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foreign
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good morning good morning good morning good morning good morning good morning how are you
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doing this morning
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is it coming okay come now is the time to worship
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[Music]
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thank you foreign
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we're going to get a little interactive this morning so if you are a child in the room and would like to come forward
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if you are an adult in the room you can stand we're gonna clap and get a little
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excited this morning all right
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now [Music]
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let's go [Music]
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where are you [Music] far away
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[Music]
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[Applause] nobody else
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[Music]
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memories [Music]
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foreign [Music]
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[Music]
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but I'd love to sing your praises
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[Music]
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please [Music]
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I have alone
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[Music]
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come out
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[Music] Jesus
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[Music]
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foreign [Music]
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hello I'll bring you more than a song
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[Music]
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and it's all about you Jesus
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[Music]
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I'm coming back [Music]
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to me [Music]
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me so much
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[Music]
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thank you foreign
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that is the song that we sang at Seneca Lake when I had my an encounter with God
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wherein I was telling God kind of repeatedly saying Lord whatever you tell me to do whatever you want me to do just
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tell me and I'll do it what you want me to do just tell me and I do it and uh after I said that I don't know several
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times he said back to me audibly in my head I think but it was audibly he said
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you say that but you don't do it and I was like no no that's not true I do
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everything you tell me to do I do and he began to give me images flashing in my head of times and I stopped counting at
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13 and I don't know there may have been 20 or 30 and when I little things mostly but you know with God when God tells you
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to do something it's not really little and um and I didn't I hadn't been doing them I hadn't been doing what God told me to do and from that moment on I swore
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I would always do whenever the Lord spoke to me and I was sure it was him I would always do exactly what he's told
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me to do and I would say I have failed in that a number of times since then but
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I think a much smaller number of times than I would have had I not had that experience I don't know that that's any
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consolation it's like making an excuse almost and I don't mean to do that but in writing this message that I'm writing
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today the reason I tell you that story and I didn't know even though we were going to sing that song but the reason I tell you that story the story is because in writing this message I I ran into
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myself I literally had a full body collision as if we were playing softball and nobody said I got it and slamming down on the
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ground I went with myself because it is so easy sometimes for me to see the scripture in such black and white it
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says this this is what it means and that's that and I needed to get that part of me out of the way even though
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that's true that's all true there's nothing wrong with I had to get that part of me out of the way because there was a deeper bigger picture a more
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important thing that God was showing me in the verses I'm going to ask you to do the same thing because when we read the
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first verse you're going to go oh yeah that's a point blank command there it's very simple and it is a command and it
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does need to be followed it is a a teaching of God it doesn't need to be followed but I want you to see that it
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tied with the other verses that it is with today as we read them are are saying something that is far more
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worthy of being followed maybe far more far-reaching than what if you just do that
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okay if you just take them one at a time and go oh that's something I need to do you're you're really missing out okay so
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go with me then as we go on this journey to kind of lace these things together and see what that deeper teaching is
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that it all makes sense okay try to do that with me today I I really had to get out of my own way so I feel sorry for
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you that you're getting it abruptly but I think we can do it uh and I'll try to help you okay so we've been working
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through the book of Deuteronomy maybe you'll give me a little who to holler amen as we go to Deuteronomy chapter 22.
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this is God's word from here on out you know what it really don't matter too much if I get it exactly right because
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it's going to be God's word and you're going to listen to what he is saying that is the goal okay and we're going to begin in verse
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five we left off with verse four last week and it is 22 5. a woman shall not wear
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man's clothing nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing for whoever does these things is an
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Abomination to the Lord your God so simply put as I said a very direct
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statement about men dressing as women or women dressing as men and basically it ends the verse he says
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whoever does these things is an Abomination to the Lord your God I want you to notice that phrase the Lord your
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God there don't miss it it is a Formula that God uses to make a certain thing
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very clear all throughout scripture okay it is that we belong to God and
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essentially he belongs to us now you can't own God no one can God was around
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before anything existed so nothing that's in creation has any control over God that's magic m-a-g-i-k the religion
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that's sorcery that is an attempt to force God to do something that you want him to do it is a sin against God in the
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highest order and he whoever practice such a thing will never inherit the kingdom of God but that being said here
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is the phrase that he is the Lord Our God as if we owned him okay bear that in mind and we'll come
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back to it verse 6 then says if you happen to come upon a bird's nest along the way in any tree or on the ground
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with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs you
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shall not take the mother with the young so you're walking along and there is a bird nesting on the ground could be a
