WEBVTT

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Some time ago, I was a good church member, and

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boy, I sang on the choir. And I thought this

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was enough to get me to heaven. Until one day,

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a college lad talked to me about Jesus Christ.

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And he said, Jimmy, in all the good that you

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do, account for naught, except you know Jesus

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Christ. And so it was on August 23rd, 1954, at

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10 .30 a .m., I bowed my head and asked Jesus

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Christ to come into my heart and to save me.

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And I prayed from that day on that my singing,

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my life, would be for him. You see, I know that

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it's real. I did not know for certain that my

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sins were washed away. When the spirit tried

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to tell me, I would not the truth receive. I

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endeavor to be happy and to make myself believe.

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But it's real, it's real. living such a life

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of fear and doubt for I wanted God to give me

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something that I would know about so the truth

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would make me happy and the light would clearly

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shine and the spirit gave assurance that I'm

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his and he is mine but it's really I touched

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him and I sparred from smitten steel. Jimmy McDonald.

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And I want you to know it is real. And there

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are literally thousands upon thousands who have

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had that wonderful experience of being born again.

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Salvation is as real as God himself. Salvation

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is as real as the person of Jesus Christ. Salvation

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is the most real thing that can happen to any

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individual. Do you know what I'm talking about?

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Do you know what Jimmy's been singing about?

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And remember something. Salvation is not based

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on feeling. Salvation is based on facts. I'm

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going to pause for just a few minutes and explain

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something to you because sometimes I... think

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that there are those who do not realize that

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one's feelings, the ecstasy, the thrill of a

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wonderful experience with the Lord Jesus Christ

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has nothing to do with the facts. You and I are

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saved on facts, on the Word of God. on what Jesus

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did for us on the cross. We accept the pardon.

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We accept what Jesus did for us by faith and

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faith alone. The fact is that you and I were

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born in sin. But Jesus came and died on the cross.

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He paid the price in full by his... death. And

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we reach out and accept that for ourselves personally,

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what Jesus did for us. He bought and paid for

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the whole thing. All we have to do is to reach

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out and personally accept what has already been

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bought and paid for, for us. There may not always

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be feelings. Not always. In many instances, yes.

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Oh, I've seen folk over and time again. Whenever

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there's an altar call, respond to that altar

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call. And how often I have said to that one,

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Didn't you come before? Why do you come again?

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Well... We didn't feel we were saved. We didn't

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feel that our sins were forgiven. Feeling has

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nothing to do with it whatsoever. You are saved

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on facts. And the moment, by faith, you accept

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what Jesus did for you, you accept the pardon,

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it's done. If we confess our sins, he is able

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and just to forgive us our sins. The very minute

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that you confess, that moment it's done. Whether

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there are any feelings involved or not. But the

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feelings will come. The ecstasy, the joy will

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come. When you realize that you passed from death

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unto life. When you realize that... God is your

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Heavenly Father now. When you realize that your

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sins are forgiven and that you do not have to

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stand in judgment before God and give an account

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of those sins that after that moment of your

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new birth experience were all forgiven. If that

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doesn't make you happy, if that doesn't bring

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you real joy and ecstasy, nothing will. But you're

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saved on facts and not... Of course, there's

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some people who had their entire life governed

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by feelings. If when they awaken in the morning,

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they don't feel good, then it's a hectic world.

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Oh, I tell you, they make life miserable for

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their family, for their neighbors, for everything

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with whom they come in contact with. If they

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awaken and they feel good, it's a wonderful world.

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Everything hinges on how they feel. They have

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victory if they feel good. If they have hit the

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bottom of depression, God's forsaken them. Everything.

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Everything depends on whether they've had a good

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night's sleep. Well, now, God doesn't change.

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whether or not you've stepped well the night

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before. You know, it's kind of like that. And

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it often happens that when a believer enters

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upon a life of victory over voluntary sin, that

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he experiences a joy and an ecstasy and a thrill

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which make him feel as if he were treading on

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air. But this is not always the case. And we

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must not suppose that an absence of thrills is

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a proof that Christ has not come into his fullness.

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God wants us to trust him. He wants us to trust

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his word and not to rely upon feelings. I beg

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of you today, do not rely upon feelings. Rely

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upon facts. Folks, I beg of you. Think less of

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feelings. Think less of the victory. Less of

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the blessing. And more of the blesser. More of

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the person of Jesus. More of the person of God

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the Father. More of the person of the Holy Spirit.

