Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship

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Sermon Title: His Commandments Are Not Burdensome Sermon Text: 1 John 5:1-3

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I need a hymnal.
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Can you get a hymnal? It's swollen from the water.
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You know, I think water might be helpful today. All right, let's take just a moment and prepare our hearts for worship.
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Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome to the corporate worship of our
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God. Please stand. Call to worship today is taken from Zephaniah chapter three.
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Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel.
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Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
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The Lord has taken away your judgments. He has cast out your enemy.
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The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more.
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And that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Do not fear. Zion, let not your hands be weak.
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The Lord your God is in your midst. The mighty one will save.
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He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love.
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He will rejoice over you with singing. The Lord is singing over us, his people, and we resound back to him, his singing over us in worship.
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Come now, let us worship him. Please pray with me. O Lord, we thank you for your loving care for us.
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We thank you that there is no fear in our hearts because of you. You are our king and you are in our midst.
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You have quieted us with your love. You cause us to rejoice because you have rejoiced over us.
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O Lord, we pray that our worship would be acceptable in your sight. We pray that you would turn our cold hearts and set them aflame with holy affections for you.
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O Lord, on this day, when we take comfort in your provision for us through the storm,
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I pray that you'd fill our hearts with thanksgiving and gladness and joy. And we ask this all in Jesus name.
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Amen. Please kneel for the corporate confession of sin.
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Let us join together now with one voice confessing our sins. Jesus, forgive my sins.
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Forgive the sins I remember, sins that I've forgotten, suffered in the face of corruption.
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Forgive the times and those when I have failed to boast in your works.
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Forgive the harsh judgments I have made of others and the leniency I have shown myself.
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Forgive the lies I have told others and the truths I have avoided. Forgive me the pain
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I have caused others and the indulgence I have shown myself. Jesus, have mercy on me and make me whole.
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Amen. Please stand. He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
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For if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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People of God take heart today. If you be in Christ, your sins are forgiven.
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Amen. Amen. Please take up the hymnal now and turn to number 370.
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Oh, excuse me, 570. Faith of our fathers, 570.
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May our children's children say this about us. 570.
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Let us begin. Amen. Please find the insert and the
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Psalm of the week, Psalm 93. And the tune we'll be using is,
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I love thy kingdom, Lord. This is Psalm 93a. The Lord is crowned as king.
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The tune, I love thy kingdom, Lord. Let us begin. Reading of the scripture today is from Genesis 25.
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I'm going to ask you to remain standing for the reading of that word. Genesis 25.
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Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him
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Zimran, Jokshan, Midan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
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Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Dedan were Ashurim, Latushim, and Laomim.
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And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Ephur, Hanak, Abida, and Eldah.
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All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
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But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had.
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And while he was still living, he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
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This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years.
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Then Abraham breathed his last, and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
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And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the
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Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.
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And it came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son Isaac.
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And Isaac dwelt at Bir Lahairoi. Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom
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Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names according to their generations.
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The firstborn of Ishmael, Nemajoth, then Kedar, Abdil, Mibsam, Mishma, Duma, Masa, Hedar, Tima, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedema.
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These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.
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These were the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years, and he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.
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They dwelt from Havalah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.
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He died in the presence of all his brethren. This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son.
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Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel, the
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Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. Now Isaac pleaded with the
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Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebecca, his wife, conceived.
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But the children struggled to gather within her, and she said, If all is well, why am
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I like this? So she went to inquire of the Lord, and the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your womb.
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Two peoples shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.
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So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed, there were twins in her womb, and the first came out red.
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He was like a hairy garment all over, so they called his name Esau.
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Afterward, his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel, so his name was called
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Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them.
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So the boys grew, and Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field.
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But Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents, and Isaac loved
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Esau because he ate of his game. But Rebecca loved Jacob. Now Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary, and Esau said to Jacob, Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.
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Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, Sell me your birthright as of this day.
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And Esau said, Look, I am about to die, so what is this birthright to me? Then Jacob said,
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Swear to me as of this day. So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob, and Jacob gave
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Esau bread and stew of lentils. Then he ate and drank, arose and went his way.
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Thus Esau despised his birthright. This is the word of the
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Lord. Thanks be to God. Things are heating up in Genesis.
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Looking forward to our continued walk through there. Let us now confess our faith with the joyful singing of the
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Apostles' Creed. Let us begin. I believe in God the
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Father, Jesus Christ His only begotten
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Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the
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Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.
