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Good morning everyone. Before I begin I'm going to pray for us so please join

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with me. Father as we come to hear your word this morning please give us soft

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hearts, hearts ready to hear. May it go into our mind and then in deep into our

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hearts so that we may seek to live following you, trusting in you each day.

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Amen. Well good morning everyone. As has already been said my name is Scott. I'm

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normally at Vic Park Presbyterian. I do kind of two days a week there primarily

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with children's ministry and so if I use my hands a lot that's that's why. We're

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gonna be primarily looking at Mark chapter 7 so if you could have that open

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in front of you that'd be great. Last year my wife and I we watched a rather

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horror documentary. This is one of the ones where I talked to you about it but I

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really don't want you to go and watch it. So it was called shiny happy people. It

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was a documentary. It kind of traced the rise and fall of a homeschooling

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curriculum and kind of a family particularly attached to it. I know

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it's the Duggar family. I mean it was like a really brutal watch. It kind of

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gave me a glimpse into like the worst parts of American Christianity and it

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was a culture of rules, kind of strictness, large families as kind of the

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necessary thing to do as a Christian and homeschooling as the only option was

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their kind of big thing. They had a TV show kind of following them as they had

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19 children and it kind of they had more after the start of the show and the TV

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show kind of always presented them as good people, godly people, kind of shiny

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and bright, kind of the ones that you wanted to be but there was a documentary

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that kind of traced their rise and like definite fall and the documentary

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pointed out that actually what was what looked like obedience was fear. What

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looked like godliness was kind of just the perfect family was actually just a

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cesspit of cover-ups and greed. They were always trying to protect this

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outer image that kind of their TV show kind of depended on that kind of

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everything's okay here while actually their children suffered and so many

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families in America and from around the world kind of bought into it, bought into

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the system that they were promoting and why? Because from what everyone could see

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they had it all together right. How could that family be anything other than just

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like perfect and godly? You know with all their 19 or 20 children kind of clean

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smiling playing violin it looked like they all just loved Jesus. How could that

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be anything but godly? And their program the home schooling thing kind of came

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with all the promises. You know if you join us if you follow our curriculum if

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you buy in then you too can be just like us. We've got the discipline right we've

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got the schooling right kind of all of our church priorities and ducks are in a

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row but clearly that was not actually the case. Kind of this system where they

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sell you the promise is not new for Christians it's the same system again

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and again that we see in our culture. Purity culture is the same thing the

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anti-alcohol movement it's the same thing anti-dancing movements kind of it's

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just again and again it's the same system if you join us if you put these

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barriers in place you will be safe. They have all the promises but nothing to

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change the heart. It's the pattern from the beginning where human rules was what

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will make you right with God. It's about what you can do or not do that affects

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your relationship with God. Jesus in our passage this morning is going to

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vehemently oppose that. Mark records that for us so that we can see clearly that

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the heart needs to change and Jesus knows this in Mark records because in the

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first century second century third century kind of and it's going to be

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the same until Jesus returns the same kinds of things are going to pop up

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that will tempt you to put your hope in something other than Jesus. So let's come

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look at our passage this morning we're gonna look at it in three big points

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some people have like points where they all start by the same letter that's just

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too complicated for me mine are just gonna rhyme so the first one is Jesus

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gonna warn us about traditions that compare secondly tradition sorry you know

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and secondly traditions that ensnare and then thirdly that actually real

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defilement is in there. So let's go verse one have a look at that with me kind of

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Mark sets the scene that the Pharisees return with the scribes first one the

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Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law had come from Jerusalem gathering

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around Jesus and saw some of his disciples with eating food with

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hands that were defiled that is unwashed. It's worth saying that there's

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something funny here that I think we could like pull out from Mark occasionally

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in Gospels you can kind of trace a theme through it you kind of see like

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Jesus is clearly king you can see Jesus showing his kingship all the way

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through it's a good thread to go let me show you one that's kind of not in any

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commentaries or any book that you'll ever read because it's kind of funny and

