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Well, from time to time, like any church, we have to say goodbye to people who are transferred

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or for other reasons are moving out of our area.

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Claire and Marynonna Brunko are the most recent candidates.

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And you have met them many times, undoubtedly, at the front door as they have warmly greeted

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you and welcomed you into the church.

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And for quite a time, Marynonna was preparing the flowers or arrangements here in the front

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on the communion table.

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We've appreciated getting to know them and their ministry in our church.

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And we're going to miss you.

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They're moving to Florida, and God's called them there so that all of us can come down

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and see them in the wintertime.

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So we appreciate their going before us and preparing the way.

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And we look forward to seeing you down there in the wintertime sometime.

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Would you open your Bible, please, with me to the book of Revelation, the second chapter?

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Two brothers each brought an offering to the Lord.

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One was accepted, one was rejected.

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Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.

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Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock.

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The Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering, he had

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no regard.

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Two brothers were the oldest of four sons born in a prominent Israeli family.

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Their uncle was the leader of the nation.

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Their father was the high priest.

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Nadab and Abihu, their uncle and father, and seventy other elders of the nation of Israel

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had actually seen the God of Israel at Mount Sinai, according to the word of God.

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The two boys were ordained as priests.

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And then on one occasion, it says they took their respective firepans and after putting

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fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord.

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And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before

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the Lord.

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These are but two of many examples that we could point to in the Bible of serving God

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in a way that is unacceptable to him.

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It is good to serve the Lord, but it is important to serve the Lord in such a way as he is pleased.

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Even in this age, it is possible for us to do good things for God, but to do it in such

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a way that God is not pleased.

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We have an example of that in the church at Ephesus, the church which Timothy pastored.

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In Revelation 2, verse 2 it says, and the Lord Jesus is speaking, I know your deeds

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and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the

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test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not.

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And you found them to be false, and you have perseverance, and have endured for my name's

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sake, and have not grown weary.

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Boy, those are good words.

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Those are words of commendation from the Lord himself regarding a church that was actively

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busily serving him, and Jesus knew all about it.

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However, in verse 4, Jesus says, I have this against you, that you have left your first

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love.

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Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first,

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or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you

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repent.

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Do you see what Jesus says?

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He commends them because they are a church involved in serving him, but he is not well

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pleased with their service, and threatens to come and remove them as a church unless

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they repent of the lack of a fervent love for himself.

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Another example of the awful possibility of serving God, but serving him in a way that

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he is not well pleased.

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There is nothing that should be more important to us than knowing what it takes to make our

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service for the Lord acceptable in his sight.

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We must learn what it means to serve God in an acceptable manner, and I believe we have

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the answer to that in the book of 2 Timothy, chapters 1 and 2 speak specifically to that

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topic of serving the Lord acceptably.

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Last week we began with verses 1-6, and notice three of the seven essentials in serving the

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Lord acceptably.

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You say, well last week there were six.

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Well, I recounted this week and found another one.

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So this week there are seven essentials in serving the Lord acceptably.

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Last week we talked about a sincere faith.

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If we are going to serve the Lord in a manner that is acceptable to him, it must be with

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a faith that is neither superficial nor spurious.

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It must be with a genuine trust in Jesus Christ and a trust that is actively engaged in our

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service for him.

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Secondly, it must be with a clear conscience.

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Paul said, I serve God with a clear conscience.

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A clear conscience is one that has properly dealt with offenses.

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Now, there is a warning that must be sounded in connection with a clear conscience.

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We must be careful not to be overly introspective in regard to our conscience.

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There are some people who are so convicted about this that they overdo it and go into

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their past and try almost to create situations in order to clear their conscience.

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I am convinced of this, that if in fact there are offenses on our conscience that God wants

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us to deal with, when we open our hearts to that and ask God to show us what those are,

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they'll pop to the surface.

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We're not going to have to take a rake and go back through the muck of the past and search

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and search and search.

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So be careful of going overboard in that regard to a clear conscience.

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There is a time when we stop looking back and we move ahead, but a clear conscience

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is important in serving God.

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And then a fervent spirit is an absolute essential.