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He descended into hell, He rose again,
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He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right to judge the living and the dead.
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Holy Spirit, I believe the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body.
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We take up the hymnal once more and turn to number 32.
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Great is thy faithfulness, number 32. Let us begin.
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Let's make preparations now for the prayers of the people.
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We are doing the Lord's Prayer today. After this manner, therefore, which art in heaven, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
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Amen. Pray that we may glorify God in all that we do, as we live and work in the creation that displays
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His power, and be pleased to dispose all things to His own glory.
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Pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it, and the kingdom of glory hastened.
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Ideologies and philosophies in our families, in our communities. We pray,
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Lord, that we would take every thought to happen in Christ. Pray that God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins.
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And we are encouraged to ask this because by His grace, we are able from the heart to forgive others.
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Lord, hear our prayers. Our sins are too many to count.
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But Father, the blood poured out by Jesus Christ on the cross covers us. And Father God, we take full trust and confidence in the work of your
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Son on the cross. Father, I pray that you would remind us of these things, that we would constantly seek and do our forgiveness from you.
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And Father, that we would, by seeking your forgiveness, know that you are powerful to give us. We pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or support and deliver us when we are tempted.
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Lord, hear our prayers. Our Father, taking encouragement and prayer from you alone.
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In our prayers, we praise you, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to you.
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And to testify of our desire and assurance to be heard, we say together. Amen.
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Please stand and take up the Psalm of the Month. Psalm 133.
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DJ says we're singing it well, so praise the Lord for that. Let us sing it to the glory of God.
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Psalm 133. Amen.
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Please remain standing for the reading of the word. We are now in 1
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John chapter 5, the last chapter in our study in 1
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John. This is
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God's holy and infallible word. 1 John chapter 5.
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Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
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And everyone who loves him who begot also loves him who is begotten of him.
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By this we know that we love the children of God. When we love
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God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments.
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And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
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And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.
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Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God.
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This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not only by water, but by water and blood.
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It is the spirit who bears witness because the spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven.
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The father, the word, and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one.
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And there are three that bear witness on earth. The spirit, the water, and the blood.
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And these three agree as one. If receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.
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For this is the witness of God, which he has testified of his son. He who believes in the son of God has the witness in himself.
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He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his son.
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And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life.
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And this life is in his son. He who has the son of God, he who has the son, excuse me, has life.
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He who does not have the son of God does not have life. These things
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I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
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And that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God. Please pray with me now.
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Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
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We believe that Jesus is the Christ. And therefore we are born of God.
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Oh Lord, I pray that that faith would yield love for you and love for the brethren, but also a love and an earnest desire to keep your commandments.
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Oh Holy Spirit, we ask that you would do a work in us, that we would mortify sin and clothe ourselves in the righteousness of Christ.
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We ask all this in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated.
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I originally intended to preach the first five verses when I started thinking about chapter five, but I'm going to do two shorter messages instead of one longer one.
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And I think it'll be more focused for us to consider verses one through three today in our message.
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It's important that we remember that God has given us his word, not to confuse us, but to reveal himself to us.
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He is disclosing about his character and he is telling us what we are required to do as his children.
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So anytime we crack open the word, be it in our own devotional life, in our family time of devotions, or particularly under the preaching of the word on Sundays, we should be attentive.
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We should be sitting on the edge of our seat because God is speaking to us through his word.
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And today we have three verses only to consider in first John five. The title of the message today is his commandments are not burdensome.
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His commandments are not burdensome. For those of you who need an outline,
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I forgot to put it on slack. First, very simply, born of God. It's right there in verse one.
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Second is found in verse two, loving God and keeping his commandments.
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And three, the third verse, his commandments are not burdensome.
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Born of God, loving God and keeping his commandments. His commandments are not burdensome.
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It's important again for us to reflect upon the reason that John has written.
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What is his purpose in writing? And as we've gone through the book, we've seen how prominent love is, but he's also started at the outset and it's here in our text today.
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Eternal life is found in Jesus Christ alone. There is no salvation.
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There is no eternal life apart from Christ. We sometimes think about our
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Jewish friends. We think they're misguided because they haven't fully embraced Jesus. They don't know
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God. They don't know God, the father, because they have rejected Jesus, the son.
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We must remember that. We have friends who seem well -intentioned, who seem to have a modicum of a
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Christian worldview. But if they do not believe in the exclusivity of salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ, they are not saved.