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ground fowl probably would be if it's nesting on the ground it could be a low-flying foul it's probably nesting in a tree and you see the nest and in the
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nest is eggs or baby chicks right and the mother is there and if baby chicks
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she'd try to protect her young if it's eggs she tries to stay on her eggs because they need to stay warm right and
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so it's not that hard if you come upon a nest to potentially take the eggs and the babies with the mother and to take
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both all right and someone might say well I like eggs but I also like chicken right or I like eggs but I also like
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pheasants so I can eat the mother there's a meal today and I can eat the eggs as them all for
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breakfast right and so we might go here's my opportunity to take the whole mess and God says when it's your opportunity to take the whole mess don't
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do it that's what it says in his word don't do it so though you've come along
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and you have this opportunity to get that extra Advantage don't do it verse 7 says you shall certainly let the mother
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go but the young you may take for yourself in order that it may be well with you
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and that you may prolong your days and I submit to you that it is both without getting too deeply into this part of it
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it is both The Taking of the young that prolongs their days because now they can
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eat right or the eggs either way you can eat and you're sustained you're providentially provided for because you
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didn't plant eggs there right you just happen to find them so you're providentially provided for but also the
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leaving of the mother not taking the mother also is the prolonging of your
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days now simply put just taking it on the surface that prolongs your days because she's going to lay eggs again
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right so then you can come and take the eggs again if you find that same file so that's simply put but there's something
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deeper there than not taking the mother when you have the opportunity to take the mother with the young
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somehow prolongs your days more substantially than simply maybe because
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finding that bird again may not be that easy right you if you take her Young from that there's a good chance The Nest
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will smell like you or be by you can do if you're careful maybe and she may lay young in the same nest again but she
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could lay young somewhere else if it's a migratory bird they could because if it's in a tree it might well be fly off
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somewhere else and come and make a nest somewhere else and you may not find the nest you may not get to take it's not as
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simple as if I leave the mother I'll get to take the young again later there's something more to it than that okay now
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we're going on verse eight when you build a house you shall make a pear pit for your roof that you may not bring
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blood guilt on your house if anyone Falls from it so in other words you're going to build a wall and traditionally these are two
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foot walls around the roof of your house they had flat flat roofs and they did spent a lot of time on the roof right their roof was kind of like their patio
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often it was like their kitchen sometimes it was like their bathroom right because they had a house and the
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extra space is on top and unless you're in the Rainy scene there's no reason you can't be out there it's just it might be
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nicer out there on the roof of your house than it is inside your house so use their roofs a lot so you have company over people go on your roof
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people do things on your roof your guests are on your roof like that and you build this wall around the outsides two feet high
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it's less likely someone's going to fall off your roof right but I submit to you
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it's not just that it's less likely someone's going to fall off your roof that keeps the blood guiltiness off your house
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right because you built that purpose and what if nobody ever would have fallen off your roof
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it's kind of like an insurance policy not an insurance policy to stop somebody from falling off your roof what it
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actually said was that you would not bring blood guilt on your house if anyone falls off of it so saying we're
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going to build this wall to keep people falling off of it that's good and you should and it's an expense you're putting yourself out to protect somebody
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who's on your roof but on top of that you will not be guilty if they do fall off of it if you've built that wall see
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there's something more there in every one of these verses there's something more that's being pointed at
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we'll go a little further we're almost done you shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed lest all the
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produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard become defiled so now you can't have a Vineyard
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that grows great for example and also apples you can't have a part of your Vineyard that goes uh fruit and a part
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that grows grain you can't put two products growing in your Vineyard
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scientists will tell you doctors will tell you farmers will tell you that probably your Vineyard is going to be the appropriate kind of soil for one
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kind of crop and your best chance is to grow whatever it's good for anyway grapes for example grow in rocky soil
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they grow in uh soil at the water passes through kind of quickly right and so you'll see those in steps on the sides
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of mountains Vineyards like the hilly country often have Vineyards right and by a few grapes and go out in California
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Hill Country that's what they grow right so they might be appropriate products to grow there but I submit to you it's not
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just that it's an appropriate he's saying find the appropriate product to grow it's not just that it's something
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more because he says if you do grow two products all the product will be defiled so if
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you have land that is appropriate for grapes right and you grow grapes good for you yeah
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you grew grapes but if you have land that's appropriate for grapes and you grow grapes and also you take a patch of
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it you grow some grain because you want to be able to make bread let's say right The Grapes which are growing in land
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that's appropriate for them and has no reason to have any problem whatsoever will now be defiled because you also
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grew another crop there that doesn't even draw the same nutrients or what are off the ground so there's something more
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it's applying something more here then just don't mix the two types of
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seed on the two on the same ground there's a there's a thing that it's saying a reason why if I grow two
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different types of crops on my same ground that both will become defiled
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verse 10 you shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together so they got this
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yolk it's too wide to put a ox on one side and a donkey on the other it doesn't fit the same they might shape a
