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I want to talk to us today from this subject, the church doing its job.

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The church doing its job.

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It becomes me this morning to give a reading of the vital signs of Lily Grove Missionary

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Baptist Church.

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As we seek to mailed the preaching of a liberating hermeneutic born of our history as a race

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in this land, we must in light of that remain consistent with biblical orthopraxia.

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I invoke and invite you to look with me a moment at the condition of our society.

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From the violent carnage of the inner cities and suburbs of Houston to the empty consumerism

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of our shopping malls, from our toxic wastes to our wasted time, from our religion of entertainment

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to our entertainment of religion, from the substances that we abuse to the economic

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and political institutions that abuse us, it is glaringly apparent that pragmatism has

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married evangelism and has given birth to the demon seed of theological illiberalism.

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Democrats are unable to articulate or to demonstrate the kind of moral values that must undergird

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in a serious movement of social transformation.

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Republicans still deny the reality of systemic injustice and social oppression.

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Their call for individual self-improvement and a return to family values while ignoring

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the pernicious effects of poverty, racism, and sexism is to continue blaming the victim.

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A scholar and social scientist, Dr. Cornel West, points out who has no business running

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for president.

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The liberal structuralists and the conservative behaviorists are both right and both wrong.

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To speak of moral behavior apart from oppressive social realities just blames the victim.

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And to speak only about social conditions apart from moral choices is to keep treating

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people like victims.

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We must not imitate nor escalate what we repudiate.

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Distinguished professor of African American studies at Princeton University, Dr. Eddie

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Glour Jr. said you cannot be both arsonist and firefighter.

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You can't set it afire and then put it out.

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When the children of our cities are planning their funerals rather than their futures, it

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is a sure sign that we have lost our way if not lost our minds.

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Several decades ago, Mohandas K. Gandhi warned against what he called the seven social sins.

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K. Gandhi, the seven social sins are politics without principle, wealth without work, commerce

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without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without

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humanity and worship without sacrifice.

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There is a neo-pentecostalism.

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This neo-pentecostalism gaining ground in our churches that combine worship with a secular

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swag.

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A preaching that focuses more on practical living than on theological doctrine.

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All of these are an apt description of the clear warning in Proverbs 29, 18, where there

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is no vision, the people perish.

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There is no vision, the people cast off restraint.

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The church is not a nightclub.

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Do not come to church with an entertainment philosophy nor a nightclub mentality.

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There is no step show at the church.

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Come on talk back to me if you can.

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You cannot turn a church into someplace where people feel comfortable enough to be secular

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and think that we are in some bar room somewhere.

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This is the living, breathing, active, dynamic, alive body of Christ, and there's got to be

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something different about how we act.

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Come out from among them.

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I wish I had a Bible reader and be separated.

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We are in the world, but we are not of the world.

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In the Gospel of Matthew chapters five through seven, Jesus is the authoritative Messiah

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in Word.

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His Word in the sermon on the Mount.

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But in chapters eight and nine, he is the Messiah at work.

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Humanity is dying without Christ.

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And we are the ones who must go next door and around the world carrying his healing touch

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because they will either be gathered in the harvest of grace or they will be gathered

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in the judgment.

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And if we do not sound the alarm, the blood of the lost will be required at our hands.

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It is a weighty and marvelous charge that Jesus gives to the disciples of all ages.

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Listen to this little story.

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A man fell into a pit and could not get himself out.

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A Christian scientist came along and said, you only think you're in a pit.

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A Pharisee came along and told him only bad people fall in a pit.

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A fundamentalist came along and said, you deserve to be in this pit.

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A charismatic came along and said, you're in a pit, but don't claim it.

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An optimist came along and said, things could be worse.

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A pessimist came along and said, oh yeah, things are going to get worse.

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A Methodist came by and said, we brought you some food and clothing while you're in the

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pit.

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A black Baptist came by and said, I've got a feeling everything going to be all right.

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Look at that, some of y'all have started saying that already.

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The man said, I almost said the bad word.

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Forget all of that.

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Go get some rope.

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I'm in a pit.

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I don't need prayer.

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I need rope.

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I'm in a pit.

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I don't need doctrine.

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I need a rope.

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Lily Grove, men and women are on their way to hell.

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They don't need a Bible verse.

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They need you to roll up your sleeves.

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Somebody ought to help me preach it.

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Get out of your position as chairman of this and secretary of that and soloist of this

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and leader of that.

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Because God does not care how many people you lead on Sunday.

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How many people do you lead on Monday?

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Walk with me around the table.

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If the church is going to do its job, the first thing we have to do is visualize.

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You've got to visualize.

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You've got to see people like Jesus sees them.

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Jesus does not see an alcoholic.

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Jesus does not see a drug addict.

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Jesus does not see a hormonger.

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Jesus does not see a homosexual.

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Jesus does not see anybody hooked on prescription drugs.

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Jesus does not see a homeless person.

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Jesus does not see a prostitute.

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Jesus does not see anybody destitute.

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Jesus sees a soul in need of salvation.

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And if we would see people like Jesus sees people, we would have pity on them because

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pity on them will make us move to action.

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You will never help somebody that you don't see.

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And everybody in this church this morning, everybody listening to me online, your greatest

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need is to be seen.

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See me in my struggle.

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See me in my heartbreak.

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See me in my loneliness.

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See me in my distressing circumstance.

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See me in trying to raise these children by myself.

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See me in my sickness.

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See me in my hardship.

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See me sitting right next to you.

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You don't care nothing about nobody you can't see.

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You see them.

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You just not looking at them.

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Because when you get to the traffic light and they are standing there begging, you put

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your shades on or you act like you're fooling with your radio or like you dropped something

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on the floor or you just look straight ahead because you said, boy, if you get next to

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this car, no.

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Jesus sees people in their emptiness because they are sheep having no shepherd.

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You actually think people who are strung out on drugs want to be out there?

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You actually think people whose lives are messed up want to live a messed up life?

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They don't know any better because if they knew better, they would come to Jesus.

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But since they don't know any better, those of us who've already found Christ, talk back

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to me if you can.

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We are not here because we are better and they are not there because they are worse.

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We are here because we found Jesus before they did.

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Because if it were not for the grace of God, I wish I had a witness.

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You would be on the street right now.

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If it were not for the grace of God, you'd be homeless right now.

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God's been good to you and you ought to spread that goodness to somebody else.

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There was a woman called in the very act of adultery and they didn't just bring up a dread

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her and threw her in front of Jesus.

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Last time I heard, you can't commit adultery by yourself.

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But that's a sermon for another Sunday.

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They threw that woman in front of Jesus and said, Moses said she ought to be stoned.

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Jesus didn't pick up his head.

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He just started writing on the ground.

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And I don't know, I wasn't there, but perhaps he was writing down their sin where they were

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like before last.

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But they were doing two months ago that they had no business doing.

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And the Bible says they started dropping their stones from the oldest to the youngest.

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And Jesus said to that woman, where are your accusers?

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She said, there's nobody, Lord.

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She said, he said, I don't accuse you either.

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Go and sin no more.

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He that is without sin cast the first stone.

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Stop looking down your sanctimonious nose at people who are less fortunate than you

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are.

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Stop looking down your Baptist nose at people who don't have what you have.

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You are here not because you've been so holy, not because you've kept the Lord's commandments,

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not because you have a large print Bible.

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It is of the Lord's mercy that you are not consumed.

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And those mercies are new every morning.

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Great is the Lord's faithfulness.

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You have to see people because if you don't see her, you'll never do the next thing that

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Jesus did in this text.

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He saw them.

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He saw them.

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He saw them and to see them, you have to see them not for where they are or for who they

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are, but for what they can become.

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Do not judge me by the heights that I've attained.

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Look at the depths from whence I've come.

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You don't know how long it took me to get to where I am right now.

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You don't know how many doors God had to open for me.

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How many prayers God had to answer for me.

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How many tears God had to dry for me.

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You know my glory, but you need to know my story.

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You folk alone when they're shouting and giving God glory, they got a reason and a right.

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They have a reason and a right and a responsibility because anybody kept me like God kept me.

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Anybody delivered like God delivered?

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Anybody raised up a sick baby like God raised him up?

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Anybody that comforted me and my long list like God did?

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I got a reason and a right and a responsibility.

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He saw them.

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Jesus saw them.

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You got to visualize.

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Then secondly, if the church is going to do its job, you have to agonize.

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Agonize.

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He had compassion on them because it's not enough to see them.

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You have to be moved with compassion.

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That word moved in the Greek means that Jesus was moved on the inside.

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He was moved in his bowels.

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That was that word literally means he was moved in his heart.

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His emotions were stirred because you can see a person and be unemotional about what

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you saw.

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But if you truly see them, it ought to move you to be compassionate towards them.

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Brothers and sisters, compassion is more than sympathy because you can feel sorry for somebody

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and go home and eat a sandwich.

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You can feel sorry for somebody and say, poor thing, I sure hope things get better and go

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home and watch American Idol.

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But when you're moved, you can't rest until you do something about that situation.

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I wish I had a witness here.

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Today we will install officers here at Lily Grove Church and I will call them up to the

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front.

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But before I do that, I want each and every one of them to know that it is not your responsibility

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to count money.

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That's not the church doing this job.

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We can get a machine to do that.

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You're not impressing nobody being over the scholarship committee because somebody was

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over it before you.

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And somebody's going to be over it after you.

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I wish I had somebody to help me.

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You are not impressing anybody with these uniforms on or with these cry robes on or

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sitting in this pulpit.

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What God is calling us to do is to win the loss.

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And if you are the president of this and the chairman of that and nobody has come to Christ

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because of you, you are sounding brass and a tankling simple.

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Hopefully this will sober us.

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When they were carrying the Ark of the Covenant after David found it in the home of Obed Edom,

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they were bringing it back to his rightful place in Jerusalem.

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And they put it on an ox cart when God had instructed them to carry it on poles, to put

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it on their shoulders and carry it on poles.

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But in disobedience to the word of God, they put it on an ox cart and they were traveling

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with it and the oxen stumbled.

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And the cart almost fell to the ground and Arthur put his hand on it to keep it from falling

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and God killed him on the spot.

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The lesson for you, leader, if you're not going to put your heart in it, don't put your

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hand on it.

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Because if your heart is not in what you do, let me know after church and I'll put somebody

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else in your place.

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You know a pretty good sign that you ought not be in leadership is that when you're no

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longer in leadership, you don't support it.

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As long as you over it is all of that and a bag of turnip greens.

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Then somebody else get over it.

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I ain't fooling with that no more.

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They make me, they get on my nerves.

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They trying to run everything.

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Well, you tried to run it when you was over it.

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You holding it to yourself and holding it and don't want anybody else to have any ideas

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and making the suggestions.

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You got all the sense when you over it.

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See how quiet you got right there.

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A pretty good sign that you should not be in leadership is that you can't follow leadership.

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Because if you cannot follow, you're not fit to leave.

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Because leadership is not about power.

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It's about sacrifice.

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President Joe Biden says we don't need by the example of power, but by the power of

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example.

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And when you, when you've been given assignment and you are no longer over that assignment

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and you no longer support the group that supported you, that's a good sign you shouldn't have

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been in it in the first place.

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If somebody else got your solo, get in the choir and support them.

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I mean, you know, you got a good voice and Ernest don't ever use me.

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You got to use who show up.

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You want to be used?

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Sure.

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Diva.

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Take up all your bangles and sparkles and get in the choir.

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And if you got it, somebody gonna hear it.

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Because God gave you the gift.

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And if you don't use it to his glory, God will strip you of your power and take somebody

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whose voice sounds like gravel on the road.

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And use them for his glory and for his honor.

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When was the last time you wept for somebody who was on their way to hell?

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When did you last weep for these young people who not being raised right?

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Whose parents are in the streets?

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And these children are trying to go to school.

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They're trying to learn.

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They're trying to do the right thing.

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But their daddy is in prison.

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Their mama still in the club.

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I weep for these young people.

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I weep for that man who's in his 50s and 60s and still on drugs.

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Has no hope in Christ.

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No direction.

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Don't know where his life is going to end up.

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I weep for them.

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Because somebody wept for me.

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Somebody prayed for me.

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I wish I had some help right here.

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Somebody asked God to keep me till I could learn some sense.

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And you are in this church this morning because some mama, some daddy, some Sunday school

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teacher, some old person in your life helped you to get to where you are.

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And since they helped you, you ought to help somebody in.

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You're not in jail.

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Not because you didn't do enough to go.

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But God had mercy on them.

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And salvation is not just what you've been delivered from.

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It's what God kept you from.

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Somebody ought to help me talk it.

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God kept some of us from being everything we wanted to be and doing everything we wanted

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to do.

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We did some of it.

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God just restrained us and brought us back to our senses before we went all the way to

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being a fool.

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I wish I had a crook in here this morning.

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It was on your mind.

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God just didn't let you do it.

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You had a desire for it, but God kept you from it.

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And then there are some of us in here, the devil, that just about used you up.

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God got what's left, but let him use that.

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You gonna help me preach this, won't you?

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Not only must you visualize, not only must you agonize, but then finally you have to

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evangelize.

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It's not enough to see you.

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It's not enough to agonize over their condition.

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You have to go get them.

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Each one of us has to reach somebody.

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There's somebody you have influence over.

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I'm not talking about your immediate family now because you're really in trouble if you

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can't influence your immediate family.

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Pastor and I were talking about it the other day and he was talking about his child goes

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to, he passes a church and his child goes to somebody else's church.

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And he was distraught about that and he said, Reverend, I don't know if you're going through

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that.

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I said, no.

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I said, well, let me put it this way.

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My child could go to somebody else's church, but they have to wheel her in a wheelchair.

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She welcomed to join any church she wanted to join, but she had to eat her food with

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a straw.

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Because these people are making it possible, have made it possible for you to be where

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you are.

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And the height of ingratitude is to take what I give you and act like I didn't give it

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to you.

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And so I'm not talking about your immediate family because if you can't, if you don't

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have any control over your own place where you live, then that's God bless you.

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But I'm talking about folk that you come in contact with in your concentric circle of

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concern.

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They ought to look at you and know that you've been the church.

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Your conversation, your conduct, the way you live on your street, the way you act at the

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supermarket, the way you act in the department store, ought to let people know that you've

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been with Jesus.

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If you've got ugly ways and a nasty disposition and you say that you are the president of

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this or the chairman of that or you're giving leadership to this, people will look at you

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like you're crazy.

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How you leading somebody and can't speak to people?

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How can you lead where you won't go?

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How can you teach what you don't know?

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Jesus went and got them.

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That was a man, I'm true, in the tombs, cutting himself with stones.

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They couldn't even tame him.

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They time up, he threw the threads off, run back in town screaming like a maniac.

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And Jesus came that way.

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Jesus said, what is your name?

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He said, my name is Legion.

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For there are many demons.

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And Jesus healed him of that demonic spirit.

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And people were more afraid of him after Jesus got through with him than they were when he

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was in his demonic state.

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Because people like to see you in the situation you're in because that makes them above you.

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Somebody ought to help me talk here.

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But when Jesus got through with him, the Bible says he put on some clothes and he was in

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his right mind.

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And brothers and sisters, when Jesus gets through with you, doesn't matter who likes

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you, who does not like you, does not matter who's on your side, who's not on your side.

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When Jesus gets through with you, it does not matter if they let you lead something or

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if they don't even give you a part in the play, it does not matter if they don't ever

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let you sit in the front, it does not matter if you weigh in the back of the choir, it

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does not matter if you never get to lead the ushers, it does not matter if your name is

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never on the program.

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It does not matter if you never get an opportunity to speak at the mic.

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If when you give.

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The best of your service.

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Telling the world that the Savior has come.

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Be not dismayed if men don't believe you.

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He'll understand and say well done.

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Misunderstood is the Savior of sinners.

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He was hung on the cross, he was God's only son.

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Oh hear him calling his father in heaven, not my will.

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But time be done.

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Oh when I come to the end of my journey, weary of life and the battle is won.

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Bring the staff and the cross of redemption, he'll understand and say well done.

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When it's over, he doesn't have to call me bishop.

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He don't have to call me doctor.

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He doesn't have to call me Reverend.

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He doesn't have to call me pastor.

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Serve it.

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Well done.

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You've been faithful over a few things.

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I'll make you ruler over many things.

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Until now, until your master's joy.