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Good morning, family.

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Turn to Philippians chapter 2.

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All right.

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So, we're going to continue on our journey of Philippians chapter 2.

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It's an amazing letter and really excited to see as God works these truths out in our

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lives, how we start walking in all these things that God has been teaching us.

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So we're going to pray.

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We're going to get in.

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I hope you listen a little bit on the kids' corner because that's what today is all about,

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obedience.

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So, Father, I want to thank you so much for your faithfulness and goodness.

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Thank you, Lord, for your Word.

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Thank you that you are the God of the universe.

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You have not only do you will and work in us for your good pleasure, but you cause us,

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persevere us to do the same.

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And Lord, we thank you and we praise you.

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Help us to walk in obedience, to understand the importance of obedience and the examples

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that you have given of these two particular obedient men that God, that Paul uses to

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really help us to see the importance of living rightly.

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Lord, we thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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So in order for us to have an understanding of what Paul is saying in Philippians chapter

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2, verse 12 through 30, I'm going to move up to verse 5 and reread this because this

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is the concept.

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This is what Paul is trying to put here.

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I've said this over and over again.

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If you can get rid of the subtitles and just read God's Word without the subtitle, just

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read it or listen to it, just let it go.

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You'll get a grasp of what he's trying to say.

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I think subtitles, though, it helps us to grab a thought, really do an injustice to

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helping us to understand the context.

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Subtitles are not inspired.

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They're just there to help you.

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So verse 5, have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though

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he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied

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himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, being found in

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human form.

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He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.

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I want you to grasp that.

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Even death on the cross.

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Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every

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name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under

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the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

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Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my presence,

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but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is

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God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

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And I want you to, did you kind of grasp what Paul is doing in the continuance of that reading?

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The context of what he's calling you to.

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In the same way that Christ became obedient to the point of death, have you ever really

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thought about how obedient are you?

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Have you obeyed God's word to the point that you die?

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In Romans 12, verse 1 and 2, therefore I urge you, brothers, in the view of God's mercy,

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to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto God, for this is your

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reasonable act of worship.

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Did you get that?

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The whole point of obedience is have you really become obedient to the point of death?

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Even death on the cross, as Christ did.

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I don't think any of us have gotten to that point.

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Do you know why?

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Because obedience is uncomfortable.

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Obedience is uncomfortable.

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Principle number one, if you love Christ, you will obey him.

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Jesus says that, if you love me, you will obey me.

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The measurement of true love in Christ is unwavering obedience.

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Obedience even when it's highly difficult.

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There's nothing more difficult than the willingness to die because of obedience.

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I want you to get that.

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Jesus died willingly.

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I lay down my own life.

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No one takes it from me.

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To be obedient to the Father because that was the Father's plan.

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It's an example.

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Obedience means everything.

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Okay?

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Philippians chapter 2, verse 12 and 13, therefore, in other words, all the things I just read

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to you, right?

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Verse 5 through 11, Paul says, therefore, understanding all that I just explained to

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you, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much

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more in my absence, you should continue to obey.

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You know, he doesn't tell them that they need to obey.

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He's reminding them, you've always obeyed.

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I mean, what an amazing church.

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You know, when I read the letter to the Philippians, I go, man, that's an amazing church, right?

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Don't just be a good Berean by studying the word.

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Be a good Philippian by living it.

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The Philippians live it.

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But then he says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

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This is not the term where the people, I'm sure in the past, it says, see, in order for

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you to stay saved, you got to work it out.

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You got to work out your own salvation to maintain your salvation.

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That's not what this means.

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Work out your salvation to get saved.

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That's not what this means.

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Working out your salvation has nothing to do with the reality of your position before

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God.

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Working out your own salvation is the reality of who you are already in Christ, right?

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It's this idea that I need to practice it.

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I need to literally live it out.

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Live out your salvation with fear and trembling.

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Why?

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This fear is with reverence and honor and glory.

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I should be absolutely thrilled to obey God.

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Being obedient to God is not a burden.

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It's your freedom.

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Good choice on the song.

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It's your freedom.

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Your freedom is found when you're in obedience.

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Why?

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Because I have aligned my life with God.

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That's why he says, it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good

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pleasure.

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You will desire and you will serve for his good pleasure.

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If you're truly born again, you're going to live your life out in that way with fear and

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trembling, with joy and the glory of God and there will nothing, nothing will stop you

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from that.

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You will accomplish and do all that God has already set in plan for you.

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He is sovereign to the detail.

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Second principle, be a faithful witness in word and deed.

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See, a person who loves and obeys God will be faithful in word and deed.