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little they might not pull with the same strength but if you've got two animals and you got a double wide yolk and that's all you got you think well I put
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the one side on the ox the other side is going to hang there right which by the way you can do that if it's properly attached you can get away with that but
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why not put the donkey over there that way the ox the donkey are both pull and it's easier on both it's unlevel it's
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not the same strength there will be problems but I can I can overcome those problems by constant control right it'll
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work out he says no don't do that you shall not plow with an ox and a donkey
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together and I submit to you the reason he does not say so that it will be prosperous
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with you or whatever is because by the time we're reading this we're already supposed to be figuring out what he's
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talking about what's actually going on in the background what is the bigger picture Okay verse 11 says you shall not
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wear a material mixed of wool and linen together so I've often said that that's
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a kind of a cultural thing I've heard this quote of many times and we live in a day where materials are often you know
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mixed like you might be right now I'll be wearing a shirt that's 50 cotton and 50 polyester for example it's real common that causes the material to last
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longer stay clean not wear out as easily whatever all these it'd be lighter maybe so you don't sweat as much you know that
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kind of thing and I thought well that's pretty cultural for them and now I'm realizing it's really not about the two materials
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at all is it but he doesn't say so it'll be long and you'll prosper in the land or it'll all go well with you or
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anything like that again I submit to you that the reason he doesn't say that is because by now we're already supposed to
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be figuring it out what is the hidden messenger what is the point the grander teaching
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that you shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together and then finally verse 12 you shall make you
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shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you
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cover yourself and the tassels we already kind of know if you know your Bible History a little bit has to do with the word of God and so it was to
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Forever keep the word of God in front of them that they would have the tassels on their garments so always remember you can't do anything unless you do it in
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God do it God's way right that's what the tassels are about and so I submit to you that in verse 12 where he's saying
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make it about the word he's giving us the conclusion of what is considered a number of sundry commands I mentioned
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this last week a sundry command in fact if you go back if you're in a New American Standard Bible you go back to
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the beginning of chapter 22 you'll see that it labels all of the commands of chapter 22 as sundry commands does
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anybody remember what I said sundry means does anybody know the definition off the top of your head okay so sundry means a collection of
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commands that seem unrelated I submit to you that after studying this I've now discovered they're not
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unrelated at all do you see it do you already see it even before I begin talking about it's there isn't it you
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can see that it there's a thread that runs through the mall there's a reason why they're collected here the sermon
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has just two points in it and then a conclusion and as you well know that means it's a Whopper the conclusion is a
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Whopper all right so first of all the first point I want you to see in here that really the Lord pressed on me is
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that we are part of God's people are part of a grand plan and a greater
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system when scientists look into things in science they look at the cells they look at
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um the little amoeba that has all these intricate Parts but it's a single cell organism so it can't possibly have
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evolved up from anything else their ultimate conclusion is that there is a intelligent designer right most
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scientists who really look at it openly in fact statistics say that probably over 60 60 70 percent of scientists have
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now concluded there must have been an intelligent designer because there are too many things in creation when you
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look at them on a microscopic level that prove that some intelligent being had to have put it together if nothing else DNA
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proves that because DNA is essentially language that tells a cell how to replicate itself and when the cell
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replicates itself it replicates the exact same DNA in the new cell it splits in a half becomes two now you've got the
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same DNA in the new cell by the way you know what it's called when that doesn't happen when the DNA that's replicated is
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bad and it's not an exact copy of the original it's called cancer
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okay so we're living in a day where we now are aware that over the history of mankind we've developed a possibility of
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cells not properly replicating themselves and those cells become cancer cells because then they can replicate
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themselves but if a liver cell replicates itself to be anything but a liver cell then when those cells
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replicate and become Millions you've got a lump and if they're capable of continuing to
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grow then you have what's called malignant cancer okay and I submit to you that we have a
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malignant cancer in the world today inside the world system the grand plan
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of God we have a malignant cancer this grand plan a great system of God
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that we have it is inside that it is not Providence liberally applied that we are
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called to so in other words you don't just get to go throughout your life and every opportunity that comes up suck the
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greatness out of this pull into yourself every bit of wealth
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you can get pull into yourself every bit of profit from every circumstance right so I like flea markets and garage sales
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and I'm teaching Ariana as she's growing up as I've done with most of my kids who go to flea markets and garage sales and I told her yesterday as we're walking
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around the garage sales at the Old West End Festival and I said the two rules still apply Jason have I ever told you
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what the two rules of flea markets and garage sales are I think I probably have but it's only been one time it's been a long time ago
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so it's hard to remember the first rule is you don't have to buy something just because you see it okay and it's the same here it's not
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Providence liberally you don't go along and just because you can collect something just because you can buy something doesn't mean you have to you
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don't have to have the best thing the newest thing right just because your cell phone company says you can upgrade
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your cell phone doesn't mean you have to upgrade your cell phone just because you see it doesn't mean you have to buy it and you first ought to determine whether
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it's appropriate to do so okay so it's not just Providence liberally applied like we're going
