Truth in Love. (CALLING OFF CHURCH. HOW TO MAKE THAT DECISION please start at the 3 min mark.)

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Good morning, hope you're doing well. Give me about just a few seconds to set everything up.

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I apologize for the delay. It's just me, and I'm trying to see which internet works the best.

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So I want to set a few things up before we get started. Let's try something else.

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I apologize again for the delay. This is something new, and I'm trying it out. Give me just one more second.

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Okay, we're going to try this. We're going to go with this. We're going to try it. Again, I apologize for the delay.

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My wife is checking to see if it's coming up on my page. It's up on my page?

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Or on my feet? On your feet? There was just too much silence.

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Should I start over again? I don't know. You're already live. I'm already live.

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So this is truth and love. Okay, thank you.

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Mom and Dad says I'm on. I apologize for all the delay. I'm trying something new, trying to see what works best.

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And obviously, I had to wait before I was live to set all this up, and I wasn't sure how to do it.

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And I apologize for all that. This is truth and love, Ephesians 4 .15.

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But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even

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Christ. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family, your community.

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Thank you for stopping by. I really appreciate it. And that's the whole purpose here is

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I want to be able to share the gospel. I want to be able to share the truth and love so that we can, in all things, grow up into him, not in our ways, not in our traditions, not in the way that we want to do things, but grow up in all aspects into him, his ways, his ways of doing things, his ways of doing church.

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And then the third thing is I want to pray for you and with you. So that's my motivation here, and that's why

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I was asking you before, and I want to ask you again this morning, if this has been an encouragement, if this has been any worth to you,

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I would ask that you like, share, comment, so that we can have a greater reach. I want to shed my heart on this so that my motivation is right.

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I don't like asking, but I do want to have a greater reach so that we can get out the gospel, we can be there for our community, we can pray for one another, and we can get the truth out in love.

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So if you're willing to do that, I would really appreciate it. If I can pray for you this morning,

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I'd love to be able to do that. Just type me if you have any questions. Feel free to ask your questions.

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We can talk about the Bible, we can talk about church, or we can talk about some other issue that you'd like to talk about.

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Ask a question. If you would like prayer, just type me.

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Let me know that I can pray for you, or just say hi. Let me know that you're there, and I appreciate you watching.

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What I wanted to talk about this morning was what's probably been on the mind of most folks that go to church, especially our pastors, our elders, our church leaders.

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This is a conversation. This is something that they've had to think through for a few weeks now about whether to cancel, call off their church services.

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I'm not going to presume. What I want to talk about was how do you go about making that decision.

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I'm not going to presume or say that this is how your pastor, your elders, your leaders went about making this decision.

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I can't know that. I haven't spoken with them. But this is one way. This is a way that we can go about making that decision.

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When this time arises, this is a way that we can look into how to make that decision.

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As believers, as church members, we are students of Scripture as well.

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God wants us to read His Word, to meditate on His Word, to know His Word, so that we can know

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Him and know who He is and how we can obey

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Him and how we can live our lives. So we are to be students of Scripture as well.

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When circumstances like this come up, we can know where to go in Scripture, how to think through these things, and how to make the right decision and know that the right decisions are being made.

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We are to do that. It's not just our pastors, our elders, our leaders that should be looking into these things.

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It's us as believers, as students of Scripture.

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We should be looking into these things. So how do we go about making that decision of whether to postpone church, cancel church, call off church?

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How do we go about doing that? There are three places in Scripture that come to my mind that we want to take a look at when it comes to a situation like this where we are being asked to not gather together.

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The first place is Hebrews 10, verses 24 -25.

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Let me read that to you. It says, Now, I'd like for us to remember those two words, love and good.

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Love one another and good deeds. Circle those things, remember those things.

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They're going to come up again in the other passage that we're going to read. Verse 25.

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But encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. So if you've ever been asked the question, if you've ever had the thought, now that I'm a

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Christian, do I have to go to church? Can I just watch it on TV? Can I just watch it online?

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Can I just have my own worship service outside? Do I really have to go to church as a

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Christian? If you've ever answered that question for yourself or given an answer to someone else or someone else has given you the answer, more than likely they have taken you or you've taken someone else to this verse.

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This is the go -to verse about going to church, Ephesians 10 -25.

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It says, We're not to forsake it.

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We are to assemble to get together as a church on a regular basis. We're not to forsake it, not to do it on our own, just stay at home and watch

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TV. We are to assemble together as a church. But it's for a reason.

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And we can't neglect that. See, when we go to this verse, we stop right there.

