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Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church.

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Amen, amen, amen.

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Listen God's good isn't he?

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Yeah, how many of you celebrated freedom this weekend?

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Yeah, you should.

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It is an amazing thing to be in a country where we are free to share the gospel of Jesus

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Christ, we are free to live and I hope you took time to do that this weekend.

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If you would please be in prayer after second gathering Dixie and I leave, we jet right

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out of here, head to Indianapolis, our International General Assembly for the Church of God takes

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place this coming week and we will be in business meetings all week there in Indianapolis.

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And I don't know if you know this or not but the denomination that we are a part of is

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in about 280 different countries and there is 8 million plus members and it really is

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a reaching denomination and it is going to be, I love going to the international conference

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because there is believers and ordained bishops and ministers who come in from all over the

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world and come together so it is a great time to come together and see brothers and sisters

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we haven't seen in eons and how many know what an eon is?

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Do you know what an eon is?

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In eons I just showed my age right there.

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They come together and it is just an amazing time so just be in prayer as we head out there.

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But this morning I am going to speak a phrase, actually two words that probably you don't

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hear a lot and those two words are reckless abandonment.

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They are going to put it up on the screen.

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Reckless abandonment and this is a phrase that will either run chills of fear up your

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spine maybe even a little terror for some of you because most of us like all things

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comfortable I don't know if you know that or not but 7 out of 10 people do not like

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change at all.

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So reckless abandonment is kind of one of those phrases like might make you clench up

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or you might be the opposite and instead of chills of fear running up your spine you get

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a little excitement when you hear reckless abandonment.

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If you are an adrenaline junkie raise your hand right now come on thank you for the confessions

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all right.

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If you are an adrenaline junkie you love the unknown, you love the challenge, you love

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something that is just a little bit of danger involved this might kind of stir you just

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a little bit.

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And as a child, as a kid I grew up in both worlds to be honest.

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My family lived in one world and my friends the guys I grew up with lived in another world.

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My family is a group of very cautious calculating sensible thinking through the next day month

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year right before you do anything at all kind of people.

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They bleed what I call CS.

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Do you know what CS is?

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Common sense all right.

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You got to have a good common sense they are all about the common sense.

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That's my family on one side.

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On the other side I grew up with a bunch of kids who they didn't have a lick of CS amongst

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them.

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They were the complete opposite.

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If you could dream it up if it was a little daring if it was a little bit edgy they were

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in.

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They wanted to do it let's give it a try we will worry about the consequences later right.

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Actually they didn't think about the long-term effects repercussions or obvious foolishness

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in all of it as kids.

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They were just a little bit crazy so I lived in both these worlds.

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And you might think I'm exaggerating a bit about this I grew up in Western Pennsylvania

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but I'm really not because one of the kids that I grew up with.

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Listen in our town we lived in coal country and I don't know if you know anything about

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coal mining but there's deep mining and then there's open mining which is kind of where

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they take the coal out from the top of the ground and then there's deep mining where

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they go down underneath the ground and everybody in our area either worked in a steel mine

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or they worked in the coal mines and one of the jobs that went along with that was blasting

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okay they would blast they would use dynamite either shakes things loose in the open mining

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and my friend one of the guys I ran around with his dad had a blasting license.

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He was trained in dynamite how to use dynamite how to set charges and that kid always had

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some form of dynamite explosions with them anything from an M 80 to an M 1000 to a third

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stick of dynamite and we lived out in the country listen I'm a transplanted redneck

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I'll for the first one to admit it and we lived out in the country we used to go out

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away from our houses because our parents you know were close to the house and we blew up

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everything we could find we really did so you know I grew up with both worlds on both

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sides listen my parents would have known that I would have got grounded until I was 25 years

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old it would have happened but my childhood reckless abandonment for the sake of a quick

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thrill as a child in comparison to the people in scripture right is nothing you see people

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in scripture with reckless abandon who follow Jesus with passion with commitment with buckets

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of courage all through God's word so I'm going to take you this morning to a passage of scripture

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that really is about following Jesus with reckless abandon because how many know that

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following Jesus is not really safe yeah I don't know if you know they're not it's secure

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but it's not really safe Jesus didn't come to make us comfortable he did not come to

