How to Resist Despotic Rulers (John 11:45-57 Jeff Kliewer)

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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org How to Resist Despotic Rulers

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Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming to Cornerstone Church. I'm really glad to see you on this
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Sunday morning It's great to hear everyone talking and fellowshipping with one another.
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That's what we're supposed to do as a church My name is Michael I'm gonna lead a little bit later some music
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But we have a couple things to do this morning One of the things I want to hand to anyone who's visiting is one of these connect cards
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We actually have a little packet. It has a gospel of John Has a pen and this connect card.
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This connect card is important because we just want to be able to see that That you're you're here.
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We don't want to miss you. So if you can Grab one of these cards either.
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There's a box in the back that has them. There's There's someone in the back.
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Hey Stan Stan well Can you grab one of those books on the front table if anybody
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Needs one just slip up your hands Stan will come and get one to you If you're visiting if not, just grab one of these cards in the back use a pen just fill it out
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Just name and address. We just want to thank you for coming this morning. We really appreciate that The box in the back so normally we have an offering box, it's brown it sits on that table.
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It's not there anymore It's hanging on the wall. There's a black box on the wall. It has the connect cards on it You can put your offering in there if that's the way you give or if you give online.
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Thank you Thank you for forgiving to cornerstone The building and benevolence and all the things that we do here at cornerstone.
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We really appreciate that So again final call if and there's any visitors or anybody no Okay, great.
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Hey Jeff Okay a couple announcements tomorrow night is a
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Congregational meeting seven o 'clock. It's kind of an annual report and we have a number of interesting things
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Everybody's welcome to attend even if you're not yet a member, please come tomorrow night at 7
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Men's retreat is coming April 28th to 29th. So that's just getting close guys.
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If you haven't signed up. It's not too late Please sign up. It's gonna be amazing. It's too late
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John says it's too late. We'd find a way All right, we could we could talk to me well
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I could call a guy I know a guy I know a guy yeah This Saturday is love life
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So love life is when we go out to the Cherry Hill Women's Center where they? kill babies and we pray in front and we call out to women offering to help them and Hopefully rescue the babies.
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So if you want to come out to that love life this Saturday at the Cherry Hill Women's Center at 9 a .m
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Next there are vacation Bible school flyers in the back. So please grab some of those and begin to hand those out and Prayer meeting is back to the regular schedule tonight 6 p .m
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Sunday nights we have our prayer meeting. Oh, I do have one more announcement that I'm sure my daughter will be glad that I'm making we have a national champion in the house, so the
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American Association of Christian schools Has a a tournament that meets at Bob Jones University So all the
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Christian schools from around the country come and one of the categories is Old Testament Bible knowledge and Abby won first place in the nation
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You're welcome daughter, I'm sure you're so glad I So we're very proud of them and also all the girls that were in the
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Bible quizzing they won the consolation round Riley did a great job with her Woodworking was in in there and all of you who are part of that AJ part of the
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Bible quizzing team great job So great job everybody who went down there. We're proud of you for that That's right
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All right with that. We have a special Missions moment today. So Neil and Wani Thompson.
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Where are you way back there today? Come on up. Come on up. Neil is Rick Thompson's older brother and They have been and they'll share how long they've been partnering with Cornerstone Church I think it's going back to the founding of this church.
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So let's welcome Neil and Wani Thompson to give a missions update I'm not quite that tall
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It's great to be back yeah, as Jeff said we've you've had you have supported us in prayer and financially for Over 40 years and it's really exciting to see that One and I have served probably a combined 80 years with OMF International Starting out at Manoram Christian Hospital in Central Thailand.
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And then since we've come home in administration and mobilization You may not know what mobilization is one.
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He'll tell you about her short -term Surveys in ministry with OMF in just a minute or two
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But mobilization is really a disciple making from a mission standpoint making disciples
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I Have probably gotten more excited about medical missions since I've come home from Thailand than I was when
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I was doing surgery in an operating room at Manoram Christian Hospital Don't get worried.
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I'm not going to tell any surgical stories. I just think of me as an as an interior decorator
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That's what I that's what I used to do Medical missions was called by one historian the heavy artillery of the missions movement in the 19th century
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Where missions just took off after William Carey the father of modern missions
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Went to India in the late 18th century. And so I've been looking at the past present and future and actually
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I'm going to write an article about that that needs that I need to work on very quickly and Ask your prayer for that but medical missions itself added a dynamic to missions in the 19th century in that people who heard about Jesus Heard the gospel
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Listened to grace Buddhist populations Hindu populations around the world.
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They don't understand grace. It doesn't make sense for some It's silly for some its weakness
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But when people saw Christian doctors and nurses as missionaries in many countries
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They saw a concern and a care for people that was modeled after the compassion that Jesus showed
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And they were very moved and when they saw the care demonstrated the compassion demonstrated
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What they heard began to make sense Medical missions was instrumental in the opening of countries like India, Thailand China, Korea To knowing the gospel and so I've gotten more excited about medical missions since I've come home than when
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I was there doing it so We thank you so much for your support and We're glad for this opportunity to share one evil talk about what she's been doing
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Thank you as new said he was involved in medical missions. I'm not in medicine.