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around taking whatever we see that we can take just because you find a nest with eggs and a bird doesn't mean you
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take the eggs and the bird right you have to ask yourself is it appropriate that I add this thing to myself that I
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take it it's not just Providence liberally applied the second rule of flea markets and garage sales is
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you don't have whatever price is marked on it that doesn't mean that's the price you have to pay somebody says they want
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three dollars you can offer them too and if they don't take it you can come up to three and buy it for what they ask for
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or you can Decline and walk away right what's more if you offer them you
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something that's lower you should offer them a fair price as a Christian the world doesn't
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necessarily do it that way but something is being sold for 20 bucks and you go well it's really to me it's worth about
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15. you can offer 15. if they decline you can then decide well is it really worth 20 not to have to go somewhere
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else and buy it or whatever or is it still only worth the 15. but if you know it's worth 15 to you and you offer 10
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that's in that's disrespectful that's Providence liberally applied here I am you got this
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you're stuck with it I'm gonna capitalize on your need to get rid of it I'm going to try to pay you way less
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than it's worth that is not how Christians should behave just the same as in all of these texts would all of
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these are about not being put out not being spent to do what's right and he's saying
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no do what's right because this grand plan of God this greater system that
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we're a part of is not first and foremost about Providence liberally applied in fact it'll cost you something
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to live this way also it's not about liberality
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that was bought at a deer price now being free right we live in a nation
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that we call free but let's be truly honest are you free to do anything you want in the United States of America no
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because you're part of a society so if you go murder people you're going to pray and pay a deer price and by the way the first thing that Americans take away
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from you if you commit a crime is what your freedom that's the first thing they take because clearly you were not able
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to handle it when Alicia was in third grade and we were up in Michigan she would get out of
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bed every morning she had later close out the night before she would dress herself this is going to
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crack you up in a minute Alicia she would dress herself she would make sure her lunch was packed make sure her homework was done she would do all of
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that and make the bus on time every day
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180 day school year I didn't have to get out of bed before 8 30 if I didn't want
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to this is what happened I got out of bed a lot of days just so I could either
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a see that phenomenon or B spend a little time with her before she went to the bus
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I didn't have to get out of bed to make sure her lunch was packed to make sure her homework was done to make sure her clothes were I'd have to do any of that
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so I got the opportunity then providentially because of her dependability I got the opportunity to
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just get up to just spend time with her see where this is going
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this grand plan and great system of God is Not Just Providence liberally applied
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and it's not just liberality bought at a deer price it's not just whatever my eye sees and
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my heart wants I take it that is not what it means to be a follower of God or even to be a human being and I get it
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that that's a whole other topic but right now I'm talking about what it means to be a follower of God it's not
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just I see something I want something and I take it my heart wants I don't know if I'll be okay if I don't have it
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that is not being a member of the kingdom of God in fact David who was called a man after
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God's Own Heart wrote one of the shortest Psalms not the shortest I don't think but one of the shortest in the
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Book of Psalms and it's Psalm 131 if you're following Along on your Bibles you can go there with me to Psalm 131
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I'm going to read it it's only three verses long so if you don't flip quickly I may be done by the time you get there Psalm 131
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and this is what David wrote he said oh Lord my heart is not proud
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nor my eyes haughty nor do I involve myself in great matters
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in other words there's a lot going on and I'm not trying to be in the middle of it
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right or in things that are too difficult for me
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surely I have composed and quieted my soul notice he has composed and quieted his
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soul like a weaned child rests against his mother my soul is like a weaned
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child Within Me and then he ends on this thought he said o Israel that's the people of God hope
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in the Lord for this time forth and forever I submit
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to you that if you are walking along the road and you see a bird on its nest and there's eggs therein and you take the eggs and you take the bird too
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you're not trusting in the Lord for your Providence you're not trusting in the Lord for the next meal you're just
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taking what's been given to you and also going so far as at best who forced his hand to do even more to take care of you
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later it's not Providence liberally applied I take
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anything I want any opportunity I get it's not liberality bought at a deer price and I can do whatever I want
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whenever it's not whatever my eye sees and my heart wants I take it or I go after it rather it is a journey learning
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to be dependent upon the Lord you are not strong enough to stand if God does
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not will it you are not strong enough to lift it if God doesn't will it you are
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not strong enough to comprehend it if God does not will it
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and the journey the grand plan of God is that all creation would be delivering
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this message that we were not created to be independent we were created to have a
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relationship of dependency upon God and these sundry laws one after another
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are reminders that we are meant to be depending on him daily
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the second thing that comes out of these texts these verses that we've been reading then
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that I can and it makes me happy are not legitimate motivators
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we went to the old western Festival yesterday afternoon as I mentioned to you and we were driving around looking
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for a place to park and we came along a back street so I don't know what the cross street is but it was on the corner
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of Scott Woodward it might have actually been Scout would put a curve there sharply on a 90 degree turn but I think
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Scott would continue by the other side I don't know what this street was we're driving down that street and they had marked with signs it was a Park parking