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Someone asked, do I have to go to church? And you say, yes, Ephesians 10 -25 says you have to go to church because it says,

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It says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. But it's for a reason.

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And those reasons are, we are to consider how to, we are to consider it and then we are to do it, how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.

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And then the other thing is to encourage one another. So we're to stimulate each other to love and good deeds and to encourage one another.

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That's the reason the writer of Hebrews says that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

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We don't want to forget that. We don't want to just take that little section out of this verse.

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We want to know the reason why. And it's important. And it comes up here in this thought process of thinking through, meditating on scripture of when we're asked to cancel church, call off church services, should we do that?

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And these reasons come up and they're good to know when we're thinking through that. So that's the first passage that we want to go to.

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We want to obey God and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We don't want to forsake going to church.

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Good morning, Jeff. Good morning, Janice. Good morning, Danny. Good morning, Judy. Glad you could join us.

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If I can pray for any of you, just let me know. Just type me. If you have a question, I'd love to talk about your question.

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If I don't know, I will let you know that I don't know. And I will look it up if you want to chat.

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Or just say hi. Let me know that you're there. Let me know that you're watching. I'd love to hear from you.

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So Hebrews 10, verse 24 and 25, that's the first passage that we go to when we're thinking through this process.

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And maybe your pastor, your elders, your church leaders use these same verses when they were thinking about whether to have a service or postpone their service.

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The second passage that we want to look at is Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 4 first.

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Let me read that to you. It says, So we are to be in subjection to the authorities in our life because they come from God.

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And then it gets even harder on us. Verse 2. Therefore, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God.

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And they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. Hey, Danny, thank you for waving.

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Good morning to you. Hey, Judy, good morning. Wow. Wow.

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What a weight on our shoulders. We are to be in subjection to the government. And if we don't, then we are heaping condemnation upon ourselves.

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Wow. Serious business. But it gives us reasons for that.

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Verse 3. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior.

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Remember Hebrews chapter 10? We are to stimulate one another to good deeds.

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For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority?

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Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For it is a minister of it, the authorities.

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For it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid.

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For it does not bear the sword for nothing. For it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.

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So God places these authorities in our lives for a good reason.

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To reward the good. They give us praise for our good behavior. And to punish the evil.

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To protect us. To keep us safe. So it was there for a good reason when it's done correctly.

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When it's done according to God's will. So we have good.

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If we do good, we'll get praise and we don't have to worry about the authorities. And keep that in mind from Hebrews chapter 10.

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And then if we skip down just a few verses, look at verses 8 through 10. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.

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For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. So we're back to our authority.

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We're back to the law. And if you love your neighbor, you fulfill the law. For this, you shall not commit adultery.

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You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying.

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You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor.

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Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. So you remember Hebrews chapter 10?

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We are to stimulate each other in good deeds. And to love one another. And to love one another is the fulfillment of the law.

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And if we fulfill the law, then we will receive praise from our authorities. We don't have to be afraid of our authorities.

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We don't have to worry about the wrath of the authorities. The punishment from the authorities.

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Because we are fulfilling the law. We are loving our neighbor. And if we love our neighbor, then we are obeying the commandments of God.

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But here we have a problem. We have two passages that seem to be saying two different things.

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On one hand, in Hebrews, it says, Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

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Hey, Matt, good morning to you. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. And then in Romans 13, it says,

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Be in subjection to the governing authorities. Because they've been put in place by God.

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And our governing authorities, at this current moment, have asked us to not assemble.

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I think maybe there's still a number stipulation.

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I don't know if it's 10 or 50. But at one time it was 50 or more.

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You can't gather together. But the governing authorities in our lives right now are asking us not to gather together.

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But Hebrews 10 says, Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. So what do we do in this predicament?

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Legally, it's 100, Kelly's saying. Recommended? 50.

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And the CDC is 10? Yes. Okay. So that's the recommendation.

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Legally, it's 100. Federally, its recommendation is 50. And the CDC's recommendation is 10.

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So that's what's coming from our governing authorities. But Hebrews is saying,

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Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. So what do we do? How do we reconcile these two verses as leaders, as pastors, as elders, and as a church member, as a student of Scripture, working through these things?

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We've got one more passage that we want to look at before we try to tie all these things together. And this is another popular verse.

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This is in Acts chapter 5, verses 28 and 29. And we're familiar with Peter and his stance that he took here.

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Verse 28 says, And this is coming from the council that arrested them, the

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Peter and the apostles. We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name.

