.
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And I'm thankful because of that
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forgiveness. And I do what God has
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called me to do because of that
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forgiveness. Because God loved me when I
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was unlovable.
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And so when we go through our day-today
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life and we're going through and and
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we're facing struggles and the Bible
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never says, Jesus never said you
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wouldn't have trouble. In fact, he said
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just the opposite. He said because your
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beliefs you will have troubles. And so
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we have to be focused on what is my life
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experience here doing? And the main
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thing it's doing is preparing the way
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for where we're going to spend eternity.
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You don't get a second chance when you
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die. Nobody can pray you out of hell.
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Nobody can pray salvation on you after
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you've died because salvation is a
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personal experience. Only you get to
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determine
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where you spend eternity. Jesus already
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paid the price. He already went to the
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cross. He already said, "Father, forgive
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them for they know not what to do. He
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said it is finished. So now it's up to
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us of whether we accept the message of
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Christ or reject the message of Christ.
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And then our responsibility
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from that point forward is to learn how
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to live our lives according to Christ.
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And uh
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you're going to fail.
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But thank God there's such a thing as
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repentance.
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You're going to fail. you're going to
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get back up. The Bible says, "A
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righteous man falls seven times and
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rises." Um, first John 1:9 says, "If we
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confess our sins, he's faithful and just
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to forgive us our sins and cleanse us
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from all unrighteousness."
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You are going to fail. You are going to
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have times where you totally utterly
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failed God. Peter, who spent three years
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walking around with Christ, on the night
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of Christ's arrest and trial, Peter
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denied him three times. He said, "I
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don't know who you're talking about. I
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don't know who this man is." So on and
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so forth. So
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we all fail. We all have that Peter
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moment. We all also
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have the Peter moment where Jesus
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extends love and forgiveness to us and
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then follows it up. Feed my sheep. So if
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you're a man and you're a parent,
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feed the sheep. Your kids are your
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future. Your kids are your inheritance.
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You need to give them the very same
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thing that Christ gave you, which is
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himself. It's your greatest ministry.
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So when
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when you're making your way through this
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week and you're looking at things and
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trials and tribulations come, and they
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do come,
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remember, you're not in this alone.
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Jesus already paid the price and made
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the way for you.
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The promises of God are yay and amen.
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And everything that God said he would
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do, he will.
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But it requires something from you. And
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what it requires is for you to be able
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to trust him even when you feel like you
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can't figure it out.
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So
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I want you to think about
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what God is asking you to do. See, in 1
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Thessalonians 5, he tells us what God's
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will for our life is. And it's in
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everything give thanks, for this is the
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will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
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you. That's God's will for your life is
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to be thankful. Romans 8:28 says
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um for all things work together for good
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to them that love the Lord and are the
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called according to his purposes not
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your purposes his purposes.
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So we come to this place in our lives
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where we have to realize that
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it's not about us.
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It's not. It's about God. And the fact
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that God brought us in and says, I want
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to partner with you. I want to be part
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of the life you live. I want to help you
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help others and empowers us to do so.
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Those are the gifts. And that calling
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that's without repentance is to share
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the gospel with other people.
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And I I just want you to realize just
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how important you are to God. You're so
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important to God that he came and died
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in your place to wipe out sin.
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So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just
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thank you and praise you this week,
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Lord. We ask God that you help us to
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understand just how important it is to
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have the proper understanding of your
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word to realize God all the things that
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you have done for us and that you will
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want to do through us. Help us Lord to
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be that person that brings other people
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along. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. See
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you guys next

