Resurrection Power (04/22/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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Turn with me if you would to Ephesians chapter 1 this morning And I'm always looking at Deborah Charlotte before I jump out of my chair because I don't want to join them in a duet or anything

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But I'm glad that we have a little extra time this morning because I Have a message this morning that I think may be the most important message that I Deliver from the

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Lord in the year 2001 of course, I don't know that that's true because the year is not over yet, but it'll be the most important to this point anyway, and I Think you'll see what

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I mean as we go and what's interesting is as I walked in Sunday school this morning and sat through the class and walked into the service as Brother Otis was starting in the first few words the first song

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I sense a spirit today of unity and a spirit of desiring to Be at one with the

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Lord and if you are then you're at one with not one another That's what true fellowship is.

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It has to go Vertical before it can go horizontal and I sense that that's here

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So that's very good because that means we have open hearts and open minds and that means that I'm going to be preaching a message

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That's preventative not corrective it's a message that can prevent major problems in the future and I Think it's a very very important message.

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So let's have a word of prayer and we'll begin father Thank you for this the service thus far. Thank you for the wonderful prayers of these

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Men who've already prayed before me these men in the church We thank you that you've given us a church where the men do lead in their homes and and in the church

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We thank you that you've given that as a gift to the church, but not only that but to the families to make the families go, right and Father we thank you for your word that you've given us.

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We ask that you would take us deep into it today May our hearts not wander into the worldly things things of the earth cares of the world

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But to stay right on the word and may your Holy Spirit move in our hearts If any of us have unconfessed sin

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May you bring it to our hearts immediately that we might confess it and not grieve or cringe the

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Holy Spirit or place any kind of wrong spirit in the congregation today as we Come together may we have a right mind and a mind that can reason in the scriptures and a mind that is open to the teaching of the

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Holy Spirit and the Word of God and Father may you use this as a mighty Armor against the devil in this church and we ask it in Jesus name.

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Amen Okay let's start with Ephesians chapter 1 and this is a continuation of last week's message that was a

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Message about the resurrection power And that's the power we're talking about today, but we're also going to bring in towards the end of the message

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Something that has to do with the ascension Jesus we talked about his work on the cross is the finished work, but that's not where he finished it

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I mean he finished it in a sense. He finished everything that had to be done for our justification But he did not finish everything that had to be done for our salvation

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Because there is a continuing present work of him on our behalf today that without it we would all

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Walk away from our salvation you say well, we don't believe you can do that. Well, I believe you can do that I just don't believe he'll let us do that and So his present work in our life his continual work right now is our advocate before the father as the enemy comes and accuses us or attempts to accuse us in our own minds or Accused one of us against another and each other's minds or even to make us think that we're accused before the father

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As he does that dirty work We have Jesus as our advocate in the heavenlies

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Isn't that wonderful seated at the right hand of God some theologians call it his session As opposed to the finished work on the cross

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He is now in the work of his session Which is at the right hand of God on our behalf and what's more wonderful than that if there is anything more wonderful than that Is that we are baptized into his body, which means we were in him when he died

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We were in him when he resurrected and we are in him Seated in the heavenlies today and if you let your minds go there the things that are bothering you down here just vanish away

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Because that is where you are in position and that's why we're far above anything that is of the earth and of the flesh

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Because we're seated in Christ in the heavenlies Ephesians chapter 1 verse 17 through 21

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That the God of our of our I'm sorry that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may given to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his

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Inheritance in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power us work to us word who believe and that's what we talked

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About last time this exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe

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Diane mentioned in Sunday school this morning about faithfulness. She said I don't have any except what God's given me

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And if I'm faithful is because God makes me faithful and I've rejoiced in that and I I would add to that in my own

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Experience and I'm sure she would agree that I can think of a time when I wasn't I can think of a time when it was hard for me to go to church

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When it was hard, of course as when I was lost After I got saved that part wasn't hard But I can think of things even as a

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Christian that were difficult to do years ago that are easy to do now because God Has made it where I enjoy doing it want to do it

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I'm excited about doing it and it's all his power in us according to the working of his mighty power this country today in the religious circles spends far too much time trying to figure out what we can go do and What we as a church can go accomplish and not nearly enough time thinking about the power of God This mighty power that is in us and we find in verse 20 that it's the same power.

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That is resurrection power That's what's amazing about it the power that was there when that cold dead body of Jesus Christ Came off of that cold slab and came out of that tomb

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And I don't know if he came out before or after the rock was moved he didn't need the rock to be moved

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I know that But that is power Well that power is found in verse 20 and is extended to all of God's children

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Which this power that works in us who believe which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead

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That's the power that you have within you I'm always amazed at a

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Christian who has been a slave to a particular sin through the years and can't stop it

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Haven't you Because that's not resurrection power That's not deliverance power.

