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Wonderful. 
See everyone. 

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We're very thankful to be here. 
And I'm very thankful for this 

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opportunity to present a portion
of God's word. 

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And I very much appreciate the 
invitation of the congregation 

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at Norman to be part of this 
great event. 

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I love teaching about the family
and I enjoy very much having the

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privilege of watching families 
through the decades to be 

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successful in the Lord. 
And it's an amazing, an amazing 

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thing to witness. 
When multiple generations of, 

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our families can be successful 
in their quest to serve the Lord

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and their children after them, 
we do not save all however, and 

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our hearts break with those 
children who make decisions that

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that indeed, just that break our
hearts and we wonder what have 

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we done. 
What if we done, that Psalm 

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would turn away? 
From the god of the Bible, what 

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have we done? 
That Psalm would turn away from 

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the Lord's Church. 
I do know that it's up to each 

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one of us to decide who will, 
Who we will be every day and the

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same truth that some choose to 
obey and dedicate their lives to

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others. 
Choose to scoff. 

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And ignore last night, the 
lesson here, I saw the outline. 

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The lesson here was about the 
Lord's church when 3,000 obeyed 

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the gospel. 
On the day of Pentecost, we do 

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know, don't we? 
That that's not all who were 

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there. 
There were more than 3,000 in 

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attendance. 
Very likely far more some said 

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yes some said know what do we 
want to do in our time? 

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We want to influence as many as 
possible to say yes and we want 

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to influence as many as possible
to stay faithful as long as they

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live. 
It was mentioned in the 

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announcements that my sister 
just passed away. 

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And she died in the Lord. 
And so, that makes her death 

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because she was suffering with 
cancer. 

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A tremendous relief for our 
family. 

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And through our tears. 
We're so glad for her. 

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But that cannot be said of those
who turn their back on the Lord,

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that cannot be said of those who
consider the the beautiful story

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of the Cross and then scoff at 
its message. 

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And live in honor of Satan. 
And whenever individuals that we

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love who have turned their back 
on the Lord, when they pass 

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away, our heart is filled with 
sorrow For What Might Have Been.

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And I hope any time something 
like that happens, whether 

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someone dies in The Lord or not 
that our faith is renewed and 

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that we are encouraged to say, 
I'm going to do this. 

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I can do this and with God's 
help and the help of those that 

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I love, I can be successful in 
this life going from this life 

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to a home in heaven with God. 
Jesus said some amazing things. 

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in in, In. 
There we go, too far. 

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No. 
Okay, we'll start there, Luke 

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21, Jesus said Nation will rise 
against Nation Kingdom against 

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Kingdom and he was speaking to 
his Apostles about end time 

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things, there will be great, 
earthquakes in various places 

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famines pestilences. 
There will be fearful sights and

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great signs from heaven. 
But before all these things 

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will, they will lay their hands 
on you and persecute, you 

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delivering you up to the 
synagogues and prisons. 

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You will be brought before Kings
and rulers for my namesake Take 

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but it will turn out for you as 
an occasion for Testimony. 

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Therefore settled in your 
heart's not to meditate 

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beforehand on what you will 
answer for. 

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I will give you a mouth and 
wisdom which all your 

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adversaries will not be able to 
contradict her resist. 

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You will be betrayed even by 
parents and brothers relatives 

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and friends. 
And they will put some of you to

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death, and you will be hated by 
all for my namesake. 

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But not a hair of your head 
shall be lost by your patience 

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possess your souls. 
So that is what we want to speak

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about for just a little bit by 
your patience possess, your 

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souls and Luke 21. 
Jesus is speaking of end, time 

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specifically, he is speaking 
regarding the apostles in the 

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destruction of Jerusalem, the 
cord before occurred occurred 

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before the end of the first 
century. 

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And as we can read in this and 
other gospel accounts, this was 

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going to be a chaotic time for 
the apostles. 

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It was going to be a chaotic 
time for the church. 

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There were going to be Wars all 
around Earth. 

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Wakes famines disease. 
Outbreaks persecutions of 

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Christians, that included being 
put on trial for their faith, 

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which resulted in imprisonment 
and death in some instances. 

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Their own family members would 
turn against them and be active 

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in revealing where they were to 
authorities, who were searching 

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for Christians, that they might 
be put into prison tortured and 

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killed generally Jesus reveals, 
they were going to be hated and 

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despised for being Christians 
for being Followers of Christ, 

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then in verse 18, Jesus said not
a hair of your head will be 

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lost. 
Really, he has just said you're 

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going to be betrayed, some of 
you will be put to death. 

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Not a hair of your head will be 
lost. 

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This is not the physical head of
those. 

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He was addressing, this is a 
spiritual lesson and it was to 

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remind his immediate audience, 
the saved of the hope of Heaven.

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The destruction of a Saint's 
body, says, McGarvey and 

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Pendleton, and fourfold gospel. 
Would work no real injury to 

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him. and so, those who were 
persecuted Jesus is saying, 

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There won't be any harm come to 
you. 

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Oh yeah, you may die. 
Some of you will but there's no 

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harm and then he says in verse 
19, by your patience possess 

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your souls, obviously, God was 
going to bless the apostles 

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during this time and we know 
that God promised and did what 

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he promised to do, but the 
apostles had a responsibility as

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well, the apostles didn't just 
go on to automatic pilot with 

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everything they did. 
They had things As they had to 

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do. 
Also, such as stay faithful to 

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God. 
And when they didn't, they were 

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corrected as in, when the 
Apostle Peter went astray, and 

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the Apostle, Paul corrected him 
in front of everybody, Jesus is 

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saying to the apostles in 
patience, possess your soul, and

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that's a way of saying they were
captains of their own faith, if 

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you will and that will sound 
familiar, who saw the slide that

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was here, just a moment ago, the
poem Invictus by William, Ernest

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Henley has been around for a 
long, long time. 

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Perhaps, you are aware of this 
and have studied it in school. 

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I learned that the author is an 
individual who lived from In 

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18-49 to 1903. 
And he was born in Gloucester 

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England, and he was diagnosed at
a very early age with tubercular

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arthritis, and he went through 
many years of pain and 

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discomfort, he wrote this poem 
when he was in the hospital for 

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his disease and he had just had 
his left leg amputated from the 

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knee down. 
Here are his words out of the 

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night that covers me black as 
the pit from pole to pole. 

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I thank whatever God's may be 
for my unconquerable soul in the

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fell, clutch of circumstance. 
I have not winced, nor cried 

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aloud under the bludgeonings of 
chance. 

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My head is bloody, but unbowed 
beyond this place of Wrath and 

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tears looms, but the horror of 
the shade and yet the Menace of 

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the year's finds and shall find 
me unafraid. 

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It matters. 
Not how Strait the gate, how 

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charged with punishments. 
The scroll. 

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I am the master of my fate. 
I am the captain of my soul. 

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Now we, of course, correct. 
Some of the concepts in this 

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poem, whatever. 
God's may be, is not a true 

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statement because there is only 
one God, the Lord God Of Heaven 

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and Earth and we would also 
correct that the only certain 

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Faith after this life is the 
looming horror of the shade. 

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Because we know that the promise
of the hope of Heaven awaits all

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who are redeemed and Jesus 
himself promised in John 14, 

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that he was preparing A Place 
For Us in his father's house. 

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Now, Nevertheless, the concept 
is one of he was going to 

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determine the quality of his 
life. 

