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When the best of me is barely breathing When I'm not somebody I believe in

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Hold on to me When I miss the light the night is stolen

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And I'm trampling over doors you've opened Hold on to me

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Hold on to me

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Hold on to me when it's too dark to see you When I am sure I have reached the end

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Hold on to me when I forget I need you When I let go hold me again

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When I don't feel like I'm worth defending And I'm tired of all my pretending

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Hold on to me when I start to break in desperation Underneath the weight of expectation

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Hold on to me

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Hold on to me

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Hold on to me when it's too dark to see you When I am sure I have reached the end

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Hold on to me when I forget I need you When I let go hold me again

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I can rest here in your arms forever Cause I know nobody loves me better

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Hold on to me

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Hold on to me

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So the question on my heart as I come to the conclusion of lengthily studying this passage

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of scripture that we're about to read is does Christianity, real Christianity, the following

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of Christ ever become kind of obsolete? Car parts become obsolete, computer parts become obsolete,

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all technology becomes obsolete, traditions become obsolete. Believe it or not there are

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more traditions that have gone away that no longer exist than currently do. For example

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in Jesus' day at dinner they always lay down or reclined around the table and they would

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often sit with their elbow on the table as they ate. Now in popular circles you're not

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allowed to lay down or put your elbows on the table when you eat. So things change,

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everything has changed it seems like. Eighty years ago, eighty five years ago something like that,

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every adult male on the continent of Europe whether they were German or Polish or English

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or French or whatever, every adult male went to church an average of 2.5 times a week.

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So they would go up to three times, they'd go Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night

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typically but some churches were a little bit different but typically they would go two to

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three times. Needless to say that number has dropped dramatically. The question is does

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Christianity become obsolete? There's a moment in time at which certain worldly teachings,

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the things that the world teach us, it's okay to do this, it's okay to do that,

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stand directly in opposition and frankly even though we don't necessarily like to think this way,

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hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars are being spent even as we speak and will be

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spent this year in pushing some of those notions. Example, there was a tv show called Leave It to

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Beaver, you may have heard of it, you may not have, most of you before your time. Leave It to

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Beaver was a kid about nine, ten, eleven, twelve years old while the show was on tv and he was

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quite an interesting kid. He was kind of a Dennis the Menace kind of kid, getting all kinds of trouble,

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had certain notions about the way the world worked and that kind of thing and on that show at one

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point in time, I think it was about 12 episodes in, they showed a toilet on tv. This was the first

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time that a toilet had ever been shown on tv and Leave It to Beaver, the producers were fined $50

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for showing a toilet on tv. The FCC fined them $50 because no one should ever show a toilet on tv.

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Now I have now seen in spy movies and various other conflict movies, action adventure movies if

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you will, fight scenes in bathrooms showing dozens of toilets. I saw a guy get his face broken on a

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toilet, I saw a guy break a toilet with his back, I've seen so many toilets on tv now and none of

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them got fined $50. Will those rules about what's okay to display in public and talk about in public

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change? We're watching Downton Abbey, the movie, the new movie, the second movie last night with

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my wife, she's a Downton Abbey fan, has been for a number of years, watched the entire series

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and I'm somewhat a Downton Abbey fan but the bottom line is we were watching the second movie

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last night and in the movie one of the actresses who was making a movie at Downton Abbey said,

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it's a funny thing to think that every man in the room wants to give you one and she was making a

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sexual innuendo and everyone in the room was shocked. They were like, oh right, I couldn't

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believe it that she would make a sexual innuendo in her conversation but she didn't say anything

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about sex, she just said and so people could kind of understand what she was talking about.

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I submit to you that today what passes for crass or disgusting or irreprehensible speech has changed

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radically. The f-word has become common so that literally people use it all the time and they

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wouldn't be saying he wants to give me one, that's what they would say or something distasteful like

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that. So the question is do the rules, the teachings of God, the things that God has laid out for us,

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the way that God wants to work in our lives and the way that we are supposed to go, grow old?

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Do they wear out? When I was a young Christian I thought, man I want to serve God and I was gung-ho

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and the truth is I'm pretty much like that now 27 years later, okay, but in between there I've had

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moments where I thought, I don't think I can walk this course, I don't think I can continue. God

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called me to preach and I'm driving down the road, I'm going to New Heights on Main Street to preach

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and I had it happened to be three different times in the space of two years and I was going to seminary

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at the same time so I was putting in 40 hours of ministry and 40 hours of school work every week

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and it was just too much and I felt like I was going to melt under the pressure and I got to

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Navarre East Broadway which is the East Little Baptist Church, the church I got saved in, the

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building that I got saved in and I thought all I have to do now is turn to the right and go

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somewhere else. I literally thought all I have to do is turn, I was sitting at the red light and I

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don't like, as you know, I don't like to wait, I don't like to wait for red lights. I think there

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should be a special law that Dan does not have to wait for red lights but I don't think that's

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coming anytime soon so I pull up the red light, I could have turned to the right, it's a right turn

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on red, I don't have to wait and everything in me said I'm not going to go to New Heights, I'm not

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going to preach today, I'm going to give up the ghost if you will, I'm going to quit, I'm going to

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turn to the right and go somewhere else and I sat there and I'm like but that's not what's good for

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me, it's not what God wants for me and I talked myself through it and God said the light will turn

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green in the second, I'm like okay, light's going to turn green, light turned green, I drove to New

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Heights and in the middle of the first worship song I repented and came back to the Lord for the

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the feelings that were mine, had nothing to do with God. I was feeling that way because of my own

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selfish hardened heart, okay, so I know it's possible by now that I would have caved in and

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become no longer a Christian 20 times, 20 times I could have given up this faith, 20 times I could

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have quit preaching, 20 times I could have quit studying, 20 times I could have quit praying,

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there was a moment I was doing laundry in my old laundry room before we renovated it so that could

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be like I was standing in my downstairs bathroom now because that used to be where the laundry was

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and I had been under such attack by the devil and I know whether it was him or evil spirits when I've

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been under such attack and I was ready to give up and I said I am not going to quit no matter what

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you say, I'm not going to quit serving God, I've been through this, I know better and I said get

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away from me in the name of Jesus Christ, leave me alone and my head got quiet and I was like,

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I'm going to quit. And a minute or two later said wow you, you're pretty strong in the Lord,

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you know how to defend yourself. A voice in my head said you're pretty, you know how to defend

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yourself and I started thinking I guess I do, yeah I gotta bring out the name of Jesus on you brother,

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kick you out of here and then it said but you can't teach anybody else to do that and just as

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sudden as I felt better I felt worse and I was back in such a deep hole and literally 10 seconds

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and I told myself would I give up and I prayed in feed for goodness or sin and in the name of Jesus

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Christ I said I'llüğ while you're at it preventing from reposting the 105

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By the way, in fencing that's called a repost when the enemy attacks in one place and then

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attacks harder in another place.

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And that's what happened there.

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So what I'm saying to you is if you've been a Christian for a while now or if you're not

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wrong people, to feel shame if you can't replace them, will you panel your enemy?

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yet a Christian, then we need to address this fact.

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Is there going to be a moment in time at which this faith, this walk with Christ, this Christianity

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is no longer relevant to the moment?

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Does it become obsolete?

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Now I didn't start there.

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That's where the scripture took me.

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So I'm giving you kind of like the conclusion question before we start reading the scripture

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today, okay?

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All right, so grab your Bibles if you would.

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Maybe you say a who to holler amen or just go, ugh, as we go to chapter 10 of the book

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of Deuteronomy.

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Ugh.

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All right, so it is 10, 10, 10, 10.

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So if you memorize this verse, you'll never have to worry about the reference because

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it's Deuteronomy 10, 10.

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How hard is that to remember, right?

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10, 10.

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I moreover stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights like the first time and the

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Lord listened to me that time also.

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The Lord was not willing to destroy you.

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So you could memorize that verse pretty easily.

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It's Moses talking since I moreover stayed in the mountain 40 days, 40 nights like the

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first time and the Lord listened to me that time also.

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The Lord was not willing to destroy you.

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I want you to see what's happening there before we go any further.

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This is like huge.

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It almost could be the sermon.

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It is, but it almost could be.

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What did he do?

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He made intercession for the Israelites who had sinned against God while he was up on

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the mountain getting the tablets.

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They were down having the debauchery fast.

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They were doing sexual things.

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Probably started out with worshiping this false idol that they created and then they

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sat down and ate and they got up to play, right?

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There's that innuendo that the Bible is using to say there was sexual, basically an orgy

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going on or there were lewd celebrations, right, going on.

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So he goes back up there, spends 40 and he makes intercession for the Israelites to the

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point that the Lord was not willing to destroy the Israelites.

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Then Levin says, then the Lord said to me, arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the

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people that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give

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them.

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So what does he do?

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So here Moses makes intercession, then God assigns him a job.

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You see?

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He makes intercession for them and then God gives him a job.

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He says, now you go in in the front.

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You go and lead them in, right?

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If you're a Bible scholar and if not, I'm going to help you in a second here.

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If you're a Bible scholar, you can kind of hear Jesus saying, pray.

