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Let me read the beginning of Philippians. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

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to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.

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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Philippians are from this place called Philippi.

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Now, Philippi had originally been this kind of small agricultural area.

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And with it, though, is that when Rome was coming through, they converted it into a place that was more for trade.

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And it became more of a popular place, but it also became very populated after that.

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So it wasn't a small town anymore. It became just huge and bustling.

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But in so doing, it became a very patriotic nationalist city.

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So with that, then, everyone who's there has this sense of I am Roman.

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So that's the thing about this, is that to come in and you see that they are all saying I am Roman,

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and you want to change their perspective, change their point of view, it's going to be an uphill battle.

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Because it's not necessarily like the Jewish community looking for the Messiah.

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You're looking at a community that has no place or no interest in these Yahweh worshipers whatsoever.

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But the thing is, is that in the midst of this, Paul ends up coming here by accident.

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See, Paul originally was planning to go around and visit some of the places that he had already set up churches before.

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Now, he had traveled in the past with Barnabas, and he had ended up traveling with Silas along the way,

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and now he's been with Timothy.

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But the thing is, is that somehow the Holy Spirit tells him not to go where he was planning to go.

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Now, how did the Holy Spirit tell him not to go where he was planning to go?

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I don't know, okay?

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Because sometimes the Holy Spirit stands in the middle of a road with a flaming sword and says,

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you shall not pass.

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Other times the Holy Spirit smacks you blind and tells you with a booming voice to go and find someone,

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Barnabas, who's going to take the blindness off of your eyes.

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But sometimes also, God speaks in subtle ways.

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Sometimes with circumstances that change.

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Sometimes we want to get a certain job or get into a certain school or, you know, date the cute person down the hall.

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And we end up finding out that we weren't allowed in, we weren't hired, we weren't given a first date.

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And so sometimes the circumstances determine what we can or cannot do.

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The thing is, we don't know what ended up keeping Paul from where he was.

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And I have to admit, I understand this because I had absolutely no plans on being here at Christ Memorial four years ago.

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I had no thoughts on that whatsoever.

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But then this guy, Mark Mayfield, calls me up on the phone and says, we need someone to come preach.

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And I'm like, well, I've got a full-time job, but I'll come every other week and it should be okay.

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And it's like, okay, this place is all right.

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I kind of like it, you know, the people are okay.

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And, you know, I like the sanctuary, da da da da da.

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And then after a few months, what happens? COVID.

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And in the midst of it, ended up not only that we all had to bond together over it, but also kind of realized, you know, for the most part, you know.

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But with that then, is to realize that even though I didn't get it at the time, the Holy Spirit was saying, you're supposed to be here right now.

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And that's the thing with this, is that it's easy to just kind of brush over the fact that the Holy Spirit did this.

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Except for the fact that Paul ended up having to change everything because of it.

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And that's the thing is that he was going now to Philippi because of a dream that he had.

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That there was some guy telling him to come out and to preach the gospel there.

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But when he gets there, who does he end up actually speaking with?

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The women.

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See, the thing is, is that a synagogue could not be established in a city unless there were 10 Jewish male adults to do so.

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And so he goes to a place that doesn't have a synagogue.

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But what ends up happening there is that the women who came to believe ended up beginning that church.

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Especially Lydia, those who were there at the time.

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As much as Paul thought he knew what to do, is that God ended up sending him to a place he wasn't expecting and starting a church in a way he did not plan.

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And I want to look a little bit, oh hey, there it is.

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Let's see, well I think we're, okay, so go to the next slide.

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Okay, so we did that one.

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We'll go next.

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Okay, good, perfect.

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Okay, we'll say that for a minute.

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Allow me to read verses 3 through 11.

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I thank my God and all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

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And I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

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It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart for you all partakers with me of grace.

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Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

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For God is my witness.

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How I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

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See the thing is that in these verses Paul is reminding us never to take relationships for granted.

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Why are they important though?

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What is such a big deal?

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And for some of you that are watching with us online and you may be thinking, hey, I'm getting the sermon.

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I like the music great.

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What else do I really need?

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I'm watching everything in my PJs and eating some popcorn.

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Good stuff, right?

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As Ashley is like, I want some PJs and popcorn.

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Amen.

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So with that though is to realize that being a part of community ends up bringing us blessings we don't even get until sometimes we don't have it.

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See the thing is that there is Paul in the midst of prison and how do you think that's going to affect a person when they feel that they're alone and abandoned and that they are struggling in so many ways?

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And what happens?

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A pathoditus comes to visit him.

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Now I'm sure a pathoditus he was bringing stuff from the church of Philippi.

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He might have been bringing money because if you're in prison then chances are you probably have to bribe people to get stuff that you need.

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Maybe brought him some food.

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There was no cake with a hacksaw in the middle of it but maybe some cherry cordials.

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But with it though is the fact that a pathoditus came at all is what matters.

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It was that relationship to know that the people of Philippi didn't just say we remember you, we know you, but that they came to him and that they were sharing that with him.

