Abiding in the True Vine
Youtube Link - John 15:7-20 Abiding in the True Vine
The following transcript is a direct copy from the Youtube automatic transcript. It may not be 100% accurate but it is being provided until we can produce a better and more accurate transcript of the sermon.
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good morning if you would open your Bibles to John 15 with me again where we
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were last week going to be in that same passage although all the Christmas songs
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and the Christmas singing and being right here on the doorstep of Christmas I almost wish I would have put together at Christmas message all the praise and
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worship to God for sending Jesus let's not forget Jesus came just as she just
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told the children to pay for sin he came to redeem you and I from our sin because
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we can't do that for ourselves we have no power in and of ourselves to to
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reconcile our relationship with God and so Jesus came to do that very thing
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and like she said as well to the children he came as a man so that he
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could be tempted in every way like we are he could touch and feel all of our infirmities and the things we deal with
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so he's not a savior who doesn't know what we're dealing with he's a savior
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who in every way knows exactly what we're dealing with and yet he comes to save us and to redeem us and to
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reconcile us and make peace between us and God all you have to do to experience
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that is believe that's it by faith let's
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pray together Heavenly Father you are a
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wonderful God establishing that plan of redemption before the foundation of the
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world bringing it to fulfillment in your son Jesus who lived a sinless life
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lest we forget he is the Great Creator God the Son of God humbled himself came
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put on the flesh of mankind and he walked sinlessly and he made his way to
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a cross where he defeated everything that would come against him
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death sin Satan he died on the cross to
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pay for sin by shedding his blood as a covering and God he didn't remain in the
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grave like your word shows that he rose from the grave god it's the most
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wonderful thing he conquered all of those things that we might have life we
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might believe in him and he'll give us life he'll impute righteousness to us
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justification God make each one of us here reflect on whether we have peace
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with you through the blood of Christ and if we don't convict our hearts that we
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will I praise you for these people I thank you for bringing them here I
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praise you for the work of the church that you're doing that you've built here in the work that they're doing and God
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we ask all this in the Blessed name of your son Jesus amen all right John
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chapter 15 let's do a quick review of where we were last week so we started in
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the first six verses of this chapter so let's read those six verses together
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quickly review those and then move on in the text I am The True Vine and my
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father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes
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away and every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit
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you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you abide in
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me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in
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the vine neither can you unless you abide in me I am the vine you are the
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branches he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you
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can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch and is
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withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned
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so just quickly the true vine Jesus he is not only the found
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datian of the faith he is the fullness of the faith he's the structure he is the provision
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he's all the things we discussed last week Jesus is the true vine contrasted
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against Israel who was called a vine in the Old Testament but is not a true vine
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Israel is a false religion Israel they had God's Word right but they polluted
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it they corrupted it they continually walked away from God Israel is not the
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true way to God Jesus is Jesus is the true vine the vine dresser the Heavenly
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Father the vine dresser is the one who plants the vine God sent His Son he
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plants the vine he does all of the work and provides all of the things that the vine needs to grow and be healthy and so
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we have a vine dresser our Heavenly Father unfortunately we have branches on
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this vine then aren't true branches these are false branches these are
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unbelievers we would call them another context these are people sitting in some
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cases maybe right beside us in the body there they look like they're part of the structure they look like they're part of
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the plant the vine but they're not and we had our example Judas right in the
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text you know at least in 14 what I explained last week Judas betrayed the
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Lord he walked away none of the other branches in the vine the the other 11
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apostles you you
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you
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branch a pretender there are true branches how do you know a true branch
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true branches are part of the vine and God prunes them so that they bear much
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fruit are you fruit bearing a true branch is fruit bearing if you're in
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Jesus that vine you will be bearing fruit now this isn't fruit about you this
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isn't fruit about puffing you up or who you are this is spiritual fruit for God
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this is the kind of fruit that matters put it in another context storing up
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treasures in heaven where moth can't eat
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spiritual works for God that is a true true branch one that is bearing much
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fruit obviously we just discussed the fruit so fruit are the works and the
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spiritual works you do for God there's another thing in that passage that we don't want to neglect and we didn't in
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last week's sermon there is a judgment coming God will cut everything and he