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That was what he was going to 
do. 

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He was going to determine the 
quality of his life even and 

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especially when life was at its 
worst for him. 

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And I believe that's a message 
to us that it can be up to us to

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decide how we will act and react
to life circumstances. 

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Whether life circumstances are 
wonderful or whether they are 

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the worst that we have ever 
seen. 

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What is Jesus saying? 
In our passage in Luke that was 

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addressed to the apostles about 
the destruction of Jerusalem. 

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In those things that were about 
to certainly happen to them. 

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He saying that they too could 
decide even with chaos. 

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All around them. 
They too could be victorious. 

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They could control themselves 
within that time. 

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It was within their ability. 
It was within their power to 

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have God's approval. 
In other words, he was saying to

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them, you own this. 
You own this, this is on you and

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that is the message that I want 
us to consider of some things 

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that we own in our time. 
We own our part, in our 

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relationships, with others. 
Regardless of what that 

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relationship might be. 
It is ours to own. 

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And so, what are we, how are we,
who are we in the eyes of 

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others? 
As a child, how are we? 

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As a child in the eyes of our 
parents, we are instructed to 

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obey and honor, Ephesians 6:1, 
and to first commandment with 

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promise. 
To obey and honor. 

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Two simple words. 
Sound simple. 

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Really hard The Obedience part 
can be done because you've just 

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been punished. 
But the honor part. 

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That comes from the heart. 
So, obedience may come because 

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parents are big and strong. 
But we grow up, don't we? 

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Sometimes we're bigger than our 
parents stronger than our 

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parents. 
What are you going to do, then, 

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parents? 
The Obedience part needs to be 

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because the parents are someone 
to be followed. 

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Then the honor part will I'll 
illustrate it like this if 

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you're a kid and you've been 
told to take out the trash to 

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obey, is to take out the trash, 
to honor is to do. 

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So, without rolling your eyes, 
as you walk out the door. 

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A lot of us have that I roll 
perfected at 66, I still have it

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and my mama's still knows. 
And so this honor thing and 

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Disobedience thing that we learn
from the time were knee-high to 

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a grasshopper is what is to set 
the stage for who we are. 

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When we're not being watched 
It's to set the stage for who we

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are as people out among others 
who do not have our values. 

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It's the set. 
A stage for who we will be when 

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we grow up and we leave father 
and mother. 

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It's to set the stage for who we
will be. 

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When we enter into 
relationships, and we enter in 

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to friendships. 
So who are we as a child in the 

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eyes of our parents? 
Who are we, as a spouse in the 

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eyes of our spouse? 
There's so much with all of this

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are our marriages are intended 
to be filled with love and 

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respect. 
And that is intended to teach 

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our children, who they are to be
in their relationships. 

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Our children learn how men treat
women, and how women treat Men 

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by what they see and observe and
here every day. 

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And so, who are we, how are we 
as a spouse? 

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How are we, as a parent and the 
eyes of our children are we in 

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the Lord? 
That is our Command. 

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Not just because we're stronger,
not just because we can wield a 

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mean switch, but because we're 
in the The Lord, we will have 

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appropriate punishments for 
infractions, and we will show 

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our children the way to Humble 
ourselves before God, so that 

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they might do the same. 
How are we? 

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As a neighbor in the eyes of our
neighbors, a worker, in the eyes

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of our boss. 
Our co-workers were to provide 

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things honest. 
And we are to work as if we were

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working for God, there should 
never be a Christian who is 

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blamed by their bosses being 
lazy. 

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That's just not right. 
Evangelist are told do the work 

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of an evangelist and that's an 
example for the whole church. 

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Elders are selected because they
have a pattern of work among the

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congregation, that is easily 
recognized and easily seen. 

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And so it is, when we go to our 
jobs, wherever that may be, we 

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want to be an exemplary worker. 
Now, we may not do so well in 

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our job but we will work hard at
it and we will give it our best 

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and school. 
Cool. 

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Is after that, what is it about 
us as a student in the eyes of 

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our teachers? 
And for those who are in school,

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please know that school is your 
job. 

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That is your job. 
And so, do your best. 

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And grades are not necessarily 
an indication of effort for 

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everyone. 
Someone may get wonderful grades

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but be a louse. 
As far as everybody is concerned

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who's an authority figure in the
school. 

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00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000
That's not the way we're 
supposed to be. 

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And so, we cannot always look at
Grades and say, oh, they're a 

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wonderful person. 
They're a wonderful example to 

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everyone in the school. 
Not necessarily that's on us. 

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We own that now I'm kind of a 
lake college student. 

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And so I will say, when I 
started to college it 50 I was a

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much more diligent student than 
I was when I was younger. 

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So, I do understand. 
That the difficulty of some 

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teachers, the difficulties of 
some classes, the difficulties 

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00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,800
of some material, but we're 
still to do our very best. 

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How are we then? 
As a friend in the eyes of our 

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friends, if someone is our 
friend, it will be obvious. 

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Someone who has friends, has to 
be friendly. 

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And then how are we in our 
relationships with others? 

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As a friend must someone be a 
certain race, a certain size 

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Sighs a certain height the 
certain income level in their 

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home etcetera Etc. 
Before they will be fit to be 

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00:16:25,900 --> 00:16:31,200
friends with with us if so we 
are so short-sighted. 

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If so we are so blinded by 
Prejudice that it is just very 

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very sad and we can be thankful 
that God does not do that. 

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Anytime someone is in any way 
different It's hard for them. 

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It's hard for them. 
We naturally seek people who are

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at the same level as we are 
whatever that level, maybe, 

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that's how clicks are born and 
sometimes those clicks become 

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00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:07,800
very, very wrong. 
Now there's nothing wrong with 

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having best friends in a circle 
of wonderful good friends. 

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But if that Circle cannot 
include everyone, then there's 

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something wrong with us and we 
need to own that. 

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We have to own that. 
And so it is those who cannot 

254
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,400
hear We're still love to 
communicate those who cannot. 

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00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,200
See, still love to know what's 
in front of them. 

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00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:37,300
Those who cannot walk still love
to take Journeys and so it is 

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everyone who maybe just a little
bit different, is easy to shun. 

258
00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:47,700
And shame on us. 
If that's who we are, because 

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being a friend. 
It's what God does when he 

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00:17:51,900 --> 00:17:53,900
doesn't look on outward. 
Appearances. 

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But when he looks at harks as 
much as possible, we are to live

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peaceably with all mankind and 
any verse that applies to a 

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00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,800
Christian and relationships 
between Christians. 

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Starts at home. 
Now, there are a lot of specific

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00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,000
verses about the home, but there
are also a tremendous amount of 

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00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,300
verses about Christians behaving
themselves in various 

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relationships and how we are to 
conduct ourselves that has to 

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00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:33,200
start at home. 
We don't get a pass at home on 

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00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,000
who wears to be as Christians 
that needs to be where we 

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00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,600
practice these things and 
perfect these things. 

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So we can endure whatever may 
come at us from the world. 

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00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:45,400
And so we have Some very hard 
sayings. 

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One translation says it's God's 
chosen people. 

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Holy and dearly loved clothe 
yourselves with compassion 

275
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,400
kindness humility. 
Gentleness and patience, was 

276
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,900
that the scene as everybody got 
ready to come here tonight. 

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00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,000
Patience, gentleness, 
compassion. 

