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Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located

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in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship

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Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism,

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discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church

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and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be

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your host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages

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are a blessing to you and bring you closer to God.

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Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Again, my name is David Bickford. I'm the pastor

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here in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The message I have today is, Gleaning the Fields,

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Prospecting for You. The text we will be working from is Matthew 28 verses 16 through 20. Before

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we jump into that, the subheading is Prospecting for You. Part of the reason why I was thinking

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about this was I was thinking about some of my past experiences in sales and having worked

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for multiple sales companies. My first sales job though was with a company called Edward

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Jones. The way that they go to market after your training is they send you out there in

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a territory and they tell you, go out and prospect, go find some customers basically.

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The way you go about doing that is you put on a suit, you got your little name badge

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that says Edward Jones and then who you are. You go and you knock on a bunch of doors and

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you do what we call in sales, cold calling. Cold calling can be a lot of things. It can

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be just picking up the phone and calling people. We've all had salespeople call us that way

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but this form of cold calling is literally going door to door knocking on doors and just

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trying to strike up a conversation with somebody. In this situation within Edward Jones, I was

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a financial advisor. I'm asking them pretty sensitive questions about their financial situation.

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If they've been working with anybody to help them prepare for retirement. Basically, I'm

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right away going after something that's a very sensitive subject to them. I had to go

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and do this over and over and over again. It just reminds me of how difficult that is

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for a lot of folks, how difficult that was for me, how emotionally draining that can

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be. When we come back to our text, our text that we're going to be looking at today is

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for all extensive purposes, it's the Great Commission. It is what Jesus Christ has told

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us to do going forward after he had died and rose from the grave and he was about to ascend

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into heaven. It was his command to us as believers on bringing forth the gospel. Let's go ahead

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and read that in verses 16 through 20, chapter 28.

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Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

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When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Jesus came and said to them,

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All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples

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of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

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teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you always to the

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end of the age. This is the command from the Lord to the disciples and there's really no

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wiggle room here. We're basically being told, go and make disciples of all the nations,

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baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them

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to observe all of the teachings that Jesus had given the disciples. Then he's saying,

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but don't worry, I'm with you always till the end of the age.

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In this situation we have to recognize that we are the meek, we are the poor in spirit

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and we are only saved by the grace that comes directly from God. It's not of our own doing,

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it is only through the grace and the work of grace that is from our Father in heaven.

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We are called to be fishers of men but we are also called to be like the poor, to glean

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the fields, to go find the fruit of the harvest that has fallen by the wayside, that is left

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behind unwanted. That idea of gleaning the fields is as a harvester comes through and

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takes the choices to fruits, there's always going to be stuff that's left, either fallen

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on the ground or there's going to be stuff on the edges. That is what we're supposed

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to do, we're supposed to pick that stuff up. This is a picture of Old Testament law where

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it was actually written out in the law to leave the edges and to leave the left behind

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stuff for the poor, for the people who do not have property, for the traveler. There's

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this built-in safety net or welfare net that was built into the law that was there to take

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care of the people who were less fortunate. As a church, we are supposed to be enacting

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in this realm of bringing in the left behind so they can also partake in the banquet of

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the Lord. Ultimately, this message that I'm preaching today came about because I was inspired

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by a conference sermon from Pastor Tom Payne, one of our leaders in our fellowship, and

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a conference from last January 2023. It really resonated with me. In Acts 1-8, it says,

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"'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be

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my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.'"

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This is what we're called to be, we're called to be witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

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what it has done in our lives, and what it can do in your lives as well. The entirety

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of the gospel is to share the message of Christ. The entire Bible is set up on the premise

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of man falls and then God has a plan through Jesus Christ to bring us back into relationship

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with him. In fact, the very name Christian was meant to invoke shame on those who were

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living according to the way back in the first century church. It was a slur meant to be

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something that was a form of ridicule, but the supernatural truth is that we are meant

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to be Christ-like as Christians. As we live on earth, we are supposed to strive and focus

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all of our efforts on becoming less of who we think we are and more of who Christ is.