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will bundle them together and they will be burned ultimately we call that judgment help God is working in your
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life in such a way that he's challenging you he's correcting you he's shaping you
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and molding you this pruning knife of God it doesn't always feel good does it
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think about that and then lastly we talked about abiding in this vine if you
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have any chance to bear fruit you must abide in the vine I want you to think
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about something if a vine or if a branch fell off the vine and it was laying below the vine on the ground could it
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bear fruit could it do anything productive for the vine no you must
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abide in the vine and yes that means keep the faith for the long haul but I
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believe it also means more than that I think it means stay plugged in to the vine walk in the spirit and you will not
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fulfill the lusts of the flesh there's another way we hear this in Scripture you must abide the converse is
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also true if you're not walking in the spirit if you're not abiding what are you doing worldliness ungodliness things
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that are unproductive useless abide in the vine let's pick this up now in verse
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seven and let's move on in the text verse 7 says if you abide in me and my
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words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you by
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this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples now this is a great promise
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isn't it haven't you haven't you ever considered this that all you have to do is pray and God will
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give you anything you want is that is that what that means now its interpreted
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by some to mean exactly that isn't it that's not what he's saying here look
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look closely at this if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask
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what you desire and it shall be done for you okay if you're gonna ask God for
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something it needs to be according to his will and purpose think about that it
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this is not I should say God is not some genie in the bottle just to rub God I'd
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like a Mercedes rub rub the genie bottle of God and he'll provide for you a
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Mercedes that's not what we're talking about but I want you to think about the
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Heavenly Father when he's considering the work of his people his empowering Holy Spirit in them their abiding in the
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vine they're learning his word they know his word they're praying about his word all of these things are happening in the
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person why would God withhold anything that is necessary for them to do the
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work he has called them to do he wouldn't and that's what this is talking
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about let me read it to you in a couple other passages so you can get the concept here in Luke Luke 11 this is
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verses 9 through 13 so I say to you ask and it will be given to you seek and you
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will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives
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and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened if a son asked
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for bread of any father among you will he give him a stone or if he asks a fish
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will he give him a serpent instead of a fish or if he asks for an egg will he
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offer him a scorpion if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your
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children how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him let me let me also add
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the very last part of that from Matthew because that last line reads differently
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in Matthew listen to what it says in Matthew 7:11 part of the Sermon on the Mount he says if you then being evil
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know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father
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who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him I think we're probably
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more familiar with that one it's an interesting thing because the Luke passage ends with him giving the Holy
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Spirit to those who ask the Matthew version of that giving them good things
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both are true and in fact both are necessary because if you're going to be
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in the vine first of all you have to be saved and it's very interesting that the luke passage talks about if someone
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asked God for His Holy Spirit someone asked to be saved by the way that's the mark of a true
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Christian you know that right it isn't just putting Christian on your license plate or a cross symbol on the
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back of your bumper no it's being filled with the Holy Spirit of God when you've
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trusted Christ he places his Holy Spirit inside of you you become sealed
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Ephesians 4:30 you've you've been do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby
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you have been sealed until the day of redemption and we can talk about many other places but a Christian is one who
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is sealed with the Holy Spirit of God so that Luke passage is interesting if someone asks for the Holy Spirit and
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they're seeking to trust God and believe him he will give them the Holy Spirit
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why would he withhold his holy spirit from anyone who asks anyone who seeks
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God truly and of course we could talk about the whole gospel we will do that later in the sermon but back to the
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point of we're seeing here in John if you need anything in the faith as a vine
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as part of or as a branch in that vine
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why would the vine dresser why would our Heavenly Father withhold from you what
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good would it do think of the Luke passage they were that we read the whole thing if your son
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walks up to you and asks for bread what do you say no son you don't you don't
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need that you don't need to eat just take this nice stone here it's pretty go
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outside and play with that stone would you do something like that to your own child well no of course not why would
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the Heavenly Father give us a mission give us a task ask us to do it and then
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not give us what we need to push it
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that's the point this is talking about God providing in context for the needs
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of his people who are abiding in the vine bearing much fruit we've already
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discussed it a little bit and I think for the sake of time I I won't take any of these verses for the negative side of
