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And a personal welcome from me. 
Welcome to Maranatha Conference 

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2024. 
Amen. 

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Out of pure curiosity, I see so 
many familiar faces, but I am 

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curious to know who might be 
here for the very first time. 

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Can you lift your hand if you're
here for the very first time? 

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That's wonderful and I am aware 
that there are people here from 

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all over the world. 
We have people here from Sydney,

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Australia. 
It's right. 

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We have people here from 
Melbourne, Australia. 

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Yes, we have people here from 
Canada. 

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Yes, we have people here from 
Lebanon and we have people here 

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from all around this glorious 
land, the United States of 

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America, and of course, all the 
people from Chicago. 

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How can I forget about this 
Chicago? 

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Did I forget anybody else that 
I'm in California? 

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All across the states? 
I don't want to start naming all

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the states, so I just want to 
make it a summary. 

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Look, I got to tell you, my 
heart has been overflowing with 

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Thanksgiving to God the past few
weeks, especially today. 

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I couldn't help it. 
It was just gushing, especially 

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in my time before the service 
for many things. 

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And the main thing is that 
oftentimes it's our disposition 

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as humans to think just because 
we plan for things, pay for 

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things, invest in things, that 
they will automatically succeed 

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or that they will occur. 
But that's a great mistake 

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because James tells us that even
for those in the business world,

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you are to always keep in the 
forefront of your mind that it 

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is the Lord's will. 
And even what you plan for 

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tomorrow cannot be permitted, 
cannot be realized unless God 

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wills it. 
And so I found myself thanking 

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God for him allowing us, 
granting us the grace to be here

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for another year. 
It's it's a gift from him. 

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Every good and perfect gift is 
from above. 

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And I am also thankful to the 
Lord for all of you, for those 

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who are sacrificing and serving 
to make this weekend possible, 

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for those who've traveled from 
so far to be here. 

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But also because every year we 
pray fully as a church and 

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people from different churches, 
we pray to hear from God for 

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this weekend. 
That's the main reason for this.

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We're in a beautiful sight. 
We meet with beautiful people 

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who love the Lord. 
But mainly we're here to meet 

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with a beautiful Savior, with 
Christ. 

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But we want to hear from him. 
The only way we can hear from 

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Him is we ask for His voice. 
And so every year we seek the 

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Lord and ask him, what would you
want us to say? 

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And he has been so good to us in
the years past, including this 

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year, to give us direction of 
where we ought to go in the Word

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of God so that we can experience
him because we experience him in

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the Word of God. 
This book is alive. 

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This book breathes because God 
is the author of it. 

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And it's usually on this night 
where we kind of give people an 

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indication of where we're headed
for the rest of the weekend. 

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And prayfully, what we will be 
discussing in our time together 

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is about the life of the apostle
Paul, the life of the apostle 

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Paul. 
And it is my duty to give you 

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the answer to why dedicating a 
conference entirely to the life 

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of Paul. 
The man is a remarkable human 

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being, remarkable. 
And not only is it remarkable 

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because of his conversion, his 
calling, his towering intellect,

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his incredible, relentless 
faithfulness to the Lord, but 

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he's an incredible human being 
because he has been called by 

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God not just to be a transmitter
of the doctrines that would be 

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the foundation of the church. 
Because he's also been sought, 

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set apart by the Holy Spirit to 
be a practical model for 

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Christians of all ages. 
And that is not something that 

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is inferred upon by some readers
or commentators or theologians 

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of the Bible. 
That is something that the 

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apostle Paul was very conscious 
of and laid out as a standard in

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the Word of God as he was led by
the Spirit of God. 

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And so one of the most obvious 
verses that we all know by 

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heart, specifically from one 
translation where Paul says what

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in First Corinthians 11/1. 
Follow me as I yeah, and the ESP

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would say be imitators of me as 
I imitate Christ. 

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But I want to turn your 
attention briefly to another 

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verse in First Corinthians 
chapter 4 and verse 16 where 

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Paul says it in a different way.
He says in First Corinthians 

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416. 
I urge you, I urge you then be 

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imitators of me. 
Now that word imitators in this 

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verse and in First Corinthians 
11/1 in the Greek is the Greek 

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word mimet S where we get the 
English word mimic. 

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And so essentially what Paul is 
calling for Christians to do is 

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to copy him. 
Now, it would be erroneous and 

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even dangerous to assume that 
what Paul is asking of believers

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is to try to be an apostle and 
to mirror his gifting and to try

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to force yourself into his 
calling. 

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Wrong. 
Because the same Paul who said 

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imitate me taught in First 
Corinthians 12 that we all, as 

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members of one body, have been 
equipped with certain and unique

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gifts and callings. 
So then what does Paul mean when

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he says imitate me? 
He's speaking about 

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transferable, imitatable 
attributes, affections, frame of

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mind, convictions that are 
really achievable for all of us 

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who are in Christ. 
So he lived in a certain way. 

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There were principles that he 
had adopted that the Holy Spirit

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energized him for, that we are 
to look at and say this is what 

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God wants for my life, not just 
for Paul. 

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And I want to point out that 
Paul says in this verse with 

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urgency that we ought to study 
and we ought to pursue his way 

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of life. 
He's urgent, I urge you. 

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So this isn't optional. 
This isn't just for the VIP 

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Christians. 
This isn't just for a select few

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who really want to be serious. 
This is the standard for all 

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believers of all time. 
And you might think, well, isn't

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it strange for a any Christian 
really to ask other Christians 

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to imitate them? 
Kind of feels awkward, doesn't 

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it? 
Can you imagine somebody coming 

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up here saying, I want you to 
imitate me? 

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What would you think? 
This guy's kind of arrogant. 

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I'm supposed to imitate Christ. 
Paul's really a spirit filled 

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apostle, wouldn't he say? 
Look to Christ while he says 

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that in other places? 
But the Spirit inspired him to 

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say that, so he's not, he's not 
wrong. 

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What is he saying in essence? 
Well, God knows that one of the 

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ways in which we are very much 
helped in our practical 

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sanctification is by putting 
before us real flesh and blood 

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people who are walking in a 
worthy manner so that we can, as

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fellow fleshly human, say it's 
possible. 

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It's possible then, is it not? 
Here's a man with a sinful 

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nature like mine, a dreadful 
past, maybe even a more 

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traumatic past, same temptations
and problems. 

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And yet he is able to walk in 
this way. 

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And it's not because of his 
personality. 

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It's not because strength that 
he has mustered up. 

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It's not because of his own 
discipline. 

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It's because of something else 
that he has touched and tasted. 

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And whatever he's got, I want 
it. 

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That's why God essentially put 
Paul before us in the 

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Scriptures. 
Not so that you would be 

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intimidated by Paul and excuse 
him off as an apostle, but that 

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you would be inspired by him. 
He would say if it was possible 

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for this terrorist to come to 
Christ and not just come to 

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Christ, but to walk in this way 
for Christ, then surely the same

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Spirit who energized him can 
also animate me. 

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And the Saint Paul who said 
imitate me shows that this 

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invitation was an exclusive to 
himself. 

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So again, you might feel like it
seems strange for Paul to almost

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make this claim that he is our 
ultimate example, but he doesn't

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say that. 
Let me give you an example. 

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So he tells the Thessalonians, 
for example, right? 

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And 1st Thessalonians chapter 2,
verse 14, he praises this 

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church. 
He praises this church for their

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imitation, and not because they 
imitated him. 

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This is what he says to this 
church. 

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For you brothers became 
imitators, not of me, Paul, but 

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of who? 
Of the churches of God in Christ

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Jesus that are in Judea. 
For you suffer the same things 

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from your own countrymen as they
did from the Jews. 

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So here Paul, by his letter, is 
applauding the Thessalonians 

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because they were walking in the
same courage and steadfastness 

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not of Paul, but of the churches
in Judea. 

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In other words, it is totally 
possible for any believer, or 

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for any group of Christians in a
local church setting to walk in 

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a manner that is worthy of 
emulation. 

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Here's what I'm trying to say. 
Paul is not making a claim that 

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he has monopoly on inspiration. 
Anybody is capable, if they walk

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with the Lord, to cause others 
to want to walk in the same way.

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But the point of this time 
together is that Paul walked so 

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intensely, so intimately with 
the Lord that he bids us to walk

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in His steps. 
Because if we do you ready for 

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this, it comes with a reward. 
This is what stirred me because 

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can I, can I say something? 
Studying Paul the past few weeks

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has been one of the most 
beautiful and painful 

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experiences. 
See. 

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What do you mean beautiful? 
Because again, you're seeing 

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what God can do with a man who 
is yielded to him. 

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Painful because when you get 
past the obvious things that you

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know about Paul from Sunday 
school or from surface level 

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studies of him. 
It's just it stirs you what this

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man had in his heart what he did
for other Christians, his 

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intoxicating love for Christ. 
See past the fact that he's an 

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apostle and realize that he was 
a man that was so enamoured with

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the gospel and you can't help 
but because the Bible is a 

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mirror to look at yourself and 
say Lord do something in me. 

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Please, please do something in 
me. 

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It's been sobering that a lot of
time of prayer studying Paul but

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Paul gave a promise, a 
staggering promise and I want 

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you to see it. 
This, this is not a full sermon,

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by the way. 
This is just an introduction. 

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So I want you to please, if 
there's any verse that you can 

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turn to at this time as 
Philippians 49, look what Paul 

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says here in Philippians 4/9. 
And this will answer why we 

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should have this time together 
studying this man's life. 

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Philippians 4/9 He says to this 
church, what you have learned 

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and received and heard and seen 
in me. 

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Practice these things and the 
God of peace will be with you. 

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Can you imagine? 
Let me say this again. 

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Can you imagine any man saying 
this to Christians? 

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What you've seen, what you've 
heard, what you've learned, 

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whatever you've seen in me, if 
you actually practice these 

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things, you will unlock a 
certain blessing in your life. 

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The God of peace will be with 
you. 

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Now notice there's two things. 
We got a group here. 

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What you've learned and 
received, that's one category. 

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You know what that category is? 
His doctrine, his theology, his 

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preaching. 
So he's saying my instruction, 

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the authoritative Apostolic 
instruction, learn and receive. 

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But not just that heard and 
seen. 

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What's that? 
It's not theology. 

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That's practice, that's conduct,
that's attitude, that's outlook.

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That's how learn and receive 
lives out in flesh and blood. 

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So what you've learned and 
received, that's one group, the 

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Bible truth, but also what 
you've heard and seen in me. 

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If you practice these things, 
the God of peace will be with 

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you. 
Well, hold on. 

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I thought God was with all of 
us. 

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He is with all of us, if you're 
a true Christian. 

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But you know what this means. 
Not every person who belongs to 

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Christ experiences Christ the 
same way. 

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That's what he means. 
If you walk in the way that I've

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walked, you will know a special 
relationship, dare I say 

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experientially, with the God of 
peace. 

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This taught me something. 
You know, I have people who ask 

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sometimes, can you pray that I 
would have peace? 

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Well, yeah. 
He says earlier, you know, that 

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if anybody be anxious about 
anything, you know, do not be 

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anxious, but by prayer and 
supplication with Thanksgiving, 

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present your request to God. 
He says that earlier right 

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before this, right, Why is it 
that some people who are praying

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for peace are not experiencing 
peace, at least the peace that 

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God gives? 
Well, there's two reasons. 

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Because earlier he says do not 
be anxious about anything, but 

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in everything with prayer and 
supplication, present your 

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requests with God to God. 
And then he talks about the 

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peace of God guarding your 
hearts and minds in Christ 

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Jesus, right? 
He says the peace of God. 

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And then here he talks about the
God of peace, not the peace of 

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God, the God of peace. 
So one reason why there are 

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people who want a peace from God
don't have that peace is because

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they don't know the God of 
peace. 

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So you're looking for something 
that can only come with 

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relationship with God. 
And that's why this world is 

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going cuckoo. 
They're trying to look for peace

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on every sphere, on every level,
and they're not going to get it.

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You know why? 
Because you, you got to get the 

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God of peace first. 
But there are also, I'm talking 

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about Christians now who want 
the peace of God, but they're 

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not getting it. 
They want a closer experience of

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the God of peace, but they're 
not getting it. 

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Why? 
Well, you might. 

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You can pray till you're blue in
the face. 

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You can have the godliest 
ministers lay hands on you and 

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drown you in oil, and you're 
still not going to get it. 

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Can I tell you why? 
Because if you pray about it, 

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but you don't practice certain 
things, you'll never know it. 

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So pray all you want, but you 
got to practice certain things 

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and I want to present to you, 
though we can't do it in a whole

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weekend. 
Some ways in which Paul presents

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himself, what he taught, how we 
live. 

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I can bring us that much closer 
to the God of peace. 

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Here's where I'm ending, just 
even preparing just how to 

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introduce this. 
I thought, Lord, I want to 

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imitate. 
I want to imitate this man, not 

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because Paul had certain 
principles that were exclusive 

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to him, things that he conjured 
up, because the ways of Paul 

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were the ways of Christ, the 
ways of Christ, right? 

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This is the idea. 
So he's not putting a fair, say,

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close spotlight on him because 
he has low self esteem and he 

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wants some kind of approval. 
He wants some kind of adulation.

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No, he's saying I'm walking in 
the ways of Christ. 

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All I'm doing is just obeying 
what he's saying. 

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And you have a model for you in 
me. 

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And here's how I want to try to 
imitate. 

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Paul says something remarkable 
as a preacher, as an apostle, he

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said this and and this is really
my prayer, my prayer for this 

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time. 
He says in 2nd Corinthians 124, 

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you don't have to turn there, 
Just listen to these words. 

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If you're a leader in any 
capacity here, especially within

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the church, recognize what Paul 
says here because it's a model 

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for ministers. 
He says, not that we lorded over

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your faith, but we work with you
for your joy for you. 

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Stand firm in your faith. 
You know what a true minister 

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does. 
He preaches, he counsels, he 

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prays, he lives, he exemplifies,
he serves with the ultimate goal

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of glorifying God and close to 
it, for the joy of God's people.

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What an amazing standard for 
ministers and what an exciting 

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thing for those who are called 
to be under leadership in the 

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church. 
Glorious things can happen when 

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you have a leadership that says 
we're here for your joy and when

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the people who are under that 
leadership believe it, believe 

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it. 
Maranatha Conference 2024 in 

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light of preaching on this topic
is for your joy, for your joy. 

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I, I love God's Providence so 
much. 

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So you're going to hear about it
at least in one of these 

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sessions. 
Sessions. 

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So I'm reading the book of 
Isaiah, just personally not 

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sermon prep, not preparing meals
for other people, meals for this

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soul here, right? 
And I stumble upon this. 

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This is the last verse tonight 
because I want you to have faith

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for your joy. 
It's an Isaiah 29 verse 19. 

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And this is one to actually 
highlight. 

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I would recommend it. 
Isaiah 29, verse 19. 

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Look what God says about joy. 
The meek, that's the humble, the

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lowly, the meek. 
Look at this phrase. 

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I got so excited when I read it 
was two days ago. 

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The meek shall obtain fresh joy 
in the Lord. 

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Isn't that a glorious phrase? 
Fresh joy, That's just joy. 

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00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,840
Not joy from yesterday, Not joy 
from when you got saved. 

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Fresh, fresh joy. 
Other transitions would say will

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increase in joy. 
So reading that two days ago I 

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said that's going to be my 
prayer point for this weekend. 

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Here's my prayer, our prayer for
every person here that you would

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know fresh joy, fresh joy only 
in one container though, in the 

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Lord. 
It's going to be in the Lord for

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the Lord from the Lord. 
So even Paul, who says we're 

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working for your joy, a 
minister, a preacher, a praise 

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00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:40,400
team, a godly St. that you know 
can work with you for your joy, 

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but they can't give you joy. 
There's a giver of joy that they

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point you to with truths that 
you sing about and truths that 

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00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,720
you hear preached about and 
counselled about. 

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He's the giver of fresh joy. 
He grants it. 

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00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,640
Now, can you read that and 
actually think to yourself, this

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is theoretical. 
This is no, it's real. 

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You'll, you'll know it, you'll 
taste it, you'll taste it. 

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And I am convinced that this man
who said he worked for the joy 

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of God's people, as we examine 
him, as we study, as we consider

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his ways, we're going to know 
fresh joy. 

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00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,520
We're going to know real fresh 
joy that you would leave here, 

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not just full with this joy, but
spilling over so that somebody 

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00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,320
else can taste it, wherever you 
come from, even Australia. 

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00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:28,880
So here's how we're going to, 
and I'm going to ask the praise 

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00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:34,240
team to come up. 
I'm going to ask us to just ask 

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the Lord, Lord, please help us 
know fresh joy as we come to 

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study this man's life that 
you've placed with and before us

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and believe that wherever you 
come from, whatever circumstance

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you're returning to, whatever 
country your citizenship lies 

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in, that you would return with a
supernatural fresh joy. 

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Can we pray that together let's 
do it? 

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Lord, we thank you that You have
something in store for us this 

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weekend. 
We believe it with all of our 

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hearts. 
Lord, if there would be 

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anything, a cheap substitute, a 
sinful substitute that would try

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to convince us that it has joy 
to offer. 

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00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,440
Lord, we pray that tonight it 
would die. 

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00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,640
It would shrivel up and lose its
grip on us. 

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00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,360
Instead, Lord, we pray that we 
would all, each of us in here, 

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especially, Lord, in these 
tumultuous times, these dark 

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times, disappointing times, we 
pray that we would know a fresh 

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joy. 
And so, Lord, with every sermon 

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about the apostle Paul, may 
there be no condemnation. 

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00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,800
May there be no sense of 
intimidation. 

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00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,080
Lord, if anything, may we sense 
the glorious invitation of a way

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00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,160
of life that will allow us to 
walk closer with the God of 

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00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,160
peace. 
So, Lord, we pray that our faith

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would grow strong for the rest 
of this weekend, that we would 

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00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:07,760
come with hunger and thirst, and
that you would meet it. 

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00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,600
Though we love you and we want 
to honor you because we believe 

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00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,120
that you are here with us and 
that you'll be here with us for 

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00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:15,920
the rest of this time. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

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00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:17,520
Amen. 
Amen. 

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Let's stand in worship.