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They are in danger of the judgment. They need to be implored.
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They need to be convinced. They need to be admonished to repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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And John has said it at the outset and it's been interspersed. We must never be untethered, unanchored from Christ and his gospel.
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Think about that section as we read in chapter five, how many times he said that you continue to believe in the name of the son of God.
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We too believe that Jesus is the Christ. But that genuine faith in Christ alone brings about something else.
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It brings us into fellowship with God, the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. And which has been so central to John's thinking, it causes us to be in fellowship and in communion with one another, with all of those who believe in him.
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And it seems that understanding of our fellowship with God and with his people is a source and leads to the fullness of joy, according to John.
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But there are also, if you'll remember, three threats against that fellowship.
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First, false teachers who deny that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he's come in the flesh.
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All of the implications of Christ in the gospel. It's not just disbelieving the incarnation, it's a disbelief in Christ.
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Second, and this hits very close to home for us, there's a danger and a threat to our fellowship with God and with one another, and it's worldliness.
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Worldliness is a real and legitimate threat to our communion with God and one another.
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And third, and maybe most prominently in John, the want of Christian love.
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We have to remember that love is really the linchpin of our faith in Christ.
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We have been loved of God, therefore we love God and we love his people. And today,
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John tells us again, we love and keep his commandments.
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If you've been born of God, you have three loves. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the brethren.
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And again, very heart searching today, his commandments. Let's get into the exegesis of the text.
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First, let's look again at verse one. Whoever believes that, of course, is that Greek word that we get faith from, pistis.
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A form of that word. But believing here is to entrust.
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It's used by John of various degrees of faith.
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Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ from its first beginnings, its incipient stirring in the heart and soul of a man up to the fullest of assurance.
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It is this idea of believing. We think about believing as a one time act.
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Believing is the characteristic of the Christian life. We believe. He admonishes us to continue to believe at the end of this section, to continue to believe in the name of the
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Son of God. It also, believing also repudiates all the various things which, aside from Christ, are commended as a means of salvation.
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We're not saved by our obedience. We're not saved by coming to church.
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We can attach religious things and say these are the ways in which we're saved.
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When in fact, the person of Christ and his work and his grace, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts.
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This is the only means of salvation. There is an exclusivity in believing that Jesus is the
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Christ. It is a belief that trusts in an absolute sense.
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I am jumping into eternity trusting that I will land safely in the arms of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. What takes us to another word that we say so much?
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The name of Jesus is often attached with it, Christ. It's not his last name.
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Sometimes we think maybe it's his last name, but the Christ means he's the anointed one.
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Jesus is the anointed one. Jesus is the Messiah. He is that coming king that Israel long waited for, who the
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Jews expected to be the savior of their nation and the author of their highest good.
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John here declares that this Jesus, the son of God, is the long awaited
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Messiah. He's the one who's going to bring life and life abundantly.
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We must look upon Jesus as our life, not only as our salvation from hell, but our life itself, our life in this earthly body and in the future and eternity.
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Jesus is our life. He's our Messiah. He is our savior.
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He is the anointed one. And we are blessed because we are united to the anointed one, the
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Christ. If you believe this, it says in our text, you are born of God.
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This is an amazing thing for us to consider. We've already discussed this in John, 1
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John, that we are children of God. We usually think about this in procreation, a descendant.
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But here we should understand that we have been inborn with God's spirit.
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We have been made alive in Christ. We are
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God's offspring. And in that Jewish sense, one who brings others over to his way of life as a father bears resemblance to his children, his children to their father.
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So, too, those born of God began to be brought over to God's side of things.
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And there's something peculiar about John's usage of born in both the gospel and in this first epistle.
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It is God conferring upon men the nature and disposition of his sons.
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This is a work of God himself. When David preaches the gospel in the streets, it's not because of the craftiness of David's message.
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If someone is born again, it's because God has conferred upon men that nature and disposition of sonship.
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He imparts to them spiritual life by his own holy power. So if you are a
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Christian, if you're here today, you have been born of God. And it's been because of God's powerful working in you.
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He has made you his son. He's done it by his own holy power.
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That's why the exclusivity of faith is how we're saved. We don't earn it.
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We don't merit it. It's only because God has worked powerfully in us.
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This is how we become born of God. His own holy power prompts and persuades souls to put their faith in Christ and which we are talking about today, which so central to this message today in our section is and to live a new life that is consecrated to himself.