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That's not even salvation of the Bible because salvation Bible salvation is deliverance I love the

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Old Testament word for salvation is deliverance Used again and again doesn't use about salvation nearly as much as deliverance

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Look at the power that delivers us That power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenlies far above principality and power and Might and dominion whether that be powers of the earth the

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Kings the powers that be or whether it be Satan and his hierarchy his pyramid of power

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Far above all of that far above any dominion and far above every name that is named not only in this world

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But also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head

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Over all things to the church, which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all

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Jesus Christ is the head of the church and that's the starting point for the message today

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It also ties it in from this passage with this resurrection power Now go with me to Ephesians 4 in verse 1.

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I Therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called

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Now this is going to begin to tie us in our thinking into this idea of this vocation

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Every single man woman boy and girl that belongs to the Lord that is in our presence today and all over the world today

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Has been given a vocation from the Lord and it's not so much vocation as we use the word today to mean our job

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But it really is our job, but it's in the spiritual realm. It literally means our calling it comes from the

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Greek word It means a calling from God everyone has a calling and It begins to say that we ought to Walk worthy of the calling that God has given us

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The sad thing to me is pastors at many times I find that church members Number one don't know they're calling

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Number two, if you tell them they're calling they don't want to walk in it. They want to walk somewhere else Because the thing that God gifted them in and the thing that God called them to do is not what they want to do

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That's very sad And it leads to getting outside of your strength and going into other areas where you still are serving the

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Lord But it's just not to the most benefit of the whole body and certainly to the glory of God as it would have been

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Now this is why it says walk worthy of your calling of the vocation wherewith you are called

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So couldn't we agree number one there is one there is a calling that each of us has

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We're supposed to find it and walk in it. The church will help you find it The church will recognize your calling sometimes before you do have you ever experienced that?

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It really will in fact, there'll be times when you think you have a gift or a calling that you don't really have

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You know how you can find out if you have it or not ask the church They'll tell you because they'll sense it.

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They know these things I may not know immediately but over time as you walk together, the church will identify these in each individual's life

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Now it goes on and says that once we understand our calling if we will walk in that calling

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Then it leads to the following humility It says with all lowliness and meekness and long -suffering forbearing one another in love

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Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit the bond of peace There is one body in one spirit even as we are called in one hope of our calling one

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Lord one faith one Baptism one God and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all

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But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ It's all according to a sovereign

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God Who delivers and dispenses these gifts of grace according to his own good pleasure?

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Wherefore he saith when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men

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Now that's the verse that we used in the message on last Sunday And that is where we come into thinking about This aspect of the resurrection day and Then you talk about this resurrection power that God has placed within each of us this power to cause

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His will to be done in our lives. It is resurrection power, but you can go beyond that because it doesn't stop there

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There is something that has to do with the Ascension when he ascended when he went up to his current session

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Having to do with that event is this calling and giving of gifts

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So as he then came out of the grave and proved the power that is there to cause you to be able to work the gift

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That you have he ascends into heaven and as a part of that Ascension and his heavenly Session on the right hand of God as he watches over you as your advocate

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Before the father and as your intercessor with God He also is the one who is dispensing gifts and giving gifts to men

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So we see the fact of this event in these verses now if you would go down in this same it's interesting because This kind of stopped with verse 11 last

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Sunday and in preparing for this message. I found through doing some cross -references a passage and I didn't even

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Stop to think about how it's tied in with what we just read because it's in the same chapter It's just a few breaths away.

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Look down to verse 25 Wherefore putting away lying speaking every man truth with his neighbor

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You know, sometimes what we do is we'll speak part of the truth brother Otis talks about this a lot in his classes

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Probably more than anyone I've ever heard he speaks of this often brings it back It's a theme that he returns to again and again that lying is not just Blatantly telling an untruth.

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Sometimes it's when you don't tell all the truth you leave a strategic part of information out That can be a lie

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But the Bible says when we're born again We ought to stop lying one to another speak every man truth to his neighbor for we are all members one of another

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You can never solve a problem by hiding truth If it tends to deceive

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Now verse 26 be angry but sin not let not the Sun go down on your wrath You realize the practicality of this little passage of Scripture if we got right with one another especially as our our spouse

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You know, especially but with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ if we got right with each other the very day

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We were offended Before the Sun went down if you get in your bed and you're still upset with someone and you're bitter and you've got that Imagination working where you're building a true mountain out of a molehill

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I mean you're just all all of hell is telling you everything bad. This person has done All of hell is telling you that demons are telling you that Satan is telling you that it's all coming into your mind

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And these are called vain imaginings and the Bible says that you need to bring them in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ Every imagination that raises itself up high against the heavenlies.

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Why does it call it that kind of imagination? What is it that raises itself up high against the heavenlies and above God?

