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Been disqualified in the Niagara
Falls Marathon. 

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They have had more than a 
hiccup. 

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They've had a fiasco. 
Because what happened is that 

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the man that won the marathon 
followed the lead biker. 

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That's what you're supposed to 
do, apparently. 

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Not like I would ever be leading
a marathon, so I wouldn't know 

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experientially, but apparently 
you're supposed to be lead 

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following the lead biker. 
But guess what? 

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In the Niagara Falls marathon, 
the lead biker cut a kilometer 

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off. 
Yeah. 

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And the marathon runner who won 
even said or thought he had won,

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had the medal said, but I asked 
him and there was a mistake 

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because he followed the wrong 
leader and the leader didn't 

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know the right route. 
And he has had his first place 

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winning the marathon revoked and
and he's appealed it. 

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And they were of the six first 
place 6 like 123456, three of 

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them have lost their placement 
because they followed this biker

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and the biker was confused. 
Have you ever been disqualified?

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Because as we head today into 
Galatians Chapter 2, that is 

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what Paul wanted to avoid. 
Now we talked last week about 

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the social pressures haven't 
changed on the cities of 

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Galatia. 
They were worried very much 

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about their community acceptance
and community acceptance said 

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that if every anything goes bad 
and you're the one that didn't 

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pacify the idols, it's your 
fault. 

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They were worried about the 
economy and the government 

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powers that be, and Caesar 
worship was what was expected. 

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And so the Jewish communities, 
as we said last week, have 

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gotten around this. 
How did they do it? 

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They got around by saying we 
will pray for Caesar instead of 

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to Caesar. 
So this is still the same 

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pressure. 
We've got social pressure. 

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We've got economic, political 
pressure and we have religious 

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pressure because the Jewish 
communities don't want these 

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Christians messing up their hard
won liberty. 

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And so Paul is writing and we're
going to talk some more today 

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about maintaining the unity. 
Let's go now and think about 

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this poor marathon man as we 
read what Paul says in Galatians

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2. 
Then after 14 years, I went up 

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again to Jerusalem, this time 
with Barnabas. 

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I took Titus along also. 
I went in response to a 

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revelation and meeting privately
with those esteemed as leaders. 

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I presented to them the gospel 
that I preach among the 

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Gentiles. 
I wanted to be sure I was not 

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running and had not been running
my race in vain. 

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Yet not even Titus, who was with
me, was compelled to be 

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circumcised even though he was a
Greek. 

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All right, we have. 
Paul has gone back to Jerusalem.

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This is probably 14 years after 
what happened in chapter 1. 

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You can go and read Acts 11 and 
you can read Acts 15. 

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There's two Jerusalem visits and
you'll get some of the backdrop.

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But in all of this, he had with 
him Barnabas, and he had with 

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him Titus. 
Now Barnabas had been the one 

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that helped Paul meet the 
Jerusalem church when everybody 

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else was like, this man kills 
Christians, we why would we have

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him in our community? 
Barnabas had brought him in, and

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Titus, as he says, is a Greek, 
and so here he brought someone 

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who had already made him 
acceptable to the Jerusalem 

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church, and he also brought 
someone that was a part of his 

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ministry who he had led to 
Jesus, who would have been 

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outside the normal part of the 
Jerusalem church, realistically.

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And why did he go? 
Well, verse 2 says he wanted to 

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be sure I was not running and 
had not been running my race in 

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vain. 
What we don't know is was he 

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going also with this a little 
bit to correct the Jerusalem 

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church because of the Jerusalem 
church was most influenced by 

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where they were with a largely 
Jewish community. 

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And Paul is sailing all over the
Mediterranean, sharing Jesus 

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with people who were not Jewish 
background were what they called

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pagans. 
And so here is what is at stake 

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is yes, Paul is having Christian
community confirm his call that 

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he had not been running in vain.
But also what was at stake was 

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the existence of the church 
because, see, people were very 

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acceptable to stay siloed in 
their culture groups. 