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So what does this mean? Am I supposed to lose myself for the sake of Jesus? I would say

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yes, emphatically yes. In fact, we can see this in the scripture through examples of

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those who received miraculous healings from Jesus, their faith in Christ, and the joy

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that sprang out of that change in the lives of the men and women. It was so amazing that

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even the threat of violence wouldn't stop them from speaking of the power that they

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had in coming to Jesus Christ, in the healings of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 722, it

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says, for he who was called in the Lord as a bond servant is a freed man of the Lord.

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Likewise, he who was free when called is a bond servant of Christ. This whole idea is

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that even though we are free, because we're free of sin in Christ Jesus, we are bound

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to Christ by that sacrifice. By the blood of Jesus Christ that washes us clean, we are

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to be bound to him because he is our Savior. The woman of the well changed everything in

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her life in an instant after meeting Jesus. So here is a Samaritan woman who became a

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vocal evangelist for Jesus. She was the lowest of the social order. She was gathering water

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during the day because the women of the town wouldn't allow her to be around them because

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she was a harlot. She was living an unclean life. She was also a Samaritan, which meant

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that even the disciples would be prejudiced against her because the Jews and the Samaritans

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didn't intermingle. They didn't mix. It appears though that Jesus goes out of his way to interact

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with this woman, this Samaritan woman, and he does this constantly with other cast offs

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of society. In John 4, 7 through 10, we read, a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus

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said to her, give me a drink for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The

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Samaritan woman said to him, how is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman

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of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, if you

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knew the gift of God, who is it that is saying to you, give me a drink? You would have asked

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him and he would have given you living waters. My big takeaway with this little piece of

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scripture is that immediately after coming face to face with Jesus, this woman is transformed

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into a witnessing machine. It says later on in John 4, which we're going to read here

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in a second, that because of her testimony, many others came to faith in Jesus Christ.

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This situation unfolds where she is living a life of sin, segregated even amongst her

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own people, even amongst the women of her own people because of the life she is living.

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She is cast off, she is outside of the norms of society. She comes face to face with Jesus

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Christ and then we see her life dramatically change. In verses 39 through 42 of John chapter

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4, it says, many Samaritans from the town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.

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He told me all that I had ever did. So when the Samaritan came to him and they asked him

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to stay with them, he stayed there for two days and many more believed because of his

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word. They said to the woman is no longer because of what you said that we believe for

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we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the savior of the world. This

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is a key takeaway here. It's a key important thing to remember. She did the witnessing,

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which drew them to Christ and then in Christ with the relationship they found in Christ,

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they got saved. So the grace of God came to them and worked a miracle in their heart.

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But what initially drew them to them was the witness of the Samaritan woman. I get very

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overwhelmed with the reality that we are called to have the same fire and zeal for the gospel.

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We too are meant to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the highways and the byways.

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It is not our place to judge the circumstance of those who we interact with, but rather

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to share with them the message of the cross. In Luke 14, this is confirmed via the parable

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of the great banquet. So let's pick this up. We're going to read verses 12 through 24.

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The parable of the great banquet. He said also to the man who had invited him, when

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you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives

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or rich neighbors, lest they are also invite you in return and you are repaid. But when

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you give a feast, invite the poor, the cripple, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed

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because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

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When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him,

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blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said to him, a

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man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he

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sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, come for everything is now ready.

