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Dear Lord, thank you for this day, this Sabbath.

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Thank you that you want to spend a day with us and that you set a day out of every seven

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that we should be with you.

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Ask that you will be with me as I speak with the congregation.

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So listen and send your Holy Spirit on each one of us to apply this message to our lives.

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Amen.

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So this week I did some thinking about handshakes because through COVID I kind of had this difficulty

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where I would go for a handshake with someone and kind of get left hanging, right?

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Or I stick out my hand and they kind of give me an elbow and it's like, do I shake their

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elbow or like, you know?

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And it got me thinking about what a handshake means, right?

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When you look someone in the eye and you shake their hand and you say, it's good to see you,

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or you shake their hand, you grab their arm and you say, you know, good morning, such

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an excellent thing to know you.

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It's more than just a physical connection, it's about a relationship.

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And I want to present the idea today that Jesus offers a handshake with us every morning.

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And the way he does it is through impressions, through our prayer, through our Bible study.

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He's coming every morning with his hand outstretched saying, good morning, it's good to see you.

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And sometimes I find that I leave him hanging because I know that when he offers a handshake

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to me, it's more than just a handshake, right?

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He wants to shake my hand and then say, let's go for a walk, right?

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His handshake is more than just a few moments in the morning.

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It's an invitation to redirect my life, redirect my day.

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And so at times I honestly don't take the handshake because I know I'm pretty busy that

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day.

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I have a bunch of school, some prior commitments.

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And so I just, you know, he holds out his hand and then I kind of wave.

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I'm like, good morning, I'll catch you later.

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But I think there's more to this idea of a handshake than first meets the eye.

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So let's go to scripture Matthew 14, verse 28 through 33.

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You can come down here so I can read it.

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So this is after Jesus fed the 5,000 and he sees that the disciples and the people are

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going to try to make him king.

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And so he sends the disciples across the lake and they encounter this storm and they see

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him coming to them, walking on the water.

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We know this story, right?

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So Peter says, Lord, if it is you command me to come to you on the water.

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Jesus says, come.

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So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

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But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save

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me.

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Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying to him, Oh, you of

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little faith, why did you doubt?

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And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

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So right here, this is kind of the classic example of a handshake in scripture, right?

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Peter's sinking.

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He reaches out his hand.

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Jesus takes it and pulls him up out of the water and then they walk hand in hand to the

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boat, as I just said.

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So here we see this this really cool truth that Jesus well on earth with was physically

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extending his hand to save Peter.

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And I think for us, he's, you know, spiritually extending his hand to save us.

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And sometimes we have to grasp it from beneath the waves, right?

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But he's it's always there to save us.

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So let's let's keep going with this idea of a handshake.

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How does this apply practically?

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Because it's you know, it's nice if Jesus were like physically here on earth, we could

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say shake hands.

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But I mean, he's not you can't.

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I'm I'm just holding my hand in the air right now.

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Right.

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So there's a spiritual meaning to this, which Jesus explains well in John 625 on the yeah.

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So this is after Jesus and the disciples have landed in Capernaum after crossing the lake.

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And the people who Jesus fed, the the 5000 men, probably 20,000 people are following

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him still trying to make him king.

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And so when they found him on the other side of the sea in Capernaum, they said to him,

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Rabbi, when did you come here?

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Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw

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signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves do not work for the food that perishes,

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but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

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So right here, it doesn't look like a handshake, but we'll we'll we'll get to this because

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there's a there's a cool a cool truth to what the what this interaction has.

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The Jews had some expectations of Jesus as the Messiah, they expected a Messiah to be

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a military leader to give them the robes and the palaces of their conquerors.

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And so when they when they come to him, they're they're looking for some like material temporal

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good.

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That's the food which perishes.

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Jesus is offering them the eternal spiritual food, right, of a life with him.

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He's offering them a handshake, which doesn't meet which doesn't meet their expectations,

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but which is actually far greater than what they're expecting.

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If we jump forward from the Jews to our time, I find that I often follow Jesus with some

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expectations of what he'll do for me.