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this I think I think you know maybe I'll read one to you you this is from James
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chapter for you lust and do not have you murder and covet and cannot obtain you
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fight and war yet you do not have because you do not ask you ask and do
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not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures we
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know that's right I mean you understand that right a lot of times God doesn't
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answer our prayer because we ask wrong we ask so that we can have something god
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I want a new Mercedes god I want a new jet I don't have a jet at all by the way
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just being clear I want a jet so I can travel seriously what does it have to do
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with ministry what does it have to do with the work of God does a new Mercedes
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help you now if you're wealthy enough to afford a Mercedes I'm not criticizing you for owning one
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I just mean when you pray to God you ought to pray we ought to pray and ask
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God for things that we need to fulfill the purpose he's called us to not fill
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our life with a bunch of pleasurable stuff that isn't ministry and that's
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James is very pointed on this but we fight in war and struggle and we do just
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the opposite of what God asks us to do he also mentioned there by the way you have not because you ask not
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you know why is the ministry around you struggling if it is why are the things
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you're trying to do for God so hard could it be you just haven't plainly asked God will you fix this will you
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show me what to do will you do this work will you let me do this thing that would be important for the body of Christ lastly
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on these two verses God is glorified to give giving us what we need to bear
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fruit you see that right God gets the glory when we go to do ministry or
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anything we're doing in service to people it shouldn't be about us oh I'm
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great here's some money you know here really put my name on a plaque can can
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we call this Rodney sanctuary maybe if I give enough I can get my name on a
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plaque right here that's ridiculous folks that's not what
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God wants God wants the glory for these works God wants us to when we do
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something great realize that we're just a servant he's empowered us to do it
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he's given us everything we needed to do to do it we do not get the glory and we
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shouldn't be taking the glory from God do you want to rob glory from God do you
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really want to stand before God in heaven some day and have to say god I know I robbed you of this glory in that
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glory in this praise and this worship do you really want to have that conversation with the great god of
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heaven the creator whom who not only made you but empowered you with His Holy
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Spirit and then called you to these great things that he's doing in your life do you want to say to him God you
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don't deserve the glory no God is glorified when we bear fruit and God
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should get the glory for that think of this - I want to read you another
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passage that kind of parallels all a lot of really what we're talking about here in John many of you will probably know
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this passage Colossians chapter 1 I'm gonna read you a few verses starting in
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verse 9 for this reason we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray
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for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
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that you may walk worthy the Lord fully pleasing him being fruitful in every good work and
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increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for all patience and
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long-suffering with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be
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partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed
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us unto the kingdom of his son the son of his love in whom we have redemption
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through forgiveness of sins he is the image of the invisible god the
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firstborn over all creation for by him all things were created that are in
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heaven and that are on earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things
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were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all
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things consist and he is the head of the body the church who is the beginning the
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firstborn from the dead that in all things he may have the preeminence did
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you catch all that connectivity in there I underlined several different things in here we do not do not cease to pray for
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you and to ask so this this prayer of the Apostle Paul and other Saints
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praying that you will be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding and then it goes
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on to say being fruitful being fruitful ties in exactly what we're saying here
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in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God with joy and I'm just
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pulling parts out out of here with joy and we'll see joy right here in the
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passage that we're in today this it's an amazing thing no matter where you go in
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the scripture you're going to get the same doctrine you're not going to get confusing doctrine that says one thing
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in one place and confusing doctrine that says something else in another no matter which passage you read you're going to
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find a consistency
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let me ask you this what does it show if you don't bear fruit let me just ask
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you directly to consider that for a moment what does it show if you're not
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bearing fruit and I know we already talked about it a little bit in the
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intro but be honest with yourself for a second as you sit here and you reflect
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on the scripture that we're in what does it show if you're not bearing fruit
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you're very likely a false branch either that or if you if you know you're
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a real Christian and God's sealed you with this Holy Spirit you you must be extremely lazy God's given you
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everything you need to be empowered that he's given you as spirit you have everything you need you have everything
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you need to bear much fruit so if you're not bearing much fruit you're either not his you're not in the vine or you're