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But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field

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and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. And another said, I have bought

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five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said,

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I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So the servant came and reported these

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things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant,

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go quickly to the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the cripple,

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the blind, and the lame. And the servant said, sir, what you have commanded has been done

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and still there is room. And the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and

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the hedges, compel people to come in that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none

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of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. I find this to be an interesting

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warning for us as Christians in the fact that we've had the invitation. We should not get

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lazy with the gifts that we received from the Lord. We should not casually treat the

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gospel as something that can be put off for a different day, for a different time. I find

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that too much of the church world is content with this idea of being a social club. They

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can interact as friends, they can invite people casually to service and get togethers, but

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it's not for the sake of the gospel, but rather despite the gospel. The gospel is a secondary

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piece of the fellowship that they tend to enjoy, where it should be the most important

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part and purpose of the church's mission. What do I mean by that? Well, in our fellowship,

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we are supposed to hold to witnessing and giving our testimony. We do this because it's

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the power of that changed life that can and does affect people for Christ. It is the transformation

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that happens in a life touched by God and changed that is powerful. It is not the movie

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night, it's not the coffee, it's not the potlucks. All those things have their place

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in building fellowship with your brethren, your brothers and sisters in Christ, but it

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is the reality of the changed man or the changed woman. It is the drug addict that is set free

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in Jesus name. It is the prostitute that is redeemed. It is the drunkard that gets sobered

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and saves his family. It is the narcissist that becomes generous and humble. It is to

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become less of yourself and more like Christ. This brings me to my first primary point,

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which is facing who we are, the fallen and the sinful. With this reality, we need to

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take a long hard look in the mirror at who we are. You might not have had a hard life

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like the woman at the well or like one of those poor souls that was demon possessed

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like the the garrisoned demonia. Maybe you just lie a little bit, steal a little. Maybe

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you don't do any of that, but rather you are in your own mind, perfect, or at least not

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as bad as the bums that live down the street. If that is where you are sitting, maybe you

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are more like one of the Pharisees or Sadducees that in their hubris plotted against Christ.

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How about this? Have you ever been walking down the street on outreach? You are out there

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with the purpose of bringing forth the gospel and you say to yourself, that person does

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not need me to witness to them. That person does not look like the type to come to church.

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They do not look like the kind of person for me to witness to. I am sure this is not you

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and you are truly going to witness to everybody or talk to everybody you meet and share the

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gospel with them. That is great and that is awesome. I know that you have abundant fruit

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coming forth from your life because of it. In Mark 5, 18-20 it says, As he was getting

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into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with

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him. He did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how

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much the Lord has done for you, how he has had mercy on you. He went away and began to

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proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him and everyone marveled. I am not

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proud to say this, but I do struggle with witnessing all the time. Whether it is the

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fear of rejection or maybe it is the fear that God is going to move and now I am going

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to have a lot more work to do. I believe that as Christians we all battle this. I am not

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trying to say shame on you if you battle this because I do myself battle this. The reality

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is that we have to allow the love of Jesus Christ to work in our lives to the point where

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our love for him is going to change our view of others to the point where we will love

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our enemy and we will love those that we do not know as much as he loves them so that

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love will overpower us so that we are compelled to share our testimony with everybody we interact

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with so that they too can have the opportunity to turn to Christ. So early in our fellowship

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history when we were still affiliated with another organization, the Four Square Church,

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our lead pastor, pastor Wayman Mitchell, decided to work with the young hippies that were getting

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saved during the Jesus People movement. This was one of the things that kind of caused

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us to branch off from the Four Square because at the time there was a lot of people within

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these larger or more structured church organizations that did not want these dirty hippies coming

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into church. They felt that they needed to clean up their act before they could be part

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of this Christian club. We do not see that scripturally. We see that you get saved, people

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get saved, they come in. We want unsaved people coming in so that they can hear the message

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and that God can deal with them because again it is only grace that separates us from them.