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It's not only the get out of hell pass, it is a new manner of living.
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Christ is our life. God has taken us to be his sons and daughters.
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Consequently, we've been born of God. That means that we live a new and a different kind of life.
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As a result, first one continues, it says everyone who loves him referring to God, certainly referring to Christ, the begetter, the one who begot also loves him.
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This is the brethren who is begotten of him. And I think we tend to think about this as first being
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Christ. Certainly we love the son of God. But I think the interpreters of the
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New King James did it right when they capitalized the first him and not the second.
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The second him is the people of God, those who have been begotten of him.
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We've been talking about this at length in First John.
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The rationale continues. In verse two, the
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Christian born of God is united to the only begotten son. He also loves those who are born of him.
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And that takes us to verse two, which says by this, we know that we love the children of God.
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See how that connects to the verse before. We love those who are begotten of him.
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We love all of the children. I have to stop you again and ask, do you love all of God's people?
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Do you love the Armenians? Do you love the dispensationalist? Do you love those who have different theological stripes than you?
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If they be in Christ, they are our brethren. We are called to love them in spite of our differences.
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I implore you to shed your hatred and discuss with some of God's people.
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If they be in Christ, we love them. We can take great exception with them. We can have great debates with them.
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We can challenge them in their errant doctrine. But we can't stop loving them because they have been loved by God just like we have.
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By this, we know that we love the children of God. And here it is, the central part of our message today.
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When we love God and keep his commandments.
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I'd like us to turn back to John's gospel in chapter 14, please.
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John chapter 14. We believe in a faith that works.
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Believing is not a work, but genuine faith produces a work.
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John 14, beginning at verse 15. It says, if you love me, keep my commandments.
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It sounds like our text, doesn't it? There is no loving
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God without a yearning and earnest desire to keep his commandments.
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We all should be challenged here. We all have been products and experience easy believism.
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We believe in a gospel that's very easy. When in fact, it's so hard that it took the son of God going to the cross.
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And if we believe there is an ethical, a moral obligation for us as those who are born of God, who have their life identity rooted and founded in Christ to now love all of the things that he loves.
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He fulfills every demand of God's law because it was required of him.
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And so we too must desire and seek after obedience to all of his commandments.
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Verse 16 of chapter 14 of John's gospel says, and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper.
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That he may abide with you forever. Just for a sneak peek, we're going to be talking more about the spirit's work,
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Lord willing, next week. It comes up in our text. So you see, John has this mind here that this teaching of Jesus that he heard with his own ears.
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He's really expounding on it in his epistle in 1 John 5. The spirit of truth, verse 17, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
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But you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you.
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We are the sons of God. Verse 18. I will not leave you as orphans.
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I will come to you. So this sonship is also a promise that we will not be orphaned.
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And this prevention of orphan like behavior in us is accomplished by the indwelling of the
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Holy Spirit. Again, more of that will come next week, Lord willing. A few more verses here in verse 19, starting in John 14 again.
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A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.
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Because I live, you will live also. At that day, you will know that I am in the
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Father and you and me and I and you. Isn't that glorious? It sounds like the high priestly prayer of John 17.
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I am in the Father and you're in me and I'm in you. We are united to the
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Christ, the anointed one, the son of God. And because we're united to the Christ, the son of God, we're united to God, the
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Father. And because we're united to God, the Father, the Holy Spirit dwells within us.
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Spectacular in all of its elements. Verse 21, he who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.
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Young ladies, someday a young man will come into your life making a lot of promises about how much he loves you, but there has to be accompanying actions.
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Talk is cheap. Men have learned that they can use words and they can convince ladies to do things.
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Talk is cheap. Jesus says, my love will not be cheapened by mere words.
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If you say you love me, the actions have to accompany the words.
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He who has my commandments and keeps them, those are the ones that love me.
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We make great boasts in our theological knowledge. We take great stock in our learning.
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Does our actions match our words? Do we really love him?
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Do we want to keep his commandments? Now we know we can't do this perfectly. We know we need a savior, but we have one in Christ that should spur us on to greater heights of obedience because he has trailblazed the path for us that we might walk in these works.
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If you love me, keep my commands. The one who loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
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Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?
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Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.
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Isn't that what this is all about? Why we've gathered here today that God, the dwelling place of God, dwells with men.
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We are the abode of God. God dwells with us, his people, because of this love.
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We've been united to Christ in faith. We have the Holy Spirit. We are the sons of God.