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He says, the harvest is white.

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The wheat is white under harvest.

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We need harvesters.

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He says, pray the Lord will send workers into the harvest.

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And then in the next verse, he sent those who prayed that the worker would go into the

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harvest, he sent them into the harvest.

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This is what happened to Moses.

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Moses goes up on the mountain, 40 days and 40 nights again, begs God.

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God says, OK, I'm not going to destroy the Israelites.

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Then he says to them, arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people that they may

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go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

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Now you know the story in the long run, he does not do that because he fails as an intercessor.

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Ultimately, he sins against God and he is not allowed to go into the promised land.

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But the people still go, but Moses is not allowed to go.

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That's what ultimately will happen.

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Verse 12 says this, and now Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you?

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But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and love him, to serve the Lord

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your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments

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and his statutes, which I am commanding you today for your good.

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I don't need to hit him too hard, but that is a kind of like five point summary essentially

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of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a follower of God.

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And behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all

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that is in it.

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God owns everything.

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Yet on your fathers did the Lord set his affection to love them and he chose their descendants

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after them, even you above all peoples as it is this day.

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So in all creation, all that God has made, God chose you.

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Okay, and that's true for every Christian.

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If you're in this room, God loves you.

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If you're in this room to hear this message and you're not a Christian yet, understand

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God loves you and if God had to send Jesus to the cross to save only you, he would do

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it.

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You follow?

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So if the only person left in the world that wasn't saved was you, he'd have sent Jesus.

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And if no one was saved and you were the only one going to get saved, he'd have sent Jesus.

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You understand?

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That's how extreme that sacrifice is.

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Jesus could do it for everybody because he didn't have any sin, but he would do it for

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one.

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God has that kind of affection for you.

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There was an old story that I heard a long time ago, probably 25 years ago, about a pastor

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and he was out on a boat fishing.

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He took his son and a young man who was not a Christian from his son's Sunday school class

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and they went out fishing.

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And they were fishing and a storm started to come up and the waters got tossed a little

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bit and one of the boys, I'm sorry, both the boys got thrown overboard.

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Suddenly they're in the water and he's still in the boat and he had to save one of them.

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And he had time to snatch up one of them and maybe enough time to snatch up the other one,

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but he knew he could get one for sure.

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And he had to make a choice.

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Did he save his boy or did he save the other boy?

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And he in that moment with great presence of mind, wisdom to the Lord, chose to save

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the other boy.

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And his son died.

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And so that's crazy.

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I'm not sacrificing my son for somebody else.

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Not some kid that doesn't even know, doesn't even believe in Jesus.

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But when his son died, he went straight to heaven.

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If that other boy had died, he'd have gone straight to hell.

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Now because of that, that boy got saved after that because of the sacrifice that was made

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and that boy went on to serve the Lord and became kind of an evangelist and a pastor

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and would tell that story the world over about how the pastor had chosen him over his own

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son.

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And the thing that's not about that pastor, that's the sacrifice that Jesus made.

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When Abraham goes up on the mountain and he's going to make a sacrifice and the only sacrifice

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he's taking with him is his son.

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And his son says to him, where's the sacrifice, dad?

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And he says, God will provide it because God had told him to sacrifice his own son.

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And then because he was willing to sacrifice his own son, not that you ever should do that,

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but because he was willing to do that, God saw his faith and counted it to him for righteousness.

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That's how much God loves you.

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It cannot be overstated.

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And yet he has chosen you to hear this message from his word.

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He's chosen you to hear the gospel and I submit to you, chosen you to represent him on the

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face of the earth.

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That's how much God loves you.

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Verse 16 says this, then, or in this translation, circumcise then your heart and stiffen your

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neck no more.

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We'll come back and break those terms down in the points in a moment, but the bottom

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line is this is a two-point summary essentially of what to do in following Christ.

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Verse 17, for the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great,

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the mighty, the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

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In the Lord's Supper and in a model of prayer that I believe in, the very first thing we

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do is express adoration toward God.

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We adore God.

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We love God.

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We show, we talk about how awesome he is.

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Can it be said any way better than this?

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For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty,

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and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

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He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows his love, bless you, for the

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alien by giving him food and clothing.

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So in other words, God is always at work executing justice for the orphan and the widow.

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I suggest we do the same, James 1.27, because God is doing that, show his love for the alien,

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the person that isn't at home here, by giving him food and clothing.

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Widows, orphans, aliens, they are a big part of our purview.

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So, show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

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See, they didn't belong in Egypt, but they were stuck there and they did not get love

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from the Egyptians and ultimately they really did not.

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They were in slavery, their babies were thrown in the river, it was terrible.

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20, you shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him and cling to him, and you

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shall swear by his name.

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He is your praise and he is your God who has done these great and awesome things for you

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which your eyes have seen.

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Notice that last part, which your eyes have seen, God is not asking you to respond to

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what God has done that you don't know anything about.

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That's why the lost world, people who don't know Jesus, there's really not much expected

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of them.

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They can behave kind of like however they want, pretty much, I mean they're going to

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hell, it's a terrible thing, they're going to hell, but because of their end destination,

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because of their relationship with God, you don't really expect a lot more.

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But if you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, a higher expectation is there because

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you have seen.

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Once the Holy Spirit is in you, once you've been saved, once God has spoken to you a couple

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times, once you've read his word and it's meaningful, once you've heard a sermon that

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really touched your heart, verse 21 says, he is your praise and he is your God who has

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done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

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That phrase there, he is your praise is very meaningful.

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God has done, bless you, these great and awesome things for which your eyes have seen.

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In the last verse for today out of Deuteronomy it says, your fathers went down to Egypt,

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70 persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

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God expands people.

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That's what he does.

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All right, here we go.

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So first thing is, in this text, notice that there is a simple answer to the question,

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what does the Lord God ask of you?

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That's awesome because like in every religion across the world they have checklists.

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If you follow these steps, you'll be considered religious, you'll be saved or you'll be free

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or you'll be, you'll ascend to the next plane or you'll regenerate as a better animal or

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you know, whatever they foolishly believe that it is, they have lists, tens or forties

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or whatever.

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If you just do these things, that will achieve you the results of our religion.

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So now we get a list, praise God, that will achieve for us a proper relationship, thank

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you so much, proper relationship with God as we go forward.

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And there's more to it than that, but I just want to share the list for you at first and

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then I'll come back with some of the results.

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So the first thing is it says, fear the Lord.

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Now let's be realistic.

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Let's say you had a brother.

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We'll name him Joe because there's no Joes in the room at the moment.

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Let's say you had a brother named Joe.

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Joe came out a pretty ordinary brother, but then by the time Joe was 20, every time he

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snapped his fingers, he could make the matter of stars, clouds, rain, lightning or fire

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appear at will.

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He said, boom, fire, boom, lightning, a star, there it is shining in the sky from then on.

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Right?

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Suddenly you begin to realize Joe is not ordinary.

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People are not supposed to be able to do that.

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I've never known anybody that could go like that.

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There it was.

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So they take Joe to a laboratory.

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They try to dissect him, but they can't because every time Joe goes like that, anybody that's

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trying to hurt him in any way, shape or form is evaporated.

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Turn to dust, pile on the floor.

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A couple of nice ones, he made them into stars or he sent them off to somewhere far away

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instead of killing them instantly.

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He's got that kind of power.

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Then Joe comes home one day and you're in the refrigerator and you're going to get a

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piece of chocolate cream pie.

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It's the last one.

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You pull the chocolate cream pie out of the refrigerator.

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You go walk to the table, you grab a fork out of the holder, you pull the lid off and

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you sit down and eat the chocolate cream pie.

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And Joe walks in the room and says, hey, that's my chocolate cream pie.

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What just happened to your heart rate?

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It went through the roof.

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You're like, oh, wait a minute.

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I already know that Joe can evaporate people.

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Joe can make people into things.

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Joe can send people far away, whatever.

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And I just took a bite of Joe's chocolate cream pie.

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Even though Joe's my brother, even though I have a close relationship with Joe and probably

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ought not to go evaporating or transforming your family members, that's really kind of

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bad etiquette.

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But even so, I just took a bite of the chocolate cream pie that belongs to my brother who has

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stellar power.

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Your heart rate goes through the roof.

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You eat, your heart's in your throat.

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Your hands start to sweat.

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Your mouth goes, and you're like, and you can't get that chocolate cream pie out of

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your mouth fast enough.

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And you wish with all your might you could put it back and it would never be tasted,

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never be touched, never be no abuse meant.

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And then Joe says, it's okay.

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I'll just make another one.

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And you're like, oh, wait.

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You scared the crap out of me.

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You walked in there like that.

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Fear the Lord.

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Trust me.

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He has that kind of power.

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Fear Him.

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Not because He's going to destroy you.

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He loves you.

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He's not going to send you into hell for eternity if you've accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and

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Savior.

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Ultimately, He is pitting all of that power into making your eternity a living bliss for

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ongoing until there are no more calendars.

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However, He is still the Lord.

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He is still God who spoke everything from nothing into creation.

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He is still God who wiped out the earth with a flood because there were no righteous people.