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It is nothing of our doing. It is the grace of Jesus Christ that has done a miracle in

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our lives and so we have to remember that it is our job to bring the gospel forth. We

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are not gatekeepers of the gospel. We are supposed to be heralds of the gospel. My second

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point is facing the perfection of Christ. The reality is that we all need to atone

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for our sins. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, he made a point to seek out those

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who were the sickest from their sin. He ministered to the sick, the unclean and the poor. He

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did this with all authority and we can see this in our text in verse 18. All authority

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in heaven and on earth has been given to me. This was after he had the resurrection. This

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was also prophesied about in Daniel in 713. It says, I saw in the night visions and behold

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with clouds of heaven there came one like the son of man and he came to the ancient

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of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion, glory and the kingdom

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that all peoples nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

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dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

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So here's an excerpt from a sermon that I found from Charles Spurgeon. This one was

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titled perfection in Christ and it truly drives home this idea that we need to face our own

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imperfections in order to understand the perfection of Christ. But then while speaking of the

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doctrine of perfection, we must remember that according to the sacred oracles, perfection

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is absolutely necessary for all who hope to enter heaven. We may have lost perfection

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but that does not alter God's demand for it. It may be impossible that we should ever

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be perfect in ourselves but God demands that we should be perfect. The holy law was given

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to God and if we wish to be saved by it we must keep it perfectly. No man is not perfect

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can ever hope to enter into heaven unless he can find perfection somewhere. In another,

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if not in himself, he must be irretrievably ruined and driven from God's presence. No

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man under the sun can ever walk the starry plains of heaven or tread the golden shoots

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of bliss until he gets perfection somehow or somewhere. Let me tell you why. First of

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all, it would be unjust if God did not punish man if he is not perfect. God required of

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all men originally that they should keep his law entirely. Now if man is not perfect it

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stands to reason that he must have broken God's law, otherwise he would be perfect.

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Having broken it, God has said, I will punish sin, the soul that sinneth it shall die. And

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with reverence to the Most High God we say it, if he does not punish every sin, he is

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not a just God. If he does not exact the punishment for every transgression, there is a blot upon

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his escunction, the whiteness of his throne is tinged with stains, and he is no longer

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that awfully, severely just God we have considered him to be.

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So Charles Spurgeon continues in this vein for a lot longer in that sermon, but it clearly

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expresses our need for perfection and the reason for the judgment of sin. In order for

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God to be just he must judge our sin. Spurgeon then brings us to the conclusion that we are

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only made perfect in Christ. We know of Christ's perfection from throughout the Bible. In Hebrews

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2, 10 it says, for it was fitting that he, for whom by whom all things exist, in bringing

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many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

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And then later in Hebrews 5, 8-10, although he was a son, he learned obedience through

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what he suffered, and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to

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all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

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And then finally in Hebrews 7, 26, 28 it says, for it was indeed fitting that we should have

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such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above

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the heavens. He has no need like those other high, like those high priests to offer sacrifices

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daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once

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and for all when he offered himself up. For the law appoints men in their weakness as

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high priests, but the word of oath which came later than the law appoints a son who has

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been made perfect forever. This completion of what was spoken about in the Old Testament

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psalm. So this completed that. In 1-10-4 it says, the Lord has sworn and will not change

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his mind, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So this brings me to

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my final point which is facing the revelation of Christ's sacrifice. In his perfection

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he died for us. When faced with revelation of Christ's perfection, the woman at the

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well made an immediate and drastic change in her life. She became a powerful testimony

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and she did not hide the gift that she had received from Jesus. She shared this with

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everyone who would listen and because of that many others came to have faith in Christ.

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And through Christ they will be made perfect as well. When faced with the perfection of

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Jesus it's undeniable, but once you come to realize his perfect victory came through

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his unstained sacrifice, then we get the real depth of the message today. Christ died for

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us as a final sacrifice to bring us back into right relationship with the Father. He willingly

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died on the cross for all of humanity's sins. He was beaten and abused, he was mocked and

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slandered but even so he went to the cross and offered himself as a final sacrifice.

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Hebrews 10-14 says, for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are

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being sanctified. So as we close, I think it's critical to remember this sacrifice.