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lazy and rebellious let's not dwell on
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that too long but you should dwell on that in your heart verses 9 and 10 as
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the father loved me I also have loved you abide in my love if you keep my
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Commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's Commandments and abide in his love
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okay so Jesus does does something amazing here he equates he equates
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equates obedience with abiding in the love of God so let me let's just use an
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example if God says thou shalt not lie and you're a liar what does it say is
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that abiding properly in the in the love of God in the vine of course not
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now I get it we're all sinners we are capable of sin we absolutely every
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Christian here is capable of sin I get that but a Christian will repent of and a Christian will ask God for
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forgiveness a Christian will do those things do you have lifestyles where
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you're not abiding because look at Jesus he becomes the model and example here of
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someone who abides completely in the Father's love look at what--he's look
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what it says in John chapter 5 I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge and
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my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own but the will of the
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Father who sent me that's what Jesus is doing that's what Jesus has done when he was on the earth
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he never did things for himself he always said I'm doing the will of my
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father I am doing the will of my father he's abiding in the love of God through
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obedience that's the parallel I want you to get from this passage for yourself
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abiding in the vine means you are being obedient to God and obviously that means
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being obedient to his word that is abiding in the love of Jesus obedience
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and Jesus is our perfect model did he ever sin according to the scripture
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should see a lot of head shaking now there was no sin founded Jesus he
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perfectly modeled that for us alright let's keep going I'm trying to move as
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quickly as possible verse 11 these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and
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that your joy may be full now let me define this for you because I
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think a lot of people are confused about what joy is you all know this when I say it though joy is different than
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happiness it's amazing to me this came up earlier today I think it was talking joy is
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different than happiness it really is happiness something that's a fact
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that's right you can be happy by going and doing something you can hear some
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news and become happy for a moment right happiness is not joy joy is happy let me
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just read you this definition that I wrote down happiness comes from external things joy is from the inside joy is a
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characteristic of the Spirit of God and and I add it on there who dwells in a
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true branch let me show it to you Galatians chapter 5 22 23
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you know these it's the fruit of the spirit right there's one spiritual fruit with several characteristics okay let me
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read it to you but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering
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kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control I count nine
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against such there is no law and again
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that last part confused me for a long time I didn't didn't necessarily understand what that was going for
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there's a couple ways you could interpret that right but these properties of the Spirit these are
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properties of the Spirit of God who dwells in you if you have the Spirit of
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God in you you're gonna be loving you're gonna be joyful think think about these
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things let's deal with those two because those are the two in John here you're going to love one another you're gonna
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have joy inside you're gonna love God and you're gonna love one another you're
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gonna have joy on the inside there is
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nothing external that should be able to affect your joy if you are a believer
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your joy comes from God your joy comes from knowing that you are filled with
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His Holy Spirit that you're in obedience to his command to believe your joy
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should be full as Jesus is asking us in the past as he's saying this very thing I save these words that your joy may be
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full that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full that's
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what we read your joy should be full I think about this it says against such
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there is no law I want you to think about that for a second you can't
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legislate inward characteristics like that in any way you don't make laws to
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deal with someone's love right I mean that's one way to think about this but
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another thing is there's no way for anyone to criticize you or attack you
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over love and joy you know could could I
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be angry with Jonathan just because he's joyful that he's in the faith is there
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any way for he and I to fight over the fact that he loves someone no it would
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be ridiculous to fight with him because he has a love for someone there are no laws against
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these things things that make us happy all kinds of laws right all kinds of
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laws and limits detect externally things that could make us happy but not our joy
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not the joy of God that's inside of us because of his spirit and because of the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus let's
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keep going I don't want to get bogged down here verse 12 this is my
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commandment that you love one another as I have loved you greater love has no one
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than this than to lay down one's life for his friends you are my friends if you do whatever I command you no longer
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do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master's doing but I have called you friends for all
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things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you okay
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so here we see Jesus talking about how
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great this love is his commandment to us is that we love one another