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make us cozy he did not come to give us spiritual warm fuzzies or snuggles every time we get

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in his presence he came to save us from sin and to engage us in the rescue of others who

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were in sin to confront darkness to go find people and pull them from the flames right

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so we're secure in him but it's not necessarily safe and he beckons us to recklessly abandon

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to follow him and anything short of that is not worthy of the sacrifice that Jesus made

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on the cross so if you got your Bible this morning I want you to make your way to Luke

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chapter 5 Luke chapter 5 we are going to start at verse 1 this morning and as you turn I'm

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going to pray over the reading of God's word Father we thank you for this day and for your

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blessings God we ask right now that you will prepare our hearts that you will prepare our

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minds Lord God your words already blessed we know that God it is already truth it is

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already life so Lord help us to receive help us to hear God open our minds and God write

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your word on our hearts God that we might not sin against you and God that we might

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go forward in the gospel we just give you praise in Jesus name everybody said together

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amen amen excuse me Luke chapter 5 verse 1 and it says this so it was as the multitude

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pressed about him to hear the word of God that he stood by the lake of Ginnisarath now

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this is talking about Jesus and Jesus right he saw two boats standing by the lake but

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the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets and when he got into the

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one of the boats which was Simon's he asked him to put out a little from the land and

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he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat and when he had stopped speaking

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he said to Simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch but Simon

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answered and said to him master we have toiled all night and caught nothing nevertheless

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at your word I will let down the net and when they had done this they caught a great number

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of fish and their nets the net was breaking so they signaled their partners in the other

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boat to come and help them and they came and filled the boats or both boats so that they

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began to sink and when Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus knee saying depart from

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me for I am a sinful man oh Lord for he and all who were with him were astonished at the

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catch of fish which they had taken and so also were James and John the sons of Zebedee

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who were partners with Simon and Jesus said to Simon do not be afraid for now on you will

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catch men so when they had brought their boats to land they forsook all and followed him

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multiple self-employed self-made men walk away from their fishing business to follow

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Jesus multiple men leave their livelihood their security their financial stability to

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follow a man they barely know a group of perfectly sane capable individuals abandon their life

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their business and stability that they built with their own two hands to follow this man

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from Nazareth what causes these capable men to recklessly abandon everything they know

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and follow this man and I believe it is this I believe it is the revelation that Jesus

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is the son of God I believe that Jesus did not come to Simon Peter and the others just

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selling them a dream a vision or a promise of a bright tomorrow he didn't come just convincing

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them that their financial future would even be more stable in his care even though even

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though they took in more fish that day than they probably did in an entire month that's

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not what Jesus came selling he didn't come with the convention speech right of a life

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of ease and this is going to be simple it wasn't even Jesus amazing ability to preach

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and to teach and to move entire crowds and while he was preaching and teaching healing

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the sick and casting out demons his spiritual authority listen Peter didn't drop to his

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knees Simon the word of God doesn't say Simon Peter dropped to his knees when Jesus finished

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his message right there wasn't this shoreline altar call where Peter falls down on his face

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you know after the message is preached and he and he repents it and he says I'm sinful

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that's not when it happens none of this convinced Peter and the others to abandon everything

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that they have everything they build everything they know and walk away it wasn't until Jesus

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speaks to a school fish to jump into the nets that Peter drops to his knees in front of

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Jesus see Simon realizes that Jesus not only has spiritual authority over death and disease

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not only does he realize that he has this amazing wisdom and knowledge that could only

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be from God but in that moment in time I think Peter in his mind realized that this man not

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only has spiritual authority he not only has heavenly authority but he can even command

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nature to listen and at that point I believe in Simon's mind maybe he didn't even fully

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grasp it yet but somewhere in his heart mind he realizes this is not just a man this is

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the Son of God I'm here to tell you this morning no one will truly follow Jesus to the lengths

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of reckless abandon unless they understand unless they are absolutely convicted convinced

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and certain in their minds that Jesus is in fact the Son of God following Jesus with reckless

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abandon is not it's not a personality thing it's not an adrenaline rush kind of thing

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it's not even a sense of adventure thing it is conviction and it is it is being convinced

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it is being absolutely certain that the one I am following whose name Jesus is literally