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And less of your own feelings. It's just like

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that. Do not then be examining or testing your

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victory or testing your faith. Faith isn't something

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that you can just reach down your pocket and

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take it out and look at it and examine it and

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then put it back in your pocket again. You know,

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it's kind of like that. Your salvation isn't

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something that you just open a little bag and

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take it out and look at it and then... Put it

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back in again. No. It's a life. Literally, definitely

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a life. Salvation is a life. Victory over sin

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is a life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit

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is something more than just one definite experience

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for 5 or 10 or 15 minutes. It's... a life. Therefore,

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do not examine or test your victory, but just

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simply maintain a simple and constant trust in

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God. A day by day, an hour by hour, a moment

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by moment, living in Him, knowing that He cannot

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He will not fail. Sometimes I think it's really

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better to enter into the victorious life by simple

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faith, unaccompanied by ecstasy or by thrill.

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Sometimes I know we hear people talk about that

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wonderful experience. Mine was like that. I had

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feeling with my experience when I was born again.

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But there are thousands who are born again without

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any feeling. Feeling has nothing to do with it.

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And sometimes I think it's better to have the

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experience without feeling and let the feeling

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come later. Then you will not live so much by

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feeling, you know. Whether you have any feeling

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or not. It doesn't change the fact that if you've

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been born again, God is your heavenly father

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and he's right there. Jesus Christ does not change

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feeling or no feeling. He's still your great

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high priest. He's still right there to pray you

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through. The Holy Spirit is still the wonderful

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power of the... Whether you feel his presence

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or you don't feel his presence, he's still there.

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For when the thrill and the feeling subsides

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and life seems humdrum and commonplace, we may

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be tempted to think that the victory has vanished

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with the thrill. Again I read... Repeat what

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I say so often. Remember. Fact comes first. Faith

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is second. And feeling is third. And that should

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always remain the order. Now continue with me

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a little further. Do not be surprised if... Others

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failed to see our victory. I can always remember

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what Julia, our precious Jewish lady, said when

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she gave her testimony. My, she said, when I

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found Christ as my Savior in Carnegie Auditorium

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in Pittsburgh. It was such a glorious experience.

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I thought that when I would go home, my husband,

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my whole family, when I told them about it, they

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would all do the same thing and have the same

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experience that I had. But she said they just

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looked at me. They thought that I was just a

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little nuts. Well, then I was just sure, knowing

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my family, and families are kind of funny, that

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my friends, when I would tell them about it,

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They would, oh, surely they were intelligent.

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They had confidence in me. I was sure that they

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would understand. And they'd all rush down to

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Carnet Auditorium the next time there was a service

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and get the same thing that I had. But she said,

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lo and behold, they weren't moved at all. And

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then, of course, I... was almost critical. Regarding

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my family, my husband, my friends, I almost felt

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they were stupid, you know. Remember something.

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Only one man ever lived a sinless life, a really

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victorious life all through, and that's the man

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Christ Jesus. But the leaders of religion his

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days on earth were so blinded that they failed

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to see the victorious life in him. And so they

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called him a wine -bibber. That's right. They

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had no understanding whatsoever of the perfection

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in the life of Jesus Christ. They were so blinded,

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they did not even recognize that he was the very

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son of the living God. And they called his perfection.

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They called that sinless life for the son of

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God. They called him a wine -bibber. And they

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may call you something worse than that. Just

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smile. Never fight back. This is what they said

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of Jesus. We know that this man is a sinner.

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Think of it. We know this man is a sinner, they

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said of Christ. And so we must not be surprised

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if men fail to recognize the victorious life

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in us. Continue to be humble. I tell you that's

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the most convincing thing in the world of...

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A life that is victorious in Christ Jesus. There's

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nothing greater. Humility is the greatest of

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all Christian graces. Humility. The greatest

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of all Christian graces. There's nothing more

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convincing to an unbeliever than humility in

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the life of one who's following Jesus. We must

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be humble. And when... Others oppress us when

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they deny our sincerity or they say we're not

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orthodox. No spirit of unlove, no root of bitterness

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must come in. Whatever you do, do not show a

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spirit of bitterness. Whatever you do. Do not

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show a holier -than -thou feeling. Do not entertain

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the feeling I've got for one minute or our victory

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is broken and your influence will be lost. There's

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nothing in the world that is more disgusting

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than one who professes to be a Christian and

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manifests a spirit of holier -than -thou. It's

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disgusting. It's nauseating. And I'm going to

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go a little further while we're discussing this.

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And that is regarding those who've been filled

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with the Holy Spirit, who have received the baptism

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with the Holy Spirit. I would doubt your experience

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filled with the spirit, that you manifest a spirit

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of spiritual bigotry. And you're smug in your

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attitude. And you display a holier -than -thou

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attitude. that has nothing to do whatsoever with

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the Holy Spirit. That is not a part of his personality.

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But humility is. If Jesus, the very Son of the

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Living God, could become a servant, he who did

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gird himself with a towel, And wash the feet,

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the dusty feet of his disciples. Setting an example

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for you and for me. As a servant. Then surely

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those of us who have been filled with the Holy

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Spirit. Must live to serve. And we will manifest.

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the humility of our Lord and our Savior, and

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the one, the Holy Spirit, who equips us with

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power for service.