The Kingdom Way: Living as Citizens of Heaven and Earth

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excellence that he brings to, to our young people.

Thank you, buddy John. And I sure, lineage. Don’t worry. Foley, Healey. That’s right. And Kelleher, where do we all come from? That’s right. What a beautiful day.

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This has been one of the prettiest weeks I can ever remember up here. October. It’s cooling off. It’s gorgeous. I came up here today, and, we’re going to have communion today. How about that? You know, I’ll tell you what this cup is. Those three words, they’re in there. This cup is the New Testament written in his blood.

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I’ll take the when we get together and do that. It means an incredible honor to the Lord. And it’s a privilege that we can get to do that. And it’s also a privilege for me to have my family here today. I I’ll tell you what. I got my kids here. I got my son in law and his grandma, Marilyn.

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What a wonderful woman she is. I got, Sarah Grace, my daughter in law, and Sean. Sarah Grace, of course, is a very classy representation of the state of Oklahoma. If you get a chance, go introduce yourself and talk to her. She is incredible. Woman. Okay, first of all, I have to say hi to a couple people.

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I promised Pat I would. I Pat, he’s down in Southern California bringing the word. Hi. I love you, man. You and J.R., I also need to say hi to my mother in law and Marsha and Scott. They are faithful watchers. You know, if you don’t think this little TV ministry here is an essential part, I’ll tell you what.

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That’s how it brings her joy and hope. And she can. She can feel us here. She can feel the worship. And it’s a wonderful thing for her. You know what I was going to say? I tell Gary all those little red drums that you saw up here with these guys. Well, I got news for you. When I was that big, I.

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I had one of those strapped on to me, and that’s saying something. I’m going on 60 here. So it shows that you can survive here. But I think, I think I actually had to buy that thing. So count it a privilege, guys. Okay. Good news today. I didn’t do a lot of proofreading on my message here, but I did have a chance to run it by my 38 year old yellow parrot.

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Higgins. And, there he is. And he’s been with me the whole time. I’ve had him since I was a young guy. And when you’re 38, you pretty much know what’s going on. And and all he could say when I was reading it to him was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful over and over. Thank you buddy. Okay.

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I am a I’m kind of a script guy. I don’t do a lot of, off the cuff speaking because I like to hear the word from God, and then I like to. When I preach, I like to get up here and just kind of give you what he gave me. Which is, I think, you know, this this topic.

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We’re looking at the kingdom away. This is pretty it’s it’s pretty important for right now because we’re coming up on it. The kingdom was, of course, started by Jesus long time ago. But we are in the time where there is a transition coming, and that transition is going to be something, I’m not up here today to split any theological hairs.

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I’m just up here to encourage you today, my friends and my family, because that’s who you are to me. And, I want you all to know that I care about every one of you. I love you, okay? The kingdom way. I like to call this Jesus’s favorite subject. He talked a lot about it because he’s looking forward to the day when all things are redeemed, right?

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We are citizens of this earthly kingdom, America, but we are also citizens of the Kingdom of God, which is a place defined as where God reigns. That’s what the kingdom of God is, right? That would be in our hearts and in heaven. When Jesus spoke these words, the Kingdom of God, it sounded like this. And I don’t know if I should even try this.

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This is for Liz. But this layer to Theos, that’s what you would have heard coming out his mouth. That’s the kingdom of God.

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Except for me, you know, I get to imagine it that an American accent, that phrase defines and describes our beautiful and eternal citizenship, written in blood and set in stone, forever incorruptible. Right. And as we pass through this life as citizens of our earthly kingdom, we always know that we have this treasure in our earthen vessel that is the Excellency, and a may be of God and not of us.

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Right? We live in the most prosperous time in history. We have more rights now than anyone ever did. And what’s more, we live in the most prosperous country ever. I call it the American bubble because my grandson loves bubbles. And he said, okay, America is very strong. We can feel safe here in my work, but I want to crunch a few numbers for you for a minute here about America and our broader existence.

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America is actually, believe it or not, only about 4% of the population of the whole world. That means about 96% of the world aren’t Americans and they don’t see the world, most of them like we do. We live in this place, right bordered by two oceans. That’s why we’ve never been invaded. And it’s a beautiful land. The fact that we can get up here and say anything, the fact that I can get up here and say anything or any of us, about faith, is by the grace of God.