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And He is still God who blew Sodom and Gomorrah off the map because they were getting into

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debauchery, sin, sex, various other illegitimate ways of living.

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And He blew them off the map with a column of fire and salt from heaven.

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Maybe it sits under the lowest point of the earth now, which is the Dead Sea.

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But somewhere over there, there used to be two huge cities that still, if they lived

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now, they would be the most ancient and powerful cities probably on the earth.

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But they're gone.

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And their people are gone.

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And if it's under the Dead Sea, it's a Dead Sea.

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They call it that because literally no life can live there.

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If you leave something sitting in it for very long, the salt will collect to it so bad,

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you won't even be able to recognize what it is anymore.

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This is the God we're talking about.

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Fear Him.

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And that fear provides a healthy sustenance.

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We talk about how small children, you spank them when they're little.

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Then as they grow up, you threaten to spank them.

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And then as they get a little bit older still, you never have to threaten to spank them.

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Or even raise your voice.

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But we're living in a world where nobody cares enough to put the fear of their parents in

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the children or the world is teaching that you can't do that anymore.

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And so now we have children who don't fear their parents and they're going to do whatever

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they're going to do regardless of what their parents want.

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And we have some really bad parents who aren't teaching their children what to do in the

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first place.

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But God is not like that.

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God is a strong and mighty God who can create from nothing and destroy at will.

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He can separate a person from goodness for an eternity if he chooses to.

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Fear the Lord.

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Walk in all His ways.

381
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I love this.

382
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I was at the football game on Friday night.

383
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We get to go to the North for football games when they have Hogan games during football

384
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season.

385
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There aren't too many left, but if somebody wants to go to one, there's one coming up.

386
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And Arden's in the marching band.

387
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He's a drum major and it's been really cool.

388
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So Arden on Friday morning was supposed to get up and go to school, but he slept through

389
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his alarm.

390
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,400
So he got to school a little bit late.

391
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So he missed part of band.

392
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Well, when you miss part of band, if you miss half your school day, you're not allowed to

393
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march.

394
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He's supposed to play a solo, march, he's drum major, direct the band some, that kind

395
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of thing.

396
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And he stayed for lunch.

397
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So technically he was there for over half the day, but he came home and he's like, I

398
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don't know for sure if I'm going to be allowed to march tonight or not.

399
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He said, I think I am.

400
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:31,040
He said, I think I convinced him I was there for enough time to march, whatever.

401
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So we get out there to march.

402
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:33,760
And sure enough, they let him march.

403
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:37,240
And then he directs the marching band like the drum major does.

404
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,360
I don't have the rhythm to do that, but he does that.

405
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,480
And he played the trumpet, played a solo, did an awesome job.

406
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:43,480
I was really blessed.

407
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,280
And as he was walking down on the field, it struck me that he could not, he could have

408
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:53,320
been not allowed to do any of what he was about to do.

409
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,400
Then the seventh graders were out there with the marching band.

410
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,360
So once a year, they have the seventh graders come out for their first taste of what it's

411
00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:01,920
like to be in marching band and they come out there.

412
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:06,160
And so with all those seventh graders there, there were 95 band members.

413
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There have never been 95.

414
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:15,280
That is roughly one quarter of the entire high school, just in the marching band.

415
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,520
And there were 95 band members, but some of them were in seventh grade, so technically

416
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:20,520
they're not in high school.

417
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,600
So even if you add the seventh grade, it's almost a quarter of the seventh through 12th

418
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:24,600
grade.

419
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,200
And so he goes up and who's going to direct them?

420
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,240
The one song that they all do together, who's going to direct them?

421
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:31,240
Arden.

422
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,960
Arden gets up there, stands up on the ladder, and he directs them to the one song.

423
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:34,960
He did a good job.

424
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:35,960
I don't know.

425
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,560
I can't tell when music is screwed up and when it's not, but it seemed like it was awesome.

426
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,480
And as he was standing up there, this is what the Lord said to me.

427
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,480
He said, see, I've given you a walk to walk and you can walk it.

428
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And I was like, oh, wait a minute.

429
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,280
I get it.

430
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:57,920
See Arden could have got out of bed, could have not missed his alarm, could have made

431
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,080
it to band on time, but he made a mistake.

432
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,080
He slept through his alarm.

433
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:05,880
He's been having some trouble with his allergies or whatever it is, keeping him up in the middle

434
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:07,320
of the night, waking him up somewhere.

435
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,120
So he overslept, he slept through his alarm.

436
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,560
And then he could have been not allowed to lead the band at all, but he was allowed to

437
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:19,040
lead the band by a fortuitous turn of events and then became the very first person in Northwood

438
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,560
band history to ever lead a band of 95 people.

439
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:30,480
Not a teacher or a principal, but Arden.

440
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,200
That's awesome.

441
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:33,520
This is what happens.

442
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:39,520
When you walk in the ways that God has laid out for you, things work the way God wants

443
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,520
them to work.

444
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,120
Does that mean you might avoid martyrdom?

445
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,480
No, God may have it in a plan for you to someday die for your faith.

446
00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,840
Of course, there's great blessings for that.

447
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,680
And you'd be first entering the kingdom of God according to what the word says and so

448
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:51,680
on.

449
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:52,680
But hopefully that doesn't happen to any one of us.

450
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:56,920
But the bottom line is if you walk in the ways that God has laid out for you, then God

451
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,040
will do what God intends to do for you.

452
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,240
Ultimately, the way is Jesus Christ.

453
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,200
And so you must first trust in the Lord and I don't want to get ahead of myself.

454
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,360
But the bottom line is you walk in the way that God has laid out for you.

455
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:13,840
If you fear the Lord and walk in his ways, you've got two of your bases on the ground.

456
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,520
You're becoming firm, but you're still kind of teetery.

457
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,340
Number three then is to love him.

458
00:29:19,340 --> 00:29:20,340
We must love God.

459
00:29:20,340 --> 00:29:23,120
And we're like, well, why would I not love God?

460
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,120
I mean, he's a greater God.

461
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,120
He gave me life.

462
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:26,520
He lets me do things.

463
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:27,520
He lets me eat.

464
00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:28,520
He lets me pray.

465
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:29,520
He lets me sing.

466
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,120
He lets me walk, talk.

467
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,120
He could evaporate me and he chooses not to, all that kind of thing.

468
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,840
I mean, there's lots of positives about God.

469
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,040
But the truth is there are a lot of people that don't love God.

470
00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,200
Rather, they hate him because they want to live a lifestyle that God says you cannot

471
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:44,200
live.

472
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:45,200
Or they want to do a thing.

473
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,040
They want to lie to somebody or they want to steal from somebody.

474
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:48,600
And God says you cannot do that.

475
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,000
And they know God says that.

476
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,800
And so they begin to hate the one who tells them that they cannot do what it is that they

477
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,800
want to do.

478
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,640
I'm going to be completely transparent with you for a moment if I may.

479
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,800
There are things that I want to do that God tells me I cannot.

480
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,000
What?

481
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,000
How can that be?

482
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,880
Well, because I'm not perfected yet.

483
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,040
I am a normal person like anybody else.

484
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:19,880
And yeah, I've come out of things that I used to do that I knew God didn't want me to do.

485
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,520
I've stopped doing.

486
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:26,360
But there are still things that are in me that I want to do.

487
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:30,040
But God tells me I can't, and so I have to restrain myself.

488
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:35,520
And so when I restrain myself not to do what I want to do that God tells me I cannot do,

489
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:36,880
there is a moment of friction there.

490
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,800
I'm like, well, I could be mad at God.

491
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,600
I could be frustrated with God.

492
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:47,360
I could rebel or I could sneak and try to go around God as if that were a thing.

493
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:48,440
Love God.

494
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:49,440
Love him.

495
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:50,720
He has given you everything.

496
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,520
And we already heard, walk in his ways.

497
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:57,040
At that moment in time, when you choose to do what it is that God wants you to do rather

498
00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:00,840
than the thing that you want to do, that's walking in his ways.

499
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,760
And then you're showing your love toward him when you don't respond mentally, emotionally,

500
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,240
psychologically, in rebellion against him.

501
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:12,660
And be aware rebellion, on a side note, is extremely addictive.

502
00:31:12,660 --> 00:31:15,540
So fear the Lord, walk in his ways, and love him.

503
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:20,720
And then maybe best of all, because it seems to have worked really well when I've tried

504
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,480
it, serve him.

505
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,800
Find ways to do what it is that God wants done.

506
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:28,800
Can God do it himself?

507
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:29,800
Yes.

508
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,600
Are you going to replace God?

509
00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:32,600
No.

510
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:33,600
Never.

511
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:39,080
But God, through his great grace and mercy, allows us to do what he could easily otherwise

512
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,760
do.

513
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:45,520
I'm not going to give too much specifics here because I didn't ask this person permission,

514
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:50,160
but I came in to the house and I had a long list of things that needed to be done.

515
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,960
And I looked at one of my children and I said, do you have some time to take care of a couple

516
00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:54,960
of things?

517
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:59,840
And the response was, well, if it's only a few minutes because I have to do this.