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All of us have to be careful to maintain the fire on the altar of the heart and to fan

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into flame the gift of God which is in us.

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That brings us now to the fourth of the essentials in serving the Lord acceptably, and we find

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that in verse 7 where I'll begin reading.

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It says, For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

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Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me as prisoner, but join

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with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and

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called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose

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and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.

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But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished

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death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was

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appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

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For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have

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believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until

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that day.

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Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which

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are in Christ Jesus.

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Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to

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you.

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You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are

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Phygellus and Hermogenes.

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The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed

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of my chains.

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But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me.

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The Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day.

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And you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.

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The fourth essential in serving God acceptably is a bold spirit.

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Our service for Jesus Christ is not to be tentative or timid.

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A cowardly attitude is unacceptable to God.

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We see that illustrated for example in Saul and the Israelites as they cowered before

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Goliath as he gave his threats to the nation.

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It took the young man David who filled with faith in God, stood before Goliath and accepted

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the challenge and won the victory.

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A man who had a bold spirit in the Lord.

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When I think of a bold spirit, I think of a Daniel.

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A Daniel who was willing to stand alone and even to face the den of lions.

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That's why we sing of him, dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone, a bold spirit.

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The employment of the gift God has given us in serving him should be with boldness, with

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a godly courage and manliness.

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You will notice in the text in verse 7 that there are three modifiers that define this

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boldness for us.

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It is said to be of power and love and discipline.

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That's the spirit God has given us.

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In the word power we see the foundation for a bold spirit.

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We are not bold because of something we are or something we can do.

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But our boldness is to be founded upon the power of God released in us in the person

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of the Holy Spirit.

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In Acts the fourth chapter the church in Jerusalem faces persecution.

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What do they do?

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Do they run from the persecution?

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Do they hide?

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No.

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They got down on their knees and they prayed and they worshiped the Lord.

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They asked God to grant to them boldness to speak.

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It says the Holy Spirit filled them.

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He empowered them so much so that the place where they prayed was shaken.

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It says that they got up and went out and proclaimed the word of God with boldness.

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Boldness comes from the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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When he is released by faith that is the foundation for a bold spirit.

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Then there is the word love.

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In that word we see the motivation for a bold spirit.

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What should motivate us to courage?

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Is it so that we might gain some selfish end?

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Is it so that we might be acclaimed and stand out and people might notice us?

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Indeed not.

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The bold spirit by which we serve the Lord is to be motivated by love.

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We should be bold because there are people who need us and who need the message of Jesus

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Christ that we have.

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Therefore let us serve God with a bold spirit because we love people and desire to minister

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to them even though they may not appreciate us.

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Even though they may reject us, let us minister to them and serve God with boldness of spirit.

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Then the word discipline defines the regulation of our bold spirit.

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The word here means self-control, to keep oneself in hand.

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As we serve the Lord with boldness we ought to be at the same time free from over excitement

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and free from hesitation.

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We ought to march forward as Christian soldiers serving the Lord with courage, with fortitude,

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and with boldness of spirit.

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William Cooper, the hymn writer, has left to us a legacy of wonderful hymns, but he

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himself suffered from timidness on occasion.

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There were times in his life when he was kept in an asylum for the insane.

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He struggled with mental illness.

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But in one of his clear times, William Cooper wrote these words that sometimes we sing,

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Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.

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The clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break with blessings on your

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head.

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Cooper captured it well.

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Fearful saints should take fresh courage in serving God.

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We should serve God with the kind of courage that is worthy of such a God as whom we serve.

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We like Paul should be ready to say, I am ready to die at Jerusalem for the sake of

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the Lord Jesus.

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Acts 21, 13.

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We should well be able to sing as sometimes we do, if Jesus goes with me, I'll go anywhere

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on land or sea.

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A boldness of spirit is essential in serving Jesus Christ acceptably.

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Then in verses 8-10 we find a fifth essential.

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It is a willing identification.

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We must not be reluctant to be associated with the testimony of our Lord and those who,

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like Paul, suffer for Christ.

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We must not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the testimony about Him.

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Even though that gospel is met at times with misunderstanding, mocking, and disdain by

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the world, let us never be ashamed to be associated with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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with His testimony.