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Now, we're an intercultural 
church, but if you look around, 

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are we sitting still a little 
bit in our culture groups or or 

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our faculty groups? 
So one of the things to start to

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think about is why? 
And so I love this quote from NT

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Wright because it calls us into 
what really was at stake with 

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Paul's, the race he was running.
It's the very existence of a 

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single messianic family. 
Messianic. 

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That's Messiah. 
What is it that unites us is 

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Jesus, and it's cutting through 
human divisions. 

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That means economic, linguistic,
political, all of the cultural, 

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racial, whatever the divisions 
that humans usually are 

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quantified on, Jesus cut through
all that so that we all together

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could enjoy the new creation of 
God. 

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And here's the thing, it's 
assigned to the powers of the 

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world. 
Yeah, political powers, but also

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to the spiritual powers. 
Think Ephesians 6 that God was 

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God, Jesus was Lord, the new 
creation had begun, that all 

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human powers and empires in the 
world could not touch it. 

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And that is what at least NT 
Wright, who's a better scholar 

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than I am, thinks is at stake in
verse 2. 

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In this meeting is essentially 
unless those of you, some of you

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sitting here may have some 
Jewish heritage, but for all the

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rest of us who have no Jewish 
heritage, our access to Jesus 

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and his spirit working amongst 
us was at stake in this 

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conversation. 
So Paul was making sure he 

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wasn't following the wrong bike,
but he was also making sure the 

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Jerusalem church wasn't 
following the wrong bike. 

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Now let's keep reading Galatians
chapter 2, verse 4. 

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This matter arose because some 
false believers had infiltrated 

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our ranks to spy on the freedom 
we have in Christ Jesus and to 

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make us slaves. 
We did not give in to them for a

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moment so that the truth of the 
gospel might be preserved for 

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you. 
So somebody had been hassling 

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Paul and so he decided, all 
right, that's enough, let's go 

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get this worked out. 
And so he went to Jerusalem to 

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work this out. 
And here is the thing, he knew 

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that Jesus had called him on the
road to Damascus. 

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He had had his time in Arabia 
that we looked at. 

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He had had his call affirmed 
again and again. 

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Here are some more verses for 
you to look at for those of our 

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call. 
Paul knew what Jesus wanted him 

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to do, but he also knew that it 
mattered that the whole church 

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was in on it. 
Now, I want to suggest that you 

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might be at a season where 
you're like, I don't actually 

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know what I'm called to do. 
So do you know that you are 

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called into relationship with 
your heavenly Father? 

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And how do you deepen that 
relationship? 

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That is a call. 
Do you know the character that 

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you are called to walk in? 
That is a call. 

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And so whether or not you've had
a road to Damascus shining 

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light, you know much of what we 
as Christians are called to do. 

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So obey what you do know, follow
the call you do have, and more 

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will come. 
And so Paul had started with 

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Jesus and he had to do a 180 and
start following him instead of 

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persecuting his followers. 
And then Jesus kept revealing 

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Paul didn't know it was going to
end with him in a Roman house 

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arrest. 
He didn't know all of where the 

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call would take him, but he said
yes to what he knew. 

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And now he is working out. 
And so here's what it is. 

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How many of you will only go to 
an event if you can take a + 1? 

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OK, so I didn't know this is a 
culture piece. 

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So where I'm from, if I invite 
you, of course somebody who's 

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important to you could come with
you too. 

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And I was so fascinated when I 
talked to somebody and they knew

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they were having 87 people at 
their event. 

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Like how do you know 87 And I 
was like, well, we had an RSVP 

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and I was like, yeah, I always 
have an RSVP, but 8 like I've 

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never had such a precise number.
But what they knew is that they 

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had said no plus one and that 
only those that were invited 

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would dare to come. 
And it was just a culture 

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difference. 
Here's what I want to say that 

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the gospel of Jesus has no plus 
one in We don't get to add to 

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it, whereas in all these other 
spaces we're saying come on in, 

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let me be as agreeable and with 
you. 

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But on the gospel of Jesus. 
It is what God has said and he 

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has said I love you so much. 
We like that part. 