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this this was a new commandment by the way if we go back jump back to John 13 you probably remember that Jesus says I
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give you a new commandment that you love one another by all by this may all know that you are my disciples if you have
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love one for another year familiar this is a new commandment for the Jews by the
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way the Jews knew that they were supposed to love God love their neighbor as themselves they were not commanded
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previously to love one another think
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about this in the body of Christ what the love for one another actually means
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how do you feel about your love for other people in the body of Christ how
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did they express love to you do you see a stark difference in the way that the
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church loves itself loves its members one to another then the world loving because we could talk about other
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passages right people in the world love those who love them you know if somebody
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loves me it's easy to love them back but how easy is it to love somebody in the
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body of Christ somebody your brother who you have to do this work day in and day
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out with you need to serve with they should be able to count on you there
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should be this deep kind of love that is inseparable and you know where I'm gonna
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go with this I didn't write the Bible what passage would I jump to to maybe
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take a look at love first Corinthians 13 we've all been there every single
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wedding you go to they share at least part of first Corinthians 13 let's look
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at some of this I wanted to read this whole chapter I just don't think I'll read the whole thing let me let me just
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read some of this to you let's start in verse let's let's start in verse 4 this
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is the part we really want to wrestle with right now love suffers long and is
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kind love does not envy love does not parade itself is not puffed up does not
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behave rudely does not seek its is not provoked thinks no evil does not
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rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in truth bears all things believes all
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things hopes all things endures all things love never fails and we could go
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on there are other things prophecies and the tongues and things will fail but love never will fail now let's tackle
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that list here for a moment just briefly I wrote just just brief notes just so
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you'll reflect on what this actually says patience long-suffering love never
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loses heart love never gives up it sticks in there patiently are you
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patient folks with one another think about that are you patient with your
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families and with the family of God certainly we ought to be patient with
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others too but I want you to think very seriously about your household in the body of Christ here the local church the
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people you're sitting amongst right now the people you know are in this church are you patient with them how about the
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next one kind it's not even culturally acceptable to
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be kind anymore is it kindness seems like it's flown out the
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window and is just gone from society today kind friendly generous considerate
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mild mild mannered but not weak kindness
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does not have the idea of weakness mixed into it mild mannered friendly all right
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what about the next one does not envy you guys ought to know as much as anyone
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what Envy can do to relationships you've seen it haven't you
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you've seen it in your own personal lives you've seen it at you've seen it in the world and you've
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seen it even here in the church envy will absolute just absolutely destroy
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you like a like a thing that just Wells inside of you let me tell you why that
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Greek word here I won't give you the Greek word but it means zealousness
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zealousness it it's more than just zeal though zealousness to have something
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that someone else has so we know the word zealous we know the word passionate
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now think about that trying to grasp something you don't have one of you
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might be saying right now why does Rodney get to preach why is he up there
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in front of the church delivering the Word of God I could do that and you may very well be able to do that I could do
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that and I could do it better see the MB now I have a personal place that one
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myself because I spent many years thinking exactly like that sitting out
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there and listening to other men preach and thinking and I could do that better
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not realizing that I couldn't have done it better because my heart was
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completely wrong in the matter envy Envy
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cost Josef's brothers to a desire to kill him you remember that right all of his
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brothers wanted him dead except one one of the brothers decided to throw him in a hole and let some trade going and set
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them off into slavery the other brothers wanted him dead that's envy they envied the relationship
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his father had with him and it didn't help that Joseph Smith kept running and
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running and running envy is a problem of
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the heart folks let God work on that with you does not parade itself does not
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parade itself and it right behind it is is not puffed up you need to understand those are very
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similar but they're two different aspects of a similar thing one is outwardly boasting about yourself
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boasting pompous Ness you know all of the stuff bragging if you want to call it that the other one is an inward pride
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oh I'm better I'm great God has made me the pinnacle of the faith others should
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bow to me you see it's ridiculous but to be honest with you that's how we feel
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sometimes isn't it that's even how we behave sometimes love does not do that
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this is not about you it's not about me
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this is about what Jesus has done for us God the Father has sent his son to save
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us and to redeem us and reconcile us to God we ought to get out of our own way
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and if you treat people this way don't