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Let us willingly identify with our Savior who was rejected and spat upon, who was crucified

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but who was raised again from the dead, and who reigns in glory today.

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Let us be willing to be identified with Him with a testimony about Him.

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But not only so, let us also willingly identify with those of His servants who suffer for

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His sake.

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Paul said, join with me in suffering.

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He says to Timothy, take your share too of evil treatment.

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Don't be afraid of suffering for Jesus and suffering according to the power of God, not

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in your own strength.

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Normally we tend to stand back when the gospel is mocked, don't we?

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When there is someone who is making fun of Jesus Christ or someone who is attacking one

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of His servants, our normal tendency is to step back away from the limelight just a little

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bit until we can evaluate this and see how we can come out pretty good.

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We may reach in there and pat on the back that person who is in the fire, but we pull

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our arm back before too many people see us.

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We are not normally a people willing to suffer.

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That's why this is pointed out to us.

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We are to willingly take our share of suffering for Christ.

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Being willing to identify with Him and with His suffering servants in that way is essential

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if we are going to serve Christ acceptably.

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Our tendency to stand back is just the opposite of our faith.

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It's in contrast to the gospel that has saved us.

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For God has saved us and called us with a holy calling to be identified with Him in

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salvation and to share with Him His glory.

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We have been called to be identified with Him.

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That's our gospel.

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And God can save us and call us to that because Christ came and identified with us here in

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our sin and our death and abolished death on our behalf and has brought to light immortality

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and life through the gospel of His death and resurrection.

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You see our very faith in the message that we preach is a message of identification.

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Therefore we should be willing to be identified with those who are suffering for Christ.

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What about that person that you know that's under fire for serving the Lord?

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Not for something he's done that's been foolish?

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Not because he's been extreme in some area and did something he shouldn't have done?

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What about that person who's suffering for Christ because he simply obeys God?

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Are you willing to stand with that person?

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There's a sixth essential that is pointed out that is essential if we're going to serve

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the Lord acceptably.

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I see that in verse 12 where we find that Paul had a confident expectation.

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Do you realize that what we expect in life determines very much how we look at life?

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For example, those who expect the worst, those who see only the problems, only the difficulties

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in the mountains, they're often miserable people.

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Why?

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Because that's what they expect.

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You see those expectations of the worst are often self-fulfilling in their lives.

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Those who have unrealistic expectations are often disappointed people and disillusioned.

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Why?

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Because their expectations are not what they should be.

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They're unrealistic.

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On the other hand, those who have optimistic and positive expectations are usually more

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fulfilled and happier.

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Why is that?

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Because what we expect from life determines very much how we look at life and what we

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receive from it.

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Paul's expectation, though he was in prison in Rome in a dungeon cell, Paul's expectation

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was positive and confident.

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He was optimistic.

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He was full of hope.

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He says, I am not ashamed.

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I know whom I have believed.

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I am convinced he is able.

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Paul's assurance did not rest in himself.

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It did not rest in his circumstances for sure.

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In fact, his assurance did not even rest in his friends, for they had failed him.

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But his assurance and confidence was rooted in Jesus Christ and in Christ's ability to

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take care of him.

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And so I ask you today, what is the focus of your expectation?

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Be sure that your expectation is not from yourself.

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Do not set your expectation on your friends.

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They will fail you.

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Don't set your expectation on your circumstances and what you hope will be.

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But set your expectation on Jesus Christ.

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If your confident expectation is rooted in him, you will not be disappointed.

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He is able not only to guard that which you have committed to him, that good deposit,

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that is the well-being of your soul, until that day that you are with him, but he is

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able to guard you day by day and take care of your needs.

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Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, said, �The time I live in is a time of turmoil.

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My hope is in God.�

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Frederick may have described your life today.

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You may be in a tailspin and you don't know which way is up.

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Let me assure you, Jesus Christ does.

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So let your expectation rest upon him.

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His promises and his soon return.

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Dr. Horatius Bonar of the last century, a man of God, used of the Lord so mightily throughout

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the British Empire, retired for the night almost every evening with this simple prayer,

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perhaps tonight, Lord.