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here sign or you can park here and then under the parking near sign was a sign that had been at it was red and white
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and it said no parking here June whatever it is we're fourth through the
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Saints or whatever whatever the dates were for the festival right and I'm driving along and there were people
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as you can imagine who had parked there by the red signs
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and nobody had a ticket and nobody had been towed they were parked there so clearly they had not been towed away and
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we came to the place where there were several open parking spots with a black and white sign that says you can park
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here legal City sign but under it was another sign and red and white that says you cannot park here
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and we're discussing Sherry and I and Ariana in the car talking about whether or not we can park there and we saw the
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black and white sign first oh we can park there then we saw the red white so no you can't park there and I said well
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I mean we could park there because there's cars parked there people are parking nobody's getting a ticket nobody's getting towed so we could park
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there plenty of room and I had previously seen one parking spot that was about six inches longer than my van on both sides and I had tried to
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convince Sherry that I could put the van in that spot and she told me don't try it and so I didn't and so now we've got
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all these parking spots sitting here with a sign that says you can park and a sign that says you can't park and I said well we can park there
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and Ariana said to me sweet as she is why don't we just park there
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and I said to her I said Ariana sometimes when you can do something
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that's just not a good enough reason to do it
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at another time a few years ago we went to the Old West End Festival same Festival different Road
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and there was a black and white sign that says do not park there I pulled up and parked right next to it
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and I didn't get a ticket and I didn't get towed
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and I would forget which one of the kids I think it might have been Caleb was with us we were going to the OS and he
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said why are we parking here if it says you can't park there and I said
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because we can and because we want to see the difference in three years me I
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said because we can and because we want you to listen to me because you can and because you want to clearly based on
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these texts are not a good enough reason for you to proceed that's going to be a problem
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because your two primary motivators in life are going to be what you can do and what you want to do
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that's what a human that's the road that we walk right if you can't do it if you truly can't do it you can't do it if you
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believe you can't do it you probably can't do it and you won't do it if you want to do it you'll do it and if
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you really don't want to do it you'll try everything you can not to do it so the road that we walk is composed
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largely of we can and we want to
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the watu could be it makes me happy it makes me wealthy it makes me strong it saves me time etc etc
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Paul wrote In the book of First Timothy if you'll go there with me if you want to anyway First Timothy chapter six
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beginning in verse 17. and he said this instruct those who are rich in this
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present world not to be conceited or to fix their Hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God who richly supplies us
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with all things to enjoy so first of all understand everybody in this room you're going to
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say I don't really feel it okay everybody in this room is Wealthy by the standards of this verse
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unless you literally have no income whatsoever in the United States of America
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95 of the world's population makes less than people in the U.S who are on Social
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Security disability you understand so you really want to feel wealthy you
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probably have to move to another country but you're going to give up a lot to do that including that income because they don't
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pay social security disability in another Nation right so the point is We're All in This category so that makes
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this a command for us instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited in other words don't think
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you're more than you are or to fix their Hope on the uncertainty of riches don't think that you're going to do well if
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you can just get a little more money or or you've got enough money to take care of this uh and so on
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but rather to fix their Hope on God who richly supplies us with all things look at that to enjoy
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everything that is in your life including the hard work the struggle
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the lack the tribulations everything that is in your life good bad and ugly is given for
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you to enjoy and God richly supplies us with all things to enjoy then it says in
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18 instruct them as if you were saying rather do this instruct them to do good to be rich in Good Works to be generous
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and ready to share storing up for themselves the treasures of a good foundation for the future so that they
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may take hold of that which is life indeed
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the message that is Behind These sundry verses is nothing less than God has a
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grand plan to take care of you in a way that you cannot fathom
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which means when you say I can you have to go wait a minute I think I can but
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should I and when you say I want sometimes the answer is actually I think
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I want it but now I realize I don't years ago 22 years ago now I I stopped
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drinking soda I realized I was drinking a lot of soda a lot like I had given up caffeine so it
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wasn't about the caffeine I'd given that up years before and I stopped drinking soda for 40 days because I knew I was
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out of control I was drinking about a two liter and a half of soda a day usually Sprite root beer red cream soda
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that kind of thing to an uh three liters a day and I think that's too much we were doing purpose-driven life and I
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need to give something up so I'm going to do that because I don't get that under control after 40 days of not drinking soda except for I think twice
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once I actually picked up somebody's cup and I did spit it out and the other time I got handed what I thought was uh water
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and it turned out to be Sprite and I did spit it out so twice I drank it I may have swallowed a teeny little bit but other than that every 40 days I'm not
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swallowing anything get me a soda and the Lord said
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you don't need that and I said no no yeah I know I don't need it I mean nobody needs soda and I'm
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thinking in the back of my mind you know in the desert and you're really thirsty what you need is water right not sodium and nobody needs soda and God said and I