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tell me you're loving don't look at me and say I love them in fact don't say it
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to them either if you can't do it this way that's not love that may be some
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form of liking or you know affection it's not love if you're not going to be
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patient with them and kind to them it's not love that's something else and you
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might think I just violated the next one does not behave rudely I wasn't trying
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to be rude to you folks just trying to get the point home rude behavior is
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another thing that a little definition offensive impolite or ill mailmark mannered behavior that ought to not be
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anywhere seen or named in Christians
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okay does not seek its own this is taking actions for self doing things for
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you where you should be doing them for God think about that
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it's not about you about me how much better would your households run if you
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treated your family with the kind of respect they deserve and it wasn't all about you how you feel what you need
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everybody just little servants taking care of you my whole family's gonna
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laugh because kind of seems like my house a lot of years I've been married
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for 25 years I have six children I've had a lot of experience at messing this up is not provoked when you stand and
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talk to somebody particularly over matters that are difficult do you get triggered I'm gonna use the buzzword of
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today does it trigger you do you get provoked and you easily get angry that's
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not love folks listen to what these are saying I think this is one of the most
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critical things Jesus says in this passage and and we had to come here because he breaks down what love
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actually is he doesn't explain what love is back in John 15 but here he tells us
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what it is and how it works this alone would transform the Christian
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Church this alone these words right here
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if all of us decided we're going to live like this would transform the Christian
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Church today it would no longer be about all of the things that we want to make
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it about programs and buildings and what it wouldn't be about any of that it
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would be about glorifying God because he deserves that glory and that praise
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thinks no evil now I want you to understand what that phrase means in the
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Greek does not take record of wrong
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suffered it's an accounting phrase it's talking about you know check marking and
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making the account accounting for all the wrongs done
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why is that important because when we do that we do keeping a list and keeping
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all of those things that people have done to us and offended us with and we slam it right back in their face when a
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an argument comes up well you did this to me on August 2nd august 5th don't keep a
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record of wrongs done and in fact if you've forgiven someone do what God does you will still remember God doesn't
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forget anything but he lets it go he throws it as far as the East is from the
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West think about that do that with people if you've forgiven them let that
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thing go because it's doing no one any good and it's tearing your ability to
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love people apart even if you don't realize it let it go
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does not rejoice in iniquity how many of you laugh when you see somebody get hurt
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or get into a situation that's hard or
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their sin how many of you find it funny
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when somebody is treated unjustly or
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someone's treated with unrighteousness see we do that a lot don't we either
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either on the side of you know we laugh about what has happened or worse they
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got what they deserved think about that they got what they
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deserved now you might know that in truth in some way like a murderer who gets you know
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sent to prison or the death penalty or whatever you you might know that but if you're taking joy in that man I'm not
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saying that the punishment should fit the crime what I mean is where's your heart in the matter it should be a
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to see injustice and unrighteousness love does not take joy in that what does
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love do it rejoices in the truth love rejoices in truth are you a person of
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truth are you a person who loves the Word of God because you can come here and you can find truth you can know
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exactly how we're to live we have everything that's necessary for life and
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godliness in the Spirit of God and right here is the rulebook of life not only
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that it lets you get to know God he's revealed many of his characteristics in here we know God's character because of
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this this is truth don't deal in lies
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and deception let's end with these bears
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all things bears all things means this is the image I kid you not in the Greek
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the image is this shield up bearing down or a covering over your head bearing
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under the pressure or the the attack that's coming it's bearing it's it's you
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know hunkering in there batten down the hatches that is the expression here
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bearing all things how many of you have ever been attacked by a close personal
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friend that you love we know that
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experience do you give up on them no you bear under that because again there's
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more here look what it says let's use that example for a sec somebody's
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attacking me I'm baring I'm there I'm withholding yeah I don't like it it's
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hard it's painful takes a lot of work and effort but I believe all things this
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is what love does I believe they're not attacking me because they want to hurt me I believe they're not doing it for
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that belief this is the same word for faith by the way misty Sarkis - oh this is
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that word believes all things what if it does go sideways things don't go exactly
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the way it should have well love hopes all things it'll get better they'll fix
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it we can fix it we can work this out hopes all things endures all things