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And then in the morning when he would awake, he would begin the day with this simple prayer,

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perhaps today, Lord.

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You see the point was his expectation was in Jesus Christ and in his fulfillment of

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his promises in his life, and he knew that he was able.

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If we are going to serve the Lord acceptably, it must be with a confident expectation that

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is rooted in Jesus Christ.

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And then finally, if we would serve the Lord acceptably, it must be with this essential,

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number seven, found in verses 13 through 18, a true loyalty.

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Now there is a word that has fallen on hard times, loyalty.

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Loyalty is standing true.

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It is giving allegiance.

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And in the context of our passage today, the Apostle Paul points to two objects that must

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receive our continuous true loyalty, first in verses 13 and 14, the doctrine of the Lord.

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False teaching was ever present in that day as it is today.

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Unhealthy, unsound words were deceiving many and leading them to their ruin.

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And so he wrote to Timothy, retain the standard of sound words.

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Guard through the Holy Spirit the treasure, the good deposit, which has been entrusted

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to you.

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It is important for us to follow those same admonitions.

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Paul says to Timothy, I left you a pattern.

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I left you a rough sketch of sound words, of true doctrine, the doctrine of the Lord.

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Now stick with it.

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Be loyal to it.

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Don't allow people to bring in words that will cause it to be watered down, that will

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cause it to be compromised in its truthfulness.

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Keep that sketch of sound faith that I have given to you.

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Retain the standard.

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And notice he says it's to be retained in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

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That's significant.

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There are some dear brothers of mine whom I love who are seeking with all of their might

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to militantly retain the standard of sound words, but they have forgotten the last part

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of the verse.

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As we retain the standard, beloved, let us do it with faith toward God and love toward

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people.

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Let that be the frame in which the truth of Jesus Christ is preached and retained.

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He says guard the deposit.

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Don't allow anyone to steal it and replace it with something false.

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Beware lest it be adulterated with impurities, he says.

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Guard the gospel.

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Beloved, we today must guard the Word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ, the doctrine

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of our Lord, the sound words that are in this book.

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For there are many who seek to pervert it, to compromise it.

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Be loyal to the Word of God.

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And not only so, be loyal as well to the servant of the Lord, verses 15-18.

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Paul mentions the fact that all who are in Asia had turned away from him.

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Now by all we don't understand that to mean every single person in that area, but he seems

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to have in mind a group, perhaps a leadership group.

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And he mentions two men by name, Phigelus and Hermogenes.

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We know nothing more about them than this context here.

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It seems as though these were two men, two leaders, perhaps two elders of the church

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in Ephesus, two men well known to Timothy who had turned away from Paul, who had been

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disloyal to him as the servant of the Lord.

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Now why these one-time supporters became opponents we do not know.

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We do know who was behind it, undoubtedly the enemy was behind it, Satan.

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What it was that caused them to turn against Paul we are not told, but they did.

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I think it's interesting that the Holy Spirit as he inspires Paul to write this epistle

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causes him to write the names of two of those men and those two names will forever live

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in the Word of God as having been men who turned away from Paul.

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I believe that they were believers.

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I believe that we will meet both Phigelus and Hermogenes in heaven someday.

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And I'm sure that they are sorry now that they took the action they did then.

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But there was one man who stood out in contrast to these who betrayed Paul.

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And by the way, betrayal is a common experience of all of us who serve God.

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I spoke with someone a week ago who mentioned that friends had turned against her that very

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week and how that had shaken her.

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We've all had that experience.

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But thank God for those who are like Onesiphorus.

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Here was one who stood with Paul.

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He apparently had served Paul in Ephesus and now sought Paul out in Rome.

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Remember that the prisoners of those days, unlike today, were not well cared for.

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They did not receive any change of clothing, any necessities unless people brought it to

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them.

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They only received the most meager amounts of food, barely enough to keep them alive

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unless someone cared enough to bring them food in their prison cell.

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Paul was in such a condition.

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Onesiphorus looked for Paul.

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And having found him, he brought to Paul those things that he needed.

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And Paul says, he often refreshed me.

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He often cooled me.

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This last week has been pretty warm here in Minnesota.

