A WOW Moment with Vicki, Mercedes and Jeff

Whitten Baptist Church

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Honey you just started All right, good evening everyone

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And welcome to our Bible study this is a pre -recorded Bible study due to the fact that Mercedes and I will be at women's retreat when this airs and When we're at women's retreat we're basically at retreat we're retreating so But this is a beautiful Saturday afternoon that we are

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Recording this so I'll say good afternoon. Also Today we have the wonderful.

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Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Vicki. Everyone remembers Mercedes her hair still not Awkward colored yet, but it it'll get there soon.

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I promise It'll be something bright and cheery and Very colorful, you know,

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I guess I do but I really like blue better. I like the aqua I'm thinking about going pink next time like a bright pink.

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What do you think Jeff? I was actually thinking blue I really was thinking blue, but that was before she said it

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Everybody remembers Mercedes today. We have the wonderful and the most talented mr. Shipley and we have been having the ship was on quite often lately

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I mean, we've had we had a show last week. We had brother Jeff the week before and This is a

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Jeremiah recently Jeremiah was recently right before he got married and You know the one that we always had on was just I I guess he's coming up soon

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Yes But um

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So this is Jeff's first time being on here with us and I'm super excited

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Because you know Jeff I know being the youngest isn't the easiest especially the youngest of five

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Yeah Well a lot of families it is but especially not in the

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Shipley house Not in the Shipley house. It's a very it's a very intense household

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I was always and be on my toes and very intense with putt -putt. Yes. Yeah, always losing everything

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Yes, but you know it has made you the man you are today Which I have to say that I would have not have laughed at you

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You're my top What if you like hit it and went over the railing like every fourth head

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Be faster On the way So anyways, but a

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Jeff is the youngest of five Jeff is also One of the two of the

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Shipley's that's not married now So you're semi single, but yet you're not single because you do right you are dating someone particular so That's a good thing, too

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Maybe No, it definitely is. Well, I mean, I'm not saying that it's not good who you're dating because I love her very much

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So, but you know now you're gonna be on YouTube and who knows You might get

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Some famous person might see you and be like, oh he's a hottie maybe I Love your girlfriend, she's magnificent and she is

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Yes, she's very always bright and cheery and She is a ray of sunshine

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Especially on a cloudy day because she just wants everybody to feel better if they don't feel good. She wants them to feel better You know what?

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I mean, but that's the love she has for people. So Anyways, well, that's enough talking about her

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I didn't say her name because I didn't want to put it out there in case you didn't want everybody to know but that's okay anyway so What?

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Is the first five pages It's not really new but I Have I have a big print

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Bible. I don't think they make the pages extra thick for big print. Do they? Glacians 5

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So that's why I collect more there's different translations yeah I won't have

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I won't have two Bibles in the same translation usually I do I have a big print and then I have a study

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Bible in the same translation and then I have a regular Bible yeah

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I have three this study Bible which is and they're all Holman but also have a spurge of study yeah

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I'm gonna use different Bible they use for different things but also different translations so I have like probably three

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King James from like when I was a kid and I have a new King James and ESV and a Holman that are all different sizes like my new

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King James is like a brick it's a really hardcover this one's not my go -to like every day it's

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ESV and then my Holman I had for probably seven or eight years and now

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I don't really use it that much because it's in that brittle state where it's like this far from just going yeah yeah that's like when we left when we left

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Isha's and Jeremiah's house Thursday night Jeremiah was helping put this stuff back into the back of my car and I said don't think

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I'm one of those Christians that your dad talks about how I don't ever get my Bible out of the back of my car I said you have one everywhere

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I have one and I have three more in the house I have I just have them in different places so I don't ever forget it that's actually one of the hard parts about my old job is that I would clean out people's houses

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I would find their Bibles and I can't throw them away so I would always end up being like I don't know what to do with this so I would like I would put it in like the cab of the truck and what we'd always go donate to Goodwill so every time we'd go

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I just think put the Bible in Goodwill I just kept on giving to Goodwill I don't know if they'd throw them away or not but other way or like if I knew someone who needed one then

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I'll just bring them one of them yeah but they're always poorly taken care of yeah or they're just worn yeah it could have been really really old yeah because I know

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I have my great -grandmother's I have my grandmother's so yeah but anyways we just really got off on a whole different conversation all to ourselves sorry y 'all um so tonight we're going to be in what do you say

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Galatians Galatians 5 what's the verse 22 and 23 specifically but we can go around if we get started and get talking about it we'll try them yeah all right

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Mercedes so Jeff has picked Galatians 5 22 and 23 will you please read this scripture please but the fruit of the

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Spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faith gentleness self -control against such things there is no law so I guess

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I should start by explaining why I picked this passage I've spoken to a couple of different people lately very lately and the commonality between all of them is that they really don't understand this fruit of the

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Spirit because they're still worried about I don't know if I'm a Christian what is a

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Christian what makes them different or like they are insecure in their internal security ie their seal meant by the

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Holy Spirit that they are a child of God and there's nothing that they can do to overcome the sacrifice and regeneration that's happened in their heart so I guess

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I wanted to have a chance to speak to more people about this because it seems to be a common problem a lot of people don't understand the difference between a

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Christian a non -christian because you see here when it starts off but the fruit of the

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Spirit is you know I always say like do you have this

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Holy Spirit inside of you yes then the fruit the outcome the result of that situation of that position in your life is these virtues because if you look up in 19 now the works of the flesh are obvious sexual immorality moral impurity prom promiscuity idolatry sorcery hatreds strife jealousy outburst of anger selfish ambitions dissensions factions envy drunkenness carousing and anything similar

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I tell you about these things in advance as I told you before that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God because that finally just states the world so if you're living in in this way

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I mean it's one of those you know you need to have your checklist for yourself absolutely each individual person needs to check their own life and be held accountable by these things in 22 or 23 is this what you're showing people is this how you exactly because I forgot to mention it but yeah but the first word in 22 is but so it's in contrast to what

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I just said this is the other side of the coin but when

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I was a younger Christian I I had the same struggle as these people did I had struggles of like okay am

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I a Christian you know like did I lose my salvation I don't know if I ever had it all these questions and it comes down to you don't understand eternal security because there'll be times in your life when

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I was a kid I was like I know I'm a Christian I absolutely am positive and then

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I understood fully eternal security that I did nothing for my salvation so how can

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I do anything to lose my salvation and then you can ward off all those thoughts all those debates in your head and focus on okay how can

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I be a more mature Christian how can I grow in my faith how can I do steps two three and four and now that I got one firm solid as a foundation and I think too many people don't have that as solid foundation and then when they move to step two and three the building collapses yep because then

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Jesus says now those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and not to say of course because it's becoming kind of a thought that perfectional sanctification that a

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Christian can be sanctified for so many years and blah blah blah that they become perfect as a human that they stop sinning because they're so sanctified that's not true and and to re -clarify we're not saying that no non -christian can be a good person we're not saying that Christians can't be turds a lot of days right so but it is a spiritual change in a person's life when the

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Holy Spirit is living inside of them yes there is a peace of God there is a joy there is love where there was not right right and with new

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Christians it's really I find it amazing to watch because you watch the transformation and when that's one of the things whenever I meet people and when

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I get to know them I have to balance out in my head with this scripture right here states because sometimes

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I so bad want to see these things in people and because they're good people but then then there's that where you don't have that feeling of the

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Holy Spirit that they don't have that feeling of the Holy Spirit you see what I'm saying oh yeah we're like when you meet somebody new like sometimes

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I meet somebody new you just know like you start talking about God you just know this person's a

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Christian and sometimes like you're saying you want to it's just like I don't think this person's a

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Christian yeah but I will tell you though there are some out there that can really really really

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I mean you think they got it and then three months into your friendship with them they start turning a little bit and it's kind of like have you misled me this whole time you know what

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I mean because then you start seeing another side of this person so I would have to say that there are some that they have gotten this facade they've learned this lie and they try to carry it out in their life but after time goes you figure out that they've gotten it down pat so good that it's really not in them you see what

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I'm saying yeah and those are the ones that are most heartbreaking because you've learned to open up to them and to be because you're thinking that they're your brother or sister in Christ and you're thinking oh they got it oh we're good to go oh you know we can talk about this stuff and then all of a sudden they do that flip on you and you're going man because that means then you need to start making sure that you're living by these rules or by these you know thank you that you can show the grace and mercy that's been shown to you to this person that has misled you because that's what we're supposed to do that's what we're calling it so you sometimes it kind of flips on you

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I've had it you can almost use this like what you were saying as an accountability like checked when you when you're speaking to your long -term friends and stuff be like hey are you following in these because through the spirit is very dependent on your obedience because if you are constantly disobedient and everything one you will be getting disciplined by God and stuff but you won't feel peace you won't feel a joy that's part of like and so like you also have to balance that is if you are every step of the way dragging your feet fighting

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God on every step through sanctification you will not feel the peace and joy of God in your life but it's not because you're not saved because you're fighting every single bit of him so when you're looking at people who you know you who

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I know you know are Christians and they're your accountability partners when stuff and you don't see the stuff in them that could be a brother where you at right you know where you at right right because I'll tell you it's really hard for me to I mean

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I have bad days don't get me wrong but there is not a day ever that the joy of the

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Lord can't bring me out of absolutely where I'm at and sometimes it takes me meditating on the word or me you know sometimes

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I can start humming a song that we sing here at church and that will just completely wipe out a moment of submission yeah just giving it up and saying okay

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Lord and there are days where I actually have to say that okay Lord I'm in this I'm in this you know where I'm at right now and it's not good for me and so it's just it's funny because one of them one of the members of my accountability group

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I said that if he does that stuff all the time he's like brother I don't feel the joy of the Lord in you today so I know you're not doing well go ahead and tell me what's wrong he does that stuff all the time he's right it's about always right that's good

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I know you're not doing well today let's go talk about it so he's looking for all of these in each one of y 'all in the group which needs to be done speaking of sanctification and not dragging your feet and just obey

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John 15 1 through 5 it says

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I am the true vine and my father is the vineyard keeper every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit you are already clean because of the word

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I've spoken to you remain in me and I in you just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vines and neither can you unless you remain in me that's sanctification pruning away the things in you that is not of God so that you can produce good fruit which is right yeah because if you don't if you have some of those old limbs yeah

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I mean if you look at a tree and you have dead limbs on the tree every ounce of that trees nourishment is gonna go to those dead branches to try to bring it back to life you cut those branches off and it no longer has to use its resources to get to those branches and can focus on the healthy and the good ones producing more and more fruit

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I remember the first time

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I learned about that because back when I was younger we used to garden a lot and we had this big garden in our backyard and stuff and I always hated pruning because I felt like it was mean but then my dad

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I don't know if he told me this but in his own words he's like no no you have to prune them it's good for them yeah and then years later it kind of like clicked and I was like sometimes it sucks but it's needed yeah

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I get it yeah it is painful you know when it happens to you it is painful it is tough a lot of times because that you know that old branch is an old friend you know the stuff that's got to go or a habit you have or a lot of people it's like a mental rut they go into you know that you gotta cut off you have to cut off those mental thoughts and not fall into a rut you know if you're you're speaking truth in Mercedes said well there was another there was some more scripture you wanted to discuss also

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Jeff what was that it was John 3 we were talking about it earlier and yeah it's pretty nice I love this passage

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I love this passage because one most people when they hear

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John 3 they're like oh boy 16 I love it no no but I bet that's not what we're talking about no the first passage the first passage of John 3 starting in verse 1 it's awesome to me because you have this man named

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Nicodemus and he's extremely high -ranking Pharisee which the cool thing about Pharisees because there's a different culture they were very high religious but also political figures they didn't really have politicians or priests they were kind of one the same at that point which is recipe for disaster to say the least right like you know let's not make someone a religious figure it's also political power right the

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Pope right same thing let's not do that it's not smart but give this man and he comes in the middle of night to ask you just a bunch of questions there was a man from the

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Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews this man came to him at night and said

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Rabbi we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one could perform these signs unless you do unless God were with him

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Jesus replied I assure you unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God but how can anyone be born when he is old

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Nicodemus asked him can he enter can he enter his mother's room a second time and be born

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Jesus answered I assure you unless someone is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God whatever is born of the flesh is flesh and whatever is born of the spirit is spirit do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again the wind blows where it pleases and you hear it sound but you do not but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going so it is with everyone born of the spirit okay so you have the first eight verses right there and so Nicodemus starts by calling him

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Rabbi who is a teacher of the law so I know word literally means teacher so he says you know teacher we know you are come from God explain yourself so he's saying we know you come from God because of all the things you do because all all the signs you do it's impossible to do without God and then

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Jesus starts trying to explain to him regeneration yeah you're born physically but then you must be born in the spirit so going right back to what we're talking about in Galatians 5 as it is between the spirit and the flesh

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Jesus is distincting these to Nicodemus and Nicodemus doesn't understand it he's like I don't understand regeneration and Jesus he starts making poking fun of him like how do you not understand this no that's right that's first ten

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I'm getting ahead of myself but he starts they start trying to explain it by using the wind saying you don't understand that you don't you don't understand where it comes from but yet you see the effects of it you know the sound well let me ask you this because in the

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Holman I don't know when it says there's something we can determine it it says I it says

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I assure you unless someone is born of water and the spirit so he's saying

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I'm born physically and spiritually so water being from the mother and spirit being from the

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Holy Spirit correct then then it says he cannot enter the kingdom of God so that well everybody that's born is born from water right so basically the water part is just the word part and then the spirit part is he's explaining you have to be born twice and that's what

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Nicodemus getting stuck up so he was he was he's being specific now he needs to be born from the womb which and then again right

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I just want to get that yeah you're all good okay so nine and ten how can these things be as Nicodemus are you a teacher of Israel and don't know these things

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Jesus replied so right so Nicodemus Jesus tries to explain it again to him using the wind as an example but he's saying

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I don't understand how this can possibly be now understand Nicodemus is not stupid you know like he's not a dumb person he's obviously very intelligent because he has about this much as the

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Bible memorized right so he's not a dumb person but what he doesn't understand is that all he knows is the law he doesn't understand regeneration that's it's a little unfair almost because it's not even a doctrine yet in this time period he's explained him to him something that no one else has explained because what do you mean regeneration by the

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Holy Spirit Pentecost hasn't won't happen for 15 years no I have no idea when this happened so more like five years five years so Pentecost won't happen for a few more years so regeneration by Holy Spirit it's technically impossible

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I mean there is faith you know faith is credited to his righteousness you don't count that as regeneration yes but regeneration by the

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Holy Spirit like an indwellment of the Holy Spirit has never happened before because when the

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Holy Spirit would come on to people in the Old Testament it would be like Samson it would come and then it would leave yeah there was never an indwellment right permanent houseways housing of the

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Holy Spirit thank you so he's been a little unfair because Nicodemus but just like he's he's he's challenging him he's like you don't understand this very simple doctrine of regeneration we know you haven't experienced it yet but you really he's trying to humble him he's but yeah that's why that's why this is kind of funny to me but because this this intelligent man is like okay

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I know you're a God so let's let's try to figure this out if we're allies or not if you're gonna be working with us so you're not

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I just picture this happening being pretty funny yeah I can imagine Jesus just like all right this guy this is his motives let's mess with him let's

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I love that let's see where you're really at okay so in 12 12 and 13 he starts making it more apparent that he's challenging if I told you about things that happen on earth and you don't believe how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from man the son of descended from heaven the son of man okay cuz you know we did a whole study on did

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God did Jesus descend into hell okay we did a whole study and that was one of the verses that was brought up in an argument and I was like in order to descend you have to in order to ascend you have to descend first anyway sorry we just that's one of my favorite things that happens when something clicks you read another passage yeah it's an awesome feeling yeah so because Nicodemus didn't understand that with the wind thing of the wind metaphor

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Jesus used he's like okay if you can't even understand things on earth how can you understand things in heaven right and then he goes and then he does what

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Jesus always does in these arguments with Pharisees he then says I'm the

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Son of God and pisses them off always does that stuff he goes no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven the

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Son of Man okay so into a historian philosopher thinker like Nicodemus who's intelligent everything he understands that no one had the

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Son of Man is not a historical figure so he understands he's referring to himself so while this is happening it has the crucifixion hasn't happened yet no so he's actually speaking in future tense he's saying no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven but it hasn't happened yet technically not it

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I guess it depends on what you mean by ascended to heaven well then he did okay so yes technically yeah he hasn't ascended the ascension hasn't happened but at the same time it is you could take that as like a worth or a pre -incarnate

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Christ came to earth and went back but no well yeah future could be right as well but in 14 he makes another metaphor and in this one when

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Jesus makes metaphors to Pharisees from the Old Testament I see that as him actually trying to get them to understand yeah and he uses an authority and information that they fully understand yes in their mind yes now do they fully understand totally no because the prophecies were filled right in front of them and they deny it so they know this this metaphor he's about to use very well and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so the

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Son of Man so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life so he tries to explain again he's saying no no just as Moses brought salvation yeah so the

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Son of Man will bring salvation yeah it is an awesome thing and we never we don't really know how

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Nicodemus received this we do see him again later

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I believe at the crucifixion I believe Nicodemus is at the crucifixion but I absolutely love the different things he does first thing he does is he just explains it he doesn't understand he tried to use like a physical metaphor about the earth he doesn't explain it okay what is this guy actually know the law so then he uses the author of the law as an example of look at the guy you know all every word he ever wrote down use him as an example now do you understand and I wish

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I wish I knew Nicodemus's reply yeah to that but it's not written but then he goes straight into salvation and eternal life and then that leads us into John 3 16 yeah which 317 has been in 316 yes

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I love 317 yes for God did not send his son into the world that he might condemn the world that that the world might be saved through him can you imagine that like I mean the

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Son of God come into the world but not on an evil dark world right the only part of it that has cursed the universe with the sin and death has reigned from sin he doesn't come to condemn it but to save it that is subject to mercy and grace right because so many people look at it as especially people that aren't

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Christians that look at it that he is here just to say you do this wrong you do this wrong you do this wrong to condemn them you know what

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I'm talking yeah he's not a passive aggressive mother he doesn't just complain no no like there's a reward there's such a reward very good what exactly do you have in mind in the infusions but yeah so connecting everything

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I guess from Galatians 5 to John 3 is there's a distinct difference between flesh and spirit and those of flesh like in the very beginning of John Galatians 5 that we started in 1617 it says you know what is of the flesh is against the spirit and the spirit is against the flesh there is a distinct then it just it describes the flesh then describes the spirit saying these things are opposite and it goes it just hit me the reminder of you can only serve one master somebody cannot serve two masters because you will hate one and love the other so you are of the flesh or of the spirit you have to decide and you are only one and you cannot be both and if you think you're in both you're actually in the flesh you're not there's no doubt because you he doesn't let you teeter -totter no because you're either a hundred percent his or you're a hundred percent not there's no half a sandwich there there's no juice doesn't want half sandwich well it looks like I think we've done this

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I think not being at regular time I don't even know what time we started but I'm not sure that we have gone the 30 minutes that we should have we always go over the

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I don't think we've ever done one short you get starting to talk and it kind of just keeps going good conversations good conversation that's why

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I like doing these live because people feel like that they're actually with us in the study and this all started because Mercedes and I would study every

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Sunday afternoon when she first came here well it was a little while after you came here and it was

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Ephesians we were studying and then COVID hit and pastor said

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I really want you women to do something so what's she and I decided that you know well we'll just have a guest per week people that want that aren't scared of COVID and people that are okay with us coming to their house or then coming to the church and that's how all this started and it's wonderful and fabulous it's been great

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I know we celebrated our one year what that first one was a humdinger with Mercedes actually felt the

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Holy Spirit that day she did she was like what did I just say that's like honey you took over the

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Holy Spirit just took over your entire body because she was rolling but yeah it was great and I was sitting like this if he they asked me afterwards why were you staring at her like that I said because she wasn't gonna talk

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I said and I physically watched the Holy Spirit work completely through her and took her out of her shell and made her speak and give her partial testimony right there

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I mean that's why

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I was just like I couldn't I couldn't speak but then again

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I think he made me shut up for her to speak that's very true don't interrupt when the

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Holy Spirit's working no sir because I was in such awe I was like I was thinking in my mind

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Holy Spirit it was amazing it was amazing and it's amazing to watch how every

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Thursday night when we get together something else comes out or something else we learned something new every

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Thursday it doesn't matter how long you do this it doesn't matter how many times you've read scripture it doesn't matter how many times you yourself have studied it would you get somebody else sitting in between us we always learn something new and every time somebody says something like that I point them to John 3 because it's like that man knew all scripture he studied it every day for hours yes but didn't understand regeneration right he didn't understand nearly as much as he thought he'd write right and we won't ever understand it all fully no of course not then we can ask the one but what we really ask don't care well thank you so much this was incredible and also of course

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I expected it to be as a matter of fact I knew it would be but you are such a busy young man yeah but always make time for something like this yes and and because your thirsty nights are packed so that's why

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I think Mercedes came up with the idea to pre -record you for this moment because yeah because you're in school

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I mean this kid's in school he works he's constantly at the church working on like today yes but I gotta leave actually pretty fast so I won't be over there long because he's got something else he has to do so anyways thank you so much for taking time out and spending it with us today we'll do it again maybe you might be our pre -recorded sit -in whether we have to pre -record so anyways thanks you guys