Admonish One Another

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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Got a hold of us this morning.

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He he's got a really bad migraine Mike gets really bad migraines.

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And so He's been up all morning all night with migraines.

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So just remember him But nevertheless, I want to press on with the one another's and so this morning.

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I'm gonna look at admonish one another I wrote a list of scriptures on the board on the whiteboard and that's those are the scriptures that we'll use this morning I hope to get to all of them at least to mention them But if not, at least you have them there so Let me start it this way.

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So if I say admonish What do you think Come on if I say I mean, it's not a common where we don't use that that much but If you had if someone came up to you and said, you know I read this word admonish in the in the Bible in a bunch of places.

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What does that mean? What would you say? Okay Yep, it's kind of a warning when you hear that word admonish Do you take it? Immediately as you perceive it.

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Do you perceive it as something positive or something negative? positive a Negative right and I and I think there is a varied reaction anybody else positive negative so You know, you could say it a couple different ways I'm going to admonish you and that's that would come out what basically as a negative or I want to admonish you And then it doesn't necessarily have that negativity attached to but rather positive and it's important because There really are two bit two words in the scriptures that address this whole idea of admonish and I'm glad you brought up sister the word one because as we go through this this morning, I want you to see and notice that Many times it's interpreted as admonish and Other times it is terpid interpreted as one.

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So it's admonition or it could be warning.

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It's Admonish or it could be worn and if you look at the different translations and I'll mention them this morning Some of the translations will consistently use one of the words and other translations will consist of will consistently use Let's say worn while others will consistently say admonish, but there really are two basic words that are used There's one outlier and I'm not sure we'll get to it this morning and it really is not all that Necessary to bring that up, but there's basically two words that are used in the Greek To in the New Testament and most of the times you'll see admonish or warn You'll see it in the New Testament in that way two words and they they have a bit of a different meaning and And I wanted to at least go through that.

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So we understand what it means to Admonish somebody warn somebody or be admonished or be warned by somebody so The first word is in blue and the second word is in black and as you as we go through these verses, I hope to show you that they do bear out as far as Okay, they do bear out as far as one being if you will a stronger word with more emphasis on Correction and the other one is more of a Prompting or an exhortation.

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So as we look through this and and and here's the thing as we go through this I want us to think about it from this aspect.

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We are all responsible According to the Word of God.

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We are all responsible both to accept admonition and to give admonition So it's not reserved for someone in any sort of position it is something as one of the one another's of the scriptures that you and I are to not only accept admonition accept warning from each other, but we are to give warning or to give Admonishment to one another so let's take a look at the scriptures I think it'll become clear as we go through it.

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So the first one is in Ephesians 6 for So if you would look at it and this is the word that really has more of a a corrective Attachment to it.

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In other words, it's more in the sense of correcting an error and That it is Probably the word that many might see as a negative rather than a positive.

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So Ephesians 6 for let's just read it together It says this concerning fathers in verse 4 chapter 6 and you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the Training and in a new King James it says admonition who else has a different translation Does anybody have a translation that doesn't use that word? admonition In structure so you have the ESV sister Yeah, so in the ESV it uses the word instruction in the New King James.

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It uses the word admonition now This is the word That really has to do more with corrective teaching and Instruction and it certainly fits within the context where it's talking about the responsibility of the father To to bring up his children to bring up his household in in the training and the admonition of the law to to apply corrective action if you will to Ensure that we That that the child grows up on the right path okay, so again more of a it's the stronger of the two words from the standpoint of Its force, okay, and it's It's interesting how these two words will be Used and again, I wanted to say this the word If anybody wants to know it's new that's SIA in the Greek new the SIA, but it really is Something that you and I have to consider in certain situations Well, let me pose it as a question, would you agree with me that you and I in certain situations are responsible to admonish one another Anybody disagree with that because there are a lot of people who would there are a lot of people would say, you know Why don't you take care of yourself and I'll take care of myself And and they might even throw a scripture at it's like don't judge You know Jesus said don't judge and and why don't you take the speck out of your own eye before he tries to take care of me so as you and I think about this and is the one and others in the community of Believers we are Responsible and it's not comfortable Certainly is not comfortable sometimes in a situation of a parent and a child where the parent has to admonish give corrective teaching and Instruction to a child who's perhaps Wandering right? Okay.

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So let me show you again where this word is used.

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Look in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 and this we'll see in the sense of How Paul uses it 1st Corinthians 10 and verse 11 But let me read this a little bit so we'll get the understanding He's rehearsing if you will what happened before in the Old Testament and how God dealt with those who committed sin And that's why verse 80 says neither.