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See the thing is oftentimes we miss that part about church.

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We miss the part that we are meant to be there with one another and for one another and strengthening one another.

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Not just to say oh I saw you but also to be able to say I'm seeing what you're going through.

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And maybe you need someone at this moment in time.

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You see oftentimes whenever we hear pessimism it's really easy to get stuck in that.

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Why don't you think about this for a moment.

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Think about some of the buddies that you hang out with on a normal basis.

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Do we find it more natural to say hey buddy let me give you some words of encouragement and help you see the best side of life and everything?

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Or is it more like oh man can you think about these terrible people?

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Oh my word.

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Let's talk about this group of people.

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Let's talk about this party.

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Let's talk about these people that annoy us that are different from us.

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How many times is it that our closest friends are actually the ones that we can complain about other people about the most?

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And the truth is that it's not because you know well you're not allowed to let people vent or struggle or anything like that.

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Well of course you should let people share what's on their mind and on their heart.

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It's okay.

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But if all we're doing is feeding into it, increasing the pessimism, dragging them further down inside of it.

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Is that really going to benefit them?

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But even more than that maybe take a moment and think who is the happy person that you see all the time?

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The one who's always chipper and cheery and always has a good thing to say and are we always happy to see them?

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No.

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Man they're annoying.

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They're just way too happy.

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It is eight in the morning.

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What are they doing?

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They should be grumpy and grumbling like I am.

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But the thing is that at this moment in time instead of being dragged back down, is that Paul had people who were like me.

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Paul had people bringing him up.

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I was at a Starbucks one time and as I was sitting there and I was preparing for class I was teaching and I looked over and I saw a cute girl.

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I know.

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Surprise, surprise at a Starbucks.

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And you know what though?

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And I'm sitting there thinking, why don't I ever just go and talk to a cute girl?

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And so I got up and I walked over and I walked over to the cute girl and I said, hey, I'm Jason.

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I don't know you but I saw you.

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I thought you were cute and I thought I'd come and say hello.

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And she looked at me and she said, I don't talk to strangers.

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Okay.

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Of course that was nice and I'm like, hey, all good.

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And I walked back to my seat.

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Now, when I told my friends, they could have spent the time saying, man, you got shut down, buddy.

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Good job.

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They could have.

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If I'd been friends with Luke at the time, he would have done that.

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But instead they were said, man, I can't believe you were courageous enough to go do that.

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And that's the thing is that instead of looking at what can bring us down is instead what it is we're doing to build one another up.

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Because the thing is that following the gospel is going to bring struggle.

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Let me read verses 12 through 19.

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I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

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So that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

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And most of the brothers haven't become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

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Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

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The latter do it out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

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The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

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What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

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And in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.

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See, Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel.

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Could you imagine what it is that you're sitting there in this jail and they try to find out what you did?

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Oh man, who did you rob? Oh man, who did you kill? Oh man, were you trying to rebel and start an uprising?

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I told people that there is future life everlasting and the forgiveness of our sins.

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And then? No, and then. And then? No, and then.

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Well, the thing is, and y'all didn't catch that reference at all. Okay, got it.

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With it though, is that knowing that Paul was only in prison for the gospel gave every excuse to share it now with the guards.

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Because how strange is it that this dangerous criminal is just the one telling people about hope and love?

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Ooh, watch out. See, that's the thing about this.

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Is the question of are we strange enough that that ends up being the reason why we struggle?

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Are we strange enough that we end up standing out for the right reason?

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Are we strange enough?

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And the thing is that oftentimes we might be looking around us to see who else is strong enough too.

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When we are here as a community and you see the people around you, are these people that you're sitting here with because, well, they just happen to be here?

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Or do you know the people around you to be others who are willing to stand up and be different for what matters?

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When you see the people around you, are they encouraging you to be different for the gospel?

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But you see, sometimes when people are preaching the gospel, they might even do it for the wrong reasons.

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I know being a pastor, everybody's all like, I want to be that guy, I know, I'm pretty awesome.

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It's mostly the hair, I get it.

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But more than that though, sometimes we realize that people do have the wrong reasons.

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In working for the county, I've been working for the county for almost four years.

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And one of the tasks I had was to spend a year creating the Harris County Community Land Trust.

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And so I did.

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And then I ended up training people afterwards to take it over when I switched to another group.

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And the thing is, is that they've created a way of owning housing that's easier to get into because the land goes into a land trust.

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So you don't have to pay for that. All you pay for is the house.

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And then over the course of time, you build up enough equity in that house, you could then sell it and get into a regular market rate home.

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And the thing is, is that then that house, being in the trust, now is kept affordable for the next family that needs it.

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Great program, happy to see it work.

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Found out the very people that I was training, none of them had actually been told that I created it in the first place.

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Which is a little bit hard.

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You're like, I spent my time, I worked on this, I did a decent job.

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But also realizing though that people are getting into those houses.

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They're getting what they need.

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They are actually having a roof over their heads and they know where they're going to live from day to day.

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And that in reality didn't matter how selfish other people might be because people are still getting into those houses.