518
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:03,080
This was what I had planned to do today.

519
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,520
So then I went on and I did all of those things myself.

520
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,760
And the truth was, because I did all of those things myself, I didn't get done everything

521
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,640
that I wanted to get done.

522
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,960
My child missed out on a blessing because I gave them an opportunity to serve me.

523
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:23,840
The truth is, I took that blessing away when I did it myself.

524
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,200
God is an ultimate servant.

525
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:26,520
Who came to serve?

526
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:27,520
Jesus.

527
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:28,960
Who serves the most?

528
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,560
Who is the leader servant of all?

529
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:32,680
God.

530
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:33,880
God is.

531
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:39,880
Because he made all of this for us and walks with us, protects us, provides for us, etc.,

532
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,280
etc., etc., every day, all day.

533
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:43,280
God is a servant.

534
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:48,480
If you want to be made over to the image of Jesus, fear the Lord, walk in his ways, love

535
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,360
him and serve him.

536
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,880
And maybe you didn't serve him at first, but you started serving later and you will be

537
00:32:53,880 --> 00:33:00,120
determined to be the one who actually serves the Lord if you will decide to serve him now.

538
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,440
You say, well, I haven't been doing it.

539
00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,440
Stop not doing it and start doing it.

540
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:05,440
It's simple.

541
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:09,000
Decide what it is that God wants you to do and do that.

542
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,440
And then the last on this list for this passage anyway, the question, what does the Lord God

543
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:21,100
ask from you, is to observe his commands and his decrees and then fix them in your hearts

544
00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:22,100
or minds.

545
00:33:22,100 --> 00:33:25,440
And that's a little bit more tricky or challenging, right?

546
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:33,960
So to observe here can easily be translated as to keep or to obey and to teach them, right?

547
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,420
They are the requisite things of the kingdom.

548
00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:37,960
This is what God wants from us.

549
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,280
Our job is to look to them.

550
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:40,520
What do you want, God?

551
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:42,240
Okay, I see that, right?

552
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:48,000
And then our job is to do that the best we know how and at the same time absorb it, right?

553
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,520
I now know the recipe like the back of my hand for homemade waffles.

554
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,040
It's very easy.

555
00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:55,040
I don't make them from scratch.

556
00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:56,040
I make them from a mix.

557
00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:00,240
I add a little bit of canola oil, vanilla, cinnamon and enough water to make it thin

558
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:01,240
to pour.

559
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:05,160
And then I let it sit for one minute and I pour it on the waffles, on the waffle iron.

560
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,240
And then I flip the waffle iron, I wait until I don't see any more steam coming out.

561
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:10,760
I flip it over, check it, it's golden brown, boom, I ate it.

562
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,720
It takes me eight minutes roughly to make a waffle.

563
00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:16,280
I'm talking about a waffle, right?

564
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:21,400
And about less than a dollar's worth of mix in canola oil, vanilla and cinnamon.

565
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:22,400
And that's my choice.

566
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:23,400
You don't have to put cinnamon or vanilla in it.

567
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:27,400
You can just make it without it, right?

568
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:34,320
If I cut out certain steps, for example, if I decide to eat that waffle mix in that bowl

569
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:38,920
with a spoon instead of putting it in the waffle iron, it's going to be pretty gross.

570
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,580
And that's the way it is lured.

571
00:34:40,580 --> 00:34:44,120
So the first time I went to make those waffles like that, I looked at the box and I said,

572
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,800
okay, I'm going to make it like this.

573
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:50,240
The second time I looked at the box and I said, okay, I'm going to make it like this.

574
00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:54,920
By the third time I started making it, I thought, now what was that again about the, and I looked

575
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:55,920
at the box one more time.

576
00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:01,400
And from that point on, I had hidden the instructions in my mind, in my heart, whatever inside me

577
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,960
somewhere, and I've never had to look again.

578
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:06,520
That's the way it is with God.

579
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:10,840
He doesn't just want you to walk in his ways or serve him or even fear him or love him.

580
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,340
He wants you to look at what he has told you to do.

581
00:35:13,340 --> 00:35:17,840
Like I was talking about during the inspirational moment, if you're praying to the Lord asking

582
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,320
God, God, should I tell him about Jesus?

583
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,040
Should I tell him about Jesus?

584
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,640
God may never answer that prayer because God has already told you, you should already have

585
00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,380
that in you to know the answer to that question.

586
00:35:29,380 --> 00:35:33,220
Just go home and ask your parents if you've got a bedtime, ask them, should I go to bed

587
00:35:33,220 --> 00:35:35,720
on time and see what the response is?

588
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:37,920
Probably it's like, well, yeah.

589
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,640
Meaning duh, yeah, that's what you're supposed to do.

590
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:44,840
Or maybe they'll say, no, don't worry about it because they're human.

591
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:45,840
But God is not like that.

592
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,560
When God tells you to do something, you're supposed to do what he says.

593
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:54,040
And you take that command into you and you observe it, understand it, and bury it at

594
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,840
a place where it's not going to go away.

595
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:02,560
Notice that all of this is actually for their own good.

596
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:03,560
All the commands.

597
00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:09,120
God said to me, I have given you a path to walk and you can walk it.

598
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,720
As hard as it may look, as impossible as it may seem, at times you may have to let go

599
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,280
of some things that you think are good to do the great, whatever.

600
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,280
But I have given you a path to walk and you can walk it.

601
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:19,800
What does the Lord God want from you?

602
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,400
Number one, he wants you to fear the Lord.

603
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,560
He wants you to walk in his ways, love him, serve him, and observe and absorb, if you

604
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:31,240
will, might be a good modern word for that, the teachings of the Lord, and do what it

605
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:34,040
is that you learn and teach those same things to others.

606
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:35,600
It's called being a disciple.

607
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,760
The second thing that's in this text then, the first one was, what has God asked for

608
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:39,760
you?

609
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,120
And I now told you, I hope you got it.

610
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:46,720
The second one was, how great is it that God chose us for this?

611
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:51,280
Instead of getting out of bed and going, well, God wants me to do this, and going, oh man,

612
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,080
I got to do what God wants me to do today.

613
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,680
Or, oh man, I can't steal that.

614
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,440
Because God says I'm not supposed to do that.

615
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:58,440
Or I can't behave that way.

616
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,560
I can't have this lifestyle because God says no.

617
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:07,640
Instead of doing that, we should realize, how great is it that he chose us?

618
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,600
The caliber of God, the great and mighty, awesome God who created all things versus

619
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:17,360
the caliber of us, we are like a speck of dust on the bottom of a shoe.

620
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:23,080
We are nothing compared to the God of the universe, and yet God makes us into literally

621
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:24,480
everything.

622
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:29,800
He has elevated us to a position to be heirs and joint heirs with his son, Jesus Christ.

623
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:36,480
He's taken you from nowhere and put you somewhere to take you to there.

624
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:37,760
God has done that.

625
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,680
How great is it that he chose us?

626
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,200
Instead of going, oh, I don't know if I'm that afraid of God.

627
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:48,040
When you think about doing something you shouldn't do, you'd be like, terrified.

628
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:52,520
Instead of, I'm going to walk in this ways, but at times when it's inconvenient, I sort

629
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:54,040
of do something different.

630
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:59,080
So I'm going to be determined to put all of my strength to walk in his ways.

631
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:00,080
Do I love him?

632
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:01,080
Yeah, I love God.

633
00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:02,320
Sure I do.

634
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:05,760
But not when it's inconvenient or not when I'm distracted by something else or not when

635
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,560
I'd rather stream or play.

636
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,320
In those times, I'm not really worried about it.

637
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:15,240
No, you love God with every waking moment, every second, every fiber of your being.

638
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:17,000
Do I serve God?

639
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,920
Sure I do, but at times I have to schedule my service because there's things I also want

640
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:21,920
to do.

641
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:22,920
No.

642
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,160
I do it 24-7 every moment that you have a choice.

643
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:26,240
Do I observe his commands?

644
00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:28,200
Do I read my Bible, learn what it is that God wants me to do?

645
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:31,280
Do I pray and listen to him and follow what he says?

646
00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:35,760
Well, if you don't, then you're not doing what God asks of you.

647
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:42,480
And that might be because you've forgotten how great it is that he chose us.

648
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:46,920
That he set his affections on our forefathers in the faith, those who shared Christ with

649
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:50,240
us, and that he chose us above all nations.

650
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:55,120
The kingdom of God will stand the test of time beyond every border, beyond every constitution.

651
00:38:55,120 --> 00:39:01,160
The United States of America is a young nation on world scale.

652
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:09,400
Queen Elizabeth ruled England for almost half the time that America has been in existence.

653
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:10,400
You follow?

654
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,160
That's crazy, but it's real.

655
00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,400
A third.

656
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:20,280
The point is, we are a young nation as a country, and everybody's hanging their hopes on what

657
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,160
the United States of America is going to do and what the president is going to do.

658
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:24,600
I'm not an insurrectionist.

659
00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:25,680
I believe in our nation.

660
00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,840
I believe in the foundation, the way it was made, because it was written on Christian

661
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:29,840
principles.