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the Son of God and he is who he says he is that he's alive and well that he can be known

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and that I can know him personally and he can know me personally right Peter and James

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and John personally met Jesus the master they witnessed the mini miracle right in their

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little world of fishing they witnessed this mini miracle and they get convicted they get

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convinced they become certain that this is in fact Jesus the Son of the Living God and

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anything less than that right anything less to us and to the people that we are talking

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to about Jesus anything less than that there will not be reckless abandon it will lead

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to little or no kind of response or change it might be mildly interesting to them for

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a little while right it might they might follow as long as it's comfortable and it feels like

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it's working for them they might even follow Jesus for a period of time and then just peel

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away when the inspiration fades right but they will not run into the fire they will

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not run into the fight they will not face giants right like a little guy named David

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did in scripture with zero reservation in his heart they will not do that until they

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are convicted until they are convinced and until they are certain that Jesus is in fact

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the Son of the Living God these men were convicted they were convinced and they were certain

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that Jesus is God's Son and it is the same for us it's the same for you and I it's the

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same for the people that we're talking to and telling about Jesus sometimes we come

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and talk to people about Jesus right and we tell them about his love and his mercy and

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we should we tell them about all those things but more so we should be letting them know

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you have to understand that Jesus is the Son of the Living God he came to this earth he

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died for you he went to Calvary for you he rose from the grave but this is the Son of

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God this is the one you can get into a personal relationship he has all power these men instinctively

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knew that an unknown future with this man named Jesus was bigger and brighter than any

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known future that they could have with themselves or something that they were in control with

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the conviction that God has a better future plan for me than I have planned for myself

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will cause me to recklessly abandon anything for Jesus it really will even if I have no

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idea what that future entails if you go back and reread Luke chapter 5 verse 9 he says

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for he and all who were with with them were astonished at the catch of the fish which

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they had taken and so also were James and John the sons of Zebedee who were partnered

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with Simon and Jesus said to Simon do not be afraid he tells Simon don't be afraid from

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now on you will catch men then they had brought the broods to land they forsook all and followed

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them I highly doubt that Simon Peter knew completely I don't think he had an idea what

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it meant that he was going to catch men he probably had no idea what was going on he

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just knew he met the Son of God and do you know what you don't see in this portion of

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scripture sometimes when you read God's word you have to see what is there sometimes you

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have to see what is not there as well it is both sides of those things here is what you

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don't see you don't see Jesus gathering those men up and getting them on the shoreline and

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sitting them down and giving them a detailed plan of what it was going to be to go follow

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Jesus and fish for men right he didn't get them on the shoreline sit them all down in

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a row in nice cushy chairs and give them binders that were embossed right that said fishers

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are men right please turn to page one right check your index go to page one we're going

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to start on Jesus doesn't do any of that right he does he just tells him follow me he shows

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him that he is the Son of the Living God and he proves it to him and then he says follow

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me from now on you're going to fish for men they probably had no clue what that meant

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they were just in do you know that God does not feel the need to explain himself to us

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I don't know if you realize that or not he's sorry he does not feel the need to explain

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himself to us all the time if you're waiting for a 15 page report right with an embossed

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binder that God's going to send you for whatever is in your future you're probably going to

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be waiting a very long time he doesn't feel the need to explain himself God told Noah

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to go build a boat right in the middle of a place that had no water it hadn't even rained

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at that point if you study that out there was a firmament in the air it was like a subtropical

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thing but it wasn't even rain he told him to build a boat he's going to send him animals

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two of every kind one particular kind seven of a different kind and he says he's going

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to flood the earth and that's all Noah knew he knew some plans and that was it God said

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go build it right he isn't going he isn't going to explain all of it he did Jesus is

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looking for people who you know he's not looking for people who are looking for some kind of

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God guarantee about their future that just lines up with what they think their future

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is going to look like he's not interested in that he's interested in people who are

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convinced convicted right and are certain about following the son of the living God

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he's looking for people that will say yes when when they realize and understand who

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he is just this week we dropped our daughter Jenna and her husband Brad and their two daughters

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often in Atlanta Georgia and I can tell you for certain they really don't know what their

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future holds he Brad landed a job at Passion Church doing a job that he's never done before