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Most people like God loves us 
and then guess what, we all sin.

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I had a friend who sent her 
child to Christian camp and then

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got really angry that they told 
him he was a Sinner. 

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I don't know what you thought 
was going to happen. 

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OK. 
And she goes, well, how would 

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you have felt because my kids 
hadn't gone to that camp. 

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And I said, well, I actually 
think that by grade 6, most her 

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son was in grade 6. 
Most children realize they're 

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not living up to everything 
their parents wish. 

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And I actually think there's 
some health and not trying to be

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perfect. 
And so that's when Jesus says I 

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have fallen. 
You, Paul said in Romans, fallen

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short of the glory of God. 
That's what it is to sin. 

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We have fallen short of all the 
goodness we're created for. 

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So God loves us. 
We have all sinned, and that is 

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why God sent Jesus to the cross 
to die, to conquer, to overcome 

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the powers of this Dark World. 
But the overcoming ends with the

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resurrection. 
All right. 

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And then he sent his Spirit to 
fill us. 

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So that's the gospel in a 
nutshell. 

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And because he keeps talking 
about the truth of the gospel, I

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just thought we might ought to 
say it for a minute. 

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And so can you concisely 
communicate what is the truth of

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the gospel or what is the plus 
one? 

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What is it? 
You and I might have left 

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something out and I'm willing to
talk to you about that. 

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But what is it that you're like?
But don't Christians have to or 

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can't Christians not? 
Those are plus wanting's the 

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Spirit of Jesus will call you 
into life and godliness and 

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change some of your behavior. 
But the truth of the gospel is 

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what Jesus has done for us and 
what his Spirit is doing in our 

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midst. 
And so Paul calls a meeting. 

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Now I want you to think about 
you and how God is at work with 

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you. 
So in verse 6. 

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As for those who are held in 
high esteem, whatever they were 

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makes no difference to me. 
God does not show favoritism. 

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They added nothing to my 
message. 

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On the contrary, they recognized
that I had been entrusted with 

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the task of preaching the gospel
to the uncircumcised, just as 

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Peter had been to the 
circumcised. 

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00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,760
For God, who was at work in 
Peter as an apostle, apostle to 

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00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,320
the circumcised, was also at 
work in me as an apostle to the 

193
00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,200
Gentiles. 
James, Cephas, and John, those 

194
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,320
esteemed as pillars, gave me and
Barnabas the right hand of 

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00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,680
fellowship. 
When they recognized the grace 

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00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:48,000
given to me, they agreed that we
should go to the Gentiles and 

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00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:55,640
they to the circumcised. 
And so Paul for 14 years has 

198
00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,360
been living out this call. 
There is a physical difference 

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00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,200
between Jewish Christians and 
non Jewish Christians who are 

200
00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,080
male. 
He acknowledged that there was a

201
00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,760
difference in culture, there was
a difference in location, there 

202
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:14,800
was a difference in background, 
but there was still the Lord 

203
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,640
uniting them. 
And So what happened is they 

204
00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,960
noticed and they named where did
they see the power of God? 

205
00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:28,480
The word here for the power of 
God at work is what we get our 

206
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,560
word for energy from. 
The New Testament has another 

207
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,400
word. 
It's the word we get dynamite 

208
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,880
from. 
These are verses about seeing 

209
00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,640
the power of God at work for you
to look at on your own. 

210
00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:46,760
But what I want you to notice is
that Paul new the power of God 

211
00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,120
working through him, as did 
Barnabas, as did Peter, as did 

212
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:57,760
James, as did John. 
And so in all of this, how have 

213
00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:02,000
you experienced the power of God
at work in you? 

214
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,520
Paul in another place points out
that he is not ashamed of the 

215
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,320
gospel because it's the power of
God that brings salvation. 