662
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,640
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence, every single one of them was a deacon or a

663
00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:35,520
pastor except for one.

664
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,240
Every single one of them.

665
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:41,600
Men who jumped into their clothes and grabbed their gun and ran out.

666
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:45,040
They called them Minutemen in the war for the liberation of the colonies.

667
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:46,320
They called them Minutemen.

668
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:52,760
Those people were all Christian men who went to church 2.5 times a week.

669
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:57,120
They all loved the Lord with a few exceptions, but basically all of them.

670
00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:59,920
So I believe in our country because of the principles it was founded on, but hear me

671
00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:05,280
now if the United States of America goes away, if it dwindles and dries up, and I believe

672
00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:06,280
it probably will.

673
00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:10,120
Actually, I believe it will probably be elevated to be one of the horns, and then that power

674
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:16,880
is submitted to the Antichrist or the beast, and the world will go in a place that we don't

675
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:23,400
want it to go, but the church, the Kingdom of God, will remain.

676
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:28,400
You won't get a vote anymore because you'll be persecuted and ruled over by an evil empire

677
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:33,880
if it comes to that, but the bottom line is how great is it that God chose us to add us

678
00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:38,480
to a nation that will persevere beyond all nations, that doesn't need another constitution

679
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:42,960
or another set of laws or rules or rulers even, because we have the supreme ruler who

680
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,480
is Jesus Christ who's on the throne forever.

681
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:52,960
How great is it that he chose us to add us out of a great nation, yes, out of a liberal,

682
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:57,800
free, free nation where you get to vote and have your own opinions and think things and

683
00:40:57,800 --> 00:40:58,800
whatever.

684
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:04,280
All of that is there so that you can choose Jesus Christ and be added to the nation that

685
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,380
God is creating that is eternal.

686
00:41:06,380 --> 00:41:11,680
How great is it that he chose us, that he elected us, not that we elected him, but that

687
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,480
he elected us into a nation that will persevere.

688
00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:17,920
How great is it that he chose us?

689
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,640
What does God the Lord ask of you and how great is it he chose us?

690
00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:27,640
And then a logical urging then comes out of this text, Moses urges them and he says, then

691
00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:30,200
crucify your hearts.

692
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,920
So I'm now going to explain in simplicity if I can what it means to crucify your hearts

693
00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:37,960
because if this has not been done then either A, you're not a Christian or B, you're barely

694
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,160
escaping by.

695
00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:46,120
To crucify your hearts means to be open and responsive and obedient.

696
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:52,520
So you're not distracted, you're paying attention to what God wants and every time you figure

697
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:58,080
out something new that God wants, whatever it might be, you're immediately pitting yourself

698
00:41:58,080 --> 00:41:59,760
to that task.

699
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:04,640
To circumcise your hearts is to say, I'm not going to let anything that this world has

700
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:08,440
to offer and believe me, there's a lot.

701
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:09,440
There's a lot.

702
00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:11,160
It can be sex.

703
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:12,840
It can be political thinking.

704
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:17,040
It can be video games or football, family outings.

705
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,840
It can be children, children draw people.

706
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:23,840
It can be finances, jobs, promotions.

707
00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:29,360
The world has a lot to offer and basically you're saying, no, I am going to remain open,

708
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:34,440
responsive and obedient to the Lord.

709
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,600
So when it comes in, it starts to take up residence, I'm going to go, wait a minute,

710
00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:40,840
that's not responsive and obedient to Jesus.

711
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:46,080
Therefore it is at best a tool that I can use to be responsive and obedient to Jesus

712
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:49,680
and if I cannot use it then it has no place in my life.

713
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,040
Understand?

714
00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:53,200
So you get a new car.

715
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,080
Someone comes and gives you a new car and you're like, man, I got a new car, yay for

716
00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:57,080
me, yeah.

717
00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:00,320
And then you go to get the new car and the person says, there's just one thing you got

718
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:01,320
to do for me.

719
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:06,080
So I need you to work every Sunday morning from 8 a.m. to 11, just three hours a week

720
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:12,440
for the next three years and it's yours for free.

721
00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:13,920
Three hours a week for the next three years.

722
00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:14,920
It's 150, 450 hours.

723
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,520
You won't have to pay me a cent but just do some basic, you know, work in my yard for

724
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:20,400
three hours a week every Sunday.

725
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:23,640
I know it means you won't be able to get to church, you won't be able to worship God like

726
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:25,880
you've been doing but after three years are up, you've got it.

727
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:28,880
And here's this $20,000 car, it's yours.

728
00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:33,320
You say no because I am open and responsive and obedient to the Lord.

729
00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:34,320
I don't have time.

730
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,720
People go, well, I'll take you to Cedar Point.

731
00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:41,640
My treat, tickets, get in for free, all the food's free, all the drinks you want, ride

732
00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:42,640
all the rides.

733
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:47,400
We'll go to the water park and Cedar Point and you can spend the night and we'll stay

734
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,940
the next day too.

735
00:43:49,940 --> 00:43:53,160
And we'll be there all weekend for free on my dime.

736
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:54,360
I'll take care of it.

737
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:59,000
And you say no, I'm open and responsive and obedient to the Lord.

738
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:02,520
You say but how does missing church on a Sunday mean I'm not open and responsive and obedient

739
00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:03,520
to the Lord?

740
00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:04,520
What are we doing right now?

741
00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:07,880
We are looking to God's word for His direction.

742
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:12,560
How can you be open and responsive and obedient to the Lord if you miss an opportunity to

743
00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:14,720
look that's been given to you?

744
00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:18,000
Okay, if you don't believe this is an opportunity for you, then what are you doing sitting in

745
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,420
this room?

746
00:44:20,420 --> 00:44:22,840
This is an opportunity for you to hear from God, not from me.

747
00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:23,840
These are not my opinions.

748
00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:25,240
This is what the word says.

749
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:30,640
He said Moses said to them then because this is true, because it's amazing that God chose

750
00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:33,600
you because God chose you to do what?

751
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:37,600
To fear Him, to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve Him, to observe and absorb His

752
00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:43,760
commands because God chose you to do that because that amazing relationship exists.

753
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:45,080
Circumcise your hearts.

754
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:50,200
Become open and responsive and obedient to the Lord whenever you know what it is that

755
00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:52,000
God wants from you, do that.

756
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,120
But He didn't just say circumcise your hearts.

757
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:56,120
That's enough.

758
00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:57,680
It probably would be enough to run your life.

759
00:44:57,680 --> 00:44:59,440
Your heart was truly circumcised.

760
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,160
Then every time you started to do something God didn't want you to do, you'd notice your

761
00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:04,040
heart be like, itch.

762
00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:05,800
There's certain foods I don't like.

763
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:09,240
If you bring me a birthday cake frosted with mayonnaise, I'm not going to eat it because

764
00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:10,240
that's disgusting.

765
00:45:10,240 --> 00:45:11,240
You're like, well, I'm not going to eat it either.

766
00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:12,240
That's disgusting.

767
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:15,800
But that's exactly the notion, the feeling that you should have at the moment in which

768
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:19,040
you become non-responsive to God.

769
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:20,960
You should have this moment and go like, I get that.

770
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:21,960
That's available to me.

771
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:22,960
That's cool.

772
00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:23,960
I can have that.

773
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:32,360
But no matter what it's worth to me, it's not worth not being obedient, open, and responsive

774
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:35,840
to the Lord Jesus Christ.

775
00:45:35,840 --> 00:45:38,320
But above and beyond that, He adds this.

776
00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:42,920
He says, stop being stiff-necked.

777
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,040
And I really had to break that down.

778
00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:48,240
Your translation might even stay stubborn or rebellious.

779
00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:50,560
But here's the reality.

780
00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:55,640
Even with a circumcised heart, certain actions are physically addictive.

781
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:59,520
Are you familiar with the term muscle memory?

782
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:01,760
Just recently, a story from Arden's life he's working on.

783
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,520
Arden's been playing the trumpet for eight years.

784
00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:08,520
And he found out just recently that there's a problem with his ombiture.

785
00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:10,240
You may or may not be familiar with that term.

786
00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:14,040
It's the way his lips touch the trumpet.

787
00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:16,200
And he discovered the problem all on his own.

788
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:17,200
Nobody taught him whatever.

789
00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:18,200
He's like, I have this problem.

790
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,800
And he come to me and he's like, now I really have a problem because my muscles in my face

791
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,280
are literally trained to play the trumpet a certain way.

792
00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:28,960
And I realized that my range into these really, really high notes that some people, great

793
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:31,840
jazz players and stuff can play, is always going to be restricted.

794
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:36,040
If I always come to the mouth of the trumpet the way I've been, then I'm never going to

795
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:37,040
get there.

796
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,040
It's just not going to happen.

797
00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:45,240
But to retrain myself to do it the proper way is virtually impossible because my muscles

798
00:46:45,240 --> 00:46:48,000
will feel like they'll only move a certain way.

799
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:49,000
And that's what happens.

800
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:53,000
When you act a certain way, behave a certain way, and you do things a certain way, the

801
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:56,880
next time you go to do them, you're going to do them again.