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So we thank God for our citizenship here and how much he blessed it with that. Let’s go over and take a look at Matthew 1724. All right. A unique passage that offers a window into Jesus’s life as a citizen of the Roman occupied territory of Israel, right? On their arrival in Capernaum, which is a really beautiful little town, I’ve been there on the Sea of Galilee.

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The collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and asked him, hey, doesn’t your den, your teacher pay the temple tax? Yes he does, Peter replied. So apparently Jesus was in the routine of paying his taxes. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak Jesus, Jesus asked him, what do you think, Peter?

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Do you think the kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?

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Yes.

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They tax the people they’ve conquered. Peter replied, well then, Jesus replied, the citizens are free. However, we don’t want to offend them. So go down into the lake and throw a line in. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.

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Okay, first of all, a coin is not going to pay your taxes anymore. It’s going to be right here. Jesus said, simply declaring that as the Son of God, he and his followers are not required to pay the tax because the children, his children as a king. Don’t have to pay taxes in his household. Very genius answer. But as good citizens, we don’t want to offend anyone.

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So let’s go ahead and pay him. Jesus didn’t want to offend them, but that’s just the way it is. You gotta pay him. And Jesus was. He was not an offensive person. He didn’t want if he wasn’t there to start a fight. Jesus, of course, had, well, 12 dependents. So maybe that’s why I was only one coin. Remember?

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Two though Jesus didn’t even own a pillow. That was a flat tax, right? You know what that is? He was not doing a lot of personal spending, although it does mention in Luke eight three that many women where the financial support and support of his ministry, any ministry, requires cold, hard cash. Right. And this and it is amazing that Jesus’s earthly ministry was fueled by the substance of many women that says, wow, that says a lot.

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There’s your upside down kingdom. David Lean I think there’s a lot of women here who would fit that profile. I know my wife works hard on her ministry and her children call her blessed. Believe me. So this is this passage makes it clear that Jesus was a good citizen and that he cared. He was subject to the laws of the land and was a model citizen.

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He engaged, he identified and became one of us, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, said Isaiah, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That’s because he was the I am in him, and through him are all things the center of the Trinity, the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Three distinct and listen.

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It is three distinct personalities, yet one in nature, perfect unity, and substance. Substance. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father, he said. There’s an identity for you. So clearly we see here that and many other scriptures, that Jesus was not here bucking the wheels of commerce or spreading civil dissension like a modern revolutionary like they always do.

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Right? He was the ultimate man of peace. He would, however, often redirect his attention and his affections to his heavenly kingdom with passages like John 1836 my kingdom is not of this world. It’s not founded on borders and culture. It’s founded on love and righteousness to transform the hearts of men. The core of us is where God came to reign to regenerate us spirit, soul and body.

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Now, even though our country may be having an identity crisis right now, we don’t have to. As born again believers, we share this identity with Jesus. We share in the blessings and we share in the sufferings, but we also share in the obligations of our citizenship to this country with opportunities and environment. It’s it’s provided this environment to share the kingdom and grow in our faith.

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Like Pat said last week, yes, thank God for the American experiment. The core of the American experiment was the connection Thomas Jefferson made and the Founding Fathers made in the Declaration of Independence between our basic rights as human beings and God as the provider of those rights. That’s how it worked. And I’ll give you a little background on that.

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What the heck? This 250 year old document of those rights makes a subtle but unmistakable connection between our earthly and our heavenly relationship citizenship, making the rights and privileges much more at the front end of our lives than we realize. Throughout history, the vast majority of countries were most often founded to the conquering of an already existing country, and once they were conquered, the citizens were given rights by their new king.

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All their rights. Period. So let’s say I wanted to start a country. I would start with some money, gather an army. I would border off some land.

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Then I’d print some more money and find some citizens. I would then get everyone together and let them know what kind of rights I would give them. And as long as everyone is operating in those boundaries and my laws that I set up, they could keep their rights. However, 250 years ago, our founding fathers had an entirely different idea for starting a country they had never it had never really been tried before.