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this this is what you may think the other one the bearing meant that's why I explained it to you the bearing doesn't
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mean this endures all things means exactly that stays with it for the
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long-haul remains in the relationship don't cut and run just because it's hard
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love stays love indoors and it's all
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those other things we read and then lastly love never fails and the best
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example I can give you is really the one that we have in the scripture about God and his children us those of us who are
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his children he never fails you with
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your children you may fail sometimes as a parent but your love for your children
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almost I shouldn't even say almost probably never fails you love your
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children regardless of what they do to you regardless of the behavior they have
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you may not like their behavior you may hate the very garment stained with sin I get that and some relationships are
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there but you never stop loving your child love never fails this is what
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Jesus is trying to say back here when we when we read these verses love one
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another all this this is a proper just
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with one another this is what he wants for us and then ultimately the greatest part of this is love or the greatest
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love is sacrificial love Jesus did this for
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us he died to pay for sin this is why we
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respect military people and veterans so much they put their lives on the line
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some of them give their lives to protect us and to serve us that's why we have
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that deep respect for that is because that is the greatest love when you will
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put your life on the line or even sacrifice it for others folks this is
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what love should look like in the Christian Church Jesus doesn't want us
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to love people some you know flippant way that we want to just like them a
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little bit he wants us to sacrifice for them become a family that's the
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Christian Church that's the vine that were part of that's what he did and it's what he demands
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from us we ought it we ought to see that in Jesus every single time we think
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about him the sacrificial love that he's done it's worth us doing the same or to
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quote another verse it's our reasonable service isn't it in this last part of
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verse in in verse 15 he says that he's a
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friend to those who keep his Commandments that if you're if you I'm sorry verse 14 you are my friends if you
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do whatever I command you so I want to cook I want to equate this again if you
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want to be the friend of Jesus you'll keep his Commandments you'll follow what
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he says you'll do what he says and that means you'll love one another
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that means you'll bear fruit if you want to be a friend of Jesus do what he says
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and go I'll go back to Jesus's own model he did the will of the Father he didn't
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do his own will he did the will of the Father that's even the Son of God the
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pre-existent son of God part of the Trinity he
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submitted to the Heavenly Father and accomplished his will not his own
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alright we're almost done there was a lot more talking and singing guys so you
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can't can't blame me for I'm racing through this verse 16 and 17 you did not
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choose me but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain that
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whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you these things I command
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you that you love one another here it reiterates the the thing there now I'm
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not going to go into an entire election sermon this morning and talk about God choosing some day but for now it's
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enough to say Jesus puts you into the body you're part of the vine if you are
51:47
because Jesus has placed you there okay now I'm gonna read you Romans 8
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just a little part of it starting in verse 28 it says and we know that all things work together for good to those
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who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose for whom he
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foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many
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brethren and these he also called whom
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he called these he also justified and whom he justified these he also glorified what then shall we say to
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these things if God is for us who can be against us he who did not spare his own
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son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give
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us all things don't you love how even the book of Romans wrap that all up in a
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nice little bow God will give us all things that we need we need to ask we
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need to trust and believe but he will give us all we need God will not
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withhold anything we need according to his will that's the point the word of God God's
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will needs to be the thing you're asking about not your desires and your wants
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now if your wants line up with God's will and his word and his purpose that's
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okay that's great in fact that's best but not just because
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you want to spend it on you I need a lake house somewhere or I need a chateau in the Alps err
53:30
that's not what this is about let's finish this verse 18 if the world hates
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you you know that it hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the
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world would love its own yet because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates
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you remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master
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if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they
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will keep yours also Christian persecution is a promise I want you to
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see that and it has nothing to do with you has nothing to do with me it has
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everything to do with Christ the world does not like him there is no more kind
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loving caring sacrificial person that has ever walked on this planet than the
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Lord Jesus there isn't another that even comes close and the world if you and I
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had been there I'll just say it you and I would have to put him on a cross that