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That's the spirit of Satan that spirit of pride and so forth Well, these imaginations come in they begin to work on us and it that why does

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God give you this practical information? don't let the Sun go down on it because then you'll get another day where it can work on you and another day and A week goes by and all of a sudden it grows into bitterness

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But you know what when you have bitterness, you'll never admit you have bitterness because you don't know you have it Only everybody else knows it

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You don't know when you're bitter but let me tell you how to know when you're bitter did you let one day go by one night go by and Did you let the

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Sun go down on the wrath without taking care of it biblically Now you think of wrath as you know, fierce anger.

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It doesn't just mean that it just means being upset You're upset with somebody they upset you or something happen and you're going to bed thinking about it

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And you don't take care of it with the Lord and with that person Isn't it wonderful in our day? We got telephones

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You just pick it up and call them. I can't go to sleep tonight. The Bible said I got to take care of this

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I mean, can we talk I? Don't always suggest doing that on the phone. But does but do you see the principle now?

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Look what the very next verse says Look at the very next verse Let's have responsive reading this morning.

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Let's read this together on the count of three. Let's all read verse 27 1 2 3

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Neither give place to the devil What does that mean Can a

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Christian be influenced by the devil? Is it possible for a born -again person who is indwelt by the

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Holy Spirit to be influenced by a demon What does it mean to give place to him whose place do you think it's talking about how do we do this?

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Well, I'll tell you where the battlefield is in your mind If I heard brother Rocky say that once I heard him say it a hundred times

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The battlefield is in your mind is between your ears These imaginings these thoughts these non -realities that are built in with a little bit of maybe reality and just blown all up out of proportion and we're giving place to the devil when we do this

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Don't do this Verse 28 let him that stole steal no more oil. That's easy one for us

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Don't worry about that But rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he might have to give to that he that needeth

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Do you know that it's not wrong folks to to make a living? It's not wrong to create wealth if God allows you to do it or his brother

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Otis would say if he causes you to do it Why because you have more to give to others? What is wrong is to covet the money and to hoard it?

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You know, I'm not so sure how great savings accounts are I know this country and all the economists say you ought to be saving

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You know what if you're gonna save so you can give when there's a need that's great But if you're hoarding you're gonna be like the man that has the barns and God says hey

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You know, I'm gonna require your soul of you and then whose things are these possessions? so that's

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All right here in this little passage It goes on and it gives the purpose in verse 28 of any time

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God gives into your hand money The purpose of it is to take care of your family and also that you might have to give him that need it

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It's part of your religion Verse 29 let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth

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But that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers

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Do you know that the predominant thing that the Bible says especially in the New Testament that it says to us as a church?

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The predominant thing is not to rebuke and admonish one another In fact as you study rebuking you're gonna find it generally

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I mean not all the time But generally that's a job that's for the elders of the church to do and normally it's done from the pulpit

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It's not the norm how many times you remember Jesus rebuking his Followers not very many

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Who did he tend to rebuke the Pharisees the religion of people that were off religiously? Religious pride and so forth.

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He'd rebuke them. But what about his his own? what about the time when Peter was off and in the boat naked fishing and he comes to the shore and Jesus is going to Say something of Correction to him so that he'll go back to the ministry.

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Did he rebuke him or what? Did he do? Was the tone of it a rebuke? No, what do you say

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Richard? Do you love me? Did you know that that question

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What will cause a thousandfold more service to the Lord than a rebuke will do you love the

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Lord? because if you love him, you'll serve him and So, let's remember that when we're talking about speaking to one another in this church

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Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth only that which is good to build the brother

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That it may minister grace to that brother and I'm gonna tell you all a secret if you hadn't figured this out yet We could do a test right now if you want to to prove if I'm right or wrong

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But I don't think anybody in here likes criticism Would you like me to give you a little constructive criticism brother

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Richard you should use sunscreen Look at them so they can see what

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I'm talking about Now All right wives, let me ask you a question

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Charlotte you be quiet but the rest of you let me ask you a question Does your husband do real well when you rebuke him

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Got real quiet Real quiet because these ladies know if they answer me that when they get in the car, they'll get rebuked

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Does he do real? Well, how about this Charlotte has practiced is studied this for years How to ease it in when it really is absolutely necessary To help me, you know how to ease it in Well, I can hear that coming.