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you know but he thinks he feels fairly qualified to do they're not sure what it's going to

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look like they're not sure the people they're going to connect with they're not sure of

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any of that I watched the fear in their eyes okay I've seen you know and then and they

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kind of pray and walk themselves back through the gospel for people who just follow and

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say listen if God says it I'm going to go do it amen it's true people who are convicted

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convinced and certain that he is the son of God and that he has their future he has your

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future he has a plan you might not know what it looks like and we see people follow this

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all throughout scripture and I'm not sure anyone fits that description more than somebody

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named Rahab in scripture now let me just give you a little quick context before I read this

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verse of scripture Israel is getting ready to invade Jericho but before they go in their

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leader Joshua decides he's going to send in two spies into the land they're going to go

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in and do some recon work right they're going to go in and see what's going on in this community

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that they're going to go in invade and these two men go in to spy out the land and they

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end up at this house a prostitutes house a harlots house we're just going to pretend

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that they're hiding out there I hope that's all it was all right the word of God doesn't

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tell us but I believe that's true right because there were men coming in and out it was a

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great place to go hide they end up at this harlots house named Rahab Joshua 2 1 says

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this now Joshua the son of Nunn sent out two men from Achaia Grove to spy secretly saying

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go view the land especially Jericho so they went and they came to the house of a harlot

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named Rahab and lodged there and it was told the king of Jericho saying behold men have

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come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country the king and Jericho

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finds out that there are spies in the land so the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying

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out the men who have come to you who have entered your house that they might come search

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out all the country the gig is up the spies are found out they know that they're at Rahab's

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house then the woman right Rahab took the two men and hid them she doesn't turn them

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over to the authorities she doesn't turn them over to her king she hides them so she said

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yes the men came to me but now listen she lies too right yes the men came to me but

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I did not know where they were from and it happened as the gate was being shut when it

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was dark the men went out where the men went I do not know they were up on the roof and

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she's lying down her tail on the king nope nope they took off right pursue them quickly

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for you may overtake them but she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them among

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the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof then the men pursued them by the

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road of the Jordan to the fords and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out they

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shut the gate how many know this is not safe for Rahab in Rahab they know these spies are

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at Rahab's house they know they come and confront her and say where are these spies she lies

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and says they left the city they're gone you ought to go chase them right do you know if

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she had been found out they probably would have killed her on the spot they probably

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would have killed her her family members everybody in her household probably would have been

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dead it's not safe right why'd she do it why'd she do this she's not she's not part of Israel

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she doesn't know Israel's God right other than what she's hearing Joshua 2 8 explains

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it now before they lay down she came up to them on the roof and said to the men I know

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the Lord has given you the land that the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants

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of the land are fain hearted because of you for we have heard how the Lord dried up the

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water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings

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of the Emirates who were on the outer other side of the Jordan Seehan and Og whom you

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utterly destroyed and as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted neither did

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there remain any more courage in any one of us because of you for the Lord your God he

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is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath do you hear that she's convinced right convicted

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convinced and certain for he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath now therefore

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I beg you swear to me by the Lord since I have known your kindness that you also show

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kindness to my father's house and give me a true token and spare my father my mother

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my brothers and my sister and all they have and deliver our lives from death this heathen

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harlot who is not any part of Israel who is in a land who worships foreign idols right

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and she hears about what the Lord has done somewhere in her heart she became convicted

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she became right she became convinced and she became certain that God of Israel is the

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God of the universe he is God of heaven and he is God of earth and she recklessly abandons

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everything she knows to connect with God she trusted him with her future amen she was convinced

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we should trust Jesus with our future we should be convicted and convinced and certain I'm

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going to close with this and when I say close that means I'm going to be a little while

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yet with today but it's this people recklessly abandon if the Son of God invites them to

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he really does who invites me to participate in something or anything right determines

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whether I do it the level of my participation is dependent upon the one extending the invitation

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in other words whoever invites us right it matters it's a big deal any one of you in

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this place this morning after gathering and we're leaving for Indianapolis but if we weren't

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going somewhere and you came up and invited us to go and have a meal together with you

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we would probably go have a meal with you if there wasn't anything else planned it wasn't

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anything else on the schedule we would probably do that right and hopefully that would be