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said I don't need it but I want it in my mind I'm thinking I want it and I can have it because it's been 40 days and
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God said no actually you don't and I'm like but I feel like I do and God said
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but you don't and now 22 years later I still haven't drunk soda now when I
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moved to Michigan just to give you an example I moved to Michigan after I've done diagnosed with the ability to be hydrated by the way soda will dehydrate
39:46
you almost worse than anything right but I've been diagnosed with this problem that caused me to dehydrated easily I
39:52
might have been dead right I certainly had a lot more kidney stones if I'd have continued about but I didn't know anything about that afterwards the
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doctor told me to start drinking Gatorade while I was living in Michigan drinking Gatorade mostly instead of water because if I drink the Gatorade I
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only drink half a gallon a day but if I drink water I gotta drink three quarters of a gallon a day to stay hydrated that's what the doctor told me
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so while I was drinking three quarters of a gallon of Gatorade a day I gained 45 pounds
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45 pounds in nine months at which point in time I said wait a
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minute I think I know what the problem is and I started drinking the three quarters of a gallon of water a day instead of the Gatorade in over two
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years I lost about 30 to 35 of those 45 pounds and then it took me 15
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or plus 15 plus years to lose the last 10. now I want you to think about where I'd
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have been if for that intervening 15 years I'd have been drinking soda but the day that God said you don't want
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that I was thinking but but yeah I do yeah I mean I do God I do want it and God's
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like no you don't want it and what God could see was that if I had continued on the path that I was on he could see the
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results that I was going to get I didn't know why I didn't get to ask God why I probably did ask him why
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sometimes but he never answered me why right sometimes I can and I want are not
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proper motivators until your heart is properly aligned like Psalm 131 like
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what David is talking about and you're dependent upon the Lord then your I want becomes what God wants like a weaned
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child mama says look you can't be on the boob forever you're done
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it's time to stop breastfeeding and start eating solid food and drinking from a cop and the baby's like no please
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no please don't take my boob this is my best friend this is my everything
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but mama knows better and like a weaned child I realize mama
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knows better and my soul Within Me becomes a like a weaned child and I realize God knows
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better his Grand system his grand plan and his great system is not just for me about providentially liberally applying
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whatever opportunities I get to take what I want it is not about my liberality acting in Freedom a deer
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price was paid for that and I need to respect that it's not just whatever my eyes see or whatever my heart wants I go
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after it it's about training my eyes my physical human eyes and my heart my
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internal being to want what God wants and first of all then to want God
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and then that brings us to our conclusion before I do that I want to mention this
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because we may not get there otherwise there's a three-part action plan and being a follower of Jesus and you
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probably know what it is the first one is deny yourself and I
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submit to you if you're living your life taking what you can and going after what you want you're not denying yourself
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now for the conclusion we live in a day today we live in a day
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perhaps it's always been this way all the way back to Adam and Eve where men are not only inclined to do that which
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goes against God and against God's good plan
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and against his system but also they rejoice when others do the same things
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Paul wrote about these circumstances in the Book of Romans
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and if you want to read them you can I'm just going to read the two verses to you today from Romans 1 they are 28 and 32
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if you're taking notes and it says and just as they did not see
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fit to acknowledge God any longer God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper
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and then a few verses in 32 he says and although they know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things are
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worthy of death they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them
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there is a section if you will of mankind
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that not only wants to do what goes against God's grand plan and his great system and against God himself
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but also is very pleased when others do the same
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we're living in a day where you have to take a choice you have
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to make a choice of whether to be a part of that group of people or whether to be a part of a group of
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people that truly wishes to honor God with their choices and live as a people of Grace and love and service and so on
44:30
that difficult Choice puts us in a very difficult position because if we choose
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to be a peace Grace and love and yet we know there are people out there like this
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other what do we do about that do we become the enforcers of God and by arms and and move to the country and put
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barbed wire up on our fences to keep them out do we become recluse and monks and live
44:55
on a mountain somewhere learn the Gregorian chants and learn the scriptures and only live as godly people
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because we can't let those infidels in here to use a term from another faith
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what do we do the beauty of it is that scripture clearly shows us what to do now that we
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have seen in Deuteronomy 22 that there is a grand plan of God a great system in
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place and we desire to function within it and not to abuse it not to live the way we've been taught not to
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we can find in the same scriptures the plan on how to handle it this
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difficulty the first and simplest would be to look at Romans chapter one remember those verses that
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we just read Romans 1 28 and 32. where Paul was pointing out that there
45:50
is a group of people and he kind of described them in Fairly harsh terms and I didn't get into all of it but you
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heard that they are a people that want to do what's not God's way and they want others to do it as well they are pleased
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when others do it as well all of that is subject to the beginning
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of the discussion which is earlier in chapter one and that section that
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includes 28 and 32 is summed up as this he says for I am not ashamed of the Gospel
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for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek
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for in the righteousness of God is revealed from Faith to Faith as it is written
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but the righteous man shall live by faith