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You are not just a witness of Christ through sharing the word of Christ, but also a witness

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in how you live.

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The picture you leave them, the world, to see speaks volumes of the faith that you claim

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you have.

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You can't say, I love Jesus and just go out and live any way you want.

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I have to question your sincerity.

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And this is what he challenges and he exhorts the church in Philippi.

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He says, listen, there's more at stake here besides your faithful witness of the gospel

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and your commitment to obedience.

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Here, do all things without grumbling or disputing.

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It's the number one issue Christians have.

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What do we do?

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I do it all the time.

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It's so bad.

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I can't watch the news.

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Do all things without grumbling or disputing.

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But we do.

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Why?

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Because it's easy.

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What kind of witness does that leave?

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Verse 15.

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So if we're doing all things without grumbling or complaining or disputing, that you may be

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blameless and innocent.

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You ever notice that when you grumble and complain, what does the world say about you?

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You're a hypocrite.

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You have nothing else to be happy about besides you.

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You just want to grumble and complain about life is terrible.

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But when you're not grumbling and you're not complaining, you are blameless and innocent.

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There's nothing as children of God, there's nothing that anyone can bring an accusation

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against.

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You're a bubby approach.

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Children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.

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In other words, it should not shock you that sinful people sin.

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But what we've done in churches today is we have expected that the sinner should come

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into the presence of church and live as if they're believers.

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And what do you have?

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Churches full of unseer believers.

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Lost people.

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No commitment to obedience.

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No commitment to honor and to love God.

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No commitment to walk in the things of God.

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There's none of that is there.

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What do they do?

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They grumble and they dispute and they're not blameless or innocent because they're

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not children of God.

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And so we as children of God must be above reproach, must be blemish, must be without

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blemish in the midst of a very crooked and twisted world we live in.

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That's the difference.

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How can they tell the difference?

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And then he says this, among whom when you don't grumble, complain, when you are blameless

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and innocent, when you are children without blemish, you shine as lights in the world.

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And people who shine as lights in the world, people who aren't grumbling, complain, people

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who are blameless and innocent, and the children of God without blemish hold fast to the very

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thing that keeps them, perseveres them, called holding fast to the word of life.

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The word of God is the key.

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So that in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

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This is what Paul's saying.

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Paul's saying, listen, please, can you not do all this?

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And can you make sure that you're doing this?

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Because when you're holding fast to the word of life, all right, something that's very

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important is that I don't want to, when Christ comes, see the investment and time and work

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that I put into you go to waste.

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I don't want to run in vain or labor in vain.

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In other words, don't waste my time is what he's basically saying.

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Even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith,

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I am glad and rejoice with you.

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Why does he say that?

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After he says, I don't want to run in vain, I'm happy you're holding fast to these things,

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make sure you maintain that.

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The sacrifice that I am putting in for you, I am glad and I rejoice with you.

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The fact that we can be persecuted for the gospel and persecuted for our faith that we're

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not only speaking the gospel, but we're living it out.

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And I want you also, likewise, you should also be glad and rejoice with me because we

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are co-laborers suffering together.

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Are you joyful with the family when we're going through trials and troubles and struggles?

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You should be.

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It tells you about the genuineness of your faith.

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And then Paul gives you two very important examples here.

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If there's anyone, if there are two men that Paul clarifies about the reality of this life

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that the Philippians are so faithfully doing.

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Paul gives two more examples and this is what he says, I want you to, principle number three,

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faithful men will be faithful in word and deed.

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This is for you men.

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Though this principle is for everybody, everyone should be faithful in word and deed.

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This is specifically for the men because it's your responsibility to lead.

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It's not the women's responsibility to lead.

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It's yours.

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It's ours.

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And we will do so here.

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And we are doing so.

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But I'm going to exhort you and challenge you.

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Think about this.

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Faithful men will be faithful in word and deed.

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What you do faithfully today, gentlemen, will build confidence in what you do tomorrow.

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Therefore, there is no substitute for faithfulness.

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In chapter two, verse 19 through 24, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send you Timothy, to

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send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be cheered by the news of you.

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I want you to get that out of everybody that Paul chooses to send to the Philippian church.

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He sends Timothy, his son in the Lord.

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Why?

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Because this guy, and I want to say this to the young men.

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Okay, this is to Chase and to Owen and to all the young men.

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You want to be an example, you want to have an example of a godly man?

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Timothy.

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What a phenomenal young man.

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To be honest with you, if anyone had daughters, this would be the guy I'd be like, yeah.

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I want that to be my son-in-law.

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I want this gentleman.