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That’s right. Jefferson wrote very clearly that our most basic and precious rights are not given to you by men, but rather by God Himself. And over the last 250 years, millions of men and women have used those very rights of pursuing life, liberty and happiness to do things like print Bibles, spread the gospel, and build churches. That’s what happened under the American experiment.

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Well, I mean, this happened like that said last week, if they pledge their fortunes, they pledge everything they had to this because they knew what it was going to lead to. It created a favorable environment to pursue and promote a far more beautiful, not to mention eternal kingdom, where the law of love and liberty are now our priorities, aren’t they?

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So on the most basic level, we know that Jesus came 2000 years ago to kickstart a kingdom, and he came preaching the good news of what the father’s plan was to show us how to get it going. And from the day he stepped into his ministry, Jesus was all in an amazing man. No strings attached to him, no insult or criticism stuck to him.

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He led a sinless life in a world of religious confusion and hypocrisy. He taught his disciples what righteousness actually looked like. Things like, no guys, you can’t divorce your wife because she bugs you. He shows us what the father was actually looking for and then to make that even possible. What did he do? He cleared our record, didn’t he?

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So that we could even have a shot at this beautiful eternity. He was promising. But to deliver on that promise, there was a hefty price to pay. Thousands of years before that, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve basically told God, look, thanks for everything, but we don’t need you anymore. Instead, we’re going to follow the advice of this snake here.

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They lost everything and men, all men fell under descends, and it is appointed once for men to die. That’s what became of it. But here comes Jesus at a very precarious and contentious time in history. During the Roman occupation of Israel, a melting pot of Jews and Gentiles. Here he came saying, I’m 100% man, folks, I am. I can completely identify with you and you with me, but I’m also 100% God.

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So I have the power and the credentials to save you. And when you put your faith in me and what I’m going to do for you, you will have the credentials and the rights for my kingdom and the power to become what the sons of God, a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, one of the bedrock scriptures of this house for the last 50 years.

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See, it was a man that had transgressed against God, so it was a man that had to make the restitution. Unfortunately, we were all born under Adam and we all had the same bloodline. We were all guilty. We had nobody who could make the team. But what a genius God we have. He didn’t just make a way. He sacrificed and suffered through that way for us.

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For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus didn’t have a twin. There was no plan B, it was all on him. And he delivered.

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All right. Amen. Okay, citizens of heaven and me, work or wherever you’re from. I’m here today to remind you that citizens of the United States of America, as we are, we have the rights under our Constitution to go forth and make disciples of people and citizens of that kingdom. And I know we are. I’m looking at a lot of good people here.

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It’s our right and responsibility. So we don’t want to be afraid. Doing okay. So where do we stand? We gotta know where we stand, right? Right. We stand on Jesus on the rock. But we gotta remember to. We are also standing on contested ground here. Remember Tony Miller preaching on that? He’s a great man. Said, if you can come back here.

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How?

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Did you know that? What? What did Paul say in Romans 822? All creation is groaning and waiting for the adoption. For what? It’s revelation 20 11A new heaven and a new earth. Yep. Yes. And a bonus new bodies. Yes. Now, even though we know the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, we also know that Satan has built his kingdoms here and his agendas right here too.

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He’s injected his routines, his ways, and to all the governments here in one way or another. When Jesus was tempted by him in the wilderness and offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world, notice Jesus didn’t say to Satan, hey, these these kingdoms aren’t ears to give. Jesus knew who those kingdoms belonged to. Yes, the enemy has an agenda now more than any other time in the past that we’ve seen, it’s beginning to show itself.

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The true agenda.

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And then the end and the line out there between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of darkness is becoming very easy to spot, isn’t it? It’s becoming pretty easy to see. But thank God and all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

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So where we stand as individuals, as the church, we know we are in a redemptive process. What we know about redemption is, number one, when we put our faith in Jesus and confess to him our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. We turn our lives over to him and he saves us. And in that moment, our dead spirits are replaced by a brand new one.

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One that can communicate with God. Romans ten nine and ten where that is. And in that moment we are regenerated, redeemed, reignited and reconnected to the father. What a privilege. Then we are baptized into his name. This is your new heart has to do with an enabling to actually walk in a new life and let God write his laws on your heart to reprogram you if you let him.