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You know, you've got a John 10, any number of awesome verses and promises.

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You know, Jesus says, I came that my you know, those who follow me may have a rich and satisfying

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life.

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And so I'm like, well, a rich and satisfying life will probably look like, you know, good

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career, great family, plenty of money, maybe some some fame and fortune by which I can

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spread the gospel.

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Maybe I can be doing mission work full time charitable, you know, this this sort of awesome

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life which Jesus obviously has planned for me because he says, I want to give you a rich

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and satisfying life.

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All the all the things that come to mind when I'm following Jesus are are things on earth,

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right?

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All the things I listed a big house, a nice car are are things that really won't last.

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And so when I when I see this interaction with the Jews and Jesus, I see myself in the

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place of the Jews and I see Jesus telling me, I'm not offering you those things which

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you're seeking so much.

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I'm offering you something greater, which you can't see yet.

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He's offering a handshake that starts a relationship.

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So I find myself falling into the trap of saying, if God really loved me, then fill

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in the blank.

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Right.

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You can you can fill it in with whatever you want.

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If God really loved me, then I would have a better grade on this last test.

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If God really loved me, then I would have I would be friends with this person.

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I really want to get to know if God really loved me, then I would have this job I'm looking

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for.

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I would have I would have health.

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If God really loved me, then this loved one wouldn't have died.

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I'd be able to travel, be able to send my kids to a better school.

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I would be living in the mountains in Colorado.

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If God really loved me, I wouldn't be facing this tragedy or this temptation.

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Right.

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We all have this tendency to measure God's love by the temporal things which he does

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for us.

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But I have news for you.

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God does love you.

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Right.

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He gave an infinite sacrifice to get to know you.

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So God God really cannot love you more.

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He doesn't love you more if your life is going well.

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Right.

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He doesn't love you more if he gives you the things that you're praying for.

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Right.

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He doesn't love you less if you're facing some uncertainty and trials that don't make

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any sense.

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God's love is is always at max capacity, whether we see it or not.

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So it takes kind of a radical trust in who God is saying, first of all, God loves me.

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And then second, how do I how do I understand his love in the context of where I am?

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Right.

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So we see our expectations of God do not match what he's offering.

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So let's let's really dive in a little closer into what Jesus is offering.

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He says, Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,

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which the Son of Man will give to you.

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Then they said to him, What must be do that we may be doing the works of God?

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Jesus answered them, This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.

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So this is this is this is a really cool thing.

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You see the words I italicized there that's not original.

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The Jews are looking for some work to do, and he says, Take the food which the Son of

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Man will give to you.

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They're looking for something to do to work the works of God.

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And Jesus says, You must believe this.

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This right here is is the gospel.

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This is what Jesus is offering and how he's offering it.

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The Jews jumping back to the Jews time.

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There were a lot of rabbis around who would come to town and offer some new thing you

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can do to earn heaven.

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They're used to the traveling rabbi saying, You know, if you pray one more time, if you

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memorize this part of scripture, then you'll be one step closer to heaven.

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They were used to earning what they got and getting what they earned.

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And so they this was kind of the standard procedure when this new rabbi comes.

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They're asking, OK, what do we do to get this that you're offering?

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And he's saying you need to believe, which is something totally new.

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Let's jump into the meaning of doing versus believing.

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And I think this has an application for us now, as well as for them.

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When I have another thing to do, it's it just goes on my list, right?

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I get assignments all the time from professors and it takes me two, three hours, maybe.

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But when I'm done, I can go on with my life, right?

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I can hang out with the same people, think the same thoughts, go on pursuing the same

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the same career goals and life goals.

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Another thing to do is is just like a little sliver of time on my calendar.

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But belief has to do with the heart, right?

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So when Jesus is saying you must believe, he's offering something which redirects the

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whole life.

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It's not it's not another item on the calendar.

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It's like a change of heart.

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And so it's it's a stronger it's a it's a stronger commitment.

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It's a higher cost for us.

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But it's really the the only thing which can give us the relationship he's offering is

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it is a change of heart because a relationship with God is about the heart and the whole

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life.