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Can't you gentlemen? Can't you hear it coming when it's getting eased in? Yeah, yeah, you know why

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Nobody likes it Now I'm not saying it's not necessary sometime, but nobody likes it

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And I will say this that a rebuke to a closed mind is is is dead before it ever came out

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The rebukers mouth it does no good whatsoever So I just think that God is telling us right here the norm

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I mean there are exceptions to the rule. There are times when it needs to be a rebuke. Don't get me wrong But the norm the everyday practice in this church ought to be that the things we say to one another ministers grace

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It's it builds the believer And you leave it up to the Holy Spirit in your prayer life

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To correct the other things where if you said that to the person it would blow them away

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Leave that up to the Holy Spirit to do that or take it to the pastor and tell him about it

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And then he'll leave it up to the Holy Spirit Usually I mean there are times like I say

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I'm gonna admit there are times when you have to go to a brother and there has to be some rebuking done And if you don't the church will get dirty and I understand that but I'm not

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I'm talking about generally the general rule the general Day -to -day practice when you are together one another together

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I would say that let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth But that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers now remember

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We're still in this little section that says don't give place to the devil Did you know you can give place the devil if you try to correct somebody even when you're careful?

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Even if you're careful and you choose your words carefully if it's criticism you can give place the devil

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You know why not because you meant to But because they then go home and all of a sudden that act of imagination starts and it's against you.

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I Mean Richard's probably gonna go home after lunch and say, you know, he really did pick on me a little bit And you give place the devil if not in your life in the other person's life.

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We're not to make others stumble, are we? So I'm gonna say this. This is a very very

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Difficult task to ever handle when you think you have to correct someone It's like you can't take it lightly and you should pray a long time before you even attempt it

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Because lest we give place to the devil you have to absolutely make sure that Number one is your place to be the person doing it and that you don't have a moat in your own eye

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And number two that God couldn't just handle it just as well without you saying anything by your prayer life

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I'd say 85 % of the time. That's that's the fact right there Because we do in fact give place the devil when we

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Bring offense to people by saying something to them that just cuts to their heart We have to be so careful because we never we probably never meant for it to do that.

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I Don't know that Charlotte never one time in her whole life has ever said anything to me that meant to cut me Never Well, maybe yesterday.

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Let's see. No, I Mean, you know where it was in her heart to hurt me. You know I'm saying she has said things that hurt me before but usually they were true and I needed to hear him and What she's learned is she's taken it to a you know to a level of Like professionalism to know how to ease that thing in and she never even hardly does that because she knows it doesn't work very well

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So she prays more than most women and So you see my point that we have to be very careful about our communication now

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Not only do we give place the devil, but look what else happens if we don't handle these things properly verse 30

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Grieve not the Holy Spirit You know, we're always thinking like fornication and beer drinking and smoking and all that boys gonna grieve the

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Holy Spirit We never think it has anything to do with how we treat one another How we the things we say how we say him

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Even sometimes now, let me say this. This is amazing but do you have I happen to believe especially after Sunday school this morning, but this church is a little higher level of Understanding of the

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Bible than some people I've been around before And I think there are a good number of people in this church that walk in the spirit

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And when you get in a situation like that, you're going to have more problem from the enemy Because he doesn't like that You'll have more attempts at causing division than than a normal church would have and I'm gonna take it to another level now

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We've talked about Communication stuff that comes out of our mouths You know, that's just on the surface but look at verse 31

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Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor Evil speaking be put away from you with all malice now.

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We're going to a level of the heart Because you see what this bitterness this is our imaginations this is in the realm of the battlefield

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This is what takes place after the conversation When everybody goes home and they go talk to their spouses, you know

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What so -and -so said and the spouse says no they did not the spouse gets madder than you because a spouse always hates it when someone attacks

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Their husband or wife, you know So, you know a lot of times in ministry you you don't talk to your wife about certain things you can't

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Because you understand that they don't need to know it's like a need -to -know basis on some things

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That might not be a bad idea to practice in all homes Sometimes because sometimes really you really can just go and just you and the

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Lord can work things out You don't have to have The strength of another person sometimes we do sometimes we don't but we get into this bitterness area

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We're right between the ears now. We're in the battlefield here. We are in spiritual warfare Now let me say this you may have grown to the level in your life where you know to speak carefully

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But did you know that if you haven't grown to where you know to think carefully That you can be just just as devastating to a spiritual church because spiritual people can discern from your countenance from your body language

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They can discern when there's a problem. You don't have to say a word and This church is scary because it's kind of like that There's a lot of people sitting in this room right now that can can they can't know what you're thinking?

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But they can know if something's wrong Well, what causes something wrong? Usually it's in the area of this bitterness these things in our hearts

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Struggling with thoughts that the enemy are placing in our minds Imaginations that aren't truth.

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They're not based. They're not they're not grounded in truth. They are Extrapolations of maybe some kernel of truth, but they're not really the truth.

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They're not really how the brother feels in his heart It's not really truly what the brother is. It's what

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Satan told you he is If you don't learn anything all year from your pastor learn what

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I'm teaching today Now we get into this area of bitterness. That's that's wrath that wasn't handled before the

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Sun went down That's all it is and you say well wrath. I'm never wrathful. No, it's just Could be a funny feeling it could be just a you know, a little thought of concern

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All of these things they can turn into bitterness over time Verse 32 be kind one to another

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Tender -hearted now, let me say this. That's not always the person's nature. You know, you go into areas in the

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Bible We're talking primarily today about gifts that Jesus gave as he ascended into the heavenlies.