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What a dude.

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Now, look at what he says.

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Because I know that when Timothy comes to you, he's going to bring me news that the

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work and the labor that I have put in you has not gone in vain.

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I'm going to be able to be cheerful about the work that's been accomplished.

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This is what he says, verse 20, for I have no one like him.

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Out of all the men Paul has, one is the man that I think is worthy of this responsibility.

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Timothy.

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I have no one like him who will genuinely, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

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You notice Timothy's heart.

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Timothy's not there because Paul sent him.

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Timothy's not there because he wants to make Paul happy.

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Timothy's there because he genuinely has a concern for the people of Philippi.

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He loves God's people.

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Faithful men love God's people.

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You need to love God's people who live in your house, and you need to love God's people

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who live in this, who meet and gather at this house.

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You love God's people.

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Okay?

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Look what he says in verse 21, for they, all the other, all the other quote unquote men,

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all they, all, for they all seek their own interest and not those of Jesus Christ.

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Second thing, Timothy seeks genuine concern and welfare for the Philippians because he

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is interested in what Christ wants.

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Period.

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A heart fully devoted to being obedient to God.

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Verse 22, but you know Timothy's proven worth.

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In other words, Timothy has been tested.

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Now you know why Timothy was given the responsibility to be the pastor of the Ephesian church.

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He has proven himself.

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You got to, you got to prove this out.

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Pastors aren't pastor because they say they're pastors.

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There are churches full of pastors that aren't pastors.

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They need to prove themselves out.

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How do they prove it out?

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They prove it out by knowing and teaching the full counsel of God's word.

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Not telling you what makes you happy, but being honest with you with the truth and being

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sound in doctrine.

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You first and second Timothy, you have a clear understanding.

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Paul's exhortation to Timothy.

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Then he says, how as a son with a father, he has served me in the gospel.

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Notice Timothy's heart.

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Gospel.

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Nothing else matters but gospel.

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It's your number one responsibility is the gospel.

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God has not given you anything else but gospel.

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And over and over and over again from chapter one into chapter two, that's what you're

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hearing.

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Gospel, gospel, gospel.

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Do it.

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Do gospel.

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And he says this, I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with

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me.

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And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

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I'm going to make sure once everything gets settled here, I'm sending Timothy to you

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for you because he genuinely loves you, genuinely cares for you.

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He's seeking the interest of Christ and he has been a well proven young man in the Lord.

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Why?

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Because he has served with me for the sake of the gospel.

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Faithful men will be faithful in word and deed.

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You have two opportunities every month, gentlemen, to grow in word so that you can live in deed,

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in discipleship with other men.

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Second and fourth Saturday of every month, eight o'clock in the morning.

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No reason why you can't be here.

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If you can't give God four hours of time to get together with men, to work out your salvation,

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to learn of him in that little bit of time every month.

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That doesn't mean there's not going to be times when it's going to be busy.

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I get it.

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But if you have a free time and there's nothing going on that day, make it your ambition to

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be there for a couple hours and hang out with guys so we can talk together about Christ

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and his word, man to man.

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Learn biblical manhood.

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Okay?

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That's my challenge to you as men, because everyone is watching you.

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Next principle.

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You are what God says you are.

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Let's go.

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And you do what God has for you to do.

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Romans chapter nine verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the

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same lump one vessel of honorable use and another of dishonorable use?

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God has determined who you are, whose you are, what you are, and what you will do.

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It's his determination.

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The reason why I use that Bible verse is because you see this very clear example of a vessel

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of honorable use named Epaphroditus.

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Epaphroditus, what a gentleman.

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What a man committed.

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Now I want you to hear this list.

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Philippians chapter two verse 25 through 30.

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I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker

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and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to meet to my need.

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Do you hear that list?

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First thing, Epaphroditus is family.

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Epaphroditus is a co-worker for the sake of the gospel and Epaphroditus is a soldier

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of the living God.

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And he is a messenger that you have sent who was there to minister to my need.

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You are what God says you are and you will do what God says you will do.

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And that's exactly what happens with Epaphroditus.

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Epaphroditus was sent to care for Paul from the Philippian church and not only did he

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do that but he did far more.

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Look what it says in verse 26.

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For he has been longing for you all.

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In other words, he misses the family.

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I get excited when I haven't seen somebody in a while and I walk in and I'm like, I'm

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like beeline.

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I just get excited when I don't see you and I see you and you're like there he is and

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there she is.

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Hey, hey, give me a hug.

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I get excited.

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How can you not get excited?

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And at the same time, that's the point what Paul is saying here that Epaphroditus was

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he was like man I miss him.

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I miss the family.

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This is what he says because he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because

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you heard that he was ill.

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He was worried that they were worried.

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Now, people go pastor don't worry.

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I can't help it.

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I'm worried that you're worried which makes me worry.

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I know.

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Don't be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving.

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I get it.

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But I can't help it.

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It's a shepherd issue and that's exactly what Epaphroditus is doing.

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He's like I'm distressed because you heard of I was they heard that I was ill.

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I'm like worried about it.

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I don't want them to worry.

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Everything's okay.

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And then Paul says this.

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Indeed he was ill near to near to death.

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He got really sick.

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He was going to die.

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But look at what Paul says.

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But God had mercy on him and not only on him but me also.

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Why?

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Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

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God had mercy on him and me so that I didn't have to worry.

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I didn't have to have sorrow.

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I didn't want to be.

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I didn't want to deal with his death and my illness.

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And God had mercy on us.

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When our when our sick brothers and sisters here or aren't here reach out to them touch

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them contact them make a text message if you have to.

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Sometimes it's hard.

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I get it.

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But you know what we know what's special about what we do here at Mount Eaton is our deacons

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have deacon areas now.

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They deke which is exciting.

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And their responsibility is every month to make contact with each family that that that

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they have been given.

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Now the good news some of you guys have like families of nine.

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That's pretty it's pretty easy phone call.

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But how about all the singles that we have.

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So their job is to literally make a phone call or if they see him at church say hey

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how you doing making sure that they get in contact.

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We should be all of us should be here to do the same thing as best as we possibly can.

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And this is what Paul says in verse 28.

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I am the more eager to send him therefore why that you may rejoice at seeing him again.

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What would happen when I say it this way I know when John was sick and and he I see a

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song today is in church.

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He's he's alive.

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Should you not be excited.

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Because one day I won't see him again.

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And one day I'm not going to see you.

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And one day you're not going to see me.

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And what are you going to do when family goes home.

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And you don't see them anymore.

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And that's why he says I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice

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in seeing him again.

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And every opportunity you get to see them you love the heck out of them.

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Even when we get on each other's nerves because we're family.

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And this is what he says and that I may be less anxious.

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My anxiety went away when I when I saw John he has mask on but I said whoo.

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You know even when I see families and they go away and you go on vacation and I see them

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come back from vacation.

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I'm like excited.

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Who could.

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You should do the same.

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This is what he says in verse 29 I know we're all getting teary eyed now.

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I'm sorry.

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So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men.

407
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Be joyful and honor such a man.

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Let me say this.

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There's only one of you.

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And when God gives you godly men that lead you and that love on you.

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Man love it.

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Honor them.

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Find joy even even among the women who are leaders among the women.

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Find joy.

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God has given you godly women and godly men to lead you and to teach you and disciple

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you and to mentor you.

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And enjoy it.

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Verse 30.

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This is why for he nearly died for the work of Christ risking his life to complete what

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was lacking in your service to me.

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In other words he gave every ounce of what he had to the point that point of death even

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when I can imagine a Baphrodite is he is probably really fevered out and sick as a dog right.

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He is still serving and caring for Paul.

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He is giving it all.

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And that's why there aren't many men like that.

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So he gives us these two examples.

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So let me give you these principles one more time.

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If you love Christ you will obey him.

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The measure of true love in Christ is unwavering obedience.

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Be faithful.

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00:29:43,580 --> 00:29:46,920
Be a faithful witness in word and indeed.

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You are not just a witness of Christ through sharing the word of Christ but you're also

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00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:51,920
a witness in how you live.

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The picture that you leave the world to see speaks volumes of the faith you claim to have.

435
00:30:01,060 --> 00:30:04,920
Faithful men will be faithful in word and deed.

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Whatever what you do faithfully today will build confidence in what you do tomorrow.

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There is no substitute for faithfulness.

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You are what God says you are and you will do what God has for you to do.

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Therefore be faithful men.

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Give your ways to him and he will honor you.

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It's God's will for you.

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Father I want to thank you so much for your faithfulness and goodness.

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We thank you for this wonderful letter.

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We thank you for the examples you have given us about what it means to be a godly man and

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to live a life of obedience to the point of death and to give our all and to be what you

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have called us to be and to do what you have called us to do and that is gospel.

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Thank you that we're part of the family.

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00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:08,440
Thank you that we are coworkers in this wonderful journey and mission that you have given us.

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And thank you that we can contend for the faith as faithful soldiers being a faithful

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witness and serving the family.

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Lord we praise you and we thank you in Jesus name.

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