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But listen to verse 24. He who does not love me does not keep my words.
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And the word which you hear is not mine, but the father who sent me.
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Don't turn there, but make your way back to our text. And I'm going to read something from the
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Sermon on the Mount. Very early, it happens. And it kind of puts to rest this idea that obedience doesn't matter.
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We don't have a cheap grace here. We don't have an easy believism. We have a miraculous work of God transforming sinners into sons.
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So we have the power now and the ability because God dwells within us.
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He's come and made his home with us. We now have this great capacity for obedience and, in fact, an affinity and a love for it.
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We should. Jesus says early in the Sermon on the
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Mount, Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
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For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled.
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The jots and tittles are the small marks over Hebrew and Greek words, horns and accent marks.
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In excruciating detail, Christ is going to keep the law. So commandments are not insignificant to God.
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Commandments are important to God so much that Jesus is going to fulfill it to the letter and even to the breathing marks, the horns of the
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Hebrew alphabet. He's going to bring every detail he's going to fulfill. Whoever, therefore, breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
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But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
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You should already be back at first John. When we love
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God, we keep his commandments. A commandment is a charge, an injunction, a prescribed rule.
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In an ethical sense, in a biblical sense, it's used of the commandments of the
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Mosaic law, the Ten Commandments and all of the implications of them.
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It also means the commandments of God, especially as is promulgated in the
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Christian religion. Think about the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus's clarity and fullness, which he adds, not taking one jot or tittle away from the law, but showing the depth and breadth of it.
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This is what Jesus preached, his commandment keeping the moral precepts of Christ here, the commandments and his apostles, the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity.
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We don't pick and choose some commandments and not the others. And that's very popular in our day.
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We emphasize some. We're very zealous about a few of them. And we're not so zealous about the others.
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Commandments don't have that wiggle room. We have to keep them, which means we have to carry them out.
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We have to execute them as they are given. We have to perform and accomplish what they require.
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We have to do the thing of keeping commandments. This should be very challenging for you.
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We didn't pray through the Ten Commandments today. But if we were to take some stock and inventory of the
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Ten Commandments, I can think of glaring violations in the Ten Commandments even today.
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I've not thought rightly about God. I've not thought rightly about my neighbor. You and I must have greater discipline, greater integrity about keeping the commandments of God.
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Well, it takes us to the third verse and really where the message lands in our hearts.
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This is the love of God that we keep his commandments.
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Do you love the commandments? Do you view them as restrictive?
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The commandments of God are not burdensome to the Christian because of the relationship, the communion he enjoys with God.
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The mind of God is revealed to us in the scripture. The Holy Spirit dwells within us.
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We look to the exemplar Jesus and we see the commandments being perfectly fulfilled.
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We see it being walked out in flesh. We see it being performed perfectly.
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There are three reasons why the commandments could be burdensome to us. And it's because of the three enemies that we face on a daily basis.
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The world, the flesh, and the devil. The enemy has a predictable plan.
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He's been using it. He keeps going back to the playbook because it works. He says to us, did
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God really say? He says to us, that's not really that important.
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There's an implication. He tries to deceive us by saying that God is withholding something from us.
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We have to fundamentally believe and have a different view of God's law and his commandments.
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This is the better way to live. The world has nothing for us.
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I say that to my children all the time. That world out there has nothing for us. God has given us everything we need.
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And this is the better way to live. This isn't a restriction that takes away our joy.
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In fact, when we get into this river of blessing, of obedience, we find fullness of joy.
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How do you think Adam and Eve felt prior to being deceived by the serpent and willfully, in Adam's case, disobeying the command of God?
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Do you think they felt better after the fall? They didn't. Why are we so foolish?
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Does Israel do better when they disobey the commands of God? Or are they crushed under the chastening?
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Are they crushed under the weight of exile and being conquered by enemies? Why do we fall for the enemy's deception?
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God is not withholding one good thing from us. In fact, he's given us everything and giving us his son and giving us
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Christ. The enemy has a predictable plan.
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He's like a roaring lion prowling around seeing who he could devour.
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And we say, oh, enemy, we see your wiles. We know your deceptions.
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You say the commandments of God are burdensome. We say they're not in faith.
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Second, his commandments become burdensome to us when we succumb to the sins of the flesh.
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The sin nature of fallen man in you, the old man in you, inclines your hearts for sin.