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And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

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Wow, you can hear the motivation of the council. They want them to stop this teaching because it's bringing the guilt of the death of Jesus on their hands.

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Good morning, Destiny. Danny, excuse me, I apologize. The writing is really, really small.

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So the motivation here of the council, it seems to be clear, they do not want the blood of Jesus on their hands.

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So they've told Peter and the apostles to stop teaching in this name. But Peter and the apostles in verse 29 says, they answered them and said,

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We must obey God rather than men. Very popular verse that when it comes to how we live our lives, go about our business, we are to obey

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God rather than men. God's ordinances, commands to us trump anything that can come from man.

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But we got to look at the motivation here. The council, the leaders here, they were wanting to stop the spread of Peter and the apostles' teaching.

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Right? Right. We have to be more specific. They weren't trying to stop

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Peter and the apostles from teaching. They were trying to stop Peter and the apostles from teaching in the name of Jesus.

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And what does that mean? It doesn't mean just like in our prayers, when we say our prayers and we say,

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In Jesus' name we pray, amen. It's not just that simple. When they talk in the name of Jesus, you have to go back to the commands that Jesus gave

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Peter and the apostles. Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and baptize them in the name of the

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Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey all that I have commanded you. For lo,

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I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So it's not just teaching in Jesus' name.

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It is teaching about the kingdom, teaching about the gospel, teaching about Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and his ascension and how he can save us and what he did for us to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness and to bring repentance and forgiveness to the

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Gentiles. They wanted to stop the message of Jesus Christ going forth.

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And Peter said, We must obey God rather than men.

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So does that apply in our circumstance where we have Romans chapter 13,

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Be in subjection to the government, to the governing authorities over you, for God has put them in place.

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And our governing authorities are telling us we don't need to assemble.

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But Hebrews is telling us, Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

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So how do we reconcile those two things? How do we put those two things together?

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Is our circumstance like Peter's and the apostles? And I will say no.

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This is my opinion. This is how I work through these passages, how I work through the circumstances that we're in.

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And I hope that it will encourage you. And I hope that you will take a look at it for yourself.

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But let me go forward with my opinion and you can let me know what you think about it. I say that no, we're not in the circumstance that Peter and the apostles were in.

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That we are to reject what the government is saying and say,

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We must obey God rather than men. Why is that? Well, we got to look at the reasons that the author of Hebrews tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

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To stimulate one another in love and good works and to encourage one another. And we are to teach in Jesus name, which means all those things that I said before.

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So is the government telling us to stop teaching in the name of Jesus?

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Stop teaching about the kingdom. Stop spreading the gospel. Stop baptizing.

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Stop having the Lord suffer. Are they telling us to stop fulfilling the law of love?

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Loving your neighbor, which means that we keep all the commandments of God. If we're loving our neighbor, we're keeping the commandments of God.

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Is the government telling us to not stimulate one another to love, to good deeds?

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Are they telling us to stop encouraging one another? No. The government's not telling us to stop doing those things.

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From my understanding, the government is wanting to protect the people of this country from the spread of a deadly virus.

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And if we take the other stance and we say, We must obey God rather than man, how can we fulfill the obligations of not forsaking ourselves together?

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How can we stimulate one another to love and to good works and to encourage one another? How can we teach in the name of Jesus if we become a statistic?

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It would be hard for us to continue that work here on this earth if we contract the virus.

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It doesn't end well for us. To put it mildly, we can't do those things.

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So I think it's a good thing that the government wants to protect its people from the spread of a deadly virus.

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And I do not think that it is against God's word for us to heed those precautions and not assemble together.

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Because they are not forbidding us from teaching in Jesus' name, from loving one another, doing good deeds, and encouraging one another in the faith.

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They are not trying to stop our faith. They are just trying to stop the spread of a virus.

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So that's my opinion. And if your church, in good conscience, has decided to continue to gather together and they are abiding by the number stipulation and they do not feel like it is a risk to spread this virus, then

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I don't think that you're wrong either. I think that you're making the best decision that you can.

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And you've prayed and you've sought God and you've read Scripture. And you're making the best decision that you can.

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If you are protecting the people and you are abiding by the number stipulation, if you decide to call off your services and choose other means, other methods, to stimulate one another, to love, to give words, and encourage one another, if you've established different ways to spread the gospel, to teach about the kingdom of God, and to speak the truth and love to everyone, then

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I think you're okay as well. So that's my opinion. I'd like to hear your thoughts, hear what you have to say about the issue.

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If you think I'm right on or if you think I'm wrong, I'd love to hear that as well. I always could be wrong on an issue.