802
00:46:56,880 --> 00:47:02,480
If you wear red every single day in a few months, you're going to do one of two things.

803
00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:05,600
You're going to hate wearing red and get rid of all your red clothes.

804
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:08,840
Or you're going to go, well, I'm just going to wear red for the rest of my life.

805
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:10,120
And that's not even muscle memory.

806
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:11,120
That's just habit.

807
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:15,960
So habit and muscle memory and steps that we take, they are addictive.

808
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:17,040
They build a path.

809
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:23,680
If you stream your favorite show one time until you've watched all the episodes on a

810
00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:29,600
streaming service, you can guarantee that unless there's a miracle of intervention or

811
00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:33,880
an intentional choice on your part, you will find a new favorite show and stream that one

812
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:34,880
too.

813
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:36,320
You're like, oh, well, that's not a sin.

814
00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:37,320
I didn't say it.

815
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:38,320
Did I say it was a sin?

816
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:43,200
What I'm saying to you is when you do something repetitively, you get good.

817
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,520
Your body gets good at doing the same thing.

818
00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,480
Sit down for eight hours a day as an academic like I have to do.

819
00:47:49,480 --> 00:47:53,240
I can sit with the best of them.

820
00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:55,680
Stand up and preach and be loud for a while.

821
00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:59,660
I can project my voice with the best of them.

822
00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:01,880
My lungs capacity is bigger than it should be.

823
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:05,640
Arden and I were joking about this because he's a trumpet player and big lung capacity

824
00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:08,240
is a thing for trumpet players in any wind instrument.

825
00:48:08,240 --> 00:48:12,080
And yet my lung capacity is quite a lot larger than his even though I don't play the trumpet.

826
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:14,040
And it's because I preach.

827
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:18,320
So do it for 15 years and see what happens or whatever it is.

828
00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:21,000
But it works both ways, doesn't it?

829
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:25,960
If you're open and responsive and obedient to the Lord, that as you are open and responsive

830
00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:30,320
and obedient in certain things, you'll get good at those things.

831
00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:32,760
You'll get good at getting up for church in the morning.

832
00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,480
You'll get good at remembering to take the right things with you.

833
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:36,480
It's pretty soon.

834
00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:37,800
You'll stop being late.

835
00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:39,320
You'll start being dressed.

836
00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:40,760
You'll start being prepared.

837
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:42,660
You'll start having the things that you need.

838
00:48:42,660 --> 00:48:44,360
You'll start coming to worship.

839
00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:46,720
Wait for it because this will step on your toes.

840
00:48:46,720 --> 00:48:50,400
Already prayed up and studied up in preparation for what the Lord might say.

841
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:52,400
You'll be like, I got church tomorrow.

842
00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:54,200
I can get my Bible and read it.

843
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:55,200
I know we're going through the book of Deuteronomy.

844
00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:59,720
I know we stopped in verse nine and I'm not going to ask you, but I'm going to bet any

845
00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:00,720
amount of money.

846
00:49:00,720 --> 00:49:03,240
There ain't one person in this room that read from 10 to the end of the chapter before they

847
00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:06,880
got here today, even though we all knew that we're working through the book of Deuteronomy.

848
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:08,040
And I'm not saying that's a sin.

849
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:12,060
I'm just saying as you develop those muscles and develop those things, you'll be thinking

850
00:49:12,060 --> 00:49:13,060
along that lines.

851
00:49:13,060 --> 00:49:15,840
I'll tell you right now, next week, unless the Lord changes it, we're going to begin

852
00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:17,700
in Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse one.

853
00:49:17,700 --> 00:49:20,840
Who might think about reading those verses before they come?

854
00:49:20,840 --> 00:49:21,840
Anybody.

855
00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:27,920
As you study and as you read and as you grow, you'll get good at studying, reading and growing.

856
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:32,840
The paths that we walk, these paths, we get stuck in them.

857
00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:39,640
There's a winding path in the grass and it's finally fading away from my creek to my garbage

858
00:49:39,640 --> 00:49:43,800
cans because there's an old groundhog and probably three or four generations actually

859
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:47,640
of groundhogs that would wander from the creek up to my garbage can to eat my garbage.

860
00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:48,640
And they wore a path.

861
00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:50,640
Why did they wear a path?

862
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:52,480
Because they went the same way every day.

863
00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:53,480
That's what we're doing.

864
00:49:53,480 --> 00:49:54,480
We're going the same way.

865
00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:57,120
You think, oh no, I do different things all the time.

866
00:49:57,120 --> 00:50:00,400
I'm constantly doing different things, but I bet you could categorize those different

867
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:03,040
things and they'd be basically the same things.

868
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:05,760
And the way you do them are basically the same.

869
00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:07,960
We're creatures of habit.

870
00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:12,640
We're stiff-necked and God says no more.

871
00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:14,640
God says stop being stiff-necked.

872
00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:20,880
Be open and responsive and obedient, not stubborn and rebellious.

873
00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:22,000
That's what we need to be.

874
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:23,440
And that brings us to our conclusion.

875
00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:27,360
I'll repeat one more time the points for those who are trying to bring them home or maybe

876
00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:28,440
write them down or whatever.

877
00:50:28,440 --> 00:50:30,080
What does the Lord God ask of you?

878
00:50:30,080 --> 00:50:35,600
He asks you to fear him, walk in his ways, love him, serve him and observe his commands.

879
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:38,120
How great is he that chose us?

880
00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:41,600
We recognize how great that is that he chose us.

881
00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:46,080
It only makes logical sense for us to circumcise our hearts, become open and responsive and

882
00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:51,200
obedient to the Lord in contrast with being stiff-necked or stubborn and walk in the paths

883
00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:53,800
that we've always walked.

884
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:55,800
But the sermon title is God's surprising effort.

885
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:58,960
I'm guessing if you're in this room, you've been a Christian for a while, that none of

886
00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:02,000
that comes as very much of a surprise to you.

887
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:03,260
It didn't to me.

888
00:51:03,260 --> 00:51:07,480
As I read the text, I'm like, that's a five-point sermon that, you know, I probably preached

889
00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:09,960
five different sermons or maybe 40 different sermons.

890
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:13,840
I probably preached fear the Lord as a sermon and I probably preached walk in his ways as

891
00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:15,880
a sermon and love him and serve him and each one of those things.

892
00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:17,800
So this could be a five-point sermon series.

893
00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:19,360
I could do a sermon on each one.

894
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:23,520
And then I could add in there a sermon on circumcising your hearts and a sermon on how

895
00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:24,520
great it is that he's chosen.

896
00:51:24,520 --> 00:51:26,360
You think I've preached those things before?

897
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:28,040
They all seem pretty not new, don't they?

898
00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:32,320
I mean, in some way or another, they might be, the application might be stronger today

899
00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:34,680
or the Lord might be saying, you know, I see you're not doing that.

900
00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:35,680
I'm calling you to it.

901
00:51:35,680 --> 00:51:38,600
And you might be convicted in your spirit that you need to change things.

902
00:51:38,600 --> 00:51:41,480
But the truth is, they're really not all that different.

903
00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:43,200
But here's what's a little different.

904
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:49,440
The surprising effort of the Lord is not about making a way that you can walk.

905
00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:53,480
The surprising effort of the Lord is not about making a people that fear the Lord or a people

906
00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:56,700
that walk in his ways or people that love him or people that serve him or people that

907
00:51:56,700 --> 00:51:58,360
observe his commands.

908
00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:03,020
The surprising effort of the Lord is not about any of those things.

909
00:52:03,020 --> 00:52:06,880
But there's something about circumcising our hearts that's in the surprising effort of

910
00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:07,880
the Lord.

911
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:12,080
We look with me at Jeremiah chapter four, if you're following along in your Bibles,

912
00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:13,080
we are in the conclusion.

913
00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:18,320
Jeremiah chapter four.

914
00:52:18,320 --> 00:52:21,480
And Jeremiah chapter four, and the prophet Jeremiah had quite a life.

915
00:52:21,480 --> 00:52:28,440
He's called the weeping prophet because he really suffered for the Lord.

916
00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:29,720
I'll go back to verse three.

917
00:52:29,720 --> 00:52:32,440
I'm going to read verses three and four to you.

918
00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:36,080
For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem.

919
00:52:36,080 --> 00:52:39,960
Now that would be like kind of like the head of the nation of the Israelites, the people

920
00:52:39,960 --> 00:52:41,960
that were called, people had God's commands.

921
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:44,600
They were supposed to be fearing the Lord, walking in his ways, loving him, serving him,

922
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,040
observing his commands, but they weren't.

923
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:51,360
They're supposed to be recognizing how awesome was that God had chosen them, but they weren't.

924
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:53,840
They should have crucified their hearts, but they didn't.

925
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:57,600
They should have not been stiff necked anymore, but they were.

926
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:02,840
And then Jeremiah says, for thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

927
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:06,840
break up your fallow ground and do not sow among thorns.

928
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:07,840
Here it is.

929
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:13,120
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart.

930
00:53:13,120 --> 00:53:16,460
Now real quick, you do know what circumcision is, right?