216
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:19,280
So how has the goodness of Jesus
worked out in you to show the 

217
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,120
power of God? 
And if you're like, I actually 

218
00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,240
don't know, that's where we also
need Christian brothers and 

219
00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:30,920
sisters because Paul went back 
to Jerusalem and they all 

220
00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,160
recognize the power of God. 
So sometimes when you don't see 

221
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:39,520
it, ask somebody else, where 
have you seen the power of God 

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00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:48,320
amongst us or in my life? 
The power of God is a beautiful 

223
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:54,000
thing and it's not always the 
kinds of things that make it to 

224
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,760
social media or that make it 
into news. 

225
00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,640
Think about Elijah on the still 
small voice of God. 

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So God is, if you have said yes 
to the gospel of Jesus, he is at

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work in you. 
And it's a beautiful and 

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important thing to recognize the
power of God through you and in 

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others. 
It's a thing brothers and 

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sisters in Christ do for one 
another. 

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And sometimes we do it because 
we're in awe of what it looks 

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like for the power of God to be 
working through somewhat. 

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And sometimes we do it because 
we want to call out more of the 

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goodness. 
It's a gratitude thing that if I

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recognize this week I was sick, 
Craig was away, somebody 

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Brittany offered me to bring me 
supper. 

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And I said, well, I don't need 
supper, but I'm really worried 

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about Halloween trick or 
treaters. 

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And what I need is a bunch of 
candy to give children because 

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I'm not going to make it to the 
store. 

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And so she brought it the power 
of God's kindness to see that I 

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was sick and to ask somebody to 
ask me. 

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Now, there are other people I 
could have asked, but I was 

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like, it's two blocks away. 
You're not that sick. 

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Except I felt really awful. 
So sometimes it's a form of 

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gratitude. 
Sometimes it's recognizing how 

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good God's being to you. 
But let us notice, just as they 

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did, God was at work. 
And Peter and God was at work 

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and Paul. 
So how is God at work amongst 

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us? 
The resurrection is not just an 

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Easter story. 
The resurrection is the very 

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power you have access to. 
So if you are feeling hopeless 

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and despair, instead of that, 
God is at work and you say, 

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Jesus, I need a little more of 
your resurrection power. 

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That was not just for the 
resurrection. 

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That was for you to live through
me. 

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The Spirit of Jesus lives in US 
who call him by name. 

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And just as Paul could be this 
really effective missionary, so,

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so broadly you can do beautiful 
and powerful and amazing things 

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with the Spirit of Jesus working
through US. 

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Paul's not solo here. 
He's with Barnabas and he's with

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Titus. 
So let's look for more 

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resurrection power for more of 
the Spirit of Jesus, not because

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we need more, but because I 
think we need to pay more 

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attention to what is already 
here and what is already 

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released. 
The Spirit of Jesus is doing 

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beautiful things through you. 
So let's name it. 

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Well, notice it. 
Let's name it and then celebrate

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what God is doing now. 
Here is here's a doozy. 

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What is unifying for us? 
I think it's Jesus. 

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I hope so. 
Let's see what was unifying in 

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this church. 
So in verse 10 of chapter 2 he 

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says all they asked was that we 
should continue to remember the 

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poor, the very thing I had been 
eager to do all along. 

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Now the truth is is that Paul 
was probably from a higher socio

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economic background than James, 
John or Peter. 

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James, John and Peter had been 
entrepreneurs as Fisher people 

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before they became fishers of 
men, and Paul was elite enough 

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that he had both Roman 
citizenship, he knew his Hebrew 

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well enough to start Pharisee 
school, and in all of that they 

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both felt called to remember the
poor and in that they had the 

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heart of Jesus. 
If you read the book of James, 

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which is a very applicable book,
which is either this James or 

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one other, there were two James 
leaders in the church in 

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Jerusalem, but they were both 
active in the church. 

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He's very concerned about the 
poor and the treatment and how 

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they're respected when they sit.
James had a lot to say about the

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poor and Paul has other verses 
on the poor. 

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They are both in keeping with 
teaching from the Old Testament 

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all the way through. 
Now, there are many things that 

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I hear Christians unify about. 
We unify about politics. 

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We unify about styles of 
worship. 

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We unify about how we do our 
Bible study. 

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We unify about political 
agendas. 

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We unify about service 
opportunities. 

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When's the last time you heard 
Christians unified about serving

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the poor in the early church? 
That is the call out. 

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And I hope and pray it can also 
be the call out for us. 

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This was an active memory. 
This was a faith without works 

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is dead. 
This was a oof, open your wallet

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kind of thing. 
Because if this aligns with the 

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Acts 15 visit of Paul to 
Jerusalem, guess what? 

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He came with money from all 
these Pagan churches because all

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of those Christians had heard 
about a famine in Jerusalem and 

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had given to contribute. 
And so in the midst of the many 

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things that unify us or in this 
case bring some disunity, Jesus 

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and how we treat the poor or 
what brought these brothers in 

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Christ back together. 
Now, what can you do? 

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I would ask who are you 
following, not just on campus 

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but online? 
Who are the teachers that you 

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follow? 
Are they going to help you run 

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the race? 
Well, I would ask, are the 

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teachers that you are enthralled
by the worship leaders that get 

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you excited? 
Are they supporting that Jesus 

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loves all people and are they 
calling you to remember the 

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poor? 
Be careful. 

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Do you all know the song? 
Be careful little eyes what you 

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see. 
Be careful little years what you

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hear, for the Father up above is
looking down in love. 

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Oh, be careful, little eyes, 
what you see. 

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So when we look and when we 
listen, we are influenced and 

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there are many that would 
influence us to have a heart 

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hardened to the poor. 
There are many that would 

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00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,960
influence you to go after all 
that you can for yourself. 

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That would encourage you to 
remain in your whatever is the 

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silo that matters to you in your
studies, in your ethnicity, in 

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your history of who you are as a
person. 

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And so run your race well 
empowered by the Spirit of 

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Jesus. 
I would also say, recognize, 

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caught, and affirm the power of 
God at work in one another. 

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That means we get to know each 
other, and we might get to know 

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each other and the messy stuff 
and the things that don't seem 

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00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,600
godly. 
And yet that's where the Spirit 

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00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,680
of Jesus also shows resurrection
power. 

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00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:20,520
And then ask yourself what 
unifies you or what breaks your 

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00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:26,160
unity. 
Look for who is generous to the 

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00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,440
poor and cozy up to those 
people. 

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00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,400
Why? 
Because there's something in our

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00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:39,200
character that can catch 
generosity, but we can also 

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00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:46,280
catch stinginess. 
And so if you are close enough 

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00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:50,520
to catch a cold from somebody, 
you are close enough to catch 

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00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:57,960
some character from them too. 
And so let's go and run our 

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00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,600
race. 
Well, most, not quite everybody,

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00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,600
but almost everybody in this 
room is younger than I am. 

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Have you already seen Christian 
brothers and sisters stumble and

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00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:16,960
fall? 
Someone gave them permission. 

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00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:26,280
Someone fed the fury or fed the 
addiction. 

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00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,280
Someone said it's not that big a
deal. 

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00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:34,400
We all done that. 
So you figure out who you're 

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00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:39,640
following. 
Run your race well, affirm the 

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00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,520
power of God amongst those you 
are close to and and when you 

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00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,400
notice it in others. 
And let us remember the poor, 

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00:26:47,760 --> 00:27:00,490
Let's pray Jesus, may we be as 
courageous as Paul to keep the 

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00:27:00,490 --> 00:27:07,210
Gospels truth. 
What is so important in our own 

355
00:27:07,210 --> 00:27:09,410
hearts and minds. 
Lord, there are many things 

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00:27:09,410 --> 00:27:14,280
vying for our attention and our 
energy, but we want to know You 

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00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,480
and the power of Your 
resurrection at work amongst us.

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00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:25,480
And so we say, Lord, make us 
courageous and truth telling, 

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00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,200
and to seek out the unity of our
relationships with Christian 

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brothers and sisters and to 
recognize and celebrate Your 

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00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:40,160
power at work amongst us. 
And that we would be a people 

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00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:46,120
known for being generous in our 
money, in our time, and in our 

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00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,520
ways of thinking with the poor. 
In Jesus name, Amen.