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vice versa you'd come with us we invited you somewhere to go get something to eat but if

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some random stranger on the street comes up to me or comes up to you and says hey do you

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want to go to lunch how many of the Holy Spirit better be speaking to me right come on if

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it's a random stranger unless the Holy Spirit is going you know what Kip you need to go

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right now unless he's speaking into my heart into my spirit and I know this is definitely

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true for my wife she'd be like uh-uh he ain't going nowhere all right we are not going to

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do that right let's talk to them for a little while this could be right this could be the

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this could be a serial killer right here inviting us to lunch we don't know right so who invites

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you matters who extends the invitation matters someone asked you to jump out of a plane with

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them how many know the who matters right somebody asked you to marry them how many know the

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who come on young people listen to me anybody young people old people anybody in between

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the who matters someone asked you to go fight a war bleed with them possibly die with him

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the who matters who's asking you who's sending the invitation people recklessly abandoned

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when they know it is the Son of God who's extending the invitation to them my invitation

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doesn't mean all that much but his does amen I recklessly abandoned everything in life

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if I understand who's making the invitation who's inviting who's asking who's saying come

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right whether it's whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable whether it's difficult right

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or easy or somewhere in between a lot of times we're somewhere in between right come it's

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about the invitation I'm going to ask if you'd stand and right now Pastor Eric's coming

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at the East Shore campus and he's going to be ministering to people there and people

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that are listen if you're listening online with us today it's so good to have you with

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us in worship but I want you to ready yourself to respond to this message and if what I preach

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is true if what I preach is true this morning God can call us each one of us to do anything

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and what appears reckless to other people will absolutely not seem reckless to us if

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it's Christ right it will seem like it's the only thing that we should do it's almost a

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must do kind of thing we'll hide spies we'll build a boat right in the middle of a field

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we'll move to Atlanta at God's word and what he speaks we got to be convinced we got to

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be convicted we got to be certain about whatever God's speaking to us in the moment whether

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it is small medium or large maybe maybe it would even be right maybe it would even be

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going and and and going to lunch with somebody you don't even know and the Holy Spirit speaks

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to you in that moment you'll do that if it's the Son of God that's speaking to you this

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morning as a pastor my job is kind of twofold I see it is twofold one it is to bring people

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to the Son of God is the lead him to the Son of God to introduce him to the one right who

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paid such an enormous price for you and I the one who went to a cross right came to

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this earth lowered himself and came to this earth in human form died on a cross rose from

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the grave went back to be with the Father to make intercession for us that's part of

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my job but the other part of my job is to engage each one of you in the mission in the

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rescue God God calls us to reckless abandon not for our own selves and not for our own

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purposes he calls us to reckless abandon so we reach other people so we give them the

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good news of Jesus Christ so we pull them from death hell in the grave right as we connect

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them with the God of the universe and our job is to convince them that Jesus is the

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Son of God and that he is the Lord and that he wants a personal true relationship with

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you and I so this morning I'm actually close your eyes and the first thing I'm going to

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ask you to respond with is if you don't know Jesus is Lord and Savior I want you to know

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this morning he is the Son of God he is who he said he is he has all power all authority

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he loves you with an everlasting love and a grace that you can't even understand maybe

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at this point probably none of us can get our head around and he wants you in the kingdom

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of God with him he wants to connect with you right now he wants a Holy Spirit who he sees

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sends into our hearts and lives the moment that we ask him to come into our lives because

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he wants to talk with you he wants to commune with you and if you are here this morning

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if you are listening online this morning and you don't know him as Lord and Savior you

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can the word of God makes it super simple Jesus made it really simple he paid all the

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price up front so he said here is the deal you just need to believe that I am the Son

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of the Living God that I am the Christ that I am the Messiah that I am Savior that I am

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Lord you just got to believe that in your heart and confess with your mouth that he

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is Lord and he will wash away every sin everything that has separated you from him in that moment

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in time if you just ask so I'm going to pray a simple prayer and if that's you in the house

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if you are listening online I know Pastor Eric will be doing this up at the campus Father

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we come to you today and we are so grateful and thankful God for your hand of mercy and

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love we thank you Lord Jesus that you came you died on a cross you rose from the grave