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I often think of the illustration of the heroin addict. It's going to kill him, but he has to take it.
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We have to be convinced again and again. We have to believe that feeding our sin nature is destructive to us.
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Sabotaging our joy, it sabotages our peace. It causes a fissure between us and the
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Lord. We view God's commandments as burdensome when we feed the flesh.
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And in fact, it seems that this is the precursor to a lot of great falls, even the recent fall of a prominent pastor.
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It's to forget that Christ is better, that the new life that he gives and supplies by the power of his spirit is better than the old one.
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We have to wage war against our own flesh because our flesh still wants things that are bad for us.
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And finally, the world. Everything you consume, all of the images on the billboards, what's on the radio, what's on your phone, the unbelieving system says that the commandments of God are burdensome.
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It's too heavy a load to carry. It would be too heavy a load if it not be not for Christ.
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But we have Christ and his yoke is easy. His burden is light.
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Do you believe that his commandments are not burdensome? It requires some effort.
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Burdensome in the original means properly heavy. It's weighty.
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It's even described in the scriptures as something that is grievous. It presses down on a person with an oppressive force and an unbelief feels the weight of God and it presses him down.
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But the Christian has a new affinity because he sees it for what it is. It's an act of love for God, from God to his people.
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Burdensome is such a grievous burden that it makes a person unable to function or enjoy free movement.
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The lies of the world, the flesh and the devil said God's commands are burdensome.
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They're weighty. They're heavy. But faith, faith in Christ lifts the weight and the pressure gives way to true freedom.
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Again, Christ's yoke is easy. And his burden is light.
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You think obedience is painful. Wait to experience the pain of disobedience.
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This requires some soul searching and maybe a little bit more time and application. Let's go to that now.
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What is your disposition toward the commandments of God in scripture?
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Do you see that there is life? Think about Psalm 119. We've sung a portion of that recently.
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It's a big, long psalm from A to Z in the Hebrew alphabet. It tells us the blessings of God's law and his commandments.
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That there's life to be found there because they point us to Christ, the one who keeps the law and give us a pattern of living, a fruitful and joyful and thankful pattern of living.
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Children, do not fall prey to the lies of the enemy. Put down even your young flesh.
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Do not listen to the world. The commandments of God are life and liberty.
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They are not burdensome to the child of God. What is your disposition toward God's commands?
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The second part of that question, and this is harder, are you actively and earnestly seeking to obey them?
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We have to acknowledge in some ways the answer is no. We need to repent of that today.
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We need to earnestly seek out, search out the scriptures, that we might know what those commandments are, and we must earnestly desire to obey them, trusting him to bless us in our striving for obedience.
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Third part of this question. Do you truly believe that God's way is not only right?
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There's kind of this resignation sometimes among the people that I know I should obey the commands.
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I know that it's right. It just doesn't feel as good. I know it's right. But do you actually believe in faith in Christ because you're children of God that it tends toward your highest good?
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It's an act of faith. It's an act of believing that God's way is better. It's better for one man to be married to one woman for life than it is to have a bunch of girlfriends.
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It's so much better. You believe it tends toward your joy and highest good.
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It's an act of faith. It does. Second, remember in our study of James that just as faith without works is dead, so too love for God without obedience turns out to be not love for God at all.
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You cannot say that you love him without actions. The sentiment must be matched with action.
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You must keep his commandments. And when you fail, you must run to Christ again in faith and say, thank you,
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Jesus, for keeping the commandments. Enable me to keep them more competently.
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Help me to be more faithful to walk in your ways. Third, we have to be honest with ourselves.
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We know we've learned recently that God loves us and he wants us to come to him in integrity and honesty.
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He actually knows our sin and he understands our sin. We too have to be honest about our sin.
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In what ways today are you committing or cherishing sin? Holy Spirit, I pray that you would uproot this in the hearts of these your people today.
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What are you failing to do? There are sins. There are great sins of omission. There are things we should be doing that we're not doing.
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These are great sins of omission. And we need to know what they are that we might start acting appropriately.
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What may be more heart searching for us are what commandments are we rebelliously, blatantly defying?
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What sins are we committing? Are we comfortable with? I pray that today you would no longer be comfortable in your sin.
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And the Holy Spirit would pluck it out of you and uproot it and you would set fire to it never to turn back again.
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Act today, do the good you ought to do, turn from every transgression, repent, adopt
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God's precepts, his commandments as your own. And finally, all of this requires faith.