278
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,500
Kindness, humility bear with one
another and forgive one. 

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00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:12,400
Another if any of you has a 
grievance against someone that 

280
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,700
ever happened in a family that 
someone has a grievance against 

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00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:22,600
someone, Of course, it does how 
are we to conduct ourselves? 

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00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,900
Forgive as the Lord forgave you 
and over all these virtues put 

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00:19:25,900 --> 00:19:30,100
on love, which binds them all 
together in perfect Unity, it's 

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00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:34,200
the bond of perfection. 
And so we need to bear with one 

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00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,400
another and it's kind of like 
when you live with somebody in a

286
00:19:37,408 --> 00:19:42,200
family you get to know them 
warts and all and so it is we 

287
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,400
get to know each other very very
well and we know all the buttons

288
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,800
to push So that we can upset 
this one upset that one etcetera

289
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:54,500
and we need to have our very 
best foot forward. 

290
00:19:54,700 --> 00:19:58,700
Once we have an awareness that 
life exists Beyond ourselves. 

291
00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,600
And so it is whenever we 
consider those who we will be 

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00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,100
friends with there is a saying 
that was first recorded in 

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00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:11,300
English translated from the 
German in, 1573 he that goeth to

294
00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:14,100
bed with dogs a riseth with 
fleas. 

295
00:20:15,100 --> 00:20:19,100
So this is a caution about Our 
friendships are friendships that

296
00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:24,900
we have even in the church need 
to be with caution. 

297
00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:28,000
Not everyone. 
Who is part of the Lord's 

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00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,800
church? 
Is a good person. 

299
00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:42,700
Sorry. 
Not everyone who's outside, the 

300
00:20:42,708 --> 00:20:49,900
Lord's church, is a bad person. 
But if we start spending our 

301
00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:53,900
time and adapting the values of 
those who have nothing to do 

302
00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:59,700
with the Lord, then that's going
to tempt us greatly and we'll 

303
00:20:59,700 --> 00:21:03,900
end up with fleas. 
Fleas like worldliness. 

304
00:21:05,100 --> 00:21:08,500
Fleas like wondering about the 
doctrine of the Lord's Church. 

305
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,000
The New Testament puts it this 
way. 

306
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,200
Do not be deceived. 
Evil company corrupts good 

307
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,900
habits. 
Haven't we seen that? 

308
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,500
Where someone gets in with a 
circle of individuals and get 

309
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:25,000
under their influence and rather
being an influence to them? 

310
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,700
They are influenced by them. 
And before we even before, we 

311
00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:32,800
know it, they're not who they 
need to be and we can see them 

312
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:38,200
slipping slipping slipping away.
And sometimes we have to say I 

313
00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,000
am not strong enough. 
Have this friendship. 

314
00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:46,900
I'm not strong enough to be part
of this association with this 

315
00:21:46,900 --> 00:21:49,300
crowd. 
I'm just not ready for that. 

316
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,300
And sometimes we have to have 
the strength to turn away. 

317
00:21:55,900 --> 00:22:01,600
We own, who we are. 
We own our relationships. 

318
00:22:02,100 --> 00:22:05,700
We can have the strength to walk
away and regarding friendships. 

319
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:13,700
Friendships come and go. 
Friendships ebb and flow, and 

320
00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:17,500
sometimes we have to ask 
ourselves if this person were 

321
00:22:17,500 --> 00:22:19,900
not my friend, how would they be
treating me? 

322
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,900
And if the answer is, well, 
they'd be treated me, just like,

323
00:22:23,900 --> 00:22:26,400
they are, then they're not your 
friend. 

324
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,700
And if you've ever experienced 
that, you know, exactly what I'm

325
00:22:30,700 --> 00:22:33,300
talking about, when somebody 
starts treating, you ugly, when 

326
00:22:33,300 --> 00:22:36,600
they won't spend time with you 
for no apparent. 

327
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,700
Good reason when they don't 
return your text for no 

328
00:22:39,700 --> 00:22:41,400
apparent. 
Good reason when they have no 

329
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,800
interest in what interests you 
and they just seem to be too 

330
00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,900
busy to be bothered by you. 
They're not your friend. 

331
00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:53,600
Now, we intend to be in heaven 
with every faithful child of 

332
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,400
God, but that doesn't mean that 
we're going to hug every day 

333
00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,400
with everybody. 
That's in the Lord's Church. 

334
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,400
Didn't Paul and Barnabas kind of
proved that. 

335
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:06,900
And so if someone is a great 
friend, wonderful, spend time, 

336
00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:09,600
enjoy that if they're not don't 
waste your time. 

337
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:19,400
Please turn to someone who loves
having friends like you. 

338
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,900
Don't waste your time with 
people that push you out of a 

339
00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:29,800
group. 
In the Lord's Church, please it 

340
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,500
can cause a it can cause Decades
of Heartache. 

341
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:44,500
Okay. 
We can own our own faith. 

342
00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:51,500
In second, Timothy 1, verse 5, 
when I call to remembrance the 

343
00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:53,400
genuine faith that is in you, 
which dwelt first in your 

344
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,000
grandmother, Lois and your 
mother Eunice and I am persuaded

345
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:58,900
is in you also, there are three 
individuals named in this verse 

346
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,000
Timothy's grandmother. 
His mother and himself a notice 

347
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,400
if you will that each of them 
possessed their own faith. 

348
00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:08,400
No one can possess our faith for
us. 

349
00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:12,500
We have to possess our own 
relationship with God. 

350
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,200
It has to be according to his 
word. 

351
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,200
It has to be according to our 
assign roles First Corinthians 

352
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,200
11, And we have to make sure 
that we're in accordance with 

353
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:26,300
God's rules for our role, for 
who we are, but no one can 

354
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:30,400
possess our faith. 
It is to be our own years ago, 

355
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,900
knocking doors. 
I asked a fellow a question. 

356
00:24:32,900 --> 00:24:37,600
Like, do you have a religion and
he answered me, you know, I'll 

357
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:42,300
have to ask my mother. 
What we are and he meant that 

358
00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:45,800
sincerely. 
He didn't know, but he knew that

359
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,000
she knew now. 
What was he? 

360
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,400
He was nothing, he was 
absolutely nothing and isn't 

361
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:58,500
that sad? 
And so this faith that was in 

362
00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:03,300
them was in each of them. 
And they were a great example, 

363
00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:07,400
for one another, but they had 
their own faith, other 

364
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,800
Christians May encourage us, and
hopefully they do. 

365
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,600
However, Ever. 
They cannot and must not be the 

366
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:18,300
source of our faith. 
Our faith has to come from where

367
00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:21,200
God says it comes from by 
hearing and hearing by the word 

368
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:26,200
of God, our faith must come from
the word of God. 

369
00:25:26,900 --> 00:25:29,900
Now, together with many other 
young people, it's a wonderful 

370
00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:31,700
occasion. 
Some of you will go back to home

371
00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:34,700
congregations where you're the 
only one of your age. 

372
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,100
You're not the first to have 
that experience. 

