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- Luke 12, the twelfth chapter contains the record of the tremendous ministry of our
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- Lord, and Luke adds some new things, beginning with 12 .1,
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- In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto the disciples, first of all,
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- Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
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- What does trod mean? They were trampling each other.
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- Now, the leaven of the Pharisees, because it's contagious.
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- Joy, are you a hypocrite when you're a
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- Christian and you act like you're not? Are you a hypocrite when you're not a
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- Christian? Yes. Like the old colored man said,
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- You be what you is, not what you ain't. Because if you is what you ain't, you ain't what you is.
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- This is a period of time when Christ's ministry peaked. Great crowds of people were following him.
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- It was at this time that he performed so many of his miracles. Christ warns the crowd about the leaven of the
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- Pharisees. Now, if leaven symbolizes the gospel as many people think it does, why would the
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- Lord warn his disciples against it? Well, leaven represents sin.
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- For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nothing hid that shall not be known.
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- John, are you in here? Yeah. What's he mean by that statement?
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- Well, I've done some things that I just assumed that people didn't know. You mean
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- I can't hide it from him too? Therefore, whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
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- And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more, and they that have no more than that they can do.
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- People can kill you, but that's all they can do. There's only so much that anybody can do to you.
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- He can kill you, and that only by the will of God. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear.
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- Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast him to hell.
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- Yea, I say to you, fear him. Now, Virge, who's he talking about?
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- God. Christians, for the most part, are fearfully ruled by the opinion of society.
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- That's too bad. We are no better Christian, for the most part, than society demands of us, even the best of us.
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- Now, here in the church among Christians, as you said, it's easy to act
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- Christian. It's easy to say, yes, I love the Lord. But, John, it takes on a little bit different color when you go to work, and it should.
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- Well, that's true.
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- The great mass of men are protected from gross sin by forms of society.
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- Brian, I'd rather not think like that, but that's true. The laws that are noble and good, the prospect of loss of character, all come into play long before their
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- Christian principles have time to act. I dare say the first thing that you react to in a crisis is the crisis itself, and what will people think.
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- The question is, would you not fall like others if the society restraints were withdrawn?
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- What do you think, Virge? Would we not fall like others if the society restraints were withdrawn?
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- If the society's restraints were taken away, would we not fall like others?
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- Joy? Well, that's true, but if those laws were suddenly taken away, they surely are.
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- Yes. John?
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- Yes. Well, we are different and we are separate, but I don't know if we show it all the time.
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- It has to become part of you, Brian. You've got a good start on it.
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- Yes. Yes. And we all do right within our own eyes.
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- Is our charity to others as much private as public? Fasting is not looked upon anymore as being needed, so we quit doing it.
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- I fear we seek the praise of men if it is mostly public.
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- Therefore, we too, as the Pharisees, are practicing hypocrisy.
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- Nothing shall be hid. Everything shall be known. Six. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
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- You know, our Lord's public rebuke of the religious leaders would, of course, bring their wrath down upon his head, and his disciples could expect the same kind of treatment from them that brought the wrath down upon his head.
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- Lord Jesus gives them these words of comfort, an assurance of God's care for them, since he sees the fall of a sparrow, he is fully aware of the needs of those who are teaching and preaching his word.
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- Seven. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
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- Fear not them, ye are of more value than the sparrows, but even the very hairs of your head are numbered.
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- Well, I used to have a lot of hair. Barbara'd have to send it every time.
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- I don't have much hair anymore. It's not so hard to number them, but that's not what he's talking about.
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- He's talking about the very smallest, most minute item of your person is more valuable than a sparrow, and he notes the fall of a sparrow.
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- Also I say unto you, whose soul shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God.
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- You know, the penalty of cowardice is terrible. I'm gonna ask how many cowards are present, because none of you would own up to it.
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- But the coward is denied. What? Yes.
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- Did you start to say something? When you wave a hand around,
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- I can't tell. Well, do you want to say something?
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- He is denied, not only by one who says that he is in Jesus the
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- Christ, but by one who, when he is a Christian, says that he is not.
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- You know, we really, we don't have it very rough here.
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- We're not tested very much here, but you never know where you will go next or who will come in.
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- Our spiritual life growth depends upon our listening to what,
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- Joy? To study, prayer, meditating.
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- If we do this in faithfulness, he will work in our souls, and in time of difficulty, he'll teach us what to say.
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- Just commit it to him. But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
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- And to claim that God answered your prayer because you prayed is a sin against God.
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- I want to stop with this verse, but I want to get it real, real clear in your mind.
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- Brian, does God change? That was easy. No, he doesn't.
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- Brian, can you pray to God and get him to change? Then why, what is prayer?
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- He didn't answer that one so quick. Why pray? All right.
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- Somebody back there had a statement. I know I saw a hand.
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- All right.
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- You see, God is sovereign. Now that ought to be enough to convince everybody.
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- But you'd be surprised how people put qualities on that sovereignty. They say, yes, he's sovereign, but I have to decide myself whether I'm going to be saved or not.
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- Yes, he's sovereign, but that doesn't control my life. I have to do that.
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- It's already been done, folks. God has already done everything.
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- If he has done it and is going to do it in our life, then by praying, we won't change it.
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- But he does it by prayer. Prayer is as much in the working of his will in this life as anything that there is.
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- But he does not do it because you prayed. You prayed in order for him to do it.
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- Yet it's already done. Now if that's not an oxymoron,
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- I don't know what it is. But it has all been done.
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- He has controlled everything. Therefore, I should worry about nothing, but I do.
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- I should be concerned about nothing, but I am. It's part of us to be concerned and to judge our ways.
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- I have to make decisions. But just know this. If the decision comes out of your mind into an action, it's right.
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- Every decision you made and carried out is right. Now you may have made several and never acted on them.
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- You kept them inside and worked them over. He has input to that also.
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- But everything that comes out of your mind into an action or form or product, that's exactly what it's supposed to do because God controls everything.
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- Get that fixed in your mind. Think it over this week.
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- That if I walk over here, that was ordained of God. It will change your life.
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- Did the heavenly father see that they were ordained of God together?
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- He would weep. He was weak. He would shed blood. Everything that man would do but for the joy of the cross.
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- Now he did not have joy in the cross. But it was for the joy of the cross that he went to the other side.
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- He saw the finished work that he was doing. Christ prayed because it pleased the heavenly father.
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- Everything he did while he was here on this earth was to please God. Not himself.
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- He pleased God in every action. Yes. That's right.
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- Prayer will change you. Not God. It has to. It must change you.
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- And if you will stay in an attitude of prayer as you go about your work, it will.
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- It's not necessary to pray for material things. He said,
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- I'll see that you have everything that you need to do the work that you are ordained to do.
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- But we spend most of our time praying for things. Yes. That's right.
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- Absolutely. You must be in the spirit in God. Church dismisses please.