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Okay, that’s the redemption of your spirit. Next is the redeeming of our bodies. These bodies are corruptible, right? They die, but they will be redeemed as well. They will put on incorruption. We will no longer be subject to death or corruption. In fact, when Jesus returns, our genetics won’t even recognize death as a threat any longer. And we will live with him forever.

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Yeah, yeah. Okay. Last to be redeemed, of course, is what the Earth uses. A three basic redemption. But this one is tricky. Why? Well, while our bodies, it says, will be changed in a moment, redeeming the Earth is going to take a little longer. Daniel clocks it at around seven years. That’s when the death that would be. All of us are going to get going, and we are going to unify as a church.

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Well, really as a family, we are going to be resourceful. We are going to demonstrate great faith and shine as a bright light, a city on a hill. Why does the tribulation have to take so long? Well, let’s just say this period will be a process. God often accomplishes his perfect will through a faithful process. And let’s not forget that God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.

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That’s right. The redemption of the earth is going to be a massive what? Eviction? It’s really what it is. It’s an eviction process with intense judgment. Wicked powers and principalities on the thrones of the world are going to be unseated and cast out. Evictions are horrific things, and this will be the granddaddy of them all. Satan will be evicted and condemned.

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Never been a time like what’s headed our way. And there’s never going to be one again. And we are going to see the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.

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By the way, don’t ever be afraid to do your own studies in the book of Revelation, in revelation one three. And I know we, all of us, you know, it’s doesn’t seem like an easy read in revelation one three, though it says blessed is the one who reads these words and keeps them in their heart. The word blessing there doesn’t mean a one time blessing.

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It’s a divine blessing. It’s a it’s a blessing, a favor. This is a different word, folks. This means his favor is going to enter your life. Why? Well, I don’t know. That’s just. Maybe it’s a bait. He wants us to read this book. He was John’s book. God, he was the revelation of Jesus Christ. Actually, the first five chapters of revelation are a pretty easy read.

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Although much of what John wrote in the book is what we call. And here it is parenthetical. In other words, he’ll tell a story. Then he backs up and then I’ll tell starting backs up. So it does. You can get a little confused. So it can be a little confusing, but with a study guide or good teacher who can help you connect this subject together with the book of Daniel and Jesus, his own words in Matthew 24.

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It can be a very eye opening study, and he will bless you for what it says. It’s, of course, always a good idea to remember. Throughout our walk, the first words out of Jesus’s mouth when he was asked by his disciples, what will be? What will the very end look like? First thing he said was what? Watch out!

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No any deceive you as humans have a longstanding reputation for being slightly gullible. And this goes right back to the gardening. From the very beginning, deception has been the enemy’s go to move on. People, and once you’ve been deceived, you’ve been compromised. And it often involves loss. I’ve been there. So take these words of Jesus and hold them close to your heart.

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Deception is a is brutal, and none of us can afford to spend any more time lamenting regrets we might have avoided by seeking good advice from the word. As citizens of God’s kingdom, always remember that there is what wisdom in counsel. What a wonderful scripture we have each other for this. Take advantage of it, especially when it comes to question about our walk with the Lord.

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There’s a wealth of experience here in this room, sitting here right now, and that’s what the body of Christ is all about. And remember, too, as citizens here, we have a very specific dress code. Nobody likes this subject, right? But here it is. It’s all laid out in the Ephesians 614 dress code. It’s going to come up well, if it doesn’t.

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Well, and there it is. There’s a dress code having your waist. This with truth having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.

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If you do a study on that, those are all real. It’s not a bunch of allegories. He was actually saying, these things are actually work in the instances where you’re in a battle.

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How about our kingdom behavior? First Corinthians 130 I like this one. God is united you with Christ Jesus for our benefit. God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God. He made us pure and holy because he used to tell me that you’re holy. No I’m not, you’re holy. Yeah, Christ made you holy. That’s right.

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And he freed us from sin. So in a nutshell, there is your identity. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I love saying that. And we’re you’re in a situation where you’re just not sure you say that scripture or you say that phrase, it’s not something we run around chasing or second guessing. It’s just who we are.

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And we want to be known and perceived by that identity. If you see, for example, if you see an Army soldier walking around town in his fatigues, there’s a few things you’re going to know about him and his identity without even speaking to him. Number one, you know who he works for. You know he’s taken an oath to defend our country.

00;27;57;24 – 00;28;22;21
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Three he holds a very basic code of ethics. And number four, in my son’s case, he’s just a super cool guy. Yes, we need to be recognizable as citizens of the kingdom of God and of our true home. Remember, the power of life and death are in the tongue.

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For the majority of us, it’s the words we’ve said in anger that’s caused the majority of damage that we’ve ever caused. It just is. It’s so you don’t you know, that’s because you don’t have to lift a finger to offend somebody with your mouth. You just have to open it. But imagine if we just use our words to build each other up more often.

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Thank God. In Ephesians 612 it says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Jesus himself knew very well there’s something about sobriety and vigilance that keeps us, keeps us in a state of awareness, he said. This we need to watch.

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We need to keep aware, not just to physical threats, but to our unseen enemies, that they tirelessly work to harass and wear us down. Jesus promised dark days would come, but through it we know that His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Jesus, being the chief cornerstone of our lives, has saved us through his blood as the Lamb of God and as a servant to mankind.

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But the Book of Revelation reveals his identity as the conquering Prince of Peace. Jesus is returning here soon. This is part of the Kingdom message. And it’s it is very it’s pressing on me and it is not coming back. He is not coming back as a baby this time. We celebrate his first coming every year, Christmas and I love it.

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All of it. A baby born in a barn, endless Christmas, Christmas tunes.

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Remember? Oh.

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I don’t know how this got on here, but it says. Remember the four stages of Santa’s first? We believe in him, then we don’t believe in him. Then we are him. And then we look like him.

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Okay, now I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I eat, I’m trying, I got grandkids, I got to get with it.

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A baby is not what’s on the way here, folks. This time it’s not going to be King Herod chasing an infant around on Jesus’s second return. 2000 years ago, he came as a suffering servant who was killed for us. But this time around, he’s not the one who’s going to die. He’s coming to bring life and life more abundantly.

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And, but first he’s coming to judge the world. Try to imagine for a minute his perspective on all the people who’ve looked at his sacrifice, his gift to humanity, and threw it back in his face and rejected him. Imagine the father’s perspective on that. I know how my perspective would be if my son paid the ultimate price for someone, and they couldn’t even acknowledge it.

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When we see the sign of the Son of Man way out in the sky and we’re gonna. Because that’s what it says, many people are going to mourn. The time for chivalry will be over. We’ve had 2000 years of grace.

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Because God is not willing that any of us should perish.

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But that all should come to repentance. He is patient. He is long suffering, but he has a set time for the fulfillment of all things. As in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. One of the more mysterious passages in Genesis is when it was time to shut the door of the ark.

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What does it say? Said And God shut the door. A lot of scholars think that door could have weighed several tons at that point. Remember, it took him 120 years to build this thing. It might have been sitting there close to 100 years. Good chance God had to be the one to close it.

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And a good chance that might have been his plan all along. Either way, once that door was shut, it meant that the age of opportunity and grace was over. You weren’t getting in now? Nope. Once that door was shut, meant that those eight people were locked in and they were going to sail straight into the teeth of the meanest climate change ever.

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And at the same time, they were going to be very busy with a lot of dependents inside that boat. Notice, too, in Matthew 24, the phrase as in the days of Noah, God did not bring Noah up to heaven to ride it out. When the rain began and drop him off back on the other side of the flood.

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No, he partnered with Noah, said, preach and build Noah. Tell people they are invited, right what we’re doing. When you witness the gospel of Jesus, you’re inviting somebody into a kingdom. You’re saying, hey, how about eternal life,

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My offer of salvation is right here for the taking. See if we step back and take a look at the whole human race through a biblical lens of history. We see a beautiful pattern, starting with a beautiful relationship between God and His creation and how he loved them. Of course, thousands of years later two we find God so loved the world that he gave his only son for us.

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But.

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We are going to be right here in the world when Jesus returns. We need to live in the present. We are not collectively going anywhere until he returns, because we need to remember that the whole story of humanity was played out here on Earth. My point is.

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We we live in the present. We look forward to the future. But there’s ideas and doctrines out there that say, now you don’t worry because you you’re probably not going to be here when things get tough. I’ve never really I don’t see that idea in the character of God. I, I know the doctrine very well. I’ve studied it and I know what it means to a lot of people, but I personally don’t see the character of that.

00;34;52;27 – 00;35;22;09
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And I think that he’s going to push us through these storms and we’re going to be here. I tell you, there be some standing here when he returns. Because it’s a curtain draws on history itself, and the moment of his return closes in. We need to be here. Represent him, Jesus the Messiah, to our world. When things get tough, it is not typically in God’s character to have people disappear when circumstances change, things get difficult.

00;35;22;12 – 00;35;44;23
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So plan on being here. Where to live with me. Remember when Moses was up against the Red sea with all the children of Israel behind him? There was nowhere to go, literally nowhere Egyptian army behind him, ocean in front of them, and they walked straight through it. God made a way, and that way was straight up the middle.

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And in the same manner he will provide the Kingdom way for us, his church, in these last days.

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I.

00;36;01;29 – 00;36;29;26
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Well, as citizens, we’re keeping the faith. Don’t grow weary in well-doing your faith is the actual evidence of what we can’t see, but we know it is out there and we know it’s what we’re hoping to attain. We are people. We get tired. Yes. My mother in law used to remind me of what a gift it is to even be able to perceive faith, to even believe what we believe here.

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Because half the world, let’s face it, doesn’t. And it’s blinders.

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So many of God’s promises have to be taken with faith. With faith. I know Jesus demanded faith. In Luke 18 he put forth his question, When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth? When Jesus told Peter to step out of the boat on the Sea of Galilee, Peter knew he was breaking some very basic laws of physics and gravity.

00;36;57;01 – 00;37;22;08
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But somehow the words of Jesus were enough to inspire him to believe what he could do, which was walk on the surface of a lake. The words of Jesus created a platform, and Peter’s faith was able to stand on that platform. And it wasn’t till he looked down that he started to sink. Our faith can’t waver. We start.

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We we have to stay focused on the author and finisher of our faith. So keep the faith and remind yourself that it works. Encourage yourself in the Lord. That’s how David handled it.

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In his down days,

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You know, I had a.

00;37;45;16 – 00;37;54;13
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I had a couple more things here, but I think I’m just going to, I wanted to show you guys something.

00;37;54;15 – 00;38;19;12
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I think you get the gist of what I’m saying here. We’re citizens of a kingdom. We’re citizens of the United States. Thank God. But our there’s a transition. Ultimately, that’s going to happen, and it always has to be on the forefront of our minds because it’ll it’ll steer you. It’ll give you a compass and let you know where we’re headed.

00;38;19;14 – 00;38;32;06
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And thank God we have the words of Jesus. Because it all circles back to Jesus, doesn’t it? Yeah. Okay, I’ll sum it up right here.

00;38;32;08 – 00;38;55;13
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A few years back, we went to Israel and had a great time with my dad and Leslie and some great friends. So one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, it was just before, right before the world changed. In fact, Covid happened a week later and we got back. We went all over Israel and we loved it. Everything I saw was fascinating from down in the desert way up to Galilee.

00;38;55;13 – 00;38;58;24
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Very inspiring.

00;38;58;26 – 00;39;27;04
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But there was one place we visited that put me back on my heels a little bit, really kind of only one place. It was in Jerusalem. It was at the foot of the Mount of Olives. There’s a church there called the church of the Nations, and it’s it’s a gorgeous church, but just the name itself, it’s it’s for the nations.

00;39;27;06 – 00;39;35;26
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I it’s a spot. It was built over an earlier church where Jesus prayed the night of his betrayal.

00;39;35;29 – 00;40;08;14
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And, I. I wanted to show you guys a picture of the place, but I couldn’t find one that gave me the same picture as when I was standing there. So I thought I would try to describe it with what I saw with my guitar and a keyboard. So last year, this week I have been busy, but I got a little studio at home and I had put together some music.