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It's not just another thing on the calendar.

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I I'd like to do Bible study every morning.

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I'll spend an hour maybe.

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And it's so easy to just finish the hour of Bible study and then go on my merry way and

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do all my classes.

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Right.

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But if I really want to accept Jesus handshake in that first hour of the morning, it's going

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to redirect my whole day and my whole life.

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So let's let's keep going here into the next slide, which is this John six fifty three

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fifty seven.

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So this this is this is where Jesus starts kind of pushing the bounds of the Jews and

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understanding because he's been talking about the you know, he says I am the bread of life.

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They say we received manna in the wilderness.

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And so they're kind of on these two different planes.

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Right.

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The Jews are at the temporal earthly bread, the the their national pride, their victory

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over the Romans.

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Jesus is on this whole another plane of like relationship with God and eternal life.

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And so Jesus says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat of the Son of Man

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and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

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This would have sounded really wrong for the Jews.

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I mean, it sounds wrong today, but then they would like they would not touch any animal

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flesh which had blood in it, like they don't eat blood and certainly not like human flesh

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and blood.

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This is this is just wrong.

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So he says, whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will

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raise him up on the last day.

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It just keeps getting worse for my flesh is true food and my blood is to drink.

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Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I and him as the living father

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sent me and I live because of the father.

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So whoever feeds on me, he will also live because of me.

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This really doesn't make much sense in it on on face value.

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Like if this verse here is how you get the ideas of like transubstantiation, where people

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believe that, you know, when you take communion, the bread becomes the body of Jesus somehow

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miraculously.

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So I'm going to I'm going to call in some help to understand what this means.

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If you go to the next one.

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Yeah, this is from Desire of Ages.

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As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the

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word of God.

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Right here, we're getting we're getting another layer deeper in understanding what it means

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to take that handshake that Jesus is offering to eat the bread.

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The word of God.

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Right.

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That's this is a big deal here.

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Every soul that is to receive life from God's every soul is to receive life from God's word

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for himself as we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment.

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So we must receive the word for ourselves.

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So I don't know.

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I'm a college student.

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I probably eat like five times a day.

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So this is this is a big commitment here.

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We are not to obtain it merely through another's mind.

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And keep going.

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We should carefully study the Bible asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit that we

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may understand his word.

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We should take one verse and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought

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which God has put in that verse for us.

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We should dwell upon the thought until it becomes our own and we know what says Lord.

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This is what Jesus is talking about when he says eat of my flesh and drink my blood.

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He came as the word of God.

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You know John John one the the word was God and yeah you know I'm saying so Jesus is the

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word and he's saying you need to consume that word.

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And this this is how we do it.

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Studying the Bible asking for God's presence and then surrendering to its directions.

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You know if if I read something and it's it's telling me to do something I need to I need

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to do it right.

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The handshake which Jesus offers is going to redirect my life.

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So let's go back to you don't have to go back to the side.

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It's OK.

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I'm going going back to the idea of the of the Jews with their expectations of Jesus.

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Right.

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They expected a rabbi to give them another thing to do.

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Right.

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We likewise have people who are giving us something else to do.

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You go on social media you go on any I know any public figure tends to give you recommendations

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for things to improve your life.

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Right.

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They'll say quit smoking quit drinking quit staying up late quit getting up early.

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Sometimes they'll they'll say stuff like you need to meditate you need to be thankful you

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need to be powerful you need to you need to accept who you are.

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And what Jesus is saying in in his message to the Jews and also subsequently in his message

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to us when he's offering this handshake he's saying the the things that the world is offering

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you really won't satisfy you.

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It's life with me a relationship with me which will satisfy.

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So let's let's go to the last last one here.

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This is really cool.

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The truth here when I when I first saw them I was like man this is awesome.

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So Christ became one flesh with us in order that we might become one spirit with him.

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It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave not merely as

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a manifestation of the power of Christ but because through faith his life has become

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ours.

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So this is this is jumping back into the idea of consuming Christ through his word through

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time with him service.

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Right.

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What what we're doing now.

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Right.

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Somehow we are we receive Christ spirit.

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It's a crazy miracle it's a miracle of salvation.

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Then by virtue of this union with him we are to come forth from the grave.

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We all believe in the second coming of Christ and the resurrection.

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Right.

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And what this is saying is that the resurrection is not some miracle that God works when when

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Jesus comes back to earth.

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It's not a miracle that he works right then and there.

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It's the natural outworking of a miracle which happens now.

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If we if we actually receive Christ live in relationship with him there's some crazy miracle

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where we get to be one with Jesus and God a part of the family of God.

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Right.

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And so when Jesus calls forth the righteous when he returns to earth he can call them

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forth not because he has the power to call forth us but because the grave has no hold

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on his life when we receive Christ's life we receive a life which the grave has no hold

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on.

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Right.

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That's how Jesus raised from the dead.

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His life was a perfect life and a perfect relationship with God.

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And so the grave couldn't hold that.

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In the same way when when we receive his life through studying the word through service

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through prayer through seeking him through living in relationship with him then we receive

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a life which the grave has no hold on which sin has no hold on which are which the sorrows

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of this world have no hold on.

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Right.

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What Jesus is is talking about here in receiving receiving him living with him when he extends

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his handshake and says let's let's walk together and kind of be a family.

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He's offering eternal life starting now.

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Right.

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He says I am the resurrection and the life.

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It's not I will be right.

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I am.

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And as we as we grasp his hand day by day we get to be a part of that.

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I think the the lesson for me from these ideas is that too often I I seek I seek to know

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God's will for me because I want to live a good life not not not necessarily a morally

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good life but a life that's fulfilling and joyful.

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And I know that God has the best plan for my life that will bring me the most joy.

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And so I pray for God's guidance and I try to follow that because I want to enjoy my

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life.

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And what Jesus is offering is something different.

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He's offering a relationship with him.

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I think often I approach God as kind of a tool for having eternal life and a good life

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now.

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He's he's not right.

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Like yes he wants to give us all these good things but he wants so much more to just be

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with us and to have this awesome relationship.

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Right.

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It's it's kind of like if I don't know the way that sometimes we have a tendency to befriend

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wealthy people right because we we expect some benefits from that.

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I think that's it's too often that I do that with God that I'm befriending the king of

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the universe expecting some benefit.

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But really he he just wants to be with me as a family almost bringing me up to be an

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equal in some ways.

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Right.

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When Jesus is extending his handshake it's it's not a it's not a transaction it's not

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an invitation from from a wealthy landowner to say hey you know join me in this business

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enterprise.

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It's the handshake of a brother and a friend.

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Right.

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He just wants to be with us.

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So it's not it's not possible on our own to be with Jesus.

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I I can talk about it all I want.

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But it's it's only it's only by his voice and his miraculous gift that we can be with

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him.

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And the good news is that with his with his word with his invitation to be with him to

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you know eat of his flesh and drink of his blood right in in such close relationship

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with that invitation comes the power to follow and to do it.

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When Jesus said to Peter come that word gave Peter power to walk on the water.

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Right.

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When Jesus says to us come be with me walk with me through today that word gives us power.

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It means it means the surrender of my own plans for my life my own ambitions.

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But I mean is that really a surrender.

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I mean is there is there any comparison between what I expect of God and what he's really

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giving me.

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Right.

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He wants he wants to be with me eternally.

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He wants to give me eternal life eternal relationship with him starting now.

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So if you if you want to accept the handshake of Jesus that he's extending to each each

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one of you I invite you to stand as we sing I come to the garden.

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I'll have a prayer here real quick.

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Lord Jesus we thank you for the for the gift of your presence and for the gift of your

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of your infinite sacrifice that you want to be with us.

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It's a it's a crazy thing that our creator and our king wants to know us and walk with

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us day by day.

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But we we know it's true from from scripture from experience and we ask that we will see

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the value of knowing you and that we will come to you not not as a tool but as a friend.

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And we want to each one of us individually accept that handshake offered and to say Jesus

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I walk with you today.

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Amen.