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Paul was saying this is what you do living in a world divided between these
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two standards one that recognizes that God has a great plan and a grand system and wants to submit to it and be saved
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through Jesus Christ which is part of that great plan and another that wants to do the
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opposite of what God wants to capitalize and take advantage of providential liberality of every kind
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and see others do the same when stuck between those two worlds this is what
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you do do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
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do not be ashamed for in it is the power unto salvation for you
47:23
but not just for you for everyone else who is living over there if you will you
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want to use it geographically living over there who would accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior who would truly say I
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am not here to capitalize on the system I am not here to providentially
47:41
liberally apply my own Freedom rather I am here to recognize that God has a plan
47:47
and that he has enacted that plan through his son Jesus Christ and they will be transported transmuted
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moved from this section to this section it's painful because it's not
48:01
geographical but the bridge is the truth and the truth is Jesus
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secondly in this day
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we must remember these commands of Deuteronomy 22 were written to a people who had already received God's grace
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it received God's grace and being brought out of Egypt and led and threw the Red Sea and
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protected provided for in battle
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they had already been preserved by God
48:41
as painful as it is to say those on the road to hell can dress however they
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please they can consume however they please they can overuse the system however they please
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and get no worse Eternal damnation than that which is already prepared for them
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however if at some point they may get truly
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saved they can take that Eternal damnation off the table
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and let us be careful that tax collectors and whoremongers do not come down come and sit down in the kingdom of
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God before we do for justice we preach we understand there is a greater plan we understand
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there is a greater system and we want to be part of it through Jesus Christ we must indeed actually be part of it we
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cannot just mouth the words or act the actions without having a transformed heart submitted to the Lord for if we do
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that there is every possibility that somebody who now somebody who now rapes the system
49:49
steals for their own enjoyment behaves in a way that dishonors God
49:56
may actually meet Christ and become a Christian and go to heaven
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while we do not
50:09
that salvation is in the reminder that Holiness of God
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that separation of peoples it's in the cloths no two cloths
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together for this reason Paul would say it's inappropriate to marry unequally yoked
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but so is it true that if you partner with an unbeliever you are unequally yoked
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if you participate in raping the system
50:41
reaping the benefits of God's Gift beyond what is actually allowed
50:47
so too you are like a donkey in the yoke
50:52
or perhaps an ox and someone else that loves Jesus is a donkey
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and here in this text we are reminded not to try to lay two kinds of seed
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in the same field what soil are you there is only one seed it is the word of
51:12
God I know people who will read self-proclaim to be a Christian and read a self-help book or a fantasy sci-fi
51:19
book or a history book but they won't pick up and read their Bible your heart is one field made for one seed and that
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seed is the word of God and if you will pollute yourself
51:31
with everything else in the world but not purify Yourself by inserting in everything about Jesus then you defile
51:39
everything that comes off of that field all the fruit is defined you say but I love Jesus and I read my Bible but yeah
51:45
I watch that stuff too I love Jesus I read my Bible yeah I participate in that stuff too and you take it in and you
51:51
defile not only the fruit that is produced by the stuff that is defiled but also the fruit that is produced by
51:57
Jesus in your heart you defile it all I didn't put it there
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I submit to you Moses didn't even put it there this is an understanding of what the god
52:09
of the universe says about what it means to be a part of a distinct unique already covered by Grace kingdom of God
52:24
and let us not forget the tassels the tassels on the garments
52:29
that we'll put on the edge of our garments to always remember wherever we go that the most important way to live
52:36
is by Doctrine by the teachings of the Lord it is so important what God tells us to
52:43
do that Jesus would eventually say this you know a number of centuries after
52:50
Moses said what we wrote Today Jesus would say not everyone who says to me
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Lord Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven but he who follows the commands of my
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father see God's commands are the guidelines they are the framework they
53:08
are the rails they are the pillars they are the supports the archways upon which God's Grand Design exists you must
53:15
follow the lord you must desire him above all things and follow his commands above all things and if you find in your
53:21
heart a competition between something that you have absorbed and God's word then get rid of that other something and
53:26
make it about God's word if you are a person who cannot watch TV without watching smut then don't watch
53:33
TV read the word instead what will it hurt you you can even if you need to if you really need a dose of Darkness you
53:40
can read a little Song of Solomon or some imprecatory Psalms where they're praying that God would bash the baby's heads upon the Rocks you say oh I don't
53:47
need to read that but you still watch the TV mature TV or the rated R crap or listen to people talking on the radio
53:53
full of foul language we are a different people a unique and
53:59
holy people we must put the gospel up where the gospel belongs and then we also must remember that these commands
54:05
they are for us if you are a follower of Jesus we want to liberally apply them to the
54:11
rest of the world those who don't want to do what God wants them to do those who want to see others not do what God wants
54:18
and we want to apply that there you'd love I'd love to haul out Deuteronomy 22 5 and say you're a boy you shouldn't be
54:25
dressing like that I would love to do that but guess what if that person doesn't know Jesus that text applies to
54:31
them but ultimately eternally it doesn't hurt them at all to do the wrong thing that they're doing
54:38
but if you will capitalize on the situation go after what you can and what you want rather than what God wants for
54:44
you if your heart in you is prideful or your heart in you needs to get up involved with things that you don't
54:50
necessarily need to be involved with so you can get your way get your Prosperity get your be looked upon by Society a certain way
54:57
if you need that if you need to feel good about you
55:03
then you're doing the same thing that they're doing by dressing up the way they shouldn't
55:09
and the command then is for you
55:15
the third and final point in the conclusion then is this you do you
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that sounds worldly doesn't it that sounds like it comes straight out of Satan's system so you do you you do what
55:28
you want to do you do what you can do do what you're capable of do your smart thing or do your hard thing or do your
55:34
financial thing you do you right
55:40
but God says that in doing us we are to separate
55:45
because we have been made new we're to separate if necessary from that
55:51
which would have us do old us or different us that's not godly
55:57
you are to use your resources he says in first Timothy 6 the latter part of that chapter use your resources to be a
56:03
blessing to others as the last text of the day I'll read just a few verses from that
56:10
and we are concluding First Timothy back to First Timothy 6.
56:19
First Timothy 6 we already read 17 what do we read 17 16.