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He gives gifts to men We're all strong in different areas and we can different areas And so not everybody.

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It's not always everyone's nature to be someone who seems to be kind tender -hearted all the time

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But you know not everybody has the gift of giving either and yet the Bible commands us to give to the church

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So sometimes it's easier for someone who has a gift of giving to give it's easy for him. It's like his nature

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He just oh you gave me this Lord here. Give it away. I mean, that's his nature now to some of us

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We get from the Lord and we say I need this I Really have got to you know,

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I got to pay the bills with this so forth and I see that need but I've got to do this first and But yet, you know, it's right to give so you give

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You see what I'm saying? Some are gifted in certain areas others are not Well, this is an area here where like it says be kind.

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Well, some people just by nature. They're just kind -hearted. They're tender -hearted They give everybody the benefit of that doubt.

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I mean you're innocent till proven guilty the whole thing like that There's other people that are not naturally that way and so it's going to be harder for you to be kind But you still have to You see my point

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It's gonna be harder for you to be tender -hearted and forgiving but you still got to anyway And it's no excuse to say well this brother so -and -so or sister so -so over here

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They're so easy for them to forgive and overlook things Well, maybe they're gifted in that area, but you still have to do it because it's a command

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Even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Whoa You mean as I look at others and I see their little weaknesses and the things they're doing wrong that I have to look back

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And realize that the only way I'm avoiding hell is because Jesus overlooked mine. He didn't overlook him I'm trying to use it as a human example

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But you know what he did do It says just as he offered himself and Gave himself for us.

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That's how we ought to forgive others well Forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you

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Think about God forgiving people who killed his son Who nailed him to the cross, you know every sin you do you do a sin this afternoon tomorrow

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That'll be one more added to the cross because time is a strange thing with God. He's not bound by it in A sin that you do tomorrow will find itself in his body on the tree somehow

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Only brother Otis can tell you how that works He'll tell you because it's already done But you know what

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God forgives us. Anyway, is that a great forgiveness or what? And you know what?

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That is the standard by which we are to be kind and tenderhearted and forgiving to one another and do you know that the very word?

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Forgiveness implies that the other did something wrong It implies it it implies that it's gonna happen again and again in the church because we're humans and it's part of our being and we have to have forgiveness to make it as a church and it goes on and says be therefore followers of God as Dear children, isn't that a sweet phrase?

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God counts you as a child. Yes, but do you want to be counted as a dear child? Then be forgiving to his other sons and daughters

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How many of you parents like it when you see your own siblings bickering? fighting We don't do that in our home

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We don't allow that in our home when it happens. I mean Boy, it gets rough around there from mom and dad

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We don't like it God doesn't like it. God didn't like any kind of bickering going on among us

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He doesn't like it when he looks down and sees two over here talking about this other one Unless they're talking something edifying about the other one.

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He does not like it. He hates it It's one of the what is it six or seven things

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God hates that's listed over where it is Russ and Deborah could probably tell me where it is

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Imagine Trudy knows where it is some of our our Bible scholars that know where all the verses are

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But God doesn't like it one little bit So he gives us this standard and he says now if you do this, you're walking as a dear child, isn't that something?

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Don't you want to be a dear child to God? Have you ever stopped and think much about how God perceives you and How he perceives me.

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I mean you yourself how he perceives yourself Does it? Put fear in your heart

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Have we heard so much grace teaching that we don't even worry about it Or should we not be kind of falling on our face and saying

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I wonder how you perceive me today Are you perceiving me as a child who needs a whooping or as a dear child who?

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Has this attitude and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us now we go back to the standard again

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The standard for how we fellowship with one another and walk is Jesus we walk in love as he loved us and has given himself for us an offering and a

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Sacrifice to God for a sweet -smelling Savor, isn't it interesting? that this word as Where it says and walk in love as Christ, you know what the word as means, don't you?

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It means it works the same way Did you know that if it's true that Jesus when he gave himself for us

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It was an offering of sweet -smelling savor that went up before the nostrils of the father That if you give yourself for me and I give myself for you the same savor goes up You want to give an offering to God today?

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Then forgive your brother Forgive his weaknesses forgive the fact that he doesn't have the strengths you have

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Realize that that was dispensed by a sovereign Holy Spirit and he's not supposed to have the same strengths that you have and Forgive him and be tender -hearted towards him instead of so stinking hard You you you carry the attitude of a rebuke when

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God says if you're a dear child you carry the attitude of tenderheartedness No one who's walking with God ever wants to rebuke another brother he will run from it for days and Days and days and probably won't do it.