373
00:25:38,100 --> 00:25:42,300
Many have through the decades, 
you still can be faithful in the

374
00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:44,800
Lord's church. 
If you're the only one there of 

375
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,000
your age group, why? 
Because our faith must come from

376
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,900
the word of God. 
And the things that are written 

377
00:25:51,900 --> 00:25:54,900
in the gospels are written that 
we might believe that Jesus is 

378
00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:57,200
the Christ, the son of God, and 
that believing you might have 

379
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,500
life through his name. 
And so, these things are for us 

380
00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:05,100
in the word of God, which means 
we need to be actively pursuing 

381
00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:08,000
the word of God. 
If our faith waivers, we need to

382
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,000
go back to the book. 
We need to go back to Matthew, 

383
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,300
Mark, Luke and John, we need to 
read again. 

384
00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:16,200
And again, and again, the story 
of Jesus Christ, we need to 

385
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,900
learn who he was walk with him 
as he performed his miracles. 

386
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,900
Listen to the struggles that he 
had the Temptation that he had 

387
00:26:23,900 --> 00:26:26,700
going to the Cross. 
Be thankful for the death that 

388
00:26:26,700 --> 00:26:31,400
he died for us and we can renew 
our faith every day by looking 

389
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,000
in the word of God and we have 
no excuse for not having a 

390
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:35,600
Bible. 
What? 

391
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:39,500
Many people around the world 
still do not have a Bible in the

392
00:26:39,500 --> 00:26:42,100
language they speak. 
We on the other hand, have so 

393
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,600
many bibles and now we can have 
them on our phones. 

394
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,600
On our tablets, we can have many
versions of the word of God at 

395
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,800
our fingertips very, very 
easily. 

396
00:26:55,100 --> 00:26:59,600
But we can't absorb the word of 
God just because it exists in a 

397
00:26:59,608 --> 00:27:03,100
nap. 
Just because it exists in a 

398
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,200
book. 
We can't absorb the word of God,

399
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,500
unless we actually concentrate 
on it. 

400
00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:12,400
One side, I recommend for study 
is study light dot-org. 

401
00:27:12,900 --> 00:27:16,000
It's a free site with extensive 
reference materials, including 

402
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,100
many Church of Christ 
references. 

403
00:27:18,100 --> 00:27:21,700
Many word study references. 
It's an amazing sight. 

404
00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:25,300
But like everything that is not 
the Bible, be careful because 

405
00:27:25,300 --> 00:27:29,600
anyone who's written about the 
Bible is not inspired and so you

406
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,300
have to be careful. 
Look to see who wrote it and 

407
00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:37,200
then and only, then be careful. 
Don't don't ignore what, you 

408
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,200
know, thinking you found 
something new. 

409
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,600
Take what you know with you as 
you're studying now. 

410
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,200
Our faith. 
We encourage each other and 

411
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,000
we're supposed to do that. 
Where do we put those? 

412
00:27:54,000 --> 00:28:02,700
Who we and, We Rejoice with 
those who rejoice. 

413
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,400
We're to love each other enough 
to correct each other. 

414
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:13,300
When we're wrong relation, six. 
We're to be really close as the 

415
00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:16,100
family of God. 
We're to love the Brotherhood. 

416
00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:20,200
With that said, don't look to 
the side. 

417
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,500
Look, only in front of you. 
What if that person tomorrow? 

418
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,300
Is no longer faithful in the 
Lord's Church. 

419
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,500
What if that person in front of 
you is no longer faithful in the

420
00:28:35,508 --> 00:28:40,400
Lord's church, will you still be
faithful? 

421
00:28:42,700 --> 00:28:46,000
now, for some of you, the person
in front of you is me and I 

422
00:28:46,008 --> 00:28:50,500
acknowledge that But let's think
about it. 

423
00:28:52,300 --> 00:28:54,700
I already mentioned an apostle 
who went astray. 

424
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,600
Who corrected him? 
Another Apostle dressed him down

425
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,900
in public in front of everybody.
That was the Apostle. 

426
00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:05,600
Peter. 
Did he straighten up? 

427
00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,200
Yeah, he did. 
He repented of that wrong. 

428
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:12,500
And we know that because when he
was an ordained, an elder, as 

429
00:29:12,500 --> 00:29:14,800
you might say, there were no 
outstanding warrants against 

430
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,600
him. 
And so, we know we can make 

431
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,200
mistakes from which we can 
recover. 

432
00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:26,100
We also know that people who are
wonderful in the church one. 

433
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:31,400
Day are gone the next Demas 
hath, forsaken, me. 

434
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:37,700
Paul said having loved this 
present world, and we never see 

435
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:42,600
Dimas again in the scriptures, 
through my decades. 

436
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:47,400
In the Lord's Church, there have
been members, young and old 

437
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,800
walked away from the Lord's 
Church fathers who walked away 

438
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,900
from their families, mothers who
walked away from their families 

439
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,600
and the church. 
There have been Elders who 

440
00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,100
walked away from the church. 
There have been gospel, 

441
00:30:01,100 --> 00:30:04,200
preachers faithful one day and 
gone. 

442
00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:09,800
The next It does and it will 
happen. 

443
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,700
Which is why. 
If our faith is based on any one

444
00:30:14,700 --> 00:30:18,900
individual, we have it in the 
wrong place. 

445
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:24,300
Our faith must be firmly based 
on the word of God and we must 

446
00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:27,500
incur be encouraged by those who
stay faithful. 

447
00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:33,300
Even if we look around and no 
one else is Can that happen? 

448
00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:36,700
Yes, it can, it can happen in 
communities. 

449
00:30:36,700 --> 00:30:40,200
It can happen in congregations 
and it happened to Jesus 

450
00:30:41,300 --> 00:30:44,000
everyone. 
Forsook him and fled in the 

451
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,100
garden. 
And yet he still went to the 

452
00:30:48,100 --> 00:30:51,700
cross. 
And so are we willing to go the 

453
00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:57,300
way of the Cross by ourselves? 
When others that we love turn 

454
00:30:57,300 --> 00:31:02,500
their back on the Lord? 
And so it is we An look, 

455
00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:05,700
sometimes to multiple 
generations of our families who 

456
00:31:05,700 --> 00:31:08,700
have been faithful and we can be
so thankful and we can be so 

457
00:31:08,700 --> 00:31:11,800
encouraged by that. 
But some of us were raised by 

458
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,900
wolves and they were not 
faithful. 

459
00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:18,700
Now, you notice I started out 
with some verses about Timothy, 

460
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:24,500
his mother, his grandmother. 
Did you notice that no men were 

461
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:29,600
mentioned Not a man was 
mentioned in that at all, not a 

462
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,900
father, not a grandfather. 
Nobody weather where the 10th 

463
00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:38,500
Generation of our family, that's
faithful in the Lord's church or

464
00:31:38,500 --> 00:31:42,900
the first, we still just must be
faithful. 

465
00:31:42,900 --> 00:31:47,100
Some here have probably known 
the heartache of a parent who 

466
00:31:47,100 --> 00:31:50,900
leaves the Lord's church. 
What do we say about that? 

467
00:31:50,900 --> 00:31:54,300
We say, we love them, we cannot 
go where they go. 

468
00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:57,800
Some of us have suffered the 
heartache of Children, who have 

469
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,100
forsaken, the Lord church and 
grandchildren. 

470
00:32:00,100 --> 00:32:02,600
Who forsaken the Lord's Church? 
What can we say to them? 

471
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,200
We love them with all of our 
hearts, but we cannot, and we 

472
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,700
will not go where they have 
gone. 

473
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:20,100
We own our faith. 
We also own our own Talent. 