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Let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did being Pointed back towards Israel in the wilderness and in one day 23,000 fell and let us not tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed by serpents Nor murmurs nor murmur as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition on whom the ends of the world have come and again, this is that word new to see you and it has more of the idea of Corrective teaching in other words if you think about what Paul saying Paul saying, okay, this is what they did And this is what you can't do.

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So what he's trying to do is is teach them not to follow bad examples the same way a parent would seek to teach a Child not to follow and again I mentioned this number of times and that was one of the verses we always taught our kids was don't follow the multitudes to do Evil don't and that was an admonition.

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It was it was to correct Them following the multitudes.

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So again, the word is the stronger word in the sense of how it is Applied and and you and I again are Responsible as Paul to do this with one another and again Perhaps not as comfortable a situation as we would want to be in but nevertheless we we must if we if This law go back if you think about what we're trying to do with these one another's we're trying to to Realize what the scripture says about how we are to conduct ourselves How we are to live with ourselves and how we are to interact with each other So all these one another's that we've been going through and will continually go through.

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They're all aimed at In a sense, they're all an admonition Right, but maybe not to correct wrong Action, but to prompt or to exhort to further action And so again, you and I are responsible to do this the last one I want to show you and I want to spend the most of the time on the second group But I do want to look at this last one.

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And so if you look at Titus 310 Here again, that word is used and it's the word luthicia and You'll see it and in the context.

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I think it bears witness that It is meant for Corrective Teaching Titus 310, okay In verse 8 it says this is a faithful saying and These things which which I write to you affirm constantly that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works These things are good and profitable to men in the verse 9 but avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and useless Then it says reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition reject a Divisive man after the first or second admonition.

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I believe in the ESV.

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It says warning correct, right? So here we are told that we are to First of all give admonition to someone who's acting out of Acting in a divisive or divisive manner someone who is perhaps Falling into what he just says in verse 9 disputes and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law they are unprofitable and useless, but then we ought to give an admonition to that person and In such a way that after the first time or the second time descriptions say that We don't reject them after that I mean because Let me put it to you this way Would you agree with me? I always put myself in position of you saying no, I don't agree But I'm gonna ask it that way.

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Anyway, would you agree with me that church discipline is? Really an act of Admonishment would you agree with me to church you would okay, because what are we doing in church discipline? Correcting and and and it's something again.

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We must do it's not options It's it's not something that we can say.

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Well, you know, I really don't want to who am I to judge someone else? We are the children of God If we are not going to admonish one another when we see and know of and that's what church discipline is church discipline is a sin That has not been repented of and it's become known again Remember what Paul talked about in first Corinthians 5 the man was sleeping with his father's wife and what happened? It was known all over the place so much that Paul heard of it He wasn't even there and Paul writes back and says you've got to do this.

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You've got to put this person up, but this word Admonishment or warning is really again that word that presents more of correction of error Instructive And it even can carry the thought of discipline in it and so again if you think about it that way It takes a measure of boldness I would think wouldn't you think We got to have a little bit of spiritual fortitude to be willing to Admonish someone in that in that kind of a way and We have to have a sense of humility to accept admonishment in that way And that's why I say it could be a positive.

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It depends on how the person Both gives it and how another person receives it, right? And so even like in the Proverbs it says open rebuke is what? Better than secret love and so when you and I think about that We do it in all kinds of situations just think about it if you're an employer There are times you admonish your employees, right? You give them instructive Counsel to correct something, right? Even husbands and wives can get into a little bit of admonishment, right that usually is Yeah, you walk lightly in that situation, right Because the other person can give the admonishment as well as You can so you follow what I'm saying.

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So that that's the first word So brothers and sisters we are to admonish one another we are to correct one another we ought to teach one another We are to instruct one another and it might not be easy.

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But again, we are called to do it We are not called to watch someone else do it We are each called so in other words if you see me in open sin it's your responsibility to come to me and to admonish me and It's to give me corrective instructive teaching to turn me away from what is been seen and Then I'm to turn and repent and and that was Paul's Instruction of 1st Corinthians 10, right don't follow their examples Do not do what they do.

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Do not follow the multitudes to do evil.

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So that's the first word, okay Now I want to spend the remainder of the time and the bulk of it really falls to that second group of Scriptures and this is where it is again interpreted translated as admonish Warn admonition warning depending on what translation you have But it's the it's it's the one.