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It requires a powerful working of the Holy Spirit. And we've learned that God has furnished both of those for us.
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He's given us faith. He's given us his Holy Spirit. We now have the power within us by God's help to keep his commandments to turn from sin.
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You need today to believe that the Lord's way is far superior to the ways of the world, to the ways of our old man, the flesh, and to that great deceiver, the ways of the devil.
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Brethren, the whole of human history is a proof positive of the failure of men when they've said that God's commandments are burdensome.
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Every pain, every suffering you see is a result of this. You have previously become expert at seeing sin in others.
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You can identify sin in the culture. It's very easy. But can you hold up the mirror of God's word and see the sin in yourself?
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Oh, Holy Spirit, we ask you again to show us our sin. Give us the courage and the resolve, the faith to mortify it.
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And finally, you and I have been great sinners, but it's been said many times, most famously by Newton, we have great need of Savior.
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We have a great Savior for our need, Christ. Ask for forgiveness today.
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Trust in Christ, the one who saves. Do not wallow in guilt and self -pity.
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But today, turn from those things and walk in the newness of life that God has furnished and supplied for us in him.
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The Lord has given us many commandments. His commandments are not burdensome to us.
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We have believed we must believe again, and we need to believe again tomorrow and the next day until we die that Jesus is the
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Christ. We love everyone who has been begotten of him.
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We love his children. We love his people and all of our deficiencies. Oh, Lord, we ask that you would shore it up by your grace and mercy.
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Help us to have an earnest and sincere love for you and for your people. Give us a holy desire.
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Stir up affection in us that we would keep your commandments. And oh, Lord, help us to exercise this great faith.
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And see and attest and prove that your commandments are not burdensome.
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We ask all this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us now continue our worship, the presentation of tithes and offerings.
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Please stand. Let's pray together. Oh, Lord, we thank you for your provision.
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You've supplied all of our need, both materially and most importantly, spiritually. Oh, Lord, help us to have great faith, to be obedient to your command, to give to the work of your church for the advance of your kingdom.
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We ask, oh, Lord, in humility that you accept these gifts and they would be used faithfully to preach your gospel, to make disciples and to declare the crown rights of King Jesus.
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We ask this all in Jesus' name. Let us now give glory to God in the singing of.
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As the Lord be with you.
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Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the
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Lord. It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you, oh, holy
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Lord, Father, almighty, everlasting God, because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life, that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
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Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we praise and magnify your excellent name, evermore praising you and singing.
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Please be seated and ask you to pray with me now.
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Oh, Lord, we rejoice in the thought that you've come by water and blood.
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You've lived a sinless life. You've atoned for our sin and you've brought us into the love of God.
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Through yourself, we thank you for the creatures of bread and wine, which communicate to us the body and blood of Christ and him crucified for us.
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And oh, Lord, we ask that we would be further bound to you by the right use of this sacrament, that we would be united to you and to one another, all who believe in you by virtue of your sacrifice and the gift of the sacrament, which ties it all to us.
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Oh, Lord, enable us to renew covenant with you. We believe your gospel, Lord, and we ask that we would believe it again and again.
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We have been faithless, but you remain faithful. Oh, Lord, thank you for keeping covenant with us and providing a remedy for all of our sin.
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Causing us to walk in your ways. We ask this all in Jesus name. Amen.
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Our Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread. Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying,
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This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Drink from it, all of you. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
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Lord's death. Therefore, we proclaim the faith.
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Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Let's approach the table now by praying together in unison.
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We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.
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You're not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same
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Lord who always shows mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son,
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Jesus Christ, and to drink of his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed with his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him and in us.
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Amen. Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let's keep the peace.
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The gifts of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to the Lord. We've had the privilege of coming into the
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Lord's presence by being called into it. We've confessed our sins.
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We have been assured of our forgiveness in Christ. We have sung psalms to him. We've learned from his word, and now we've feasted at his table.
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It's appropriate for us to make this commitment together now. Let us begin.
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Almighty and ever -living God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of your
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Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your
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Son and, O Lord, grant us this other benefit, that you will never allow us to forget these things, but having them imprinted on our hearts, may we grow and increase daily in the faith which is at work in every good deed.
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Now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our
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Lord, to him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit, in honor and glory, now and forever.
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Amen. Please stand. I'm going to sing the doxology.
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Praise God from his love.
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His presence with his blessing. Receive it now. The Lord bless you and keep you.
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The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace.