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This now is the eighth commandment that we are bringing you in this series of messages

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on the Ten Commandments.

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And I hope that these commandments have meant an awful lot to you.

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I do hope that you have not missed a single one of these studies.

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They're just heart-to-heart talks regarding God's precious Word.

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And before we go deep into the explanation of this, the eighth commandment, Thou Shalt

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Not Steal, I want to take a few seconds to just refresh your mind and bring you up to

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this eighth commandment.

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Remember, we speak of them as the Ten Commandments, but in reality, they are God's Ten Rules

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for Living.

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The way one lives is far more important than what one has.

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I know in this twelfth century we've gotten the idea that in referring to an individual,

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perhaps someone who is not very well known to us, one of the very first things that we

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ask regarding this person is, how much does he have?

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What is he worth?

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What is his status in life?

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What is it?

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That's the reason we've got this whole thing wrong and we're in such a mess today.

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We've gotten our eyes on the worth so far as dollars and cents are concerned.

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But remember, what one has in the sense of values and sense is nothing, is absolutely

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of no importance whatsoever when it comes to the real values of life and living.

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The way one lives, the way you live, the way you live in your home, your everyday life,

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is far more important than what you have in the light of material things.

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When we come to God's first four rules of living, we see that they deal with man's relationship

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with God.

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Nothing is more important than that.

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Nothing is more important to any individual than his relationship to God.

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And until a man has found God, he begins at no beginning and he works to no end.

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I mean that.

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I don't care who you are, what you may have attained so far as material things of life

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are concerned.

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If you have not found God in the two cents of the word, your life has no beginning and

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you have no real goal in life.

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Your life has no ending.

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It's like that.

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Therefore, the most important thing to any individual is his relationship with God.

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And the first four of God's rules for living deal definitely with man's relationship to

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himself.

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Until man can live rightly with each other, he must first get right with God.

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That's the reason the six rules that follow the first four deal with man's relationship

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with man, with humanity.

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And you cannot have a right relationship with your neighbor, with members of your family,

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with your fellow men until first of all you get a right relationship with God himself.

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Oh, this is something, believe me.

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Those of you who've been following me in these little heart to heart talks will remember

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that when we came to that fifth commandment, the first of man's relationship with man,

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it deals with the father and the mother.

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Honor thy father and thy mother.

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A little baby's first relationship with any human being is of course with the mother and

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then the parent.

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That comes first.

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Every little old baby that is brought into the world has as its very first contact with

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humanity its mother.

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A child's first association with the human is with its mother, its father.

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Now what's something that I think is vastly important?

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What God is to the adult, parents are to the child.

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That's right.

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I believe that the most important thing to a man and his wife is parenthood.

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Oh, being a father, being a mother carries with it a responsibility that's the greatest

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in the whole world.

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That's right.

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Because really in the sight of God, that parent represents God to that child.

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And what God is to an adult, parents are to the child.

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The lawgiver, the provider, the controller.

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Because that little mind, that precious little undeveloped mind of a child cannot comprehend

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spiritual things, cannot comprehend God.

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That's impossible.

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But that parent gives the child its early training.

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The parent provides for the child.

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The child learns to be obedient to the parent.

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It learns to respect.

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That's what that word honor means.

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Honor thy father and thy mother.

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That word honor there means to hold in high opinion, to respect, to reverence, to respect

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authority.

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And when a child has been taught to respect, to give reverence, to honor the parent, then

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it's very simple to make that transition.

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When the child reaches the age of accountability, where he's able to think for himself, make

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his own choices, and when he understands the things of the spiritual, when his mind has

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developed and he can comprehend God and the power of Almighty God, it's easy for him to

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make that transition and know God as not only the mighty creator, but the one whom he respects

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and reverence and honors.

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And Mr. Track that, all right?

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That sixth commandment, thou shall not murder.

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At the very foundation of the social fabric lies the fact of the sovereignty of God over

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every individual life.

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Human life is sacred.

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Oh, we've gotten to the place where human life has become so cheap.

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Human life doesn't mean much anymore.

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It doesn't aside of God.

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You see, we've gotten so far out.

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We've gotten so far away from the important things that we sometimes don't realize how

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far out we've really gone and how far away from God's thinking and God's plan that we

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have really gotten.

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Human life in the sight of God is the most sacred thing there is.

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And in this commandment, thou shalt not commit murder.

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We have here first and foremost the fact of the sovereignty of God over every individual

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life.

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It is in his power to give life.

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It is in his power and his only to take life.

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Now I just want you to see how beautifully this whole thing fits together.

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It's a pattern.

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It's something that fits together so perfectly that if we could understand how to live according

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to God's plan, we'd be happy, we'd be successful, and all things would work together for our

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good and his glory.

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That seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery.

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See something.

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Immediately after the commandment, declaring the sacredness of human life follows that

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which safeguards the highest earthly relationship, and that relationship is marriage.

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That's right.

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Fifty percent of all human misery is caused by the violation of this commandment.

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And when he gave it, there was no argument.

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There was no reason, it's just thou shalt not commit adultery.

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To do so, you break God's commandment.

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To do so, you suffer.

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Yes, sir.

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And in this commandment, God safeguards the highest earthly relationship there is.

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Now watch this.

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He leads us right up to that eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal.

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Oh, everybody says, my goodness, the life, surely it won't take you but just a few minutes

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to give us the interpretation of those few words.

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It's a statement.

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Everybody knows better than to steal.

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A little child, we're born with the knowledge that we're not to steal.

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That's so simple, Miss Kuhlman.

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Are you sure?

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Are you very sure it's that simple?

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I might just as well tell you that it is far from being simple.

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There is so much involved that I will not be able to give you the full interpretation,

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the full meaning in just this one broadcast.

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That's right.

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Thou shalt not steal.

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And in this commandment, God gives us a recognition of property rights.

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As human beings, as a part of this great humanity, God himself gives you, gives me property rights.

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Do you want to know something?

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Listen very closely.

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Broadly speaking, the eighth commandment forbids all forms of communism which deny man's rights

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to property.

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God gives every man a right to property.

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Don't you ever let anybody come along and tell you that you have no right to property.

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Absolutely, I repeat, this eighth commandment forbids all forms of communism which deny

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man's right to property.

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God says you have a right to property.

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And anything that's honestly obtained is property, be it ever so small or ever so large.

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Now when I'm talking about property, I'm not necessarily talking about that hundred

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acre farm out there or that sixty-four acre farm over here someplace else that you own

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or that acre of ground over there that you expect to build on someday or even that corner

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lot on which you're building a home.

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I mean any possession, anything that you have, any possession, whether it's large or small,

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anything that is honestly obtained is property.

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But now see something.

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Are you still there?

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I knew that if you started out with me today, I wouldn't lose you because, you know, this

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is something that concerns all of us.

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It deeply concerns you.

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It deeply concerns me because we are a part of humanity.

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We're a part of this great plan.

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You have a part.

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Literally.

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God is talking to you.

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If you are a part of humanity, God is talking to you.

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Your name is written right there when he gave us these ten rules for living.

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So you wouldn't dare turn it off because he's talking to you.

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You're deeply involved in this thing.

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Now see something.

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God's word denies all right to property except if it is a gift or work.

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You have no right.

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God's word denies all right to property except it be obtained by gift or work.

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Now somebody is moving their chair up a little closer and they're turning the log up a little

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higher.

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Oh, they said, our preachers never told us that.

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I know.

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But it's here, it's God's word.

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He has left nothing to man's imagination.

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Nothing.

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God hasn't taken anything for granted.

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It's all there.

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Turn to that portion of the word of God as found in the fourth chapter of Ephesians.

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It's the 28th verse.

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Perhaps you've been a Christian many years and you never even saw this verse in the word

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of God.

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I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to the Bible, most folk just accept what they

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want to accept when it comes to the word of God.

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Oh, they love John 3.16.

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That's wonderful.

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And the 23rd Psalm gives them such comfort.

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I know.

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But when it comes to the things that might hit them between the two eyes, they just shut

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those eyes and pass over and then start all over again at the 23rd Psalm.

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Oh, yes.

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Human nature is something most difficult to deal with.

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I give you God's word.

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I just gave you time then to get your Bible so that you'll find it and read it for yourself

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because you'll swear it isn't there.

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But it is.

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The fourth chapter of Ephesians, the 28th verse, let him that stole steal no more, but

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rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have

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whereof to give to him that hath need.

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That's the Bible.

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That's the word of God.

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It will be seen at once that there are only three ways in which man can come in possession

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of anything.

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Just three.

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Not four, not five.

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Three.

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Sometimes I think our politicians try to add a fourth.

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But there are only three ways according to God's word that man can come in possession

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of anything.

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First, by the free gift of another.

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That's through love.

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Second by toil, by work, the work of one's hands, which of course receives a legitimate

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return.

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Or the third by theft, the taking of that from another which belongs not to you to him.

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There it is.

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Somebody said, Ms. Kuhn, get that all over again.

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All right, first of all, let me give you the scripture.

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Because we must have the word of God, we must have scripture for the foundation, the basis

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of everything.

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There can be no argument when we have God's word.

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Let him that stole steal no more.

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But rather let him labor.

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You know, I've searched the scripture from beginning to end and I can't find where God

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puts a premium on laziness.

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No, sir, I don't think God likes lazy people.

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I can't find it.

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I've looked hard.

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Always he talks about work, work, work, work, six days thou shalt labor.

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There cannot be a glorious Sabbath for you unless you worked six days.

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Talking about a father, he says a father is worse than an infidel.

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A man is worse than an infidel who does not support his own family.

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And you cannot find in the word of God where God gives a license for a man to permit the

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government to support his family for him.

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It says the father, the man, supports the family.

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That's the word of God.

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Now, don't interrupt me, please.

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Let's go back to our Eighth Commandment.

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Here it is.

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Let him labor, working with his hands, the thing which is good, that he may have whereof

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to give to him that hath not.

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So there you are.

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You have the right of possession either by the free gift of another or by the toil which

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receives a legitimate return or through theft.

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Now the first two, love and work, remember, these are based upon the essential laws of

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human interrelation.

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Love and work, these two, they're based upon the essential laws of human interrelation.

246
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:33,720
The gift violates both of these laws.

247
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:39,160
Now one step further, we toil.

248
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,480
We are allowed to possess.

249
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,160
Why?

250
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:50,080
To give, to pass on to others.

251
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:51,080
That's God's word.

252
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:52,080
Amen.

253
00:22:52,080 --> 00:23:11,160
Well, do it again.