474
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,100
The parable of the talents is 
that those talents were given to

475
00:32:24,100 --> 00:32:26,400
each. 
According to his own ability, 

476
00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:28,600
there were different numbers of 
talents. 

477
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:32,400
And so, the individuals were 
given these talents and the good

478
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,700
Master went away, and the 
individuals were left to use 

479
00:32:36,700 --> 00:32:40,900
those talents. 
In this assembly, there will be 

480
00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:46,000
individuals who've yet to serve 
the Lord in any capacity, who 

481
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,100
will be better than most who do.
Do if you can carry a tune 

482
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,400
gentleman and you're a member of
the Lord's church and you won't 

483
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,400
lead us all and you won't help 
in any way in the assembly. 

484
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,200
I do know and have been places 
where the leaders of the songs 

485
00:33:04,900 --> 00:33:07,100
couldn't carry a tune in a 
bucket. 

486
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,400
But yet, they would announce a 
song that's appropriate for the 

487
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:15,400
worship service, they would do 
their best to get it started. 

488
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,900
And the rest of us would sing 
along while individuals, very 

489
00:33:19,900 --> 00:33:24,900
capable of singing far, far 
better set there and say, no, 

490
00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:31,100
not me, not me. 
And so it is how are we going to

491
00:33:31,100 --> 00:33:33,600
use the talents that God has 
given us? 

492
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:39,300
This to starts at home? 
This starts at home. 

493
00:33:39,700 --> 00:33:43,500
What talents do we have at home?
My mother growing up. 

494
00:33:43,500 --> 00:33:46,000
Thought I had the talent of 
washing dishes. 

495
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:52,600
She was raw my sister and I had 
that chore. 

496
00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:57,500
I know, I'm old, we were raised 
for a good number of years 

497
00:33:57,500 --> 00:34:00,000
without indoor plumbing. 
Some of you don't have a clue, 

498
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,000
what that means others of you 
do, but that means a dishwashing

499
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:10,400
was done in a sink, and it was a
sudden, Affair and my sister and

500
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,199
I never emerged from that 
experience ever dry. 

501
00:34:14,900 --> 00:34:20,000
Never, we always had some reason
to, you know, to Splash a little

502
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:24,100
water on each other. 
What talents do we have, 

503
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,000
whatever those talents are are 
to be used at home, starting at 

504
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:34,199
a very, very young age, and then
those talents are to be 

505
00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:39,100
transferred into our lives and 
into the The Lord's Church. 

506
00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:45,000
What we do with our talents in 
the Lord's church is not about 

507
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:50,000
all about public participation. 
Now, young men when you 

508
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,100
participate in leading any part 
of the worship, please know it 

509
00:34:54,100 --> 00:34:59,900
is an honor, it is a privilege 
and it requires maturity to not 

510
00:34:59,900 --> 00:35:03,900
detract from worship, and the 
manner in which it is done. 

511
00:35:04,700 --> 00:35:09,100
Ideally, no one remembers who 
led a song. 

512
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:14,200
Ideally we remember the 
worshipful words and the 

513
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:18,600
pleasantness of raising our 
voices in song, ideally, no one 

514
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:23,200
remembers who led the prayers 
just that that prayer was spoken

515
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,500
to God. 
So sincere, and in the name of 

516
00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:31,500
Jesus so that we too could make 
it our prayer and whoever 

517
00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:35,200
teaches a lesson long after we 
forgotten who did. 

518
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:39,600
So may we remember the 
principles of God's word that 

519
00:35:39,700 --> 00:35:42,800
Were presented lovingly to God's
people. 

520
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:48,100
Using our talents in the Lord's 
Church goes, Way Beyond what we 

521
00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:50,900
do in public. 
I held a meeting some years ago 

522
00:35:50,900 --> 00:35:53,800
at a place and a brother had 
just moved to another 

523
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,600
congregation. 
And we got there on, it was a 

524
00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,400
Wednesday through Sunday 
meeting, we got there on a 

525
00:35:59,408 --> 00:36:02,600
Thursday and the Brethren said 
Greg, it's hot in here, but we 

526
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,200
don't know how to we don't know 
how to set the thermostat. 

527
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,200
The brother. 
Who did that just moved? 

528
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:12,700
And then a night or two goes by 
and they said great. 

529
00:36:12,700 --> 00:36:15,000
We don't know how much to pay 
the preacher for a meeting 

530
00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:18,700
because the brother who did that
that same brother just moved. 

531
00:36:18,700 --> 00:36:21,400
I said, well let I'm sure we can
figure that one out. 

532
00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:25,500
You know, the thermostats were 
going on set, you know, I didn't

533
00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:29,000
I didn't They missed that 
brother. 

534
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,000
And they didn't even know. 
All that he did they didn't know

535
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:40,200
half of what he did. 
And so what can we do? 

536
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:49,100
Ladies young ladies, especially 
at what point do you own helping

537
00:36:49,300 --> 00:36:52,800
in any part? 
Of the church. 

538
00:36:53,100 --> 00:36:55,700
If your church is going to, if 
your congregation is going to 

539
00:36:55,700 --> 00:37:01,600
have a meal together must that 
always be moms task at what 

540
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:05,000
point does a young lady say let 
me do something. 

541
00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:09,300
Let me cook something at what 
point do younger people in a 

542
00:37:09,300 --> 00:37:15,100
congregation say I'll always 
clean up at what point does 

543
00:37:15,100 --> 00:37:19,800
someone say how can I serve at 
what point does someone young 

544
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:23,200
man or young woman? 
Say let me Take my turn doing 

545
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:27,100
things. 
Whether it's making the loft. 

546
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,600
Cleaning the toilets, mowing the
lawn. 

547
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:38,400
Somebody does all those things. 
At some point, we have to grow 

548
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:47,300
up and look Beyond ourselves and
say how can how can I help? 

549
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,600
How can I help now? 
There's a concept here. 

550
00:37:54,800 --> 00:38:00,300
That says. 
When we do our charitable Deeds,

551
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:04,200
were not to sound a trumpet as 
the Hypocrites do. 

552
00:38:09,900 --> 00:38:13,600
Can we do a good deed? 
For someone. 

553
00:38:14,700 --> 00:38:23,400
Without posting it online. 
I hope we can and we visit the 

554
00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:27,200
lonely. 
And we say hi to someone who 

555
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:32,400
people rarely speak to how. 
Can we serve at any age? 

556
00:38:32,700 --> 00:38:36,100
It is an honor and a privilege 
to serve the Lord. 

557
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,100
The Christian is not forbidden 
to practice righteousness before

558
00:38:45,100 --> 00:38:50,800
men, what is forbidden is to 
make it his, or her object to be

559
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:57,000
seen. 
What is our motivation for 

560
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,000
helping others? 
Hopefully it's because we love 

561
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,400
the Lord and we love God's 
people. 

562
00:39:03,900 --> 00:39:06,800
And therefore we want to see how
can we help? 

563
00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,600
Well, I think I need to stop 
here at this one. 

564
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:19,200
I'm sorry, young ladies I did 
say something about mirror time 

565
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,200
and I know I'm playing with 
fire. 

566
00:39:22,700 --> 00:39:25,200
I know Maritime is very, very 
important. 

567
00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:29,600
But when you look beyond the 
mirror, when you look yourself 

568
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:34,300
in the eye who are you and when 
you turn away from that mirror, 

569
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:38,800
is your world larger. 
Is it larger than yourself? 

570
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:45,000
You know, we start out very very
selfish, very selfish. 

571
00:39:45,300 --> 00:39:48,100
There's no one more selfish than
a tiny baby. 

572
00:39:48,900 --> 00:39:53,700
We circled back around to that 
when we get really old and when 

573
00:39:53,700 --> 00:39:56,300
you're when you're just an 
infant, people think that 

574
00:39:56,300 --> 00:39:59,800
selfishness is really cute. 
When you're really old not so 

575
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:05,400
cute anymore, get me water. 
Where's my coffee? 

576
00:40:06,300 --> 00:40:12,500
Not so cute anymore but when you
interpret a cry as all the baby 

577
00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:15,700
needs to be changed. 
That's somehow cute. 

578
00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:23,500
I'm told now We can own how we 
help and who we are. 

579
00:40:23,700 --> 00:40:27,700
Okay, we're going to plunge into
an area that is very difficult. 

580
00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:31,400
But we're going to talk about 
it. 

581
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,700
When I work with people before 
they're married. 

582
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:39,000
I tell them, we can, we're going
to talk about everything. 

583
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,700
We're going to talk about 
anything and we're going to get 

584
00:40:42,700 --> 00:40:45,500
through this. 
And so that's how this is, as 

585
00:40:45,500 --> 00:40:48,800
well. 
We need to own our standard of 

586
00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:55,000
morality and physical desire, is
to be seen as a gift from God, 

587
00:40:55,100 --> 00:40:58,300
the Apostle Paul addresses that 
in First Corinthians chapter 7. 

588
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,200
When he says, each one has his 
own gift from God and this 

589
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,900
manner, and another after that, 
the word gift of that is in 

590
00:41:03,900 --> 00:41:06,300
First Corinthians 7. 
Verse 7 is normally associated 

591
00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:09,500
with miraculous spiritual gifts,
but that is not the case here. 

592
00:41:09,500 --> 00:41:13,200
This is the natural gift of God 
for desire of intimacy and 

593
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:17,000
control of the same. 
And so the proper gift of God. 

594
00:41:17,300 --> 00:41:20,900
According to John Edwards is 
control, over one's bodily 

595
00:41:20,900 --> 00:41:25,900
appetites and passions, and it 
will be extremely difficult for 

596
00:41:25,900 --> 00:41:29,300
many individuals to have 
appropriate control. 

597
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:33,800
Some of that can be explained by
information as is give presented

598
00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:38,000
here. 
This is men versus women at the 

599
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,600
age 12 through 25. 
The desire for men starts early 

600
00:41:42,700 --> 00:41:47,000
Peaks earlier and the desire for
women starts at about the same. 

601
00:41:47,300 --> 00:41:51,900
Time, but Peaks much later and 
to complicate that this is the 

602
00:41:51,900 --> 00:41:54,200
age of which people get married 
these days. 

603
00:41:54,600 --> 00:42:00,500
And in 2015, it's near its 29 
years for men and 27 years for 

604
00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:02,800
women and it has never been 
higher. 

605
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:08,300
And so we have individuals with 
desire and individuals who don't

606
00:42:08,300 --> 00:42:10,500
get married for longer and 
longer times. 

607
00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:15,500
Now, what do we say and what do 
we see in this, this graph about

608
00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:19,500
when development occurs H what 
it means for Christians is that 

609
00:42:19,500 --> 00:42:23,800
men need to learn self-control 
in this area at a younger age 

610
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:27,000
than women. 
Men need to learn this lesson 

611
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:34,200
first and God's solution for the
gift of Desire is self-control 

612
00:42:34,300 --> 00:42:39,000
and marriage for those that are 
scripturally qualified to marry 

613
00:42:39,900 --> 00:42:43,800
First Corinthians 7 says, now 
concerning the things of which 

614
00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:46,800
you wrote to me, it is good for 
a man, not to touch a woman 

615
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,000
nevertheless because of sexual 
immorality, Let each man have 

616
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:53,100
his own wife and let each woman 
have her own husband. 

617
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,700
So who is responsible for this 
self control in dating who's 

618
00:42:58,700 --> 00:43:01,700
responsible for this? 
Well, both. 

619
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:05,700
But who's responsible first? 
Gentlemen. 

620
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:12,100
That's you. 
That's you, you're responsible 

621
00:43:12,100 --> 00:43:16,300
first, why it's a principle 
that's found in Ephesians of 

622
00:43:16,300 --> 00:43:20,900
fifth chapter, where we find 
husband and wife compared to 

623
00:43:20,900 --> 00:43:25,200
Christ to the church Christ is 
the head of the church and was 

624
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,200
willing to go first in all 
things going the way of the 

625
00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:33,100
cross for his bride and so it is
gentleman that if we're going to

626
00:43:33,100 --> 00:43:37,300
walk in the Earthly image of 
Christ, we need to be first in 

627
00:43:37,300 --> 00:43:41,500
self-control. 
And it's like, well, but this 

628
00:43:41,500 --> 00:43:43,900
desire. 
Yeah. 

629
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:51,300
Paul said. 2 Timothy, let no one
despise, your youth be an 

630
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:55,900
example in Purity. 
That's what he's talking about. 

631
00:43:55,900 --> 00:43:59,900
Timothy you need to be an 
example in Purity. 

632
00:44:00,700 --> 00:44:05,900
So as we look further, there's a
parallel that I hope can help 

633
00:44:05,900 --> 00:44:09,600
with this because individual 
say, well I have this desire and

634
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:13,000
it just needs to be expressed. 
It's like well let's look at the

635
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:16,600
days of Miracles. 
Miraculous gifts at Corinth. 

636
00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:20,300
They had all these The scarce 
and people thought since I have 

637
00:44:20,300 --> 00:44:22,600
a miraculous gift, I just have 
to express it. 

638
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,400
And this particular passage that
I have on the board, I believe 

639
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,700
refers to what was going on in 
their worship. 

640
00:44:28,700 --> 00:44:32,600
Everyone men and women who had a
miraculous gift were expressing 

641
00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:36,000
their gift in worship. 
You talk about a chaotic mess it

642
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,500
was and Paul said, stop. 
It said, ladies you can't get to

643
00:44:40,500 --> 00:44:45,600
speak at all and then he says 
that men one at a time. 

644
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:48,700
But look at verse 32, the 
spirits of The prophets are 

645
00:44:48,700 --> 00:44:52,100
subject to the prophets. 
In other words, he's saying, you

646
00:44:52,100 --> 00:44:57,200
don't have to use this gift, you
can control when you use it. 

647
00:44:57,400 --> 00:44:59,900
And so anyone with the 
miraculous spiritual gift was 

648
00:44:59,900 --> 00:45:02,100
expected to behave themselves 
and use their gift 

649
00:45:02,100 --> 00:45:04,900
appropriately. 
And I believe the same concept 

650
00:45:04,900 --> 00:45:08,300
applies to the non miraculous 
gift of Desire. 

651
00:45:08,300 --> 00:45:11,500
All who have the gift of Desire 
are expected to behave 

652
00:45:11,500 --> 00:45:15,000
themselves and use their gift 
appropriately, and so it is 

653
00:45:16,700 --> 00:45:24,800
Young man. 
Please do not use your gift of 

654
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:30,100
desire to attempt to manipulate 
young ladies in agreeing to 

655
00:45:30,100 --> 00:45:34,700
behaviors, that God, only 
blesses in marriage. 

