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

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Good morning, good morning. Turn to somebody give them a high five tell them it's good to see you at

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Life House. Come on give them a high five give them a low five give them a I don't

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know on the side five if you want but tell them it's good to have you here. We

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want to take a moment and do something particularly special. Monday tomorrow a

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team leaves to go to Tangier to do some mission work so I'm gonna ask if the

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missions team would come up those who are going down to serve this coming

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Monday and they're gonna be there for several days. Charlie's coming as he

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heads this project this group up and he's gonna just tell you a little bit

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about what's taking place in Tangier what this team will be doing and then

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what we're gonna do is we're gonna pray over them. They're going out to

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minister to people they're doing some work but that always involves

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ministering as well so if you would just go ahead and share. I want to get you all

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here in front come on you all being shy and go over to the side but let me get

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everybody up front and if you would just share what's gonna take place. Yeah so

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those you know we go over to down to Tangier Island we've done the trip here

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church several times one of the places that we stay there is part of the United

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Methodist Church in their education center and we house of the 50 some

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members that go down there's about 25 people that stay in that education

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center so it is a very busy place lots going on we have all of our devotions

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there we eat all of our meals there but that building much like many other

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places on the island is in need of some work so while we're there working and

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using that space we can't really work on it so we have a small team that's going

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to go down tomorrow spend a week down there we're gonna do some flooring work

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and work to get some of the restroom facilities in a little better shape so

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it's a quick project kind of down and back within a week and then possibly

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another trip in the spring just to go down and help take care of things and

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the building is a pivotal place on the island they use that for a lot of

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get-togethers it's one of the big places that people come into so we're able to

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go down and have an impact there and also help out the church the church down

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there helps us out so much as a missions team and it's good to give back to them

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too so we'll be heading down tomorrow yeah and if I remember the population

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on the island is about 300 ish 350 and so a lot of activity happens at this area

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so they're going down to have an impact there as well as I know I think working

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with some widows right and some elderly those who are shut-ins as well so all

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that's taking place so what I want you to do is a church I want you to stand at

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this time I want you to put your hands forward and we're gonna pray over this

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team some of you want to come up and pray you're not shy we you can come up

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here as well but we want to lay hands on this morning and just pray over this

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team as they get ready to go we're gonna pray for God's protection and God's

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effectiveness as they go to share so father we come to you right now we're

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just grateful we're thankful Lord for a team those who answer a call of going

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and serving and Lord God this is truly the heart of God where we go and reach

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out into communities and Lord we pray as they go God as they make their way

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tomorrow God that you would give them ease and travel God that you would give

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give them hearts and minds and spirits that are ready and perceiving and Lord

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I'm discerning what's going on in front of them that they might not only labor

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physically but God that they would minister to every person they run into

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and Lord I thank you for the opportunity that you give I thank you for the work

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that's ongoing there that this team has been a part of and Lord we just pray

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that you will continue to minister that you would touch that you would touch the

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people of Tangier and Lord God that people will come into the kingdom and

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grow in the kingdom as a result of the work that's going to be done and we just

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give you praise we give you glory and we give you honor in Jesus name everybody

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say together amen amen listen you may be seated this morning you might want to

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talk to one of these team members afterwards they'll give you a lot of them

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all been there I think maybe everybody's been there before and they can give you

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a little more if you're information you might be interested in going in the

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future there'll be more trips in the coming up so there's a great resource to

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get together with and talk well this morning I want to talk about something

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that took place about 18 months ago the Lord really took us on a journey to

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start a campus in the Lingles Town Harrisburg area of Lingles Town area it's

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kind of right off of 81 and we followed that call of God fervently and worked to

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reach people in that area and we did that through Bible studies that start

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off as Bible studies we ended up in a library doing Bible studies there church

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gatherings outreach events of all kind glow in the dark Easter egg hunts VBS

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family fun nights handing out well listen we were even handing out stuff in

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parking lots that's how many know that's interesting right we're in a grocery

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store parking lots hanging out bags and neighborhoods and did door hangers

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hanging door hangers up and as a result of the efforts we've heard of some really

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some wins in the kingdom one particular stands out Judy if you got to me if

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you've been up to East Shore and got to meet Judy Judy is a delight and if you

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know her story she came there the very first time we launched in October and

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the significant thing is that Judy's been there ever since she's been a

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supporter but the thing that you don't know is that she had been out of church

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for 50 years she had not gone to church and got reengaged and started following

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Jesus and it's just been amazing Paul and Mary are a couple who started with

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us way back when we launched the church we had two families when this all began

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here at Carlisle and we started in our house and then we moved to a skating

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rink and then we ended up in this location and Paul and Mary were

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originally with us and because of job changes they for a couple years in they

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could no longer attend and we had not seen him touch base once in a while for

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over 10 years and they moved again and found out that they were only one or two

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miles away from the campus and got reengaged up there and just came back

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home to life us so it's been amazing we've had small groups that have met

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and there's a group of warriors there's a group of core people up there who've

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been super faithful and serving it East Shore but today for many reasons that I

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can't go into right now I do need to make the announcement though we are

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closing that campus and we just didn't get traction there it's not a bad thing

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all those who are there have committed to come back they're gonna be here you

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don't see him here at Carlisle next week they're gonna engage here at Carlisle

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but we've just had not enough growth to continue there so we're gonna come back

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we're gonna contract back to this statement to this area to this location

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we will regroup and go forward in the future we don't know when and what that's

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gonna look like and it's a chapter that we're gonna close and reopen another one

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and I know some of you might have questions you might be wondering what's

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taking place I'm gonna ask you just if you have questions I'd be glad to talk

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with you after the gathering you can call me at any point in time be glad to

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discuss it with you and along with those who are serving up there and have been

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serving the the seven or eight who have been super faithful in that location

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also pastor Eric and Abby are coming back and they're gonna be here with us

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serving as well so I know it might be a little bit of a shock for some of you

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it's not been an easy process but we're trusting God and what he's gonna do

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we've had amazing stories up there but we're gonna come pull back into this

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area and continue on okay so is everybody okay good take a deep breath

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breathe in all right God's good he's on the throne he's in control and again if

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you have questions I would be glad to take time with you and just really

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explain okay amen everybody's good man y'all got quiet on me I'm getting

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nervous all right well listen I'll go into the message this morning I got into

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a conversation this week with a person that I didn't know real well it's a

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place I frequent to get coffee and actually not coffee I drink chai tea and

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I sat down and spent a little time talking and and this person we've chatted

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once in a while and they had a prayer request and they you know with this prayer

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request they said you know I want you to pray for my daughter and I was kind of

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waiting I was thinking well you know it's you know here comes whatever the

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physical need is or maybe there's an emotional need some kind or financial

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need and she and she this person goes on she says no my daughter my youngest

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daughter who is quiet and shy and she's kind of timid and she's going to Turkey

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to serve as a missionary and I'm like that's what I said I said wow huh you

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know and I don't know if you know anything about Turkey but there's less

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than 1% of the population that's Christian in Turkey 80 I think somewhere

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in the neighborhood 78 to 99% of the country is estimated to be Muslim so

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they're not real friendly towards Christians evangelical Christians and I

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have two daughters you know and I'm thinking man if one of my daughters got

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called to Turkey I'd be Jesus can we talk can we renegotiate you know you know

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and I started to think about you know what makes a quiet introverted you know

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young woman who's not married and you know and has no friend going along with

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her she's just going to do missions what causes young woman to follow in that

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kind of crazy way follow Jesus and do what she's gonna do you know but two

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weeks ago Dixie and I were in Atlanta and we were down there to visit our

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middle daughter and her husband and our two granddaughters and we're down there

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we got to go to a place called City of Refuge and and there's the House of

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Cherith and it's a ministry located in one of the most it's actually the most

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impoverished area in Atlanta and they're doing ministry there and it is actually

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so impoverished that it's one of the most impoverished areas in all of the

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country most people there make well below the poverty level and income and

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we got to visit this facility it was a 200,000 square foot warehouse that was

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converted into this ministry center and you know and it's so bad in this area

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that they don't have any stores nobody will move into this area do business

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because there's that much crime in this area nobody's there it's just housing

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and we went there and we began to walk through and I'm thinking what kind of

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individual comes to this kind of area well Bruce Dill does and Bruce went

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there as a youth pastor probably I think of 15 20 years ago he went there as a

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youth pastor just to help out at a church that lost their pastor he went

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in temporary for just a few weeks he ended up calling his lead pastor back

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and saying I'm not coming back God called me here he brought his wife and

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four young daughters to live in the middle of this and while he was there he

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decided he wanted to they needed to do a ministry center so he found a local

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owner who of a warehouse it was a beat-up dilapidated warehouse 200,000

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square foot warehouse and he went to buy it with no money I mean no that doesn't

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work out well a lot of times yeah he went to buy it with no money and he got

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talking with the owner and the owner said you know what I'm gonna gift it to

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you and he gave him that and since that time to now it's an incredible place

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where they help women that are victims of domestic violence they

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literally house them there they have children children and teens who have

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been sex trafficked have a place to come and escape to they have a safe house

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they have a free medical clinic for the community absolutely free people can

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come in they've got men who come out of prison and they've got housing for them

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it works like a halfway house to help them get introduced to Jesus and to

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re-enter into life right they've got training centers inside of this for

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auto mechanics welding all kind of different trades that people in the

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community can come in and get trained and get better jobs they have a they

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have a school there that that's a high quality school for kids and and they go

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for free it's a private school and it's an amazing thing what causes perfectly

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sane people to step in the most dangerous perilous crazy situations for

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Jesus step into the unknown go where no one else will go do what no one else

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will do right and no one what no one else wants to do what causes them to do

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that well I believe it's this and I believe Jesus told us this in Scripture I

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believe it's treasures and pearls right tell turn to somebody right now tell

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me it's treasures and pearls today treasures and pearls today that's what

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we're talking about if you got your Bibles I want you to turn to Matthew

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chapter 13 we're gonna go to verse 44 and Jesus talks about what this looks

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like right how this happens as you're turning this morning I'm gonna pray over

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the God's Word not because God's Word needs prayed over but because your heart

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does right to receive it so Father we come before you God open our hearts open

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our minds God your words blessed it is amazing it is truth God it is whole it

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is righteous Lord just help us to absorb it God help us Lord then it'll

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penetrate our hearts and right on our souls and God that we might be changed

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by your Word and Lord we just give you praise and glory and everybody said

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together amen amen 13 Matthew chapter 13 verse 44 and it says this and again

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right again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a

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man found and hid and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and he

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buys that field and what I want you to do this morning is I want you just to

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take a moment and use your imagination how many can do that early in the

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morning use your imagination come on some of you got one coffee in you right

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you might need to but I want you to use your imagination this morning and I want

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you to think about a field whatever you feel you want your field to look like

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you can make it whatever you like right but I want you to think in your mind

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about a field a very large field and you walking into the middle of that field

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and I want you to picture yourself as you go in and as you go into that field

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for some reason you find out that there's something priceless in that field

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it could be that you come into that field and somehow you know that there's

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great oil reserves underneath that field you somehow you sense it you see it right

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come on it's like the Beverly Hillbillies I remember that show right

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shoot into the ground little oil comes about right you know you know somehow

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you're the only one but you know that there's great oil reserves and it's

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priceless or you know maybe you get on there and you know real estate you

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realize hey in the condition in the place this is in this is gonna be the

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highest selling real estate in the market in a very short period of time you

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realize that it's priceless right maybe there's a you scrape a little dirt away

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and there and there it is the Hope Diamond jammed into a rock all right and

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you're wondering how much more of that's underneath the surface and you go home

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and you're dreaming about that field you're thinking about that field you're

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you're kind of obsessed with that field and what's taking place in that field

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right the priceless treasure in that field we're not talking about a little

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box right they got some trinkets in it that's not what I'm talking about here

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it's priceless what's in that field and you get you go to sleep you go to

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thinking you're thinking about it all night long you get up the next morning

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you hop in your car to go to work you drive by that field and there it is a

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for sale sign right in the front you wheel around in your car you go back home

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and you say honey you tell your wife you tell your husband we're buying us a

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field it says five hundred thousand on the on the sign but we're buying us a

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field right and you start selling off everything you own to buy that field you

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sell you right come on you get on you get on Facebook marketplace you're

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selling your couch you're selling your chairs you're selling the dishes you're

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selling the house you're selling the cars you're thinking about selling one

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of the kids come on you know you're gonna get five hundred thousand dollars

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you're gonna buy this field you sell everything you can you're all-in you're

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you're committed you're it's a never look back moment you ever have one of

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those moments you just never gonna look back you're just going forward Jesus

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said this is what it's like if you find the kingdom of God if you find me this is

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what it's like when you believe in the King this is what it's like when you

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believe in the kingdom of God and all that it represents this way is what it

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is when you understand what the kingdom is worth how much how valuable right

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when you start to understand the value of the Father the Son and the Holy

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Spirit when you start to get engaged on what the kingdom of God is worth and how

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many know the kingdom revolves around God himself right he is the light of

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heaven he is the presence of heaven it's this when you start understand this

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you'll sell it all you will sell out you will do whatever thing whatever is

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necessary to follow the King you can see this in Philippians 3 7 where Paul's

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talking and he says this but what things were gained to me and he's talking about

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worldly things and position and you gotta understand this is the Apostle Paul

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he was a Pharisee of Pharisees he was a chief Pharisee he had position he had

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power you can go into God's Word he was there when Stephen was martyred and he

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gave the okay for that to take place so he had position he had power because he

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was a chief Pharisee he probably had wealth he had all these things and when

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he came to Jesus he said this but what things were gained to me these I have

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counted loss for Christ yet indeed I also count all things loss for the

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excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered

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the loss of all things and count them as rubbish come on it's garbage say amen

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then I may gain Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness

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which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness

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which is from God by faith and I may know him and the power of his resurrection

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and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death but if by

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any means I may obtain that to the resurrection from the dead people who

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arrive at this place and this understanding and actually believe that

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the kingdom is worth this much right that that everything outside of the

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kingdom in comparison is absolute rubbish these are the people that Jesus

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was talking about these are the people that were willing to walk away from it

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all right just to know the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord

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right it's true Dixie and I just a couple weeks back we had lunch with a

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couple who were in ministry and we went to a really fancy place what was name

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that place it was down in Chambersburg it's like a Chuck E cheese kind of

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thing I don't know we met they had kids were like we're ready to have some

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cloggies we went there and had some cardboard pizza and you know that's what

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you get in those places and you know so we met with this couple and and you know

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and they were talking and I knew one of them pretty well but his wife I didn't

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know very well and she talked she talked about her dad who was an NFL football

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player right and of course we're all leaning in right he played in the NFL

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and he played for several teams and and one day God spoke to him and told him

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he's done in football and God had things for him to do and it had to do with his

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family as well and he walked away from the NFL how many of that's a deal that's

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a deal if you know anybody you know it's easy to pick up on the people that

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understand the kingdom in this way that believe in the kingdom this way because

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everything else is rubbish to them it they can let go of whatever it is right

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and it's even easier to pick out those who don't it's easier to pick out the

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ones who don't believe in the kingdom that it is this valuable those who

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aren't all in right once one will be be talking about how they get how they can

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get closer to God and attain and come up closer in any way they can and whatever

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they got to leave behind to get closer to Jesus and the other ones will talk

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about how close they can live to the world right they'll talk about how

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close they can live to sin yeah I used to get this all the time when I was a

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youth pastor pastor Alyssa I got this all the time like pastor so what can I

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do with a girl huh that's the boys talking to me right or what can I do

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with that guy and I'm okay with Jesus right they're like can I dance up to the

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line or whatever whatever sin is you know without hopping across right they

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would do that kind of thing and I'm like you're not all in you don't understand

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you don't get it this is about getting as close as you can to God and thinking

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that everything else should just stay right back here right you'll drop it all

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you'll toss it aside like trash in your life right how many know how many know

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it's easy to toss trash if you got trash what do you do right let me make sure it

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went in all right worked on that this week no I didn't okay right that's what

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you do with trash you don't even think twice if it's trash to you right now

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this might be super valuable to Charlie I don't know write this piece of paper it

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might be super valuable to somebody else but if it's trash to you or me what do

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we do with it we don't think another thing of it that's what Paul was saying

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he said that the kingdom of God is so much value it is so important in our

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lives it is everything in our lives that everything else in your life will be

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like trash and you'll lay it down you'll walk away you'll separate from it

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right can I tell you do not hang out with the cheap substitute in your life

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God has amazing things right the enemy Satan brings sin into our lives because

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it's a cheap substitute for anything that God has for you it's just true

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right if we fear God right if we have fear how many know fears a cheap

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substitute for for you know that it's kind of a self-preservation thing you

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know I don't want to go to Turkey because Turkey's dangerous right and fear

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will be this cheap safety sometimes he can even be a cheap substitute for where

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God really wants to do in your life where he really wants to take you God's

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and I hate to say it this way but God he pulls us into dangerous things

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sometimes it like risky things maybe that's a better word risky things all

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right that's a little more palatable he pulls it what am I saying the kingdom

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kingdom people sell out it's kingdom it's treasure say treasure they sell out

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for Jesus and what Jesus was so clear about this when he was talking with

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those individuals that he goes into Matthew 13 45 and he and he says it

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again he says it once and then he said and he tells another parable and he says

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it all over again just so they get it in Matthew 13 45 he says again the kingdom

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of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who when he had found

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one pearl great price went and sold it all that he had and bought it I want you

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to think about it again use your imagination you're a pearl merchant all

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right you're selling and buying wholesale or maybe a pearls and you've

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seen it all you've been dealing in pearls your entire life you've been

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making jewelry out of pearls your entire life and and you've seen it all you've

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seen cheap imitation you've seen medium-grade jewelry made with medium

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grade pearls you've seen all these things and you've done this for years and

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years and years and all of a sudden one day you find a pearl of all pearls you

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find the highest quality pearl you've ever laid your eyes on and you can't

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even believe that it exists you can't even get your head around what this

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thing might be worth and you go back and you sell the inventory you go back and

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sell your business right you go back and sell the house you sell the car you sell

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the dog you sell the cat and this time you're thinking about selling two of the

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kids right come on it's what it is you buy in and some call it an obsession

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some call it tunnel vision right some call it playing crazy and you don't care

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what they call it you're gonna follow Christ you're gonna get to the prize no

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relationship no possession no position nothing in your past nothing in your

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future nothing gets in the way of selling out to Jesus right it's all

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rubbish it's all rubbish I know I know it's kind of those messages that makes

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people listen I got uncomfortable preaching it all right I got uncomfortable

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preparing it I always end up preaching to me and repentant for anybody else

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does so just so you know that right man it's radical abandon for Christ it

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really is Paul says this one more time in first Corinthians 6 9 and 9 through 11

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it says do you not know that the unrighteousness will not inherit the

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kingdom of God do not be deceived and he goes into list a bunch of sins he says

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neither fornicators but I want you to pay attention to the second one which is

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idolaters and he said not not adulterers but he will mention that one

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too but I want you to focus on that second one neither fornicators nor

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idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves or covenants

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nor drunkards or revelers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of

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God and such were some of you but you were washed you were sanctified you were

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justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God and I wanted you to

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take a look at that second term because the root word of that term is idle and

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I know is anything that we put before God right anything that we love more

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than we love God in our lives anything that keeps us you know anything that

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suddenly is not trash in our life and we'll hang on to it with everything we

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got and it's the pearl in our life it's a treasure in our life and we'll we'll

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we'll put God somewhere on the shelf and hang on to that thing and it's an easy

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way to figure it out if something's an idol in my life right it's not a hard

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thing if I've got an idol all I have to do is ask myself the question what what

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would what would I sell off right am I willing to sell off everything in my

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life except for God what or is there something that I would keep I wouldn't

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sell off and I'd sell God off first maybe just a way to put it right what

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would I sell off in my life would I sell everything off in my life and hang on to

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Jesus even myself right or or is there something I would hang on to and I would

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sell God off first before I'd let go of that thing right even the personal

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things in our life you know my wife Dixie sitting right here and she can't

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hang on to me right and sell me she should sell me off before she sells off

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Jesus I'm serious right I should be in second place under Jesus in her life she

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said she'd be willing to sell me off I don't know what you get for me but she

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should be willing to sell me off before she'd sell off Jesus in her life it's

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true and you know what I don't even want to be in that first place position

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because that's above my pay grade I mean I I wouldn't be able to handle it up

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there I really I can't I should be in second place

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can I categorically say that I would sell everything off of my life except for

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Jesus if I had to it would everything else in my life be like trash that's deep

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isn't it I know it's tough right it's the pearl it's the treasure it's kingdom

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it's why people go do the craziest things for Jesus and they go off and

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they become missionaries and they do these amazing things for God and I'm not

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saying everybody needs to be missionaries man right that's not what

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I'm saying at all I'm getting ready to close I'm gonna ask the worship team

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would come I got to give you one last scripture because Pearl and treasure

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people also understand something else about selling out to Jesus you can stand

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up you if you if you would this morning I want to read this last scripture and

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this is important to understand Matthew 625 says this therefore I say to you do

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not worry about your life what you will eat what you will drink nor what you're

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about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body

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more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap

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nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not more

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valuable than they which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his

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stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the

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field how they grow they neither toil nor spin it yet I say to you that even

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Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these now I've got so close

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the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow's thrown into the oven he

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will not so much more clothe you oh ye of little faith right selling out for

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Christ therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink

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what shall we wear for after all those things that Gentiles seek for your

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heavenly Father knows that you have needed these things and then this is a

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key scripture right lays it all out in one verse but seek first the kingdom of

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God in his righteousness no idols no idols and all these things shall be

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added to you kingdom people know that if it's all Jesus and you don't sell out

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and you're willing to sell everything else off except him right then all the

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things that everybody has those idols they're chasing after God said I'll add

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it on to you anyway I'll bring into your life what you need you don't got to

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worry about what you're eating what you're drinking what it's gonna look

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like I'll cover it all so this morning I want you to just to sell out maybe you

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haven't ever thought of it in this way or in this light this is about selling

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out it's about putting him in first place so I want you to close your eyes I

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want you to begin to think about is Jesus in that position will I sell

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everything else off of my life first my opinions come on right my ideology my

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theology but my possessions my relationships well I sell all that off

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to make sure that he's first in my life

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this message from life house church

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you were impacted powerfully by this message if you've been personally

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affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with us as we love God

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love people every day visit our website at www.lifehousecog.com