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It's the word that really is seeking to Prompt and exhort in a positive way and it's not to be Done in that sense of I'm going to admonish you but rather I want to give you an admonition I want to I want to prompt you and what are we looking to prompt to we're looking to to prompt someone Up in the faith Encouragement would be a good word Exhortation Seeking the welfare and again That's what all these one another's and by the way as we go through these one another's there's a lot of overlap Isn't there right because this all falls under the banner if you will of loving one another and that love Again, open rebuke is better than secret.

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Love true.

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Love is willing to reach out to exhort to prompt and even at times as we looked at the other word to Give a Disciplinary counsel or corrective admonition and and the word is news of echo and It's the same root word that's why I said it's new to see it is the is the The noun and news of echo is the is the verb.

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It's in action It's something that we're supposed to do and so I want to take some time and look at these scriptures and perhaps you will agree With me that there is this distinction and that whenever we do Admonish someone or want someone we need to think through Which way we're gonna go with it and Which way is the right way to go with it? Not just because there are times when instead of me, let's say brother Gary instead of me exhorting him I seek to counsel him and correct him.

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Well, what if he he really needs? exhortation or What if he really needs? corrective Action The encouragement if it's not received as a person and it may lead to the Correction.

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Yeah, and that's why the one one is a little bit stronger than the other but yet we're responsible for both so let's take some time and there's a Group of them here.

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So go to Romans chapter 15 and this is if you will the basic scripture that we set up to look at as far as Admonish one another and as you look at Romans Chapter 15 and remember we we found and I think if I recall right there are at least 10 one another's in Romans 14 15 and then if you get into Romans 16, there's another one We'll spend times on the next time.

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I I have the opportunity to to teach and it's on greet one another But this these chapters of Paul from first chapter 12 on they're full of application right there fuller ad admonition both in a corrective way and in a prompting way and again So as Paul is talking about this in Romans chapter 15 Let me just read the first couple verses of the chapter We then who are strong ought to bear with the scroop New King James says scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves.

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Let each of us please his neighbor for his good Leading to edification then he goes on he works through some some Truths about how we ought to do it because that's exactly what Christ did for us, but I want you to come down to verse 14 Well actually read verse 13 now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing and that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit now I myself am confident concerning you brethren That you are also full of goodness filled with all knowledge able also to admonish one another I Believe in the ESV it says instruct Okay, you have admonished.

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I might have it backwards The the NIV says instruct it at this point the New King James As we have just read says admonish and this is that other word? Nuthitheca and he really has the idea.

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That's what Paul is saying Paul is saying After he gives his teaching he says I know you can do this.

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I know you can you can exhort the brothers and sisters I know you're able to do that and he's not only saying I know you're able to do that But we ought to do that you and I Ought to when we gather together We ought to think why we're gathering together Is it just to come to church? or is the church coming together to worship our Lord and to build one another up in this most holy faith and that again when we come with just this attitude and I'm not saying That's what we always do but we just come with this attitude like I'm just going there Instead of saying am I prepared to be? In line with the scriptures and especially with these one another's love one another serve one another greet one another admonish one another and in this thought here in Romans chapter 15 to prompt one another to instruct to Exhort Here's one.

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I think will really make this clear.

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I want you to turn to Colossians chapter 3 Colossians chapter 3 and again, this is the the other word that's used but this one I think will make it very clear of the distinction between How we are to admonish in Colossians chapter 3 Let me read it from verse 12 Colossians 3 12 therefore as the elect of God Holy and beloved put on tender mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness Long suffering bearing with one another forgiving one another if anyone has a plate a complaint against another even as Christ Forgave you so you must also do but above all these things put on love Which is the bond of affection and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which you were also called in one body And be thankful now look at verse 16.

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Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching admonishing one another in what in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord now Do we understand that when we sing we're actually admonishing one another We're not seeking to correct Sinful action.

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What are we seeking to do? Prompt one another to worship, right? It's the same with the public reading of the Word of God, you know, we read those scriptures on Sunday morning now And so right now we're in the book of Revelation.

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We're not just doing that to fill time We're doing it as a public We're doing because we're commanded to do that, right? We ought to read the scriptures open publicly but we're also doing it as a admonition as a provoking as a way of exhorting as a way of Building up as a way of creating in each other a sense of worship And again in this verse you would you take this as a negative or as a positive You take it as a pie and it ought to be a positive right Again, if I stand up and I will I'll read this one because brother Mike said I'm gonna read Revelation 7 I don't expect after I read Revelation 7 someone's gonna get up and say you can't say that it should be This is God's Word.