931
00:53:16,460 --> 00:53:22,560
It's when they take the foreskin of the penis of a man and they slice it so that the hood

932
00:53:22,560 --> 00:53:25,400
can slide down and sit where it sits and we're familiar with.

933
00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:26,400
Okay?

934
00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:29,080
For those of you who have never seen a penis or have been trained on that, I apologize

935
00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:30,720
if I'm breaking you in on that, but it's okay.

936
00:53:30,720 --> 00:53:31,720
Don't worry about it.

937
00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:32,720
This is not sexual.

938
00:53:32,720 --> 00:53:33,720
It's nothing like that.

939
00:53:33,720 --> 00:53:38,520
This is a physical surgery that's performed on almost every child in America now, but

940
00:53:38,520 --> 00:53:39,520
not everybody.

941
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:40,520
There are some.

942
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:41,520
Parents choose not to do it.

943
00:53:41,520 --> 00:53:42,520
It's a health thing.

944
00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:43,520
It has health benefits.

945
00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:46,600
But for them, it was a mark up to whom they belong.

946
00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:51,640
Why did they circumcise the penis among the Israelites?

947
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:55,400
Well, they did it to remind them that as God's people, they should have had a circumcised

948
00:53:55,400 --> 00:53:56,880
heart, but they didn't do that.

949
00:53:56,880 --> 00:54:00,200
As long as they were circumcised physically, they didn't have to have a circumcised heart,

950
00:54:00,200 --> 00:54:04,120
at least that's the way they lived, right?

951
00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:08,000
Circumcise yourself to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart.

952
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:12,520
The part of your heart that is calloused, the part of your heart that causes infection,

953
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:17,880
the part of your heart that covers over and makes you unresponsive, right?

954
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:23,200
He says circumcise the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.

955
00:54:23,200 --> 00:54:30,000
Let my wrath go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it because of the evil of your

956
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:31,000
deeds.

957
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:33,880
Let me read it again because I messed up one word.

958
00:54:33,880 --> 00:54:40,900
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath go forth like fire and burn

959
00:54:40,900 --> 00:54:43,400
with none to quench because of the evil of your deeds.

960
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:46,680
Let me read the whole thing again because it's complicated English.

961
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:50,520
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskins of your heart, I think we understand

962
00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:57,480
that part, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath go forth like fire

963
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:01,000
and burn with none to quench it because of the evil of your deeds.

964
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:02,360
So what is he telling them?

965
00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:08,700
He says circumcise your hearts or otherwise, circumcise your hearts so that it won't be

966
00:55:08,700 --> 00:55:09,700
this way.

967
00:55:09,700 --> 00:55:11,640
Lest means, right?

968
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:16,840
So that it won't be this way so that my wrath will not go forward and destroy everybody

969
00:55:16,840 --> 00:55:18,800
because of their evil deeds.

970
00:55:18,800 --> 00:55:20,580
You follow?

971
00:55:20,580 --> 00:55:24,040
They were to circumcise their hearts and we are to circumcise our hearts and no longer

972
00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:25,040
be a stiff neck people.

973
00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:29,700
We are to fear the Lord, walk in all his ways, love him, serve him, observe his commands.

974
00:55:29,700 --> 00:55:34,360
How great is it that he chose us and therefore circumcise our hearts and not be stiff neck

975
00:55:34,360 --> 00:55:42,020
so that God's wrath will not pour out and destroy all people who are wicked and evil

976
00:55:42,020 --> 00:55:46,840
in their ways for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

977
00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:52,000
Now read Hosea 10-12.

978
00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:54,520
Is our next to the last passage of the day.

979
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:58,820
Hosea is one of the little books, I didn't mark it either, it's one of the little books

980
00:55:58,820 --> 00:56:02,000
back after Daniel I believe, right Daniel?

981
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:10,880
Yep, there he is, Hosea chapter 10 verse 12.

982
00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:17,480
Chapter 10 verse 12 says this.

983
00:56:17,480 --> 00:56:24,380
So with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness, break up your fallow ground,

984
00:56:24,380 --> 00:56:29,200
for it is time to seek the Lord until he comes to reign righteousness on you.

985
00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:33,160
See this is the direction of the kingdom of God.

986
00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:34,760
This is what we do.

987
00:56:34,760 --> 00:56:40,920
Stand up in righteousness, be strong and do what is right, but understand that God has

988
00:56:40,920 --> 00:56:47,120
prepared us to quench the fire of his wrath.

989
00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:50,780
Our job as Christians is not to have a better path to walk.

990
00:56:50,780 --> 00:56:55,720
Our job as Christians is not to be responsive and serve and do all those things.

991
00:56:55,720 --> 00:57:00,760
That's how we do our job, but the bottom line is we have become a barrier between God's

992
00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:02,280
wrath and the world.

993
00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:04,440
I want you to think about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

994
00:57:04,440 --> 00:57:10,560
You may recall God went to Abraham in advance and he said I'm going to destroy Sodom and

995
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:11,560
Gomorrah.

996
00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:14,080
Abraham said but my nephew Lot lives there.

997
00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:15,080
That's what he said in his head.

998
00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:19,600
So he said to God would you destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if 50 righteous men lived there?

999
00:57:19,600 --> 00:57:23,800
God said no, if 50 righteous men were found there I would not destroy the city.

1000
00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:27,800
If 50 righteous men were found there I would not destroy the city.

1001
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:28,800
You hear it?

1002
00:57:28,800 --> 00:57:34,560
If 50 righteous men were found in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah I would not destroy

1003
00:57:34,560 --> 00:57:36,920
them for the sake of those 50 righteous men.

1004
00:57:36,920 --> 00:57:38,820
Abraham said what if there were only 10?

1005
00:57:38,820 --> 00:57:43,080
If there were 10 righteous men found there would you not destroy the city?

1006
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:47,720
God said if there were 10 righteous men found there I would not destroy the city.

1007
00:57:47,720 --> 00:57:52,560
Abraham says if I may dare to ask you just one more time, what if there were only one

1008
00:57:52,560 --> 00:57:57,200
righteous man found there would you destroy the city?

1009
00:57:57,200 --> 00:58:00,800
And we know the answer, he would not.

1010
00:58:00,800 --> 00:58:04,000
What he did was he called Lot out.

1011
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:07,720
Being the only righteous man in Sodom and Gomorrah he called him out and he said don't

1012
00:58:07,720 --> 00:58:08,880
look back.

1013
00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:10,400
You don't need anything to do with that.

1014
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:12,420
Do not look back at where you come from.

1015
00:58:12,420 --> 00:58:15,040
Tell him and his family do not look back because the angels were leading them out.

1016
00:58:15,040 --> 00:58:18,600
His wife looked back and she was instantly turned into a pillar of salt because she longed

1017
00:58:18,600 --> 00:58:22,440
for that life that was in Sodom and Gomorrah in some way enough to look back and see or

1018
00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:25,520
she distrusted what God was going to do or whatever was in her heart at that time but

1019
00:58:25,520 --> 00:58:29,240
her heart was not circumcised unto the Lord and she looked back and she was immediately

1020
00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:31,000
turned into a pillar of salt.

1021
00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:35,480
Now Lot, terrified, takes his family into the mountains instead of going where he was

1022
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:40,080
allowed to flee to and that creates all kinds of problems down the road but the bottom line

1023
00:58:40,080 --> 00:58:43,600
is God would not have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah if there had been but one righteous

1024
00:58:43,600 --> 00:58:44,600
man.

1025
00:58:44,600 --> 00:58:47,680
The surprising effort of the Lord is not that he has given you a way to walk.

1026
00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:51,400
It is not that he has given you a clear set of commands and made us able to follow those

1027
00:58:51,400 --> 00:58:55,560
commands or that he has called us to circumcise our hearts or that he has called us to be

1028
00:58:55,560 --> 00:58:58,520
obedient and listen and follow his teaching.

1029
00:58:58,520 --> 00:59:02,720
None of that comes as a great surprise but what the great surprise is is that he did

1030
00:59:02,720 --> 00:59:08,580
all of that to protect everyone else from his wrath.

1031
00:59:08,580 --> 00:59:13,000
We live today if you are in the kingdom of God as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1032
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:17,000
The fact that you are on the earth, that's why all of the teachings of the world that

1033
00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:20,960
are going on and people are getting involved in all the sexual things, all the abortion

1034
00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:26,080
and the violence and the murder and the stealing and the graft that might be existing in government,

1035
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:30,120
the slander that's happening on social media, the gossip that's going around, all of that

1036
00:59:30,120 --> 00:59:37,080
stuff, people are not instantly being destroyed by God's wrath because we are still here.

1037
00:59:37,080 --> 00:59:38,960
That's the surprising effort of God.

1038
00:59:38,960 --> 00:59:44,920
God was giving himself and the people who do not know him time that the gospel might

1039
00:59:44,920 --> 00:59:46,960
save all that will come to him.

1040
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:47,960
What did Peter say?

1041
00:59:47,960 --> 00:59:57,680
He said, God is not slow as some men count slowness but rather he is patient with us

1042
00:59:57,680 --> 01:00:00,560
that all men might come to repentance.