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See, that's the thing about this is that oftentimes we might be tempted to just give up on this, on being the church.

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How many people in the midst of COVID just like, you know what, I don't have time for this, I don't want to do this anymore.

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There are people that we still haven't seen come back yet.

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But with that though is the question of, is the fight really worth it?

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And Paul, you can see that he's struggling with that.

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Is he's asking, would it be better if I just die now and I go to be with God?

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Or do I stay in this world?

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And do I keep fighting and struggling for your sake?

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And that's the thing with this is that oftentimes we don't realize how much we actually need one another.

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There was a friend of mine that was having to take his kids to baseball and soccer and it felt like a million other activities.

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And it was like tiring and it's like, oh my goodness, why do we have to do this? Why do we have to be here?

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And then later on though, it's like, oh, but did you see her score that goal?

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Oh my goodness, did you see him catch that ball?

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Oh man, it was so great, they didn't win, but oh man, my kid did such a great job. Why?

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Because as much as it's easy just to give up and to step away, is that instead God is calling us to struggle for what is worth it.

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Just like your parents struggled for you because they knew you were worth it and just like you struggled for your kids because they're worth it at the same time,

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this is what we have for one another.

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Are we taking the time and the energy to love one another?

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And to make sure that we continue to go back to the God that has loved us.

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There's a group that's studying the experiencing God study just before Second Service,

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and that's one of the biggest things that they've been focusing on.

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Are we bringing one another back to experiencing God?

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And that's what it is I want to be able to finish up with as we are bringing this to the point of suffering but finding joy in it.

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Let's look at the, oh no, we didn't switch. Okay, go next.

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Okay, good, good, good.

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Alright, the thing with this is that there is going to be suffering in life no matter what.

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Now, I can definitely tell you I understand suffering.

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I was at my sister's birthday party last night and I had to eat four pieces of pizza and cake.

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Oh yeah, oh my word, oh my word.

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I know suffering, let me tell you what, nobody knows.

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The trouble is, thank you exactly, you got my back, you got me back.

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And some of it even had stuff crust, okay?

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That's, I know, that's difficult.

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And I actually had friends who made me eat pizza the day before that too.

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And now what are we going to have?

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We're going to have more pizza. Oh my word.

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What, I don't know how I'm going to make it.

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But the thing is, is that we do find ourselves in the midst of suffering.

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The thing is, is that oftentimes we might be over there griping, oh my word, I can't believe I had to let out my suit or my pants.

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But the reason we're suffering is because we've been eating a lot of stuff we shouldn't.

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Or the times whenever we're saying, oh man, my lower back is killing me.

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I don't know why it is. I feel slumped over.

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And I'm like, well, when you got home after work, did you go to exercise?

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Well, no, I had to watch Buffy. I'm in the middle of season three.

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Yeah, I know, right?

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And it's like, in that couch, oh man, it was way too comfortable.

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Or the times whenever we're saying, I'm going through insomnia,

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I just can't get my mind to stop racing about everything.

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But realizing that it's racing because you made an idiot of yourself in front of your workmates

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and you're not sure what you're going to find when you go back to work the next day.

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The thing is, is there are a lot of things in this world that we can end up suffering for.

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But now, what if the suffering that you do go through was actually something that was worth it?

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What if the thing that you were suffering for was actually something that was worth it?

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See, that's the thing about what Paul realizes.

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Is that as he is there, he is in a broken world.

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If the world is constantly rewarding you and telling you good job,

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you should probably pause and take a second look at yourself.

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If you find yourself constantly rewarded and promoted and benefited by this broken world around us,

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then you may want to pause and ask, am I really on the right track?

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Because the thing is, is that we know this world rewards selfishness, self advancement,

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promoting ourselves, taking the easy way out.

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And yet here is someone that we would say, man, he's got it bad.

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But what does he say? It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ,

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you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake,

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engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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Good news, everybody. You're going to suffer just like me.

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Strangest infomercial that I've ever heard in my life. I'd much rather have the cool rock CD.

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But the truth is that that is actually the gospel.

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Is that instead of spending our time trying to live up to the expectations of a world that's never going to be happy,

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is instead that we give ourselves to the truth of hope, forgiveness, life, joy.

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You see, this morning I don't have a simple to-do list for you about how to make your life easy

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and have the best, happiest life you've ever had.

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And if I did, run. Because any time that someone tries to make the gospel that easy and that happy,

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it means they're lying to you. But the truth is that it's going to be hard.

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It is going to be hard, the effort that we're going to need to make,

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and we're going to ask you to jump in and to be a part of things,

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not just during this interim process where we're now, but beyond.

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But we're going to do so because it's for what is worthwhile.

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Because the struggle we're going to have here as a community, it's going to be for what matters.

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So even as you look around you and you see the pain and the struggle of life,

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I invite you to share that with us here.

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Because even with all that, we will look out for one another because God has looked out for us.

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And then that way at the end of the day, we know that what we did struggle for

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was something worth the pain for that joy.

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Thanks be to God.