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Praise the Lord again Because Because like all our interactions should be done in love and I know I was admonished one time and I was able to understand it, although I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but But if we know that it's in the scriptures that our brothers and sisters supposed to do this and we can't take offense and if we take offense then we're We're not learning from what God says so it's tricky but both sides have to have their hearts right Correct.

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That's exactly right.

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So said in other words Even the father who corrects his child Which we read in Ephesians 6 why is he admonishing? He's admonishing for the good of the child, right? Unless he's an abusive father.

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Then he's just admonishing or correcting or whatever.

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He does for his own Whatever So again, you you're absolutely right We have to have the right attitude and I think we have to use the right methodology in in every different situation But again reading the saw reading the Psalms together Bible study This is all it really is admonishing one another.

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I'm no more Admonishing you then you should be admonishing me and actually what is it? The Word of God is admonishing us all Right.

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So now if I come up and I and I take this attitude of you don't know what you're talking about So I need to admonish you all I want you to look at the scriptures and see what it says That's not really what we ought to do But if I say brothers and sisters, we really need to set our minds on on the Word of God.

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Let's look at this So again attitude enters into it but certainly we need to discern which if you will which fork we're going to take and One might lead to the other the hope would be that if one leads to another Then we would be able to continually prompt in the in the way of building up right because again It's received instruction is received.

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And now what we want to do is reinforce it and and encourage it further system A lot of people myself included were brought up in the home where there was a lot of criticism, right You know unless unless you're in the word the admonishing could just be taken as something Critic is criticism and not with the with the spirit of blessing.

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So it's um, I think Always has to be up here that This person may be operating under different assumptions and I am Yeah, let me know that if you go back to what we read in Ephesians fathers what? Do not provoke to wrath but rather Bring them up in the nurture of instruction admonition of the Lord.

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I would have to confess.

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I'm guilty When I my kids were growing up, there were many times that the admonition I gave them Wasn't done in the right way and guess what it wasn't received in the right way but that's because it wasn't done in the right way and and and You and I have to be very careful about that and particularly careful in the Church of God Because we're dealing with God's people We need to do it everybody, right? We need to do it in public and and And In all kinds of settings and positions, but particularly amongst the Saints of God We need to be very careful that we have both the right attitude and the right Method involved while you're in Colossians look at Colossians chapter 1 Just flip back.

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There's another one of them in there Colossians chapter 1 in verse 28 And this is really a good summary one if you will of this so It says Paul says him we preach of course speaking of the Lord Jesus him we preach Wanting every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man Perfect in Christ to this end.

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I labor Striving according to the working which works in me mightily now ESV says warning sister.

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Oh Okay, oh It does say warning in the ESV and I know in the in the NIV.

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It says Admonition or admonish in the in the New American Standard says admonishing in the ESV Warning So look at what it's look what Paul is trying to say Warning every man teaching every man again.

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This is not to be the attitude of well You just don't know so I'm gonna teach you It's rather and this was Paul's heart, isn't it? That's why Paul wrote his epistles back to these churches Some of it was more of the admonition again the man sleeping with his father's wife Paul it listen Sin can never be winked at right because God doesn't wink at sin so when there's overt sin, there has to be a extreme action And that might be more corrective and more and and that's a little harder to work through right because there's all kinds of things attached To it, but I believe here and that's the word that's used here It's not that word Luther see ya, but new Luther FECO, which really means to prompt and that's what Paul's doing And that's why he says to this end.

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I labor striving why there it is There's the answer that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus Listen, let me ask you this question Did you come here this morning? to help me Become more like Christ Did I come here this morning to help you become more like Christ Or is that an idea that's never entered our heads? We just come again brothers and sisters all these one another's are to be taken very seriously and the reason to be taken very seriously is because not only you'll be given the instruction for it in the Word of God, but again, we're not dealing with a group of People that have no attachment to the living we're dealing with the ones that Christ died for We're dealing with the ones that God so loved that he sent his only begotten Son So don't you think you and I have this responsibility to try to perfect each other now again you could do that in the wrong way You're not like me so let me help you get like me that's not the point is it It's rather the idea of prompting exhorting encouraging we got just a minute or two once you go to Acts chapter 20 And again, I hope this is becoming a little clearer that every time you see a word It's not always in this well The context will help us decide but there are different words that are used and they use for different reasons and in Acts chapter 20 again, here's this word newt of becko and it has more the idea of Encouraging Prompting trying to move someone forward in a positive way and as Paul talks to the elders at Ephesus And he knows he will see them no more and they know they won't see him anymore and so he gives this counsel and he says Verse 27 I have not shown to declare to you the whole council of God Therefore take he's talking to the elders take heed to yourselves And so all the flock among whom which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God Which he purchased in his own blood for I know this that after my departure Savage wolves will come in not sparing the flock and also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things To draw away the disciples after themselves Therefore watch and remember that for three years.