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I'm I don't do blood like him I'm just on the outside more of admin person so I do a short -term program for all math that's called serve
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Asia I I To explain what do I do in a sense like when
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I say short -term programs? I tell my participant I'm not a travel agent. I'm not sending you to see the world to eat
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Different kind of food we want more than that. We are discipleship programs So we want the trip that you go to have an impact on your life
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We want you to go and come back change to love God more So, how do we do that in you know in all these short -term trips we
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Sorry, we kind of prepare you before you go we do a lot of how to cross culture
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Well, as I said the first things versus Not every country greet the same way.
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For example, you don't just shake hands and give a hug So, how do we greet in another culture?
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Properly what to wear what not to wear what to do and what not Touching the head or whatever.
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So we trade all that we talk about expectation. What do you think? I have one participant that he's
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Korean American Went to Thailand for 11 months and his church keep asking him
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How many times have you preached how many people come to know the Lord? He can't even speak
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Thai why the church expect him to to do all of that so we talk about expectation and we talk about flexibility
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How do you use chopstick how many times you can eat with chopstick, you know that kind of thing? So we go through all of that we prepare them about spiritual warfare
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Not just a physical training we do Emotional spiritual training to prepare them to go then they go to do whatever they need to do do chem ministry teaching
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English VBS or whatever and then they come back So we talk about debriefing.
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What does that? What did you learn? What did you do? What did you see? What did you learn about yourself are you better than you think you were or you're worse than you think you were
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What about God? Did you see God do anything? So with all that experience and then what's next?
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What does that mean? What is God telling you? So if you guys have you on short -term trips, you know that once you get back to to the
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States Oh, you have a great idea of what you want to do, but the busyness of life just take that desire away
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So we come up with a six months follow -up program. So we go With our participants through a journey, so that's a whole package for this year.
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We already send about 11 people to Japan And Cambodia, so we have 30 more are going this summer and early fall
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So appreciate your pray for that. I just ask for pray for my participants that they go experience
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God and come back different come back and love God more and wants to get involved with whatever he has for them and Pray for my team.
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We are so short staff and we need more staff. So we have a big training coming up over Memorial Day weekend
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So a lot of work just pray for my staff. Thank you Let's Do that now and pray
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Gracious Heavenly Father we give you all the glory for the amazing work. You've done through the Thompsons We thank you for the partnership that we have in the gospel with them and Lord We pray for your continued hand of favor your blessing that you would go before them
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Be their rear guard and keep your hand of favor upon them Lord God We pray for Neil as he writes this important article on medical missions
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I pray that you would quicken his mind with ideas and thoughts that come from you that you would help him and And that this would come out in a way that impacts lives in Jesus name and for Juan e
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Lord We pray for her in equipping these teams to go we pray for more staff to join them.
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We pray for their Memorial Day Training that they have and we ask
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God that you would continue to use Juan e in the work that you have called her to do So we pray for the
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Thompsons and ask your hand of blessing on them in Jesus name And let me pray for the service too as We all stand to worship let's stand and just consecrate this time of praise and worship give thanks to the
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Lord Father we want to thank you for what you're doing in this church.
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We thank you for the young people Rachel and Abbey and AJ and Riley and others from the church and who have gone down We pray blessing on them and we thank you for the work that they did in Carolina We thank you for all of the evidence of your favor on the children's ministry and on the adult ministries
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The Sunday school classes and you are so present with us and now Lord we consecrate this time of singing
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Unto you that we would not just go through the motions Lord, but that our hearts would be on fire that our hearts would burn for you
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For you have made us and you are our God and you have redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb in the name of Jesus We pray amen
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You are worthy. Oh Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power
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For you created all things And by your will they existed and were created
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Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
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Worthy of every breath we could ever bring we live for you
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Jesus the name above every other name Jesus the only one who could ever say
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Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe we live for you
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We live for you Holy There is no one like There is none beside you
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And show me Who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me
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Jesus the name above every other name
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Jesus The only one who could ever say Worthy of every breath you can ever breathe we live for you
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We live for you Holy There is no one like you there is none beside you
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Who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me
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Give your love to those around me
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I I will build my life upon your love
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It is a firm foundation
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And I will build my trust in you alone
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And I will not be shaken
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And I will And I Holy there is no one like you there is none
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I When everything seems out of balance
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One thing we can rest assure is that the living presence of the
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Almighty and Holy God is steadfast unmovable and unshakable God didn't promise that he would take all of our pain away here on earth
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But he promised us that he would stay with us and see us through everything. We're going through Psalm 62 8 says trust in him at all times.