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ought to tell you something if you're gonna live for Christ and you're gonna actually try to shine this light out
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there and be the salt in the world that God acts asks us to be you are going to face persecution whether it's just
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verbal but it might be physical and some of you may have to give your lives for
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the faith that is the truth of the word of God don't let any
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manipulate you and tell you that Christian persecution isn't going to come and in fact while we have great
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wonderful freedoms in America very hard persecution may end up here someday
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the stuff you see in my and Mar Sudan China that stuff it may be here someday
55:35
I pray it doesn't but I'll tell you what
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bet you don't have to I bet you don't have to go and beg somebody to come to
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church or be with the body of Christ if you're in the Sudan and just preaching the Word of God may cause you to lose
55:53
your hand or your life my and Mar they might just come in and shoot you in the
55:59
head for preaching the gospel China it
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at the very least imprisons people and they do a lot worse you need to think
56:13
about this stuff I bet they don't have to be begged to come to the assembly
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wherever that's going to meet in an underground place in a hidden location
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see the Christian Church in America is a bit soft we've gotten soft haven't we
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maybe some of that persecution would help with our faithfulness with our
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vigor and our love you know you're not gonna forsake those who are with you if
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they love the Lord too and you're working together just to stay alive just be able to preach the gospel to other
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people and you're gonna work really hard to accomplish that if there's persecution why aren't we doing that I'm
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just I'm gonna close this out with just the simple message hopefully of the gospel so you have God the Great God of
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heaven the son of God in this case Philippians chapter 2 if you want a text
57:22
reference for what I'm about to say
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he's but he's also God himself right the
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Trinity 3 God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit you have Jesus now
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according to John chapter 1 in Colossians 1 which we read the Colossians 1 today Jesus is actually the
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one who did the creating he is the creator nothing was made that was made
57:56
without him it was all made by him and for him according to that collages
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Colossians passage we just read it says
58:08
in Philippians chapter 2 he did not count it robbery to be equal with God he
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didn't think that it was a problem for him to be equal with God yet he left his
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glory in heaven and he put it aside for a minute and he humbled himself and put
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on the flesh of mankind and he came to earth as a human being I don't know if
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you grasp what that means there's no other religion there's no other faith
58:42
there's no cult there's nothing that has a God who himself puts on the flesh of
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his creation and then also walks the life that his creation lives of course
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Jesus does that sinlessly and then he goes to a cross and he actually dies on
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a cross to pay for sin what other religion faith called
59:11
whatever philosophy do you have God himself paying for the sin of his
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creation the enemies of God have their situation reconciled by God himself and
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not through just him pardoning them he does that but by paying for their sin
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with his own blood that doesn't exist
59:37
anywhere else Jesus came and did that for you and I all he asks for us
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to do there are two things you know faith is alone I get that but he asks
59:52
you to repent of your sin the reason that the repentance of sin is so important is God is holy and in order
1:00:01
for you to come to God and actually have that meeting with God you need to you
1:00:07
need to admit you need to admit to God that you know you're a sinner you
1:00:13
recognize who he is as God and who you are as a sinner an enemy of God be
1:00:20
willing to repent of that sin and turn away from it and then all you have to do
1:00:26
this is it this is the magic of the whole thing if we won't call it magic
1:00:32
this is the beauty of the whole thing by faith you believe what Jesus did that
1:00:41
is the gospel not you have to fix everything in your whole life and then
1:00:46
come to God if you try that you'll never get there you'll never reconcile your
1:00:53
relationship with God if you think you have to fix everything before you can go talk to God about it
1:01:00
he knows that faith simple faith and
1:01:06
guess who gets the glory for all of it God he did the work he made the plan of
1:01:14
redemption for you and he even calls you to do it God gets the glory so if you
1:01:24
don't know him today you need to have that conversation with God say God I
1:01:30
know you're God you're the creator god you're far greater than I and you need
1:01:38
to admit I know I've sinned against you I have messed this relationship up I
1:01:43
have broken our relationship God didn't break it you and I broke it through our
1:01:50
sin and then you're gonna find that God is very gracious he's very humble he
1:01:59
doesn't have to be he's the Great God of heaven but that's his character he's very gracious and
1:02:05
humble and he will like it said he will grant to you his Holy Spirit and you
1:02:12
will be saved that's a once and forever event it's done
1:02:19
there are many churches that teach that you can lose your salvation and then you got to get it back loser
1:02:24
that is nonsense if the Holy Spirit of God has been placed inside of you it is
1:02:29
a seal the seal it's a down payment on the redemption that's coming on the you
1:02:37
know the inheritance that's to come the inheritance that we will receive guys
1:02:44
trust God believe him and for those of you who already know him bear fruit by
1:02:53
abiding in the vine love one another by this all know that you're my disciples
1:02:59
if you have love one to another let's close with a word of Prayer thank you
1:03:05
very much Heavenly Father we praise you again for your word for the way that it divides
1:03:14
and cuts right into our thoughts the intents of our heart
1:03:20
God the way it prunes at our lives and peels back the fluff the unnecessary the
1:03:28
superfluous god help us to place your word as supreme every word of God is
1:03:38
profitable Heavenly Father thank you for Jesus as we celebrate this this time of
1:03:46
Christmas where we celebrate his birth God thank you for sending him thank you
1:03:51
Lord Jesus for coming and thank you Holy Spirit for convicting us of him and of
1:03:57
our need for him God do that work in us thank you again for those you've sent
1:04:04
please bless them and walk with us and help us to bear fruit we pray in the
1:04:11
name of Jesus amen well could the crop at or about our
1:04:18
vision our vision is guiding people to the way the truth and the life and we get that from John 14:6 where Jesus says
1:04:24
I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me and this time I'll talk to you about the
1:04:31
second aspect the truth when we say that we regarding people the truth first
1:04:37
thing we're saying is that the truth is revealed in the person of Christ Jesus
1:04:42
secondly we believe we come to know the truth through God's Word
1:04:50
and then lastly we believe that God's Word transforms us as we read study and
1:04:58
pray through it thank you for joining us here at Cross Way and have a great time
1:05:11
you
1:05:21
you