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One of the thieves on the cross came to his senses as he hung there face to face with

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the reality of the perfection of Christ and his own imperfection. He came to the reality

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of the sacrifice that was made for him right there beside him on the cross. This earthquake

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of revelation broke this man and he turned from his ways knowing he was being punished

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for his sins that he committed but yet still Christ was sacrificing himself for those very

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same sins. If you want to think about this in a different way, here is a man hanging

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on the cross being judged for his sins and he's going to die because of those sins. But

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when he dies and he passes on to eternity, God is not going to see his sins but he's

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going to see his son Jesus Christ in his place. The eyes and the heart of the thief were broken

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and he became immediately a powerful testimony from his own cross because of that revelation.

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In Luke 23 verses 39-43 we see this. One of the criminals who were hanged railed against

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him saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself at us. But the other rebuked him saying, Do

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you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly

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for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong

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and he said, Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, Truly

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I say to you, Today you will be with me in paradise. Even at the very end, those who

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have a true revelation of Jesus Christ cannot help but testify unto his name. The reality

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of his perfection and his subsequent sacrifice is too great. That is why we are called to

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bear witness to his name. Above all else, we are to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ

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to everyone. This is a challenge for sure, but it is only through the revelation of Christ

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Jesus in our heart that we can find the strength to accomplish our calling. That is why we

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need to pray to wash ourselves in the word of the Lord, to gather his brethren in the

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church so that we will be emboldened to fulfill our calling. When we continually come face

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to face with this reality of his loving sacrifice, it is impossible for us not to share what

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he has done for us. So share his message, share his perfection and his sacrifice to

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others, but also tell of your story, how Jesus has saved you from a life of sin, how he saved

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you from sorrows, depression, anxiety, how he saved you from anger, hate and drunkenness.

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Share your testimony so that others will be also led to salvation in Christ. If I could

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have every head bowed, every eye closed as we wrap this whole message up. I just want

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to touch, hone in. If this message is spoken to you and if God's dealing with your heart

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right now, I want you to know there's hope. I want you to know there's a way for you to

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accept the grace that's freely offered by God. It's as simple as just a recognition

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of who you are and the fact that you lack perfection and you need the covering of Jesus

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Christ. You need to be born again in Jesus Christ as he tells us in the scripture. It's

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very simple. There's a simple prayer you can do and it just goes a little something like

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this, dear Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you sent your son, Jesus Christ,

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who died for my sins on the cross and he rose from the grave. I repent of my sins and I

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accept your son Jesus to be my Lord and savior and I thank you for the grace that comes in

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the salvation that comes from Jesus Christ and I give you all the praise and glory. Amen.

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Simple prayer. All it is is a recognition of your sin. Acceptance of Jesus Christ as

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your Lord and his deity and then that's salvation in a nutshell, just like the thief on the

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cross. It doesn't even have to be a formal prayer or anything like that. It's just that

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recognition of sin, repentance from sin, acceptance of Christ as your Lord. I want to thank you

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for joining me again for this podcast. I pray that it has touched you. I'm going to ask

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you to also like and share this podcast, however you're listening to it. Please help me get

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this message out. Help us grow. There's a lot of things that we're doing in the church

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that I'm going to be able to bring forward in the next few months, but I really want

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to pray that God will breathe on us and that the gospel message goes further and further

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forward. The whole point of this ministry is to bring the message forward. It's not

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to argue with other Christians. It's not to argue with other people who don't believe

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in Jesus. I'm not going to do that. My purpose is to bring the gospel forward. I'm not going

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to deal with secondary and tertiary issues. I just want to bring a simple, clean gospel

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message forward and share it with as many people as I can. If you live in Samarham,

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come and join us for church. I'm more than happy to talk with you there and work with

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you there. If you're not nearby and you need help finding a church, reach out to me as

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well. I will help you find a church to lock into from one of the 3500 Potter's House or

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Christian Fellowship Ministry churches that are in the world. We have lots of churches,

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but we are all focused on a simple gospel message and bringing people to Jesus Christ

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so that the grace of God can come into their life as well. Again, thank you for listening.

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I can't wait for you to come back next time. God bless.