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Oh people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us
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The enemy
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Surrounds and my heart grows faint with it when the darkness
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Overwhelms and my fears are pressing in I Will trust in you
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Oh Lord In the silence, I will wait
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I will stand upon your word You're my solid rock and my salvation
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My steadfast hope that won't be shaken my soul
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My soul My strong Machine in the midst of every threat
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Yes, I know the outcome sure
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Evil plans will fail in your power
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You're my son and my salvation My steadfast hope that won't be shaken my soul
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My soul You're my comfort when
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I feel forsaken my refuge and my sure foundation my soul
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My soul This is love
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I can't explain this is mercy
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Through your sacrifice For the battle has been won
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And I fear no shame Now the sting of death is gone
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You're my solid rock and my salvation My steadfast hope that won't be shaken my soul
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My soul Oh My comfort when
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I feel forsaken Amen how great is our
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God the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. Let's continue to sing I will bless your name.
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Oh God each day. I'm awake. How great is your name? I'll bless your name.
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Oh God each day that I'm away From dawn to setting sun your greatness.
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I'll proclaim Your glory far exceeds all human thought
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So with each breath I'll bless your name Your name will be
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Children yet to come As generations see the wonders you
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Your Are always
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Hi, your name will be
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How great is the
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Lord Greatly to be praised How great is the
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Lord and greatly to be praised
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Your gracious hand provides for all Your mercy runs to When we call out to you you hear our cries
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And all I need your gracious and provides
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How great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
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How great is the Lord our
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God How great is the
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Lord and greatly to be praised Forever without end
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Forever without end creation will rejoice
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When works of wicked men you finally destroy
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Your power will proclaim till Christ descends
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And you will reign forever Without How great is the
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Lord and Greatly to be praised How great is the
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Lord and greatly to be
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How great is the Lord and Greatly to be praised
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How great is the Lord? our
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God How great is the
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Lord and greatly to be praised Amen he is great greatly to be praised
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Amen Let's pray
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Father as we turn now to your word We pray that you would make us strong as a people
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And I pray that you would do exceedingly abundantly beyond whatever we could ask think or imagine
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That you would use this church in the world and That you would raise up for among even the young people who are here today
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Men and women who are courageous Who are willing to stand? Who are unafraid?
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Who are freedom fighters? Who are willing to share the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified
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Preaching the message of this new life I Pray Lord that as I preach this morning your
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Holy Spirit would help me to say what you would say to the people Lead me in your scripture and give me the words.
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I pray in Jesus name. Amen The Viet Cong were a ruthless
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Communist regime the Vietnamese War raged for decades and in 1971
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There was a famous evangelist who came to Vietnam to minister to the troops and also to Minister to those who were imprisoned the
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Viet Cong that the southern Vietnamese had captured This evangelist spoke only
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English and so he employed the help of a translator his Translator was named
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Hien Pham. He spoke perfect English He himself was an evangelist and strong in the
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Lord and God used him During that that crusade of this evangelist to bring many people to saving faith in the
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Lord Jesus Christ. I Was 1971 but in 1975 something drastic happened a
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Major change and that was the fall of Saigon and the communists the
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Viet Cong won the war and drove out the troops and it really had more to do with the loss of nerve on the part of Those at home in America rather than a military victory because American troops were often very restrained from Engaging fully in the fight, but be that as it may the the facts of the matter are that the communists took over Vietnam and so the question is what becomes of Hien Pham Well the
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Viet Cong put him in a prison camp and He no longer had any access whatsoever to the scripture and for years and years they began to indoctrinate him in the writings of Marx and Engels in Communism trying to convince him that he had been deceived by the
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Americans and by the West and as year wore on year after year his faith began to falter and He even wrote this maybe
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I have been lied to maybe God does not exist Maybe the West has deceived me
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And so he determined in his mind that the next day would be the first day that he doesn't pray
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He had prayed all during his time in the prison camp, but he had made up his mind that tomorrow.
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He would not pray Well as Providence would have it things went from bad to worse
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For Hien Pham because he was assigned the duty of cleaning the latrines of the prison camp
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So it's one thing to be in the prison camp. It's another thing that your job in the camp is to clean the latrines
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But that day the first in which he had not prayed as he cleaned and picked up some paper behind the latrine he saw
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English Writing which he had not seen for many many years and so quickly with no one looking he grabbed that piece of paper put it in his pocket and Returned to his quarters that night with a flashlight laying under his mosquito net
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He unfolded that piece of paper and the title of it was Romans 8
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Rediscovering the scripture he read that God works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose
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And we are more than conquerors and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus not height or depth or angels or principalities or things present or things to come nothing in all creation
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Can separate us from the love of God in Christ and the Word of God Revived his faith and he hung on to the
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Christian faith now with that introduction There's a lot of different directions.
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I could go I Could talk about the treasure. That is the Word of God and How the
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Viet Cong had discarded it as rubbish But it had the power to save We could talk about how much it's it how important it is for us to spend time in the word
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Because with years of not hearing the word he almost lost his faith but I actually use this illustration to open because often
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Christians fail to consider the political macro high -level
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Influence that nations have on the gospel to be in South Vietnam Vietnam fighting with the
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Americans was to be free and to hear the gospel openly to be in the north was to be repressed and To have little access and to have little light so it was in Russia with communism in Mao's China and So in our day we see a totalitarian impulse rising in many nations
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Authoritarianism on the rise for example a couple of weeks ago Israel outlawed
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The preaching of the message of Jesus Christ. No one is allowed to speak of Jesus in Israel at this time there is hate legislation against certain speech in Canada where people are no longer allowed to talk about sexuality in biblical terms
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I Just heard from someone in first service. I hadn't heard this one yet But Washington State has now issued some kind of order
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That if parents are not willing to allow their children to transition those Transitions so to speak it's really a mutilation rather than any kind of change
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That those kids can be taken away from the parents in these
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United States of America These issues matter for human flourishing
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But they also matter for the progress of the gospel in many ways as we turn now to John chapter 11
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I want you to see what I saw for the first time in my life having read the book of John so many dozens of times
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I never noticed That what John does here for us is peel back the cover of the authoritarian rulers the despots
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That were running Israel at the time and show us their inner workings And then after showing us what's going on behind the scenes.
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He then shows us how to resist despotic rulers There's much that can be learned from the end of John 11.
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We're gonna read from verses 45 to 57 Context here is the great miracle
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Where Lazarus has been raised from the dead and we have then the aftermath of that event
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Many of the Jews therefore Who had come with Mary and had seen what he did believed in him
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But some of them went to the Pharisees and Told them what
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Jesus had done So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said what are we to do?
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For this man performs many signs if we let him go on like this
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Everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation but one of them
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Caiaphas Who was high priest that year said to them, you know, nothing at all
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Nor do you understand that it is better for you That one man should die for the people not that the whole nation should perish
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He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year He prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for the nation only but also to gather into one the children of God Who are scattered abroad?
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So from that day on they made plans to put him to death Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the
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Jews But went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim and there he stayed with the disciples
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Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves
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They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple What do you think that he will not come to the feast at all?
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Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders That if anyone knew where he was he should let them know so that they might arrest him
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Christians need to resist the power grabs of despots and We need to do this in a distinctly
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Christian way Now as you look at the world around you Don't expect depraved sinners to rightly appraise matters
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Don't expect depraved sinners to rightly appraise matters look at verses 45 and 46
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Many of the Jews therefore who had come with Mary and had seen what he did believed in him
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That's entirely logical. That's entirely Rational the sign that Jesus did was amazing
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He turned a funeral into a party he raised a dead man and This indicates that Jesus himself is from God.
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That's the rational conclusion It's a sign that points to him but look at verse 46 some of them completely missed the point
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They went to the Pharisees whom they knew adamantly opposed
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Jesus They knew the opposition of the Pharisees to Jesus and they told them what
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Jesus had done. They went tattletailing They went tattletailing to the
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Pharisees trying to stir up trouble for Jesus This is an indication of The true condition of the human heart
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Jeremiah tells us in chapter 17 verse 9 the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick how sick did the hearts of these
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Jewish people have to be To see the sign of the raising of Lazarus and try to weaponize that against the very one who did the miracle the heart is
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Desperately sick who can understand it. It's not rational There were some in this case who weaponized this miracle against Jesus as You look out at the culture in which we live we have been so blessed that many have believed in Jesus a
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Country that largely has been founded upon Christian principles But it's not the case that all have come to saving faith in fact
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There are many who do not believe How dark have the times become?
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How wickedly? Do many people in the world deal with Christians and With the claims of Christ It amazes me that it was only
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January 17th 2022 when this article emerged from ABC News Think of this.
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It was only barely a year ago when an article from ABC News said this a
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Recent national telephone and online survey from the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen reports says respondents
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Who claimed to be Democrats? supported a sort of house arrest house arrest for unvaccinated
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Among other punishments and deterrence now listen to these statistics ABC News January 17th 2022 59 % of Democrats who took the poll were in support of a theoretical government policy
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Which would confine those who have not been vaccinated to their own homes unless it was an emergency
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It's only one year ago how times have changed Seemed evidently logical and rational to them at the time, but listen to this 45 % of Democrats who took the poll and this is thousands that were polled 45 % were in favor of the government forcing people who refuse the vaccine to live in designated facilities or locations
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Half of a party that makes up half of the nation would have seen unvaccinated people put into camps for refusing gets worse than that 29 % of Democrats who took the poll reportedly say they would be in support of parents
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Who are against getting vaccinated? losing custody of their children One third and Two -thirds of Democrats respond respondents to the poll were in support of the government using digital devices to track the
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Unvaccinated to ensure they socially distance and remain properly quarantined in the days of Jesus Unprincipled Unethical men and women reported on Jesus after his miracle in order to get him detained
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And don't think that here in America in 2023 or going forward in coming years that such things are impossible
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Expect power grabs from fearful and unprincipled authorities read on in verse 47 and 48
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The fearful and the unprincipled Who have power
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Will abuse that power see this the chief priests notice the word chief that indicates their supremacy their power and the
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Pharisees gathered the council and Said what are we to do for this man performs many signs now pause right there.
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What ought they have done? Believed the signs point to Christ, but they say what are we to do?
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And then in verse 48 look at the telling language if we let him
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Go on like this as If it's within their power to stop him from doing good
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From raising dead people from healing sick people from teaching love They say if we let him as if they have this totalitarian control and They're merely granting people the right to do what they say that they can
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This is the authoritarian mindset if we let him go on like this everyone will believe and now look at the fear and hear the fear in their voices
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They're breathless The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation
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They're afraid of Rome and so they're willing to oppress individuals
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Now who are these chief priests? They have become not priests to the people but political rulers captive to Rome in the
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Bible the high priest was to be appointed for life
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But from the time of the turn of the century zero Until 70
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AD at the fall of the temple Josephus records for us that there were 28 different high priests
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What does that indicate? It had become a political position that was bought and sold
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It was controlled by Rome and the priesthood was no longer an intermediary between God and man
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It was an intermediary between Rome and the people Rome was ruling through them.
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This was the political rulers. They had the power to control the people and They use that power
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Now, of course, it was God's design Once a king was given in 1st
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Samuel 8 that Israel would have a king and then ultimately Jesus is the king from the throne of David 2nd
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Samuel 7 but in 2nd in 1st Samuel chapter 8 listen God warned them about Taking a king for them for themselves
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Prior to 1st Samuel chapter 8 God was the king and the people followed
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God But they wanted a king a human king like the other nations and God said, okay, we'll give you this king
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But here's what's gonna happen First Samuel 8 10 and following Samuel tells the people asking for a king
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These will be the ways of the king Who will reign over you? he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots and he will point for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of 50s some to plow his ground and To reap his harvest and to make implements of war and the equipment of chariots.
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He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers
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The warning is you want a king you want one man in power over you?
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He'll be a despot. He'll rule over you and he'll put you under his boot
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That's precisely what we see happening with the priesthood now They've taken this role of a king so to speak in Israel because Herod is just a puppet of Rome In fact, he wasn't even
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Jewish Herod the ruler the king of Israel at the time. He was from Edom descendant of Esau So here in verses 47 and 48
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The priesthood is a corrupt authority and they're grabbing power more and more power for themselves until the leader of them all speaks up When the
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Antichrist comes he will be one among many Rulers ten rulers But he will speak up and exert himself over the others and ultimately become a despotic ruler of the world
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Notice Caiaphas has that impulse. He's not just a priest. He's the high priest verses 49 and 50
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This is so interesting He will trumpet
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Communitarianism Even while he tramples upon individuals
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Before we read it listen So much evil is done in the world in the name of the common good
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Communism is in the name of the good of the community of the the nation
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But communism was willing to ruthlessly Trample individuals underfoot look at the thinking of Caiaphas.
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It's precisely the same but one of them Caiaphas Who was high priest that year said to them
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You know nothing at all Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people not that the whole nation should perish
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Notice sacrifice The one the individual who's expendable on behalf of the group the community
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The nation that one could be trampled underfoot like a sheep slaughtered for the good of the whole this is the impulse of Communism Our country in the
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United States of America is so blessed by God and one of the great blessings
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We have is the Constitution The Constitution arose from a biblical understanding of the nature of man prior to Christianity Teaching us what man is really like Romans chapter 1 verses 18 to 320
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Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 People always assume that mankind is good
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But the scriptures have taught us That mankind is desperately sick to pray at depravity total depravity that doctrine
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Taught the political theorists that gave birth to the United States of America that mankind is desperately sick and therefore listen you ought not centralized power in the hands of one executive and so you have the separation of powers checks and balances by a
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Judiciary and a legislative branch and the executive all holding one another in check and the
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Constitution with the Bill of Rights gave priority and precedence
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To individual rights and so the document is built from individualism
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But understand that that comes from the Bible when Jesus teaches do unto others as you would have them do unto you
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He's teaching that you as an individual or any other individual that you might approach and interact with in the world is made in the image of God and you must treat an individual that way no one can be
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Expendable and trampled underfoot for the sake of the of the common good That's what made
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America and it really comes from the individualism of the Bible On The last day each one of us will individually stand
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Before the throne of God we will not stand as a nation or as a group or an identity politic
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We will stand individually before the Lord. That's Christian ethics Notice Caiaphas doesn't have
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Christian ethics He says it's better so benevolent. It's better for you
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Another thing about Caiaphas in this passage he models what is true of every dictator and Every despot every tyrant.
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They always think that they know better Look at Caiaphas's words verse 49
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He said to them do you hear the the arrogance? You know nothing at all
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Nor do you understand and then he brings his proposed solution which is to kill
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Jesus But he does so on the grounds of his deeper knowledge
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Do you want to know what Marxism is at root it is spiritual
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Gnosticism and even hermeticism Prior to Marx there was a philosopher named
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Hegel and Hegel taught what was is called the dialectic The dialectic is two seemingly opposite things
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That get brought together and become one the elimination of distinctions between opposites
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Now Hegel taught this because he was a hermetic occultic lunatic
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He was trying to bring all things together as one in order that Mankind can discover that they were actually
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God all along No distinction or separation between man and God his doctrine was
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Monism that God is in all and ultimately his plan was for mankind to discover
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That we are God He was absolutely Theological in his teaching and the dialectic this back -and -forth between seemingly opposite opposite things thesis antithesis synthesis would ultimately bring all things together eliminating distinctions and thereby
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Usher in this new world Where all is one and one is all
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It is a theological Construct that comes from the cult of Hermes hermeticism
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Now it's very deep and hard to understand but what Marx does is he makes it materialistic atheistic dialectic he takes the construct of Hegel and then he eliminates
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God and pushes it on the economics of the nations and Proposes bringing all things together as one community
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So the roots are in the occult and Marx himself is a cultic in many ways and The result of this is that in the century prior in the 20th century the 1900s
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Marxism swept through the Soviet Union and Then through China and up to North Korea and to Vietnam Sweeping through and in its wake left hundreds of millions dead
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It was not merely a material issue. It was a spiritual warfare going on absolutely against Christ when
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Stalin was in charge he demanded that individual farmers in Russia give up their farms and In the name of the common good
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Oftentimes these farmers would sooner kill their animals and burn their crops rather than give up their private property and What resulted also even the ones that did give up their property?
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Stalin took to the common good there was no incentive to work without the capitalist system and So in the 1930s seven million people starved to death 3 .5
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million of them were in the Ukraine area which gives some background to this war that's going on There's a history there the communism
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That was present in the previous century failed in the United States of America because of the
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Christian ethic in this country individualism individual rights But in recent years
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Christianity has receded in America and what we see rising here is a return to that mindset
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It's a return to the thinking of Caiaphas that the individual is expendable for the sake of the whole and when you see the
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ESG scores in companies and diversity equity inclusion in the workplace and So many of the policies of the government implemented against individuals
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It's right to describe it as the coming of communism in the
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United States of America so this is the state of things and If we ended the sermon here
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It'd be pretty bleak Because the trajectory is not towards Christianity and individual rights
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It's toward the things that have a horrible track record throughout the course of human history
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Going all the way back to Caiaphas but now the last seven verses of the chapter teach us
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Not just what the problem is, but how to resist Despotic tyrants.
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Let's look at the first thing verses 51 to 53 He did not say this
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Caiaphas didn't just say that of his own accord But being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and Not for the nation only but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad
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So from that day on they made plans to put him to death The first principle that all of us need to grasp and hold on to deeply is
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The sovereignty of God over the affairs of men Caiaphas Did not know what he was saying he meant one thing but God meant something different By the way, this is an incredible argument for the verbal inspiration of Scripture Not just thoughts and ideas or inspired concepts
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But the very words of Scripture down to the smallest jot and tittle in the
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Hebrew Comes from God because here Caiaphas didn't even mean what he was saying.
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He was saying this Kill Jesus. He's expendable. It'll put an end to this movement and keep us good with Rome But what he actually said was it is for it is better for you that one man should die for the people
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He said one thing but God meant this by it it's better that Jesus go and die for sinners
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For the nation of Israel and for Gentiles scattered across the world in order that our sins would be atoned for What Caiaphas meant for evil
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God meant for good and here is the principle Caiaphas intended and plotted the death of Jesus in Acts chapter 4 verses 27 and 28
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Herod is the king and Pilate is the Roman governor Together they do to Jesus What they wanted to do
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They're responsible for that that's their human sin, but acts 428 says they did whatever
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God's hand and plan predestined to occur So even in the most wicked thing that was ever done
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God was sovereignly orchestrating his plan for our good So the first big lesson church when you look out at the world
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You can't be in despair you have to have your eyes open you have to realize how badly things are going
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The direction that the train is traveling in and the cars of the train that are hitched to these movements
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It doesn't look good but church Don't bat an eye
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Don't have a moment of fear Don't have a moment of hesitation because whatever mankind means to do
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God means whatever occurs for our good as that evangelist fam discovered on that piece of paper
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Romans 8 verse 28 he works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose
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So that's the first principle as you see the world Descending into chaos and bad things happening
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Have no fear trust the sovereign plan of God. He's going to work it all for our good Secondly, this is very important Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the
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Jews Jesus did not provoke
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Just to be provocative He was very wise in how he confronted
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The despotic ruler He could have ridden into Jerusalem with the power from on high and right there taking matters into his own hands and that would have
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Done away with the ruler and we would have died in our sins He knew what was best
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But he used wisdom in How he proceeded look what he did. He did not walk openly
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He withdrew Wisdom would say
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When we see despotic rulers in Mount Laurel and Morristown and Marlton Despotic rulers who think they have the authority to hang rainbow flags all across town square
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Which is them teaching their sexual ethic Indoctrinating people into that in abuse of their power.
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They don't have the right to do that. That's not what God constituted government to do in Romans 13 and 1st
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Peter 2 They're they're acting out of bounds We as a church
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Could go climb those flagpoles and tear those flags down and cut them into shreds, but that's not wise
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Look what Jesus does he no longer walked openly among the Jews.
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What did he do? This is the answer But went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called
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Ephraim and There he stayed with the disciples
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Church we will not win the culture war By brazenly climbing flagpoles and cutting down obscene images or Storming the castle at the next drag queen story hour
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You know how we're gonna win the culture war Make disciples somebody saw it in the text
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Jesus went away to a small place Ephraim where there was peace and an opportunity for him to make disciples
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He spent time with the disciples and we have one Commission. This Commission is actually going to be our victory
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The Commission was Go therefore and make disciples of all nations Baptize them in the name of the
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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey Everything that I have commanded you
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You want to see America transformed then every young person every old person
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Every person in this room be committed to vacation Bible school this summer
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There are flyers in the back you can take them and invite children in your neighborhood
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Everybody here Come on Monday May 8th
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And each Monday night for four weeks learn how to share the gospel Phil and I mostly
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Phil will be teaching Evangelism for four straight Monday nights beginning at 7 p .m.
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May 8th Making disciples begins with winning people to Christ You want to win the culture war
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Then train children in the way that they should go They will be indoctrinated into the worldview of the public schools and the universities unless someone comes to them and brings them the light of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ and then trains them in How to walk in a way that's pleasing to God and I want to tell you when that child grows up and some despotic tyrant
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Tells him to do something immoral or ungodly That young man that young woman will stand his or her ground
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Train them up in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it We're going to win this culture war in the
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United States of America. I hope that's a prophetic word I just feel that in my bones
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We're gonna win, but it's not gonna be with the weapons of the flesh It's going to be with weapons of righteousness in our right hand and in our left it's going to be with the weapons of prayer and A sword of the
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Spirit which is the Word of God Not weapons of flesh So take on the whole armor of God the helmet of salvation the breastplate of righteousness the belt of truth fit your feet with the gospel of peace and take that sword of the
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Spirit with the shield of faith and Go and make disciples of these towns and let's see it from the bottom up transform.
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I believe we can do it make disciples Lastly two quick observations in 55 and 56.
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There's this public conversation What's Jesus gonna do? Is he gonna come? Is he not gonna come at all?
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I Would say in these public matters Get involved in the conversation
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We've been told for years that pastors are never to talk about politics That's what they told the pastors in Nazi Germany The pietistic movement had said that pastors can't say anything about the rise of Nazism you sing your hymns in the church while the boxcars are rumbling the building driving by and The pastor said little some did like Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the confessing church
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But most of the pastors were completely silent The public conversation is going on.
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The people are like sheep and Without hearing a clear voice. They followed the voice of a wolf a false shepherd named
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Adolf Hitler Let's not make that mistake in the United States of America pulpits proclaim
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Christians in the workplace and wherever you go join the conversation. You don't have to be silent
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Lastly Notice what happens in verse 57. Did you ever notice this?
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There was actually an order a civic order given that if anybody saw
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Jesus they had to turn him in There was an order given in 2020 the churches were not to gather for fear of a virus.
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I Want to tell you something Whenever a despotic ruler
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Issues in order contrary to the Word of God we stand on the Word of God And it will happen again
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Whether it be some kind of Ordinance about speech where you're not allowed to speak about gender and and say that a man is a man if someone self identifies differently
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You're not allowed to say the truth Disobey that order
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What do you do if somebody that you care about is claiming a different pronoun than the one with which they were born?
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Do you graciously say what they ask you to say which you know to be a lie
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No, you tell the truth you see hermeticism Gnosticism monism this hegelian
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Dialectic of bringing all things together into one is meant to eliminate distinctions
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Why do you think it is that there's no longer male and female ontologically in our culture?
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It is the goal of those who oppose Christ to eliminate the distinctions the distinctions are where wisdom is found and the greatest and highest distinction is the distinction between us and God Ultimately, that's what they're trying to bring down So in closing, how do we apply these things?
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Well? Don't have your head in the sand Don't just assume the best of rulers
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It's not in keeping with human nature from the beginning of time Rulers who gain power more and more power over a culture will become more and more authoritarian
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So be aware of that. That's the biblical teaching and be on guard against rising authoritarianism
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Five things that we can do How do we resist the first thing is trust God?
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Because if we become fearful, we'll make the kind of errors that they made in the text When they were afraid of Rome coming to conquer them we live with confidence and without any fear and This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed according to Philippians 1 29
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But that we will be saved in that by God number two We walk wisely
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We're not recklessly tearing things down and tearing things apart. We're trusting in our God and The weapons of our warfare are spiritual not carnal number three everybody here has to devote yourself to making disciples if you think everything's going to go on in this culture and Everything will be fine the way we're going you're mistaken.
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We need an army of Christians making disciples Vacation Bible school this year should be filled with hundreds of kids
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I think we had like 12 last year because we barely put ourselves into it this year.
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It's all hands on deck right To change the culture. It's by making disciples.
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That's how you win the culture war fourth You've got to speak up They want you to be silent and they'll shame you into it, but we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ Romans 1 16 and Lastly disobey tyrants
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If they order us to lock down. Hey guys, you know, we have a group of pastors that meets once a month and We've got dozens of us now if they ever order the church to lock down again
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Together we all stand and say no They don't have authority to do that We're blessed in this area that there are some godly men who are willing to Stand and all of us need to be willing to make that stand.
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You guys want to know what happened to he and fam? That Vietnamese man
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Can't leave you hanging on that one. He's in the prison camp until finally they let him go, but he has to stay in country
01:12:48
He and 53 others Desiring freedom desiring to be openly able to preach the gospel
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Have arranged for a ship to take them to Thailand 54
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Vietnamese Mostly Christians The night before two nights before they left the
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Viet Cong knocked on his door Four soldiers saying we hear rumor that you're about to leave
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He denied it and they went away That night the
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Lord laid on his conscience that he had lied and He had determined to tell the truth the next day just before sailing the
01:13:35
Viet Cong soldiers arrived again and They pounded on his door and they say we hear rumors that you're leaving
01:13:44
This time he openly admits yeah, we're going and And the four soldiers lean in and say we want to go with you true story
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And what makes it even more amazing when they set sail? 58 individuals fleeing
01:14:07
Vietnam to Thailand There was a storm on the sea Massive storm cyclone level and He and Pham says that if it weren't for those four
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Viet Cong who were trained in sailing all Of them would have perished Pham made it to the
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United States of America and became a businessman The Lord delivered him from the clutches of the enemy
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And so I want to pray in closing for the United States of America To give thanks for what the
01:14:45
Lord has given us in the freedom of this country And I want to pray that we would stand strong to keep it free.
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Let's pray Father God, we thank you for your providence that you have given us this country to live in As bad as it has gotten in many ways.
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It's still the best country on earth Thank you for the United States of America. Thank you for the
01:15:10
Constitution for the Bill of Rights for the Supreme Court Which holds in check tyrants who have
01:15:18
Intended to put legislation into place which would trample on individuals the
01:15:25
Equality Act Stopped by a very slim majority in the legislature
01:15:34
Thank you God that you have given us freedom up until this point We thank you for this country and now
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Lord we ask that you would keep it free We pray that the United States of America would not descend into despotism
01:15:50
We pray against authoritarian rulers that their plans and their plotting would fail we know
01:15:56
Klaus Schwab and Soros are plotting a global government and That their lackeys in the
01:16:04
United States are willing to submit to their rule But we pray against them in Jesus name
01:16:12
We pray that America would remain free And we pray that this church would have the freedom to continue to preach the gospel
01:16:23
It is outlawed now in Israel to speak the name of Jesus but we pray for the freedom of Israel and Lord we pray for courage
01:16:38
To make disciples in a wicked and depraved generation in Jesus name. Amen Oh Fountain of beauty eternal the father the spirit the son
01:17:28
Sufficiently endlessly generous Magnificent marvelous
01:17:44
Oh Creation is brimming with thankfulness Mountains exultant they stand the seasons rejoice in your faithfulness
01:18:00
You crown every matter with color you paint every shade in the sky
01:18:10
Each day the dark wakes and I'm cool Oh sure
01:18:25
His love Endure Forevermore Magnificent marvelous
01:18:46
What grace that you entered our brokenness You came in the fullness of time
01:18:55
How far we had fallen in righteousness But at birth from the mercies of Christ Your cross is our door to redemption
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Your death is our fullness of life A day our gift is worth the price
01:19:17
Magnificent, marvelous, matchless How great, how great, how sure
01:19:26
His love endures Forevermore Magnificent, marvelous, matchless
01:19:39
You died in your resurrection
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You led us to infinite heights Could anything sever or take us from You Magnificent, marvelous, matchless
01:20:05
How great, how great, how sure
01:20:11
His love endures Forevermore Magnificent, marvelous, matchless
01:20:23
How great, how great, how sure His love endures
01:20:36
Forevermore Magnificent, marvelous, matchless Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think
01:20:52
According to the power at work within us To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus Throughout all generations forever and ever.
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Amen Unchanging, ever faithful To His covenant of grace
01:22:09
Be His people, Christ did ransom To the glory of His name
01:22:18
Now ascribe unending worship Now ascribe immortal praise
01:22:27
To the God whose kingdom cometh Blessed be
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His matchless name Now ascribe unending worship
01:22:40
Now ascribe immortal praise To the
01:22:46
God whose kingdom cometh Blessed be
01:22:51
His matchless name Blessed be His matchless name
01:23:36
O church, arise and put your armor on Hear the call of Christ our
01:23:45
Captain For now the weak can say that they are strong In the strength that God has given
01:23:57
With shield of faith and belt of truth
01:24:02
We'll stand against the devil's lie Whose battle cry is love