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Anyway and So this is the attitude of a dear child

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And when it is comes forth in our life, it goes up before God as a sacrifice to God and a sweet smelling savor

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All right now turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 Verse 1

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Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and solstice

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Our brother Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints with All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our

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Lord both theirs and ours now, who's he talking to? Number one the most fascinating thing about this passage is he's talking to Christian people and is he talking about Professors of faith are true born -again people

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He calls them sanctified here. So they're born -again people This is the most amazing thing about this whole book actually, but especially about this passage is he's talking to born -again people

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Now as we go down it says into it says Grace be unto you and peace from God our

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Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ I thank my God always on your behalf For the grace of God, which is given you by Jesus Christ Notice here that we have a teaching that says there is a portion of grace

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That is given to you by Jesus Christ according to his sovereign will

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You are as strong as you are because he made you that way and your brother is as weak as they are

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That's always the way it is in it We see their weaknesses so they appear to be weaker than we are

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But the only reason is because we're not focusing on their strengths They're focusing on our weaknesses and their own strength.

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So in their mind, they're stronger than I am. Do you get it? This is how it works in Satan's arena

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That's the focus Satan wants us to have God wants us to have the focus that and the truth

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Remember Jesus is the one who said the truth will set you free if you know the truth it really helps and He says that there is a portion of grace that is given by God's will to each person at a given time and that may

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Grow the next day but today Sitting right here where we are together each of us is right where we're where God wants us to be right now today and we have exactly the portion of grace and The word the idea of this portion implies that everybody doesn't have the same portion

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We have the portion Jesus wanted us to have And it goes on and it says in verses 5 and through 7 that in everything you are enriched by him

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This is that power the resurrection power. This is not something we do in the flesh

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This is no power we have in and of ourselves. We are enriched by Him in all utterance and in all knowledge

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Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you now here we're talking about a church that Paul says is enriched

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They are equipped So that you come behind in no gift

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Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ These sovereign gifts have been dispersed to this local church in Corinth by God They come behind and no gift and yet as you read on into the book

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You're gonna find out they've got a lot of problems one of their problems is they don't understand this very beginning introduction to this book and so Paul has to come back later on in the book and come to the body concept and Emphasize it and teach them that look you're all members of one body.

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You're not meant to be the same Now We go on here and we look at verse 9

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God is faithful by whom you were called Unto the fellowship of his son

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Jesus Christ You understand that we have a calling and a fellowship and do you understand the book of 1st

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John chapter 1 teaches very clearly that you? cannot have horizontal Fellowship by horizontal

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I mean one with another if you don't first have vertical fellowship with with Jesus Christ by the fought with the

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Father You cannot be in fellowship with your brother if you're out of fellowship with God and we don't spend enough time

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We try to fix our relational problems in the church sometimes the wrong way we get that the cart before the horse because we go to the brother and try to fix it when we

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Don't realize the problem may be that I myself am out of fellowship with God So if I would get that right,

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I might not even have to go to the brother because problem may be me If I'm not walking in the Holy Spirit, I am

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NOT in fellowship with you And if you're not walking in in the Holy Spirit, you can only fake fellowship with me

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You can smile and be friendly If that's your nature, I'm gonna tell you some of you folks where that's not your nature where God says you got to do it

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Anyway, no way in the world. You can fake it and that's good in a sense Because I look at you.

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I know what I'm getting. I like that too. I guess God puts in the heart of a pastor He likes everybody.

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I like all of you part of my weakness That's because you can pull the wool over my eyes easier than some of the rest of you because I love all of you

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But you know what that's the way I'm supposed to be so don't knock me for it now It goes on here

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And it says you're a call to fellowship What's that a calling to number one be right with God?

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Be walking with him in the Holy Spirit number to be right with your brothers and sisters and be kind and gentle -hearted and so forth

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It is a calling it is a necessity God called you to do it He spoke from the heavenlies by his word right here

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Through the mouth of a preacher this morning and called you to do it and you didn't need the preacher. That's just a luxury

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Because you had the word and you had the Holy Spirit now

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That's not where it stops look at verse 10 Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our

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Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing Did you know that doctrinally we are to be in agreement?

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You don't go around and saying well, you know, he talked this but it's not right You don't do that You know, what you do is you go study

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You go study a long time first and you go study and you make sure that the other guy is not the one that's wrong

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We're supposed to speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you

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Now that's an interesting word the word division it is the Greek word schizma

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Which means a split or a gap or a schism? That there be no divisions among you now look at this phrase

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But that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind in the same judgment perfectly joined together is an interesting

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It's one word in the Greek a Greek is a fascinating language One word gives you three

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English words here But the word literally means this To complete thoroughly or to repair

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And that amazing because it takes care of two problems. The first problem it takes care of is an immature

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Church For the immature Church, it says I say

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I beseech you By the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's a pretty strong beseech, isn't it in the name of God?

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The Apostle is beseeching us that we all speak the same thing and there be no schisms among us and that we be perfectly joined together cut our t -zo to be completely and Thoroughly completed

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Now, you know that the word in the Bible That speaks of perfect perfection so forth it speaks of completion.

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It really means maturity so what the Apostle is commanding us to do is to be mature as Christians to be mature

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Christians and mature Christians Understand the concepts we have just covered this morning already

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If you don't remember I'll get the tape and go back over them, but a mature Christian understands these concepts

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He understands that yes what I say Can be devastating or it can be building but he's deeper than that he understands that what

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I think can be devastating or it can be building and He is not naive enough to think that other born -again

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Christians walking in the same Holy Spirit. Can't figure out you're having some Spiritual warfare in your mind when you are which is they can

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Kind of makes you feel naked before the world, but it's the truth They can know and they do know because God lets them know and they care for you and they pray for you and they want

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You to be at peace They're not against you. They just know Now this is all a part of this maturity where the

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Bible says that they speak the same things that there be no divisions But that they are perfectly joined

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Together what a word of fellowship perfectly Let's put it this way

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To be thoroughly completed We complete one another we are not hold, you know, it's like a husband and wife

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I believe that God was sort of a male female being I mean you can find

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Places in the Bible that where he speaks almost as a mother. He says, you know Can a mother who is nursing a child

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Forget that child he said well she might but I won't forget you Said I've got you raven in the palm of my hand.

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It's a motherly. It's like it's a mother's It takes the mother's love and instinct.

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How many have ever messed with a mother cow's calf? It takes some of that instinct and shows you that God's is infinitely more powerful and So when

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Adam was created he was male female, you know how we know it because the female came out of him So now all of a sudden he's not both

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But when you get married, then you're completed You see that you're completed That's why

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God says it's not good that the man should be along alone in most cases in the norm the norm in human life is that that's not good the

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The exception of the rule is that the Apostle Paul said God does call some and give them the gift of being able to be alone

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But when you think about this idea of completion Did you know that you and I are not completed without each other in the body of Christ?

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Do you know if you get out of fellowship and you quit coming to church for a little while? You're not all that you're supposed to be

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You don't have to worry about somebody making rules and said boy if you don't come to church you lose your salvation and stuff like That no, you'll just realize that you're not all you're supposed to be you're not completed

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We complete one another and that can only occur when you have this Speaking the same thing this no divisions among you both in Physical but in the hearts and minds as well and that you'd be perfectly joined together in the same mind in the same judgment

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It's kind of interesting because he uses two words mind and judgment the word mind literally means the intellect The word judgment literally means your opinion

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So he says that you are to be of the same mind and of the same opinions

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For it hath been declared unto me of you my brethren by them which are of the house of Chloe That there are contentions among you.

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Did you know that as your pastor that happens to me? I Find out about stuff.

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I found out about stuff where people are talking and I find out stuff about I don't know what they're saying

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But I just find out Not out about it. That's how it works in it and so You know these things the

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Apostle Paul says well, you know it has come to my attention that there are contentions among you and He spends the entire rest of this book dealing with it and Half the next one dealing with it and remember these are born -again sanctified people go to verse chapter 3

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Look what he says and I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual

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But as unto carnal even as into babes in Christ I have fed you with milk not with meat for hitherto you were not able to bear it neither yet Now are you able for you or not for you are yet carnal and how does

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Paul define carnality? For whereas there is among you envying and strife divisions

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Are you not carnal and walk as men and he takes the whole book and deals with this problem now

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Here's what I want to I'm gonna close this morning by asking you a question or two And I hope that the question will bring you back next

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Sunday because I'm gonna have to extend this to one more time Before we get back to our series we've been doing How many of you have been in a church like that?

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Where there was just a vision everywhere and you knew it and it was the predominant spirit of the church raise your hand high I won't see it.

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You've been in one. Okay Okay, I have to how many of you want your church to be that way

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Don't see any hands How many of you believe that the enemy is

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Crafty enough to subtly get there someday if we don't live by these scriptures we read this morning raise your hand

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Okay, I Don't want us to be that way. You don't want us to be that way I've had some of you right here in the room when you join the church

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You came and told me you know, the thing about this church is I sense a sweet spirit of unity That's why

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I came because it wasn't that way in the church where I was you think the enemy likes that? You think he can hear you?

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You think he's got little imps listening that can hear you when you say it and report back up the hierarchy to the boss

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And do you think if he hears that he might not put out little? feelers and little people that little demons

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I should say that he commands to Try to start this happening in our church, of course

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How do you think it got there in the other church that you didn't like? Now the difference though is if you have a church where the leadership number one and Then all the body together number two hate it

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Then it can be fought And it will be fought and it won't have to be a problem

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And so what I'd like to do next Sunday is Take you into a few scriptures

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That Will show us why these problems happen and how to avoid them You know, it's terrible to give the punchline to a joke before the person gets to tell the joke

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But I'm gonna give you the end of the story before you even come next week The predominant cause of it is not recognizing that God Sovereignly gives the gifts to each other and that they are different and that we're supposed to be different And that we're all at different levels of growth and that we all have far more weaknesses than we have strengths and that if you want to be a person that finds those you can but so can

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I So can everybody if I wanted to be a person that dwells on everybody in this rooms weakness I already know even some of the newest of you enough to where I could build a case against you

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Some of you I barely know and I could do it. I've seen enough weaknesses Now some of you new ones don't know me enough to know a whole lot of weaknesses

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But you can already see a few if you get together with some of these been around for a long time They can tell you a bunch more

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All right, so is that where we want to dwell I Don't think so Unless you're comfortable with me doing it

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Then don't be comfortable with you doing it to me and vice versa We can't live there if we live there people will be leaving this church going to the next church saying man

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They just bicker all the time. I got divisions. That's why I'm over here We don't want that It doesn't bring any glory to the father

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It doesn't cause anyone out in the community even a lost sheep won't want to come here when he gets saved

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Well, he'll find another place So we cannot afford to let the seeds of that grow in this church.

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And let me tell you the main cure is this Understand that when Jesus came out of that grave the power that brought him out of the grave is in each of you

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That power is to be used to overcome the very weaknesses that everybody else sees and doesn't like That power is there and we are to be overcoming them

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But as he ascended into heaven He gave gifts to men and he gave every one of us different gifts and we have to be very careful if we're the toe

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Not to criticize the ear because it's not a toe We have to be very careful when we say that the ear has this great weakness of not being able to walk very far without being bruised

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Doesn't even have a toenail on it. I mean everything you say to this ear it just gets upset

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Well, it's an ear and the ear says to the toe

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I never seen anything so smelly and calloused as you And you're so hard with that old toenail

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You don't even have an orifice you're different I want to find a church where everybody's an ear

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Well, Satan does a pretty good job of that look around see how many Baptist churches there are in this town Got a bunch of ears over there a bunch of noses over in that one some toes.

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We're the toes probably No calloused hardline hardshell Baptist But you see the point that's not what

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God is after and if we will strive to understand we each have gifts that God with the sovereign will gave us and that each of us are going to exercise that we're going to be deficient in other areas and If we will understand that we each do have the power from God to get better as time goes on without anyone even

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Doing anything to us God is doing it his mighty work within us is what's doing it trust him

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Trust God trust the Holy Spirit trust the Word of God trust preaching services To cause each of us to grow and be better in the very areas where we're irritated with one another trust

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God knows issues and then everything we say and everything we think Is it edifying to the other brother and if it's not?

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Consider the source Let's stand and have prayer together Father forgive me for not getting to all the scriptures that you gave me

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But Lord, we ask that you would grant that we could have another time to get together perhaps next

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Sunday and continue this discussion and get into some of the meat of Your word on how to live with one another in peace and harmony in power

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So that the community is affected by what happens in this body so that those who are lost sheep in our community will be drawn to want to know and hear and love the

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Word of God and Father so that we might truly be edifying one to another that we might each become

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Strong in the areas that you wish and that we might each be encouraged By the fellowship that we have first with you, but also with one another and Lord We pray that if there is any kind of Division that's been going on in our church

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No matter where it started no matter where it's been That your Holy Spirit would deal with each of us clean our minds clear our minds

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Help us to only think of truth and that which is real Remove from us any imaginations that may have come from below father help us to learn more and more and to become experts at spiritual warfare and living in Ephesians chapter 6 and learning all about it and Applying it help us to understand father that to do.

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Nothing is not to resist and that you Commanded us to resist the devil so that he would flee

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So may each of us learn in our families to resist him. May each of us learn to Ask for the mind of Christ when we feel our minds going off into areas where it's not allowed to be

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Help us to pray This simple prayer Lord. Give me the mind of Christ at this time.

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Let me think like he would think Rebuke the enemy bind him and send him away From my life and family and give us freedom to think clearly and to be in fellowship with you

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Father, may we learn to walk this type of walk that we be not deceived by the enemy father raise this church up as a strong light a bright light of love a light of truth of Doctrinal soundness in a place where people can come to learn the scriptures

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From the very basic truths to the deep doctrines that any one person in this church might know

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That we might share them with others and father bring us to people that we need to speak the gospel to that We may see lost sheep

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Saved and found and Lord also bring us some new baby sheep that we might teach and Disciple because we gain great pleasure in this

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Be with each person in this congregation Helped them to see their own gift from you

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Help them to desire to grow in grace Help each of us to see the gifts in each other and to edify each other in those areas

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That we together might be the strongest body that we can be Until the Lord Jesus comes back for us and we ask it in his name.