656
00:45:36,100 --> 00:45:40,000
Man, that's on you. 
That's on you. 

657
00:45:42,300 --> 00:45:44,400
Now, you can have accountability
Buddies. 

658
00:45:46,300 --> 00:45:48,900
And that's what I meant about 
the premarital studies. 

659
00:45:51,300 --> 00:45:53,400
When I work with a couple, I'll 
say how you doing. 

660
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:56,400
How you doing with your 
commitment to purity? 

661
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:00,400
How are you doing avoiding 
intimacy before? 

662
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:03,600
You're married. 
Remember I said we're going to 

663
00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,000
talk about anything and 
everything. 

664
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:09,700
And I've had couples. 
Look at me and say we've made 

665
00:46:09,700 --> 00:46:14,300
some mistakes. 
And then we talked about that. 

666
00:46:15,700 --> 00:46:18,600
And then I asked them, are you 
willing to make a commitment? 

667
00:46:19,900 --> 00:46:22,400
That we will discuss again in 
our time together. 

668
00:46:25,300 --> 00:46:33,500
To stay pure until you marry. 
And anyone who says no, I won't 

669
00:46:33,500 --> 00:46:41,500
waste my time. 
I've never had anybody say no, 

670
00:46:43,900 --> 00:46:49,400
I've had people relieved. 
That someone would bring up a 

671
00:46:49,408 --> 00:46:53,200
subject that was just eating 
them up with guilt. 

672
00:46:54,700 --> 00:46:58,000
And they needed some help with 
it and there was nobody that 

673
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,900
could turn to at least they 
thought, of course, there were 

674
00:47:00,900 --> 00:47:04,700
people they could turn to but 
they felt all alone in that. 

675
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,000
Young ladies. 
You are amazing. 

676
00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,800
God truly saved the best to last
when he created Eve. 

677
00:47:18,500 --> 00:47:24,100
You're the crown jewel of all 
creation. but when you use your 

678
00:47:24,100 --> 00:47:30,300
desire and your beauty, And your
desirability. 

679
00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:37,600
At the wrong time. 
You become just like Eve after 

680
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:43,200
her fall. 
When she sought as a disciple of

681
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:47,600
Satan to get her husband to be 
just like her. 

682
00:47:48,600 --> 00:47:53,800
Don't use your beauty that way. 
Who you are and your body is a 

683
00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:58,200
gift from God and God's solution
to the gift of Desire is 

684
00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:01,800
marriage, okay? 
That was hard. 

685
00:48:04,300 --> 00:48:06,400
I know we're going to move on to
money. 

686
00:48:06,500 --> 00:48:11,200
It's simple, right? 
No, it's not mistakes that you 

687
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:14,000
make it fun with money. 
At a young age will haunt you 

688
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,700
for decades. 
If you're not careful, it's 

689
00:48:16,700 --> 00:48:21,200
possible in a few brief moments 
to have so much debt, your life 

690
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:25,100
that you never see a way out. 
If you've not listened to Dave 

691
00:48:25,100 --> 00:48:29,000
Ramsey on his radio program or 
read any of his books, spend 30 

692
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,100
minutes listening to him. 
Once you've done that, you'll 

693
00:48:31,100 --> 00:48:32,400
hear the same thing over and 
over. 

694
00:48:32,400 --> 00:48:36,100
If you listen to every day, What
he says is from a Biblical 

695
00:48:36,100 --> 00:48:39,700
standpoint, don't make money 
your master. 

696
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:42,800
No, man can serve God. 
And Mammon the Bible says 

697
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:45,500
remember that. 
And so it is this is a chart 

698
00:48:45,500 --> 00:48:47,900
that talks about the net worth 
by age. 

699
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,300
It starts at age. 35, why does 
it start at age? 

700
00:48:51,300 --> 00:48:53,700
35, with posit most of your 
ages. 

701
00:48:53,700 --> 00:49:01,600
You have nothing any of you go 
into a car dealership and buy a 

702
00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:03,600
new car, the second, you drive 
it away. 

703
00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:09,000
Your net worth is met you just 
lost a lot of money, the minute 

704
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:12,900
you turn the key. 
It takes a long time to have 

705
00:49:12,900 --> 00:49:16,500
much money. 
So, how do we behave ourselves 

706
00:49:16,500 --> 00:49:18,800
with money? 
Well, take heed and beware of 

707
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:21,400
covetousness for one's life. 
Does not consist in the 

708
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:24,100
abundance of the things that he 
possesses yet. 

709
00:49:24,100 --> 00:49:27,500
At the same time, we have an 
obligation to make a living and 

710
00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:33,400
to provide in fact if those who 
are able don't, they're worse 

711
00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:36,400
than a an unbeliever. 
They're worse than an Infidel. 

712
00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:40,600
The Old King James says, we need
to be willing and able to 

713
00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:45,400
provide for our families. 
I encourage everyone who can to 

714
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:50,000
have a great education to use it
well to get wonderful jobs where

715
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,600
you can serve God as a Christian
within that job. 

716
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:57,800
And that gives the church, the 
means to send the gospel around 

717
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,300
the world. 
How do you think the gospel has 

718
00:50:00,300 --> 00:50:03,700
spread around the world? 
This is a hub of doing that. 

719
00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:06,900
That how has that happened? 
It's happened by families, who 

720
00:50:06,900 --> 00:50:10,100
are faithful to the Lord who 
have good jobs and make a good 

721
00:50:10,100 --> 00:50:12,600
income and they're very generous
in their giving to the Lord's 

722
00:50:12,600 --> 00:50:16,300
church and by that means there 
are thousands of congregations 

723
00:50:16,300 --> 00:50:22,800
around the world. 
So I'm not saying just work at 

724
00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:26,500
the least paying job, you can 
find not at all. 

725
00:50:26,900 --> 00:50:30,200
I'm just saying when we when we 
start to make money it has to be

726
00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:33,300
with a greater purpose, a 
greater purpose. 

727
00:50:33,500 --> 00:50:36,100
And that greater purpose is to 
serve others. 

728
00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:38,400
The church is to not be 
burdened. 

729
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:41,300
When there are issues in our 
families families are going to 

730
00:50:41,300 --> 00:50:44,400
help first. 
And so there are many things 

731
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:46,800
that we can do. 
If we have a good living, we 

732
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:49,800
also are to own our sin Oh, this
is hard. 

733
00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:53,000
It's so easy for me to blame 
somebody else for the mistakes 

734
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:56,300
that I have made. 
If only this person, you know, 

735
00:50:56,300 --> 00:50:58,700
that's that's or, you know, how 
that goes. 

736
00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:05,500
And so Eve, blamed the serpent, 
Adam. 

737
00:51:05,500 --> 00:51:08,600
Blamed Eve, that woman thou gave
us me. 

738
00:51:11,500 --> 00:51:13,300
You know that really was blaming
God. 

739
00:51:14,500 --> 00:51:17,500
And that's what we do. 
When we start looking around for

740
00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:19,500
somebody to blame for our 
mistakes. 

741
00:51:19,900 --> 00:51:24,400
We're blaming God, we own our 
mistakes. 

742
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:29,300
And when we make mistakes, we 
need to have a humble heart, 

743
00:51:29,700 --> 00:51:34,600
where we are willing to say, 
like David of old, I have sinned

744
00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:38,900
and we need to be willing to do 
our best to recover from that 

745
00:51:38,900 --> 00:51:43,300
sin. 
With our with the rest of our 

746
00:51:43,300 --> 00:51:46,700
days. 
And so it is our time. 

747
00:51:46,700 --> 00:51:52,200
Now brings us to talk a little 
bit more about a life of sin. 

748
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:57,600
I'll tell you about a fellow. 
Who at your age? 

749
00:51:57,600 --> 00:52:02,200
Many of you. 
Was a Christian and then decided

750
00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:04,800
that there were so many neat 
things out there you know the 

751
00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:09,700
pleasures of sin for a season. 
And so he enjoyed most of them 

752
00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:16,400
drinking drugs multiple and 
moral relationships. 

753
00:52:17,500 --> 00:52:21,800
Driving under the influence and 
ending up in prison for 

754
00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:26,600
vehicular manslaughter. 
And through the years, he has 

755
00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:30,200
struggled in and out of the 
Lord's Church. 

756
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:35,300
And within the last few years, 
he has had the most Gears of 

757
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:40,100
faithfulness that I have known 
in the last 20-plus years, that 

758
00:52:40,100 --> 00:52:44,500
I have known him. 
He talked recently. 

759
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:54,100
About his dreams. 
He said I know the Lord has 

760
00:52:54,100 --> 00:52:58,600
forgiven me. 
Said, I know I've made so many 

761
00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:03,500
mistakes. 
And I know the Lord has forgiven

762
00:53:03,500 --> 00:53:10,100
me. but he said, I am haunted In
My Dreams by the mistakes, I 

763
00:53:10,100 --> 00:53:16,600
made when I was young, And he 
said, I can't stop the dreams. 

764
00:53:20,500 --> 00:53:26,100
But here's what he has started 
doing. he started saying, when 

765
00:53:26,100 --> 00:53:30,500
he wakes up from one of those 
nightmares, He prays to God with

766
00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:33,800
faithfulness for having 
survived. 

767
00:53:35,100 --> 00:53:39,400
He's thankful to be alive, he's 
thankful to have survived. 

768
00:53:39,400 --> 00:53:45,100
All of those poor decisions. 
And he's the most active person 

769
00:53:45,100 --> 00:53:51,000
I have ever known and inviting 
people to the Lord's church and 

770
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:55,700
inviting people to his home for 
Bible studies and talking to 

771
00:53:55,700 --> 00:54:01,500
people every day about the 
Lord's church and what can be 

772
00:54:01,500 --> 00:54:10,800
there for anyone. one of these 
days, if the Lord Wills, you 

773
00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:17,000
will be my age or older, And 
you'll get the pleasure perhaps 

774
00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:24,400
of looking back on your life. 
and when you're my age, And you 

775
00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:26,800
look back. 
What do you want to see? 

776
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:32,900
What do you want to see? 
Do you want to see a life lived 

777
00:54:32,900 --> 00:54:39,400
of service to God? 
Do you want to see a life filled

778
00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:43,600
with mistakes? 
That you just never cleaned up. 

779
00:54:45,100 --> 00:54:49,600
What do you want to see? 
I hope you want to see that at a

780
00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:55,500
certain point. 
You said I own my relationship 

781
00:54:55,500 --> 00:55:02,000
with God. 
And I'm going to do my best now.

782
00:55:03,100 --> 00:55:07,700
We don't own our relationship 
with God in that, we demand of 

783
00:55:07,700 --> 00:55:13,500
God to accept us as we are. 
But we're responsible for who we

784
00:55:13,500 --> 00:55:17,200
are before God, and in the day 
of judgment, when the books are 

785
00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:20,800
opened and the Book of Life is 
open, what does that mean? 

786
00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:25,500
It means we will be judged out 
of who we have been and that 

787
00:55:25,500 --> 00:55:30,800
means each day that we live. 
We're telling the Lord where we 

788
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:36,800
want to go and yet the Bible 
says in our patience possess our

789
00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:38,400
souls. 
That's what Jesus told his 

790
00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:45,200
Apostles in our patients and so 
it is just for today, can we win

791
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:48,200
a victory over Satan? 
Just for today? 

792
00:55:48,900 --> 00:55:53,000
Can we say no to a temptation? 
Just for today. 

793
00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:57,600
Can we do what we need to do? 
Help who we need to help. 

794
00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:01,100
Can we do our best to serve the 
Lord? 

795
00:56:01,600 --> 00:56:04,700
And so our soul is for us to 
win. 

796
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:08,600
It's not for us to walk in those
things of the world. 

797
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:11,900
It is for us, to walk in the 
footsteps of Jesus. 

798
00:56:12,200 --> 00:56:18,100
And we can do this. 
We can be Victorious and 

799
00:56:18,100 --> 00:56:23,800
Phillips translation of Luke 21.
19 says, hold on and you will 

800
00:56:23,800 --> 00:56:26,900
win your souls. 
We don't know what's coming in 

801
00:56:26,900 --> 00:56:29,900
life. 
It may be a wild ride. 

802
00:56:30,800 --> 00:56:35,400
Hold on, we'll be okay. 
Not a hair of our head will be 

803
00:56:35,400 --> 00:56:37,700
harmed. 
That has nothing to do with the 

804
00:56:37,700 --> 00:56:40,500
hairs of our head. 
It just means no matter what 

805
00:56:40,500 --> 00:56:45,800
happens to us in this life will 
be okay if we will stay strong 

806
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:48,900
in the Lord. 
Perhaps I'm talking tonight to 

807
00:56:48,900 --> 00:56:53,900
someone who's not yet turned 
their life over to God. 

808
00:56:54,100 --> 00:56:57,300
Yes, we all know. 
We are, which means we have the 

809
00:56:57,300 --> 00:57:00,400
right to decide whether or not 
we're going to be a Christian. 

810
00:57:00,600 --> 00:57:03,700
The Lord will accept all who 
will come to him. 

811
00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:09,000
And he will accept all who obey 
him, according to his word, in 

812
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:12,200
order for us to be a Christian 
as was taught last night. 

813
00:57:12,300 --> 00:57:16,400
It is necessary in order for us 
to, to be forgiven of our sins 

814
00:57:16,400 --> 00:57:19,900
to have faith to repent of our 
sins to confess. 

815
00:57:19,900 --> 00:57:23,100
That Jesus is the son of God, 
and then, to be immersed in 

816
00:57:23,100 --> 00:57:25,100
water for the remission of our 
sins. 

817
00:57:25,700 --> 00:57:28,000
Perhaps, there's someone 
tonight, who's not yet? 

818
00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:33,300
Taken that step, you own your 
right to do that. 

819
00:57:33,500 --> 00:57:37,300
The Lord has blessed us with the
freedom to make that decision. 

820
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:40,300
The greatest decision we will 
ever make in our lives. 

821
00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:43,400
Perhaps there's someone here who
is a Christian but you've sinned

822
00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:47,500
of a public nature, isn't it? 
Time that you got rid of that 

823
00:57:47,500 --> 00:57:51,200
burden and that, you allow those
who are here to pray on your 

824
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:53,700
behalf that you might be 
restored to faithfulness. 

825
00:57:53,900 --> 00:57:56,100
There's one to obey the gospel 
to repent of wrong. 

826
00:57:56,100 --> 00:57:58,200
Please come forward as we stand 
as we see