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I did not cease to New King James says one Other translations say what? Admonish right I have not ceased to warn everyone night and day Now here's another thought sometimes that admonition where it's used in a corrective Disciplinary kind of way is a one-shot deal What I believe Paul is emphasizing here.

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Is that for three years? He did nothing but seek to what? exhort promote prompt Carry along and again, that's the thought brothers and sisters.

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We didn't come here this morning to start picking and pecking at one another We came hopefully we came here this morning to encourage one another to build one another up again These one another's are all relational.

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We have to ask ourselves where which which one of these more characterizes us Again, I I will Confess as I have no choice is true There were times when when my kids were growing up that instead of doing what really should have been The second I Felt I was guilty of the first But we ought to be very careful and very loving with one another.

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Okay, you only got a few minutes left I'm gonna just I Got a first Corinthians chapter 4 Again, this is basically all the times in the New Testament that this word admonish warning Spoken of so I've kind of covered all the the the per descriptions There's one outlier and I will mention it just before we leave but I want you to see this last one if you will in 1st Corinthians chapter 4 and This really bears witness to the attitude purpose desire of the admonishment or admonition, so Paul says in verse 12 we labor Working with our own hands being reviled.

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We blessed being persecuted.

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We endure it being the family and treat We have been made as the filth of the world the off-scouring of all things until now but look at verse 14 I do not write these things to shame you but as my beloved Children, I warn you Admonish you we though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ.

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You don't have many fathers before in Christ Jesus I have forgotten you through the gospel.

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That's another thing brothers Do not ever think Paul is writing in a way of just He's here The churches he's writing to it down there and he's just trying to to get them to understand But it's born out of concern It's born out of purpose Again, that's why I ask us did we come here this morning with purpose and I hope the purpose wasn't just to check the box Hope the purpose was that when you see me and I see you I have this this desire in my heart To allow you to admonish me hopefully Exhort me and build me up and that I will do the same for you You imagine if we trip over one another in seeking to build one another up Provoking one another prompting one though.

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Imagine what it'll be if we seek to just correct one another Right.

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No Paul says and it was in Galatians.

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He says Be careful if you because you all you'll do is bite and devour one another I heard that the other day they were saying that the the Democrats are biting and devouring one another And then the commentator said he thought it was a pretty cool idea, but that's besides important But again brothers and sisters the reason why we're going through these one another is to help to open this up for us So that we see there's a couple more you can look them up there first Thessalonians second Thessalonians I do want to mention the one that's outstanding and I'll just basically read it go to Titus chapter 2 for a minute Titus chapter 2 and This one is interesting.

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Also, we won't have time to really deal with it, but I want you to see this Titus chapter 2 Titus 2 one says but as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine that the older men be sober reverent Temperate sound and faith in love and patience the older women themselves The older women likewise look that they may be reverent in behavior not slanders Not given too much wine teaches of good things and that they admonish The younger women so what to love their husbands Love their children.

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And basically that word is neither Luther C and a new Thetha which a different word altogether.

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It really has the idea of teaching And I would assume the summit anybody have a translation where it says that's what it says teaching.

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Yeah King James Yeah, so but but nevertheless those to translate the new King James or some of the other translations actually addressed it as it Monash so what is the older women supposed to do to the younger women teach him? How it is supposed to teach him well by example by encouragement and at times by admonition right again, all these things fall to us brothers and sisters and I've said it and I'll say it as we close today.

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I truly believe We shall all pay before the judgment seat of Christ never for judgment as a believer Our sins have been removed as far as the East is from the West right and God has cast them into the depth of the Sea to be remembered no more However, I do believe we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and we shall give account of ourselves not only for what we did but for what we neglected to do and I wonder how many of these one another's we're gonna find ourselves Questioned over Because again many people have the idea that it's so-and-so's responsibility or it's Not my place.

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It is our place and so Closing comments as brother Mike would say compliments complaints Brother might go so far as to say anybody want to fight, but we're not going to do that Okay, hope these things are good for us as we go through this let's pray Father we do.

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Thank you for who you are.

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We thank you for these great truths that we've been studying about one another What help us Holy Spirit help us to be more? like the Great Shepherd who in in every way Provided for others.

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He he denied his own self to Restore us to fellowship with you bless us this morning.