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and you are in fact the Son of the Living God and you did all of it so that we could

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come into relationship with you God said we could know you so we could be rescued so you

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could pull us from death hell and the grave so Lord we ask right now Lord for anyone that's

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here as they come to you and they say they believe in prayer in their own words as they

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believe and trust in you bring them into the kingdom if you are here just ask them say

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Lord I believe I put my faith and trust in you my future is now in your hands you are

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the Son of God you are Lord and now you are my Lord in Jesus name forgive me of my sin

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forgive me of everything that separated me from you I commit in my life in Jesus name

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amen amen now if you are in the house and if you are comfortable with this and I know

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if you are visiting please don't feel obligated to do anything at all here but I am asking

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you to do something I want you to make your way to the front and I have a reason for this

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if you would just make your way to the front we are just going to pray we are going to

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do two things we are going to pray and then some of you might feel obligated to sign a

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paper and it's not you are not signing your car or your house to me trust me alright this

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is about serving God two things right I got two jobs one lead people to Christ to the

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living Christ two is to equip you and get you ready for the work of the ministry it's

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the word of God declares that if you would just move your way up and here is what I want

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to do I don't want to challenge you just to believe on Jesus and not give you an opportunity

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alright God is going to use you in all kind of ways if you are convinced if you are convicted

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right if you are certain that he is the son of God he is going to lead you in all kind

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of ways he is leading you in all kind of ways I hear about it all the time in how he uses

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you but I also want to give you an opportunity in this we talk about the East Shore campus

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all the time here on Sunday mornings and we are one church in two locations but we really

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feel prompted to get this location integrated with that location so what we want to do is

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we want to create one time serve opportunity okay how many know what a one time serve opportunity

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is it's super simple that means you serve one time okay super complicated we do complicated

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things here alright it's a one time serve opportunity so over the next three months

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we are asking people to get involved and we are going to do this over the next year we

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want you to get involved and here is what we want you to do sign up for one week to

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go to the East Shore campus on a Sunday morning and serve you and your family go up there

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and serve they will have you working at something or some area in the church and we do this

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for a couple of reasons one we do it for connection purposes to keep Carlisle location and Harrisburg

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location connected together two we want you to go do something missional I know sometimes

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we are like well I need to go do a mission work in Africa that's awesome if God called

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you do it but you can go north of Harrisburg we can send you 25 minutes away right you

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are going to go do a mini missions work that morning and you are going to go serve one

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time and you are going to find out about the work that is going on up there right one church

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two locations say it would be one church two locations and you get to go up and connect

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it creates support it keeps us together and we begin to go forward you need to see what

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God is doing up there you need to get a glimpse of what He is doing it isn't just in these

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four walls here right there is another location there God willing in the future man who knows

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where God will split us out to right He will move us from place to place I am believing

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God for that so I am going to give you a first serve opportunity and here it is it is this

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simple now we are going to pray one more time if God is speaking to you to do this one time

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in three months just right don't come here go serve up there sign this paper so here

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is what I believe I believe the Holy Spirit speaks to people right it isn't just my prompting

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it is the Holy Spirit so I am asking you to bow your heads right now one last time I want

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you to pray if God is prompting you to go to serve for one week I want you to pray about

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that right now if He is tugging on your spirit don't dismiss it come sign this paper as soon

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as we are done praying and that is how we are going to dismiss this morning now while

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we are doing this if you need prayer individually for something the prayer team is always in

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the back of this church following gathering they want to pray with you about something

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individually I will pray with you but this right now is about this sign up Father we

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come just grateful and thankful Holy Spirit as I pray you are speaking into hearts and

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spirits God I believe that some of them won't only just sign up for one time but they will

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go twice this quarter Lord I pray that you would guide and direct and Lord God we are

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one church in two locations God we know what you have called us to so Lord I pray right

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now God use guide direct and speak and Lord in this mini mission work Lord that we are

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setting up this morning God let this just be one step in following you and serving and

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God help us to recklessly abandon anything we have got set in life to follow heart after

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you and we just give you praise and glory in Jesus name.

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Amen.

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Thank you for tuning in to this message from Life House Church.

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We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message.

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If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with

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us as we love God love people every day visit our website at www.lifehousecog.com