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Not as hot as some places are experiencing, but it's been warm enough for me.

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If you were out this last week working in the yard, mowing your lawn perhaps, doing

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something else, you know how good, how refreshing a cold glass of water is to you after exerting

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that kind of energy when your body is under stress because of the heat.

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Paul is saying here, look, I'm under stress.

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I am fevered because of the persecution that I am enduring as the prisoner of the Lord.

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But there is one who brought me a cool glass of water, as it were, Onesiphorus.

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God bless him.

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God grant to him mercy in the day of judgment because he often refreshed me in my situation.

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There is a man of true loyalty.

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You and I need to be faithful and loyal in our support of the gospel of Christ and of

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those who proclaim it, especially those who are under fire.

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And this is a day when many of God's servants are under fire.

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This fall we are going to have the privilege of having in an evening service on September

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28th, Mr. Cal Thomas.

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Cal Thomas is a nationally known syndicated columnist who is in some of the local papers.

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Before that, this committed Christian gentleman was the leader of the Moral Majority and associated

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with Jerry Falwell.

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Cal Thomas has now changed his employment, not his convictions for sure, but he is constantly

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under fire and attacked by his colleagues, editors and columnists, because of the positions

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that he takes.

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I am sure that there may be those who will attack us for having a man like Cal Thomas

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with us, former leader of the Moral Majority.

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Let me tell you, I am not ashamed to have Cal Thomas in our church because he serves

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the Lord Jesus Christ, the same Lord that you and I serve.

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Let us not be ashamed of those who are under fire.

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We may not always agree with everything they always do, but let's not be ashamed of them.

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Let's be willing to suffer with them.

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Let's be true and loyal in our commitment to support them as servants of the Lord Jesus

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Christ.

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My friend, the enemy is out there, not amongst ourselves.

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And so let us be people who are characterized by true loyalty.

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I tell you what, that is essential if we are going to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in a

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way that is acceptable to Him.

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So serving God acceptably begins at least with these seven essentials in chapter 1.

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We will go on at a later time into chapter 2 and talk more about serving God acceptably.

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For now, I think it is important for us to examine our hearts and to allow the Holy Spirit

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either to confirm the presence of these seven essentials or to convict us of their absence

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and to begin working in our lives each of them.

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I wonder if you would bow together in prayer with me right now.

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Prayer reminds you of some students who in China during the Boxer rebellion were in a

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mission station and the insurgents blocked all of the doors except one to that mission

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station, the hundred students being inside.

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They insisted that these Christian students walk out the door and trample a wooden cross

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which they had placed flat on the ground in front of the door.

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The word was passed inside that those who would trample that cross would be permitted

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their freedom, but those who would not would be shot.

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The first seven students were terribly frightened and walked out the door trampling the cross

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as they went.

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But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to do such a thing, but walking out the door

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knelt beside the cross in prayer, then arose and moved carefully around it and was shot.

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The remaining 92 students followed her to a martyr's death.

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What does it mean to serve God acceptably right where you are today?

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Is there a sincere faith as laying hold of God-sized projects in your life?

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Is there a clear conscience?

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Is there a fervent zeal in your service?

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Is there a bold, courageous spirit that characterizes you?

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Are you willing to identify with the testimony of the Lord and his suffering servants?

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Do you have a confident expectation that is rooted in Christ and his ability to care for

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you?

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Is there a loyalty, a true loyalty about you?

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O Spirit of God, I pray that having studied in this chapter the essentials of what it

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takes to serve you acceptably, that we will make that our beginning place.

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To whatever extent these seven characteristics are not found in us, we pray that you will

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begin incorporating them.

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You might be truly Lord of our lives and we, your faithful servants, who are serving you

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in a way that you find well pleasing.

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All of my heart, all of my heart, take all of my heart, Lord Jesus.

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Take all today, take all I pray, take all of my heart, Lord Jesus.

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He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord.

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Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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Lord as we sing that, we sing it not just because we like the words or enjoy harmonizing

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with it, but we sing it because we acknowledge that truly you are the Lord.

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This week our knees bow, our tongues confess, and our service we trust testifies to the

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truthfulness of your Lordship in our lives.

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Amen.