00;40;08;14 – 00;40;23;12
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I don’t know, my good man Bob’s up there. If he if he wants to push play on that or if it’ll work. If it doesn’t, it’s okay. If it does, it does.

00;40;23;15 – 00;40;33;16
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A lot of beautiful tile in this church too. It wasn’t the only thing that impressed me.

00;40;39;16 – 00;40;53;02
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Yeah. I don’t know if that’s going to work, but it’s okay. I was in the church on the front of it, kind of up here. There’s a little spot, and all it is is a little patch of rocks.

00;40;56;02 – 00;41;19;05
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And they say it was where Jesus prayed the night of his betrayal. I was standing there and couldn’t help imagining that the man Jesus was once kneeling here, trying to his father.

00;41;19;07 – 00;41;41;22
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And he was saying, is there if there’s any other way around, what he knew he had to do it. Of course, Jesus knew there was nobody behind him. Because he had he got up and left, it would have been the end of all things.

00;41;41;24 – 00;41;51;08
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Instead, he went on. And what did he do? He made all things new.

00;41;51;10 – 00;41;57;12
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And, you know, with all the definitions of love in the world.

00;41;57;15 – 00;42;01;08
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I knew standing there.

00;42;01;11 – 00;42;08;02
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That this is what love actually looks like.

00;42;08;05 – 00;42;19;10
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This is where love flows from. It was what Jesus was doing and what he was willing to do.

00;42;19;12 – 00;42;23;10
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Because in his final requests.

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Probably the most amazing thing to me when I was standing there.

00;42;28;22 – 00;42;34;06
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Was.

00;42;34;08 – 00;42;46;29
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The he was simply asking that we would have the same love for each other that he shared with his father. Imagine that.

00;42;47;01 – 00;43;12;00
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I’m dying. And I got a last request, and all I’m looking for is that you guys would love each other in the same way that my father and I have a relationship.

00;43;12;03 – 00;43;32;09
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And, you know, it’s funny because it’s it’s the one place in the new whole New Testament where Jesus looks into the future and he says, and I pray not just for these, but for all those who would come to this message through your message.

00;43;32;11 – 00;43;43;05
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And I think he could see all our faces at that moment in his life.

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So.

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There’s a cost to everything, right? Everything has a cost.

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And love is one of those things. It’s probably got the biggest price tag on it of all right.

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I offend people, a lot of us do. But.

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There he was.

00;44;10;15 – 00;44;19;06
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Simply. Giving us the power.

00;44;19;09 – 00;44;23;07
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To forgive.

00;44;23;09 – 00;44;36;02
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To walk over that table and pick up communion. This cup is probably the three most powerful words.

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You can say this cup is the New Testament in his blood.

00;44;43;26 – 00;44;55;03
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So today, all I really wanted to do was bless you. I tell you, I love you all.

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And I know, and I know that you love each other because that’s what we have inside us.

00;45;03;16 – 00;45;18;06
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We have this love that’s never, ever going. And I. Because of that man, we decided.

00;45;18;08 – 00;45;26;05
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I’m just going to give up everything. And dying for my beautiful creation and my people.

00;45;26;07 – 00;45;52;24
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You are so beloved. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try. As some strange thing has happened to you. But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.

00;45;52;26 – 00;46;07;13
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So we’re together. We’re going. We’re going to see a transition in history. We are going to see that things are going to change. But.

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He’s with us. We’re with each other, and I’m with you.

00;46;12;25 – 00;46;24;23
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Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. May God bless everyone who is new.

00;46;24;26 – 00;46;34;19
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We.

00;46;34;21 – 00;47;01;29
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Amen. A great segue for us when I say, the other teams to, come on, forward, what they’re going to do is, position themselves throughout the sanctuary and, when they’re ready, we’ll all get up. And I grab a cup of juice, a piece of bread, and we’re going to take communion together.

00;47;02;01 – 00;47;05;21
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A lot’s been said today.

00;47;05;24 – 00;47;19;07
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But Jesus tells us in Matthew 2629 that the next time he’s going to take this cup with us is in his father’s kingdom.

00;47;19;09 – 00;48;00;21
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So until then, we take communion to remember to remember what Andrew just so beautifully spoke to us. The work that Jesus accomplished. But in first Corinthians 11, Paul tells us that when we take communion, it’s our opportunity. It’s our opportunity to examine ourselves. It’s our opportunity to judge ourselves. And he says, judge yourself lest you be judged.

00;48;00;23 – 00;48;22;11
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And then he goes on to say, this is what it is to discern the body of Christ. This is what it is to pay attention to one another. You need to judge yourself to look inwardly and say, Lord, what do I need to do?

00;48;22;13 – 00;48;50;05
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To honor you, to love my brother, to love my sister. And so that’s what this time is for. It’s a time of remembrance, and it’s a time to look inward and to say, Lord, help me. So I believe we’re ready. So if you could just turn around, if you’re in the back, there’s people there. If you’re in the front, come forward.

00;48;50;07 – 00;49;33;09
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These are, everything’s ready for you. And then return to your seat, and we’ll. We’ll pray together.

00;49;33;11 – 00;49;39;25
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You.

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See?

00;49;48;13 – 00;49;55;23
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You.

00;49;55;26 – 00;50;03;18
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You.

00;50;03;20 – 00;50;20;02
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You you you you you.

00;50;20;04 – 00;50;31;17
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You you you you.

00;50;31;19 – 00;50;50;12
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You you you you. You.

00;50;50;14 – 00;51;06;01
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You you you you you.

00;51;06;03 – 00;51;21;02
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You you you.

00;51;21;05 – 00;51;45;03
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You you you.

00;51;45;05 – 00;52;02;03
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You.

00;52;02;05 – 00;52;11;20
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Amen.

00;52;11;23 – 00;52;20;14
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So, father, we thank you for this piece of bread.

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God, that we can remember that you gave your body for us.

00;52;29;08 – 00;52;37;22
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God that in your suffering you were thinking about us.

00;52;37;24 – 00;53;27;05
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And so today, we do not take this because we deserve this mercy. We do not take this because we have come to you in our own righteousness. God, we take this bread to remember. That you have made us righteous and that you dwell in us. We thank you for this light.

00;53;27;08 – 00;53;33;15
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And God, we hold this cup to.

00;53;33;17 – 00;53;48;19
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God that represents your blood and the new covenant that we have with you. This covenant of life, eternal life.

00;53;48;22 – 00;53;52;29
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The establishing of your kingdom.

00;53;53;02 – 00;53;58;04
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And we do not forget who you are.

00;53;58;07 – 00;54;06;22
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And that we are rescued and made citizens of heaven.

00;54;06;25 – 00;54;33;21
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Thank you for this Jesus name.

00;54;33;23 – 00;54;38;02
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You.

00;54;38;04 – 00;54;41;20
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We thank you, Lord.

00;54;41;22 – 00;55;01;20
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We praise your name. Jesus. You. You’ve set us free. God, you’re our great deliverer. You were.

00;55;01;23 – 00;55;09;09
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You to.

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Let’s go ahead and just stand as we. Taking the fullness of this moment.

00;55;21;28 – 00;55;27;06
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We’re going to close our service here.

00;55;27;08 – 00;55;45;04
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And I don’t know about you. I’m. I’m just been touched by the love of God. And he’s establishing the power of his truth in our lives.

00;55;45;07 – 00;55;48;24
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And you don’t deserve it.

00;55;48;26 – 00;56;18;05
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You don’t deserve it. So don’t try and earn this today. Just receive. Just receive the love of God for your life. That every mistake you’ve made has been forgiven. That every decision of of your own self-interest has been forgiven. That every mistake is not being counted against you.

00;56;18;08 – 00;56;40;20
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Because of this wonderful sacrifice of Jesus. So we get to walk away from this building today, refreshed, recharged, made aware that your life is good to be for your King and Savior.

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And may you fall deeper in love with the Savior of yours.

00;56;48;15 – 00;57;22;20
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May you fall deeper in love with that call that he has on your life, that wants you to live a full life and life full of promise and expectation. And he will make a way, especially where you do not see that way. You. So, God, we thank you for this amazing service and this amazing word.

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And all God’s people say Amen, Amen. I love you church. I love you.