56:27
17-21 we're going back to verse three I thank God whom I serve
56:32
wrong one there it goes there's three if anyone Advocates a different Doctrine and does
56:39
not agree with sound words those of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the doctrine conforming to Godliness he is conceded
56:45
and understands nothing but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words out
56:51
of which arise Envy Strife abusive language evil suspicions and constant friction between men of depraved mind
56:57
deprived of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain so we say I
57:03
can be Godly I want to be Godly because it'll be good for me verse six but godliness actually is a means of great
57:09
gain when accompanied by a contentment for we have brought nothing into the world so we can take we can't take
57:15
anything out of it either and if we have food and covering with these we shall be content but those who want to get rich
57:21
fall into temptation and a snare in many foolish and harmful desires which plun men into ruin and destruction For the
57:28
Love of Money is a root of all sorts of evil and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced
57:33
themselves with many and I submit to you you could submit the love of anything that's not godly right there
57:39
but flee from these things you man of God and pursue righteousness godliness Faith love perseverance and gentleness
57:46
fight the good fight of Faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and you made the good confession
57:51
in the presence of many witnesses I charge you in the presence of God who
57:56
gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the
58:03
Commandment without stain and reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which he will bring about at the
58:09
proper time he who is the blessed and only Sovereign the king of kings and Lord of lords who alone possesses
58:16
immortality and dwells in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see to
58:22
him be honor and eternal Dominion amen you see it's right there in the word you do you but if you want to do what's good
58:29
for you you better do Jesus first there is no greater place of suffering
58:38
than someone who would think their Eternal destination is secure
58:44
while in actuality they are headed for hell
58:51
every day spent thinking they're saved thinking this is the best it will ever get this lonely aching Heart of Mine
58:58
this desperate desire for something more trying to feel okay
59:04
never quite complete thinking they're saved but never quite there there is no greater Pain No
59:11
Greater suffering no greater sorrow than someone who would think that their Eternal destination is secure
59:18
when it's actually not so what do you do well when it's your
59:24
evil repent knock it off turn to the Lord
59:30
and do what's right when it's evil put under your control so it's your kids or your money or your
59:37
whatever and you're the one who can do something about it when it's evil put under your control
59:43
repent turn to the Lord end that evil when it's not your evil when it's
59:50
someone else doing themselves doing what they want to do and it's not your kid it's not your house
59:55
it's not in your church building it's not in your ministry when it's someone else's evil trust in the Lord
1:00:03
and deliver the gospel
1:00:09
the true status quo status quo means the way things are the
1:00:15
strew the true status quo God's plan and system the gospel
1:00:24
according to the way God presents it you deliver the gospel you fertilize it with the blood of the
1:00:31
church and his plan comes to fruition as everybody who will
1:00:37
comes and receives the Lord and is truly saved once they come and receive the Lord
1:00:43
the tassels go on their garment they become about the word of God they begin to realize they are now part
1:00:50
of a bigger system a bigger plan they realize they cannot blend themselves together anymore with the
1:00:56
world's unholiness they realize there will always be a group of people who want to stand up
1:01:02
against God they want to do what they're trying to revise the system to allow things to be okay that God says or not
1:01:08
there's always going to be that group of people but they realize they are no longer a part of it
1:01:18
and then in Jesus's strength and Jesus's
1:01:24
capabilities they set aside the I can and that it makes me happy
1:01:30
and they become like a weaned babe on the lap of the Lord
1:01:37
God wants you to do what God wants you to do
1:01:44
God wants you to want to do what God wants you to do
1:01:49
and I understand that sometimes and in certain areas it starts with a sip of milk
1:01:55
and you go I'm beginning to get a Feeling like something has to change
1:02:01
but if you've become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ that is to say he is your lord and you
1:02:07
do what he says he is your savior and he paid the price for your sins
1:02:12
then you're no longer a part of the group that goes around sucking the good out of life
1:02:19
liberally applying God's Providence and taking whatever they can you become the guy that goes back to the
1:02:25
cash register to pay for the thing that you forgot to pay for it drives back to the restaurant to deliver the change
1:02:33
that was accidentally given too much that doesn't Park where the no parking sign says don't park
1:02:41
that wears their seat belt even though I think all of us would agree that shouldn't be a law
1:02:49
and so on the bottom line is we don't answer to
1:02:55
this world we answer to God and he wants you to depend upon him
1:03:02
will you there's no physical tassel on your
1:03:07
sleeve but will the word of God govern every reaching of your hand
1:03:14
there's no physical tassels on your we don't even wear robes anymore but the bottom of your robes like your pant legs
1:03:19
right but will the word of God govern every step you take
1:03:25
if it won't then when you stand before Jesus
1:03:33
as God says you will answer for it I'm asking you today to realize that
1:03:39
these sundry commands these various things that we know we are supposed to do they're not at all disconnected
1:03:45
they're a wide open bay window for you to see for me to see for us to see
1:03:51
the grand plan of God and how it goes beyond what we know and how sometimes we just have to say well
1:04:00
there's no one on the planet that would say I can't take this or I can't do this or I shouldn't
1:04:07
but then something in me says no
1:04:13
so I won't and when you learn to do that you will be walking by faith not by sight
1:04:20
and this is what we're called to I'm going to ask the praise team to come forward at this time and lead us in our closing hymn
1:04:28
thank you