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So, if you would like prayer, type me. And I do apologize for the beginning of the video that I took so long.

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I'm trying something new. It's just me trying to figure all this out. And I had to work on some things.

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Good morning, Nicole. I had to work on some things after the stream went live. So I apologize for the delay at the beginning.

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If I can pray for you, let me know. I'd like to be able to pray for you and with you. Just type me. If you have any questions about the subject that we talked about,

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I'd love to try to answer those questions. And again, if this has been an encouragement to you, if you would like to help me have a greater reach, not for anything that has to do with me,

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I just want to have a greater reach for the sake of the gospel, to speak the truth in love, and to be able to pray for you, pray for our community, if someone needs prayer.

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So if you can like, share, comment on these videos,

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I would truly be grateful for your support as we try to have a greater reach to get

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God's word out on Facebook. So without any further ado,

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I'd like to pray as we close. And I'll pray for you who've been watching.

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And I'll pray for the churches that are making these decisions, that are gathering live and in person, or they've chosen to gather online tomorrow.

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We want to pray for those as well. So if you're still with me, please join me in prayer.

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Father, we thank you for this morning that you've given us, that you've seen us up, you've given us a new day, a new day to serve you, to look to you.

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Thank you for your new mercies that you promised, that are new each day. Thank you for the time that you've given us to be in your word.

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And thank you for helping us think through these issues, these current issues that we're facing here in the world.

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Father, we know that you are very aware. You knew about it.

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We know that you allowed it. We know that you have a reason and purpose for it. Father, help us not to waste this time, but to learn what you would have us to learn from the situation.

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Help us to see your face and all things seek your kingdom. Father, I pray for all those that have scrolled by, that have watched this morning, that you will bless them, that you will protect their families, keep them safe.

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And all those who may watch later, Father, I pray for them. As you will bless them, keep them safe.

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Help us to get through this pandemic, this virus. And Father, I pray for a great reform, a great awakening in this country, in this world, that we would not just turn to you in a time of crisis, but Father, that we would remain with you.

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That the gospel would go forth and you would be glorified in all that we do. Father, I pray for all the churches that have had to make hard decisions whether to assemble or whether to not assemble.

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I pray for both. And I pray that you would be with all the pastors and elders, the leaders, that you would be glorified in the songs that are sung, in the message that is presented.

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I pray, Father, for your word. You promised that your word would not return void. And Father, there's so many live streams that are going to be going on this week, tomorrow, and I thank you for that.

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And Father, I pray most of all that if somebody that does not know you, maybe will scroll by, hear the gospel message, and they will turn from their sins and they'll turn to you to be saved.

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Father, we seek your glory in all that we do. We worship you and we thank you for who you are.

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And we thank you again for this time we have together. In Jesus' name, amen. And before I leave,

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I don't want to neglect to share the gospel for anybody who's scrolled by. Good morning, Trent.

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Danny, I will pray for you. Thank you, Nicole. Let me go ahead and pray for Danny.

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Father, we just lift up Danny and his dad to you. The circumstances that they're facing, we ask you to bless them, encourage them.

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They need your arms. They need your hands around them and their family. They need your presence.

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They need your wisdom. They need your love. And Father, I thank you for them and who they are.

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And thank you for their love for you and their love for other people.

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Father, they're such precious people. We lift them up to you and we thank you for them.

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And, again, we ask that you would just hold them tightly and help them in this time.

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In Jesus' name, amen. I don't want to neglect to share the gospel for anybody that has scrolled by, that has stuck with me this long.

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Thank you, Judy. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

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Every single person that has ever lived is fallen. And we need someone outside of this universe to come in and save us.

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And God sent that one as Jesus Christ. We've all broken God's law. We have all stolen.

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We have all lied. On and on and on and on. We have missed the mark. James 2, verse 10, it says,

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If you've kept the whole law and yet you even stumble at one point, you're guilty of it all.

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So we need a Savior. God sent that Savior. His name is Jesus Christ.

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And he said that we must repent of our sins, apologize and turn from our sins, forsake our sins, and turn to him in faith, trusting in him to save us.

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He says he will give us a new heart, a new life with new desires, and we can live for eternity with him.

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And that eternity will start as soon as he saves us. And so you can begin that eternity with him today if you will turn from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ to save you.

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So if you've not done that, I would encourage you to do that today. And if you would like prayer, just type me, and I'll see that during the week, and I'll be glad to pray for you.

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I hope you have a blessed day. Jesus is King. Go live in victory. And go proclaim the gospel.