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from me is that yeah this is the kind of the quest for the disciples and food

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kind of in Mark there's like threads going through here we get the disciples

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and their food that was kind of meant to be a joke maybe that was that's okay I'll

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warm you up I'm sure because the disciples they've interacted a lot with

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food at this point in kind of Mark twice already in the Gospel of Mark

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Mark has recorded for us that actually the crowds are so big there they've

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come with all their needs that the disciples have not been able to eat

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bread it's already recorded that twice for us in the previous chapter there was

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the feeding of the five thousand but we don't kind of don't hear did the

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disciples get to eat any of that food after the feeding of five thousand they

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quickly jumped in a boat they rode across the lake all night Jesus kind of

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meets them on the water but we still don't know whether they've finally got to

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sit down and eat bread and kind of at the start of our chapter here finally

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they do finally it's their turn to eat they sit down they take out their bread

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but they're quickly kind of met with opposition so the Pharisees kind of walk

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up and slap it out of their hands kind of going look aren't you forgetting

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something and mark kind of knows that we probably don't really understand what's

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going on so mark kind of steps in and kind of comments on that for us in verse

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3 Mark says the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their

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hands a ceremonial washing holding to the tradition of the elders when they

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come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash and they observe

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many other traditions such as the washing of cups pitches and kettles

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like for the Pharisees actually what what's happening here with the disciples

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not washing their hands they think that this is a serious matter this is not

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just about hygiene like my children come in from playing outside with hands that

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are a very different color than what they should be and that's not what's on view

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here that the Pharisees actually think that this is about worshiping God the

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tradition is about being ready through washing to come to God the Pharisees see

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that their tradition is that they take God's law so seriously they sign off to

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register obey God's law but they've gone further than God's law they've taken up

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on themselves to do more washing than what the priests in the temple would even

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be required to do because they're ready like externally they're ready to come

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and worship God and they then compare with Jesus disciples right here they're

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clearly looking down on the disciples they're not following our traditions

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they're unworthy to come by looking down on Jesus disciples they're looking down

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on Jesus they're thinking that if Jesus was anybody he was anyone actually

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important his disciples would be following us in our traditions and so

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Jesus can't let that stand Jesus is going to oppose it he quickly responds with

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Isaiah 29 that you're washing and your worship are the same that they're merely

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external and they're empty see that with me in verse 6 he replied Isaiah was

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right when he prophesied about you hypocrites as it is written these

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people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me they worship me

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in vain their teachings are merely human rules it's just external and empty and

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there's no substance my school back in year 11 we had like a free sports period

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where they kind of forced you to do something other than study and they

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would like you could choose a sport you go and do a sport and for the first one

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that I got to do was ice skating was like super excited about it it was like

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you know kind of don't really know what living in Perth kind of what ice really

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is and I was super excited when one of my friends said that he would sell me one

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of his ice skate or clearly the pair a pair of ice skates and they looked really

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impressive I got them for a bargain and I came to school for the first day for

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these ice skating kind of classes with these like professional ice hockey

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skates you know they're attached to my bag on the outside I looked like a real

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pro good to go until I kind of got to the ice right you know put them on lace

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them up step on and you know the arms as you kind of try not to fall over

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because you know you know just having ice skates doesn't make me good at ice

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skating but actually the story is worse because I was super clever in year 11

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the kind of this side of the blades had a little bit of rust on it so I went to

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my dad shed I was I can clean this up go get some sandpaper just take off the

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side of the blades and I was like oh while I'm here I'll just make the whole

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thing really shiny kind of on the sides on the bottom which you know anything

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about ice skates is that there's a kind of like a lip on the bottom kind of like

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a really sharp part that actually allows you to grip to the ice at all and so not

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only did my arms fail my leg comes out from underneath me because it has no

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grip I turned my ice skates into basically button arms I ended up with

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useless skates looked impressive on the outside but actually completely useless

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the Pharisees with all their extradition here like on the outside it

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looks super impressive right they wash after every meal they do so many things

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to make themselves look like they're ready to go and meet God it looks so

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godly but like me with my sandpaper skates like the shiny happy people from

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the documentary the religion of the Pharisees does no work it's worthless

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and empty merely external worship is not worship at all there's no love for God

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they just love to be seen to be holy and to go hard like I think that's always a

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temptation for us in the church we always want to look like we're doing the

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right thing and it's so easy for us to get tripped up on traditions which

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emphasise only what is external rather one that actually views the heart it's

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worth saying that I think actual holiness actual godliness and the path

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there is so full of failures when you actually want to fight sin in your life

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and you wrestle with it and you fight with it sometimes we win and we make

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great strides sometimes if you're actually fighting sin you will fail

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sometimes and we come again and we repent but that doesn't look pretty

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doesn't look godly maybe externally but it is the fight against sin to

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constantly fight it is where true worship and godliness lies Jesus here

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warns as he can condemns the Pharisees that our fake worship won't do and Jesus

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wants us to understand that further understand the Pharisees and so he gives

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us gives his listeners a rather specific example and this is our second point

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Jesus warns about traditions that ensnare if you like kind of safe headings

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this is the kind of tradition versus God's word as well kind of Jesus brings

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in one of their traditions a Jewish tradition and states that actually

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following your tradition leads to you breaking God's law like it's funny

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because it's like the lawyers are in view here the lawyers are actually

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promoting law breaking Jesus example here kind of we need to explain because we

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don't often think about Corbin in an everyday life yeah so let's have a look

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at what's happening verse 10 he begins with what does God's law says for Moses

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said honor your father and mother and anyone who curses their father or mother

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is to be put to death begins like suit like pretty clear commandment number 5

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in the 10 commandments and then also like a really potent one kind of the one

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that you tell your children when they're not obeying you you know Exodus 21 that

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anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death they're really

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clear commands right like God cares about honoring your parents and then Jesus

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brings in their tradition kind of the tradition of the elders and asks them

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why does your tradition counter that why is it a opposition or actually that

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actually prevents children from obeying their parents kind of the evidence is

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brought in to the witness stand stands up and it's it's Corbin but let me

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explain to you because like again we don't kind of we don't think about

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Corbin very much this is a tradition that's primarily about money pledged to

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the temple you can imagine kind of end of financial years kind of coming up

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still a little bit away but you kind of you've sat down you've done all your

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money and your little spreadsheet if you love maths you kind of figure out

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actually business is going pretty well like oh end of year is gonna be great and

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you go I'll be I'll be generous this year actually God has graciously blessed me

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so I I can bless in return and so you call up call up the synagogue or the

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church and you kind of go oh I reckon like 40% of my income this year I could

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I could give and your elders like oh yeah that's great it's a good idea and

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remember we've talked about that Corbin thing yeah I could I could take that

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vow I'll pledge that much money right now and your elders like yeah okay that's

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good that's good and you kind of you put the phone down things are going well

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until like the phone rings again you pick it up and it's your it's your mom and

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dad and they just let you know that actually there are time at funds run

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dry things didn't go well with investment actually the banks taken the house

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they're in desperate need of financial help you're in charge of the family's

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money can you can you help and you go of course mom and dad like let me let me

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let me call back the church and I'll be right back with you you call them back

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the elders and you kind of go oh yeah my parents they're in need the elders go

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oh that sounds really hard but you know you kind of promised that amount right

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you took the vow you know it's commandments about not lying you don't

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want to do that kind of phone call in and you're stuck this tradition of this

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pledge kind of this good thing about giving money to the temple or to church

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has left this child this adult in this situation unable to love and care for

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their parents and that's something that's promoted by the lawyers and the

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Pharisees they may have even used that guy's a positive example look he took

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these vows so seriously he couldn't even help his mom and dad he giving to God a

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good thing has morphed into a tradition that hasn't snared the Jewish people

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such that they end up breaking God's law as Jesus and the Exodus 21 puts it

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cursing our parents

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Jesus is really clear what's happening here says it three times verse 8 verse 9

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verse 13 you have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human

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traditions and he continued you have a fine way of setting aside the commands

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of God in order to observe your own traditions verse 13 thus you nullify

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the word of God by your tradition that you've handed down and you do many things

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like that it's Jesus's assessment of the leaders of God's people that they

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actually prefer human religion than trusting in God's own commands like

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there shouldn't have been any competition right you kind of Jesus has set

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them both up which one is of more of more value and clearly it's God's

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commands by an infinite amount how did this happen how does God's people love

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their own traditions more than God's law I think it's worth saying that we can

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do we can do this with any good thing as we raise its importance so that it

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stands side by side with God's commands our heart produces idols at a

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phenomenal rate our heart loves anything that shines that's new it loves the

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exciting particularly if other people can see it

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Thomas Kramner very old and dead guy has been known to say what the heart

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loves the will chooses and then the mind justifies that is what I love is the

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real driving force about everything I do it guides my will and then when I want

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to do it I then justify doing it I think that's what's happened with the

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Pharisees they've probably justified this tradition again and again because of

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the external price and of these vows gift-giving in the temple long loud

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prayers all that's kind of associated with the Pharisees is all about the

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external they love the praise they love the glory and so they choose their will

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chooses it and they justify it and that's not just true the Pharisees is it

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actually that pattern of us loving our will choosing and us justifying is just

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the pattern of my heart with all sin my heart desires my will pursues it and in

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that moment I justify it does your heart not also go and you sin you deserve

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this no one will know ah how could you expect to hold out for so long and that's

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just sin a sin that comes from my heart because my heart is actually the problem

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and Jesus knows that and so Jesus tackles that with our last point that real

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defilement comes from in here Jesus kind of turns from the Pharisees in our

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passage to the crowd and then particularly to his disciples Jesus begins

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with the diagnosis in verse 15 you called the crowd to him and said listen to

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me everyone and understand nothing outside a person can defile them by going

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into them rather it's what comes out of a person that defiles them and then he

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explains that in verse 18 and 19 when the disciples kind of asked him what's

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happening I are you so dull he says don't you see that nothing that enters a

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person from the outside can defile them it doesn't go into their heart but into

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their stomach and then out of the body and saying this Jesus declared all

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foods clean like because look the problem is not outside of you Jesus says like does food actually make you

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unworthy to approach God like does it change your very being does your heart

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kind of get like radically transformed by the food that you eat no Jesus says

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actually food goes in food comes out the problem is the heart and like as a

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side note I think it's worth talking about how big of a deal what Jesus is

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saying here like it feels like us because our Christians would be like you

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know this has been the thing for 2,000 years but for Jesus in the first entry

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like this is a big deal what Jesus is saying because Jesus loves the law right

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and the whole Old Testament come versus the traditions doesn't make sense

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unless Jesus actually loves God's Word and God's law but Jesus here it's almost

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like he's gathering particular parts of the Old Testament law and kind of going

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oh yep over there so let me let me rant for a little bit there are such things

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as unclean food when Jesus is time there is food that if you ate would make you

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unworthy to come to worship before God what's Jesus doing like there are

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numerous things outside of a person that could make you unclean like if you

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touched or interacted with things make you unclean you find a dead body and you

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touch it unclean if you like if you touch any bodily discharged male or

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female you're unclean like actually there's so many things in the Old

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Testament in the time that Jesus is living that makes you unclean so what is

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Jesus doing I think it's all about who Jesus is and what he's come to do because

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like all those unclean laws they're all about being ready to approach God come

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into his presence and Jesus is God himself Jesus has come to his people

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he's clothed himself in humanity the God that radiates holiness has now come so

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clear that all those rituals and symbols that pointed to their inability to come

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close to him it's as if they melt away all those things that were once unclean

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food people there it's as if God himself has come near to bring us so God himself

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has come near he will he has brought himself near and will bring us near by

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his death for us as all those all that brought us all that separates us is

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removed but with God now so close the real problem is seen in such greater

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clarity what defiles a person what creates the problem between us and God

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that makes us unworthy to approach it's our heart it's all that comes out of us

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verse 21

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for it is from within out of a person's heart that evil thoughts come sexual

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morality theft murder adultery greed malice deceit lewdness envy slander

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arrogance and folly all these evils come from inside and defile a person they

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all come from inside the problem is me my heart and my love the diagnosis is in

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is that we all have a heart problem and it's terminal in 2019 my oldest son got

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really sick I was in a cuddling him trying to like comfort him and he ended

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up throwing up all over me kind of in that moment I felt really really

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unclean he got better I got sick and then slightly better but I got a post

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viral infection kind of irritated the lining around my heart and I was dying

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which is super serious but that came from outside Jesus here is saying that

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our heart is sick it comes from our own heart our heart desires sin so often

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called the desires of the flesh and the list that Jesus uses here is not good

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right it's like a game of what commandment have we broken how are we

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sinning against God today and this is just a list for all of us it's what our

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heart naturally produces in thought word indeed this is the Pharisee this is you

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and this is me and as we've already seen just making ourselves look clean on the

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outside doesn't fool God and Jesus kind of gets to the end of our passage he

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condemns us all declares us all unclean and kind of the passage ends but there

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is a glimmer of hope salvation just around the corner now our next passage

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that wasn't read for us and I will summarize it for us Jesus kind of leaves

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the land of God's people gonna moves out to Tyron Tyron Siron on so don't that's

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like Jesus going out into the unclean land and in that area Jesus meets a

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woman whose daughter is demon possessed that's with an unclean spirit so big

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picture Jesus has gone out into an unclean land he's met an unclean woman

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whose daughter who is also unclean has an unclean spirit it's like layer upon

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layer of uncleanness and Jesus has mercy on her he makes her clean the unclean

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spirit is driven out and I think our two passages are put there one after the

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other kind of pre-emptive of Jesus's death to see that if anyone can make our

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hearts clean if anyone can transform our hearts it's Jesus Jesus is the one who

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will wash us clean give us a new heart if you're just here today just checking out

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church try figure out what Jesus is all about I think here we get a glimpse into

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Jesus's love for the unclean people for all of us and also a glimpse into his

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transforming work because if Jesus transforms your heart then from the

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inside out you will change Jesus changes actually what you love that'll change

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what we want and what we want to do each day Jesus is here to forgive us to wash

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us clean from the inside out so if you don't know Jesus he's not the one that

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you're trusting and in following come today and be washed clean have your

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sins forgiven and your heart transformed and like if you are following Jesus

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that's still true for us if Jesus is the one that we trust in and follow and I

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think our passage calls us to stop trying to make ourselves clean by our

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own power to stop being like the Pharisees we so often just try to make

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ourselves clean as we fight sin we just do things we take our computer and we

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lock it away we double down on discipline we wake up early with more

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alarms that we do more things so that then God will forgive us and love us

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then that we think that will be holy but Jesus came and died to actually

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wash us clean he showed us his love and his heart he showed us the worth of his

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life and through his death how much he has given to transform us if we just

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work hard if we don't trust and ask for Jesus's help all we're gonna end up

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doing in ourselves in our children in our groups in our church is just to

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replace visible sins with internal ones and that's terrifying how good is it

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that Jesus's death is all that we need and so we can come to him and pray again

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and again and again as we wrestle with sin asking for his help and his strength

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knowing that he is the one that is actually able to transform us

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Jesus is so gentle each day he wants us to come again and again to him

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confessing our sins and seeking his help to live loving him I love Jesus's own

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words he says come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden I will give you

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rest let's come to him now and pray

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father we come and we confess that we are so quick so often to attempt to

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change our own hearts by our own strength and Lord we can't change ourselves at all

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Lord we need what you have accomplished on the cross we need your saving power

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your blood to wash us clean

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not just from sin initially but from sin in our heart each day transform us

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Lord you are a found that does not cease to which we can come to and drink from

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each day

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Lord lead us there

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amen