1043
01:00:00,560 --> 01:00:05,480
The surprising effort of God is that he was putting a force field up for the world and

1044
01:00:05,480 --> 01:00:10,440
the world's teachings and let's just say it plainly the crap that people are doing.

1045
01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:18,200
The men and women and children who do not know better or maybe they do and that force

1046
01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:21,840
field is us.

1047
01:00:21,840 --> 01:00:24,880
He's given you a way that you can walk.

1048
01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:32,900
He's called you into a kingdom that will persist and I submit to you that means, wait for it,

1049
01:00:32,900 --> 01:00:38,960
that there will come a moment in time at which the teachings of the kingdom of God, the kingdom

1050
01:00:38,960 --> 01:00:46,600
of God itself of the church will be obsolete.

1051
01:00:46,600 --> 01:00:51,480
We will be obsolete when as the book of Revelation says, the seals are open and the wrath of

1052
01:00:51,480 --> 01:00:59,600
God is poured out upon the face of the earth and the force field that is us that's in place

1053
01:00:59,600 --> 01:01:04,840
that we might share the gospel for this period of time as we are open and responsive to him

1054
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:09,640
and as we fear him and love him and walk in his ways, do what Jesus told us to do basically

1055
01:01:09,640 --> 01:01:13,320
sharing the gospel, loving others, bringing people to Christ.

1056
01:01:13,320 --> 01:01:19,240
As all of that is no longer called for because God said he was done.

1057
01:01:19,240 --> 01:01:28,360
Oh and by the way, who is it who is worthy to open the seal and release the wrath of

1058
01:01:28,360 --> 01:01:32,360
God upon the earth?

1059
01:01:32,360 --> 01:01:39,240
None but the lamb, none but our king, none but our king Jesus who is holy and righteous

1060
01:01:39,240 --> 01:01:43,720
unto his own death for us.

1061
01:01:43,720 --> 01:01:48,400
Some people believe that the church will still be on the earth during the tribulation.

1062
01:01:48,400 --> 01:01:54,680
I believe that we will not be because there will no longer be a reason for us to protect

1063
01:01:54,680 --> 01:01:59,080
the disobedient from God's wrath.

1064
01:01:59,080 --> 01:02:04,880
Know ye therefore and tell everyone who will listen the truth about Jesus because that's

1065
01:02:04,880 --> 01:02:11,520
what he commands us to do, love and serve and be kind, deliver the gospel to a lost

1066
01:02:11,520 --> 01:02:16,160
and dying world that's going to hell because if they die not knowing Jesus that's where

1067
01:02:16,160 --> 01:02:23,640
they're going and if they live when Jesus comes again and pulls us out of the equation,

1068
01:02:23,640 --> 01:02:31,120
draws the force field if you will, opens the seal and exposes God's wrath to the disobedient

1069
01:02:31,120 --> 01:02:34,280
then that's where they're going, away from God forever.

1070
01:02:34,280 --> 01:02:46,080
I ask you today, the God who was that amazing and chose you, will you respond to him?

1071
01:02:46,080 --> 01:02:53,080
Will you say, okay Lord, I'm yours, the rest of my days are yours and even though there

1072
01:02:53,080 --> 01:03:00,200
are things that I might want to do, I know you know from me what is best.

1073
01:03:00,200 --> 01:03:05,360
I will circumcise my heart and I will not be stiff-necked and when I develop bad habits

1074
01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:09,840
or get into rebellion I will repent of them and turn back to you again.

1075
01:03:09,840 --> 01:03:17,680
I will follow you, you will be my Lord, I will be your people, I'll be part of the nation

1076
01:03:17,680 --> 01:03:24,640
that you've called me to which will last until Jesus comes again.

1077
01:03:24,640 --> 01:03:33,120
I'll be part of the force field, I'll be part of the righteous, I'll be part of the faithful

1078
01:03:33,120 --> 01:03:36,120
and then when Jesus comes again I'll be ready.

1079
01:03:36,120 --> 01:03:38,560
We make that decision today.

1080
01:03:38,560 --> 01:03:44,240
That is a decision to be saved, it is a decision to be owned, it is a decision to be a child

1081
01:03:44,240 --> 01:03:45,440
of God.

1082
01:03:45,440 --> 01:03:50,800
If you could elect yourself into someone's will to receive a billion dollars, wouldn't

1083
01:03:50,800 --> 01:03:51,800
you do it?

1084
01:03:51,800 --> 01:03:58,360
Especially if there were no other requirements, if it was already paid for, nothing less than

1085
01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:01,120
that is being asked of you.

1086
01:04:01,120 --> 01:04:03,860
Become an heir with Jesus today.

1087
01:04:03,860 --> 01:04:08,720
Turn away from your own ideas of the way things work and turn to his.

1088
01:04:08,720 --> 01:04:15,600
They will persist, they will last and this pathway is walkable until Jesus comes again

1089
01:04:15,600 --> 01:04:22,280
and he may in our lifetime and if he doesn't then we will die for him and go directly into

1090
01:04:22,280 --> 01:04:27,600
his presence, absent from the body, present with the Lord.

1091
01:04:27,600 --> 01:04:29,440
Do you want to be absent from the body and wondering?

1092
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:32,960
Do you want to be absent from the body and sure?

1093
01:04:32,960 --> 01:04:36,480
Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord, that means he tells you what to do and you do it.

1094
01:04:36,480 --> 01:04:39,400
As your Savior, that means he paid the price for your sins.

1095
01:04:39,400 --> 01:04:45,320
Trust in him alone and he will bring you through.

1096
01:04:45,320 --> 01:04:49,360
I'll pray for us briefly and we'll have the praise team come up and lead us and this is

1097
01:04:49,360 --> 01:04:55,080
our opportunity to make a decision of whatever the Lord may be putting on our hearts and

1098
01:04:55,080 --> 01:05:01,280
it's our opportunity to commit ourselves to him and to follow his ways.

1099
01:05:01,280 --> 01:05:05,320
Father in heaven, you're an awesome God, an amazing and powerful God, a creator God and

1100
01:05:05,320 --> 01:05:07,160
when necessary a destroyer God.

1101
01:05:07,160 --> 01:05:15,360
You're a provider God, a protector God, a healer God, you alone are God.

1102
01:05:15,360 --> 01:05:19,360
You see what you've done.

1103
01:05:19,360 --> 01:05:24,480
Maybe one of the most known and proven facts in history is Jesus Christ dying on the cross

1104
01:05:24,480 --> 01:05:26,220
and being resurrected three days later.

1105
01:05:26,220 --> 01:05:31,520
Some people say that only events in recent history that happened while people are still

1106
01:05:31,520 --> 01:05:37,080
alive are more proven and more known.

1107
01:05:37,080 --> 01:05:41,760
Though I didn't stand at the cross then, though I didn't follow them as they were crucifying

1108
01:05:41,760 --> 01:05:48,520
Jesus, though I wasn't present at the purifying of the unclean or the healing of the blind

1109
01:05:48,520 --> 01:05:54,520
or the healing of the paralytic or when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life or when he walked

1110
01:05:54,520 --> 01:05:56,680
on water.

1111
01:05:56,680 --> 01:06:03,520
Some days I feel as if I can feel the sensations of what it must have been like and I wonder

1112
01:06:03,520 --> 01:06:09,160
if those sensations are not wrapped up in the very salvation that you've put in me.

1113
01:06:09,160 --> 01:06:15,520
I know in my heart of hearts that I've been saved and I commit myself to circumcise my

1114
01:06:15,520 --> 01:06:24,820
heart to give up my stiff-necked way of doing things and to become responsive and obedient

1115
01:06:24,820 --> 01:06:28,560
to you, to walk in the way that you've prepared for me.

1116
01:06:28,560 --> 01:06:30,560
It's a way I can walk.

1117
01:06:30,560 --> 01:06:34,440
No one said it was easy.

1118
01:06:34,440 --> 01:06:40,960
Many have said it was hard, but I wonder if they, maybe they forgot just how awesome it

1119
01:06:40,960 --> 01:06:44,840
is that you chose us to walk it.

1120
01:06:44,840 --> 01:06:46,520
Maybe I've forgotten at times.

1121
01:06:46,520 --> 01:06:50,680
I ask you Lord to move in the hearts of this people.

1122
01:06:50,680 --> 01:06:56,880
Let us unanimously decide, one and all decide to follow you through your son Jesus Christ.

1123
01:06:56,880 --> 01:07:04,520
To be forgiven, to be healed, to be reborn, to be sealed up for that day and to be at

1124
01:07:04,520 --> 01:07:13,200
work as the shield for other human beings to protect them from your wrath until such

1125
01:07:13,200 --> 01:07:19,120
day as Jesus comes again.

1126
01:07:19,120 --> 01:07:20,800
It's in Jesus name we pray.

1127
01:07:20,800 --> 01:07:21,800
Amen.

1128
01:07:21,800 --> 01:07:24,200
I ask the praise team to come forward and lead us in this final song.

1129
01:07:24,200 --> 01:07:52,280
And then as we sing, if the Lord is laid on your...