104: Simon de Caussin – Exhortation: Spiritual Rehabilitation

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Welcome to the good Christian
talks podcast.

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I’m Levi.
And I’m Chris.

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Thank you so much for joining us
this week.

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On this podcast, we select one
taco week to help each one of

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us.
Get the Bible in our daily news

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feed.
We post at the start of each

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week for you to listen.
With a short intro beforehand to

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kind of set the stage for the
talk, you’re about to hear.

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And now let’s hear more about
this week’s talk.

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For our talk this week, we’re
listening to an excitation that

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was given by Brother Simon to
causton at the beginning of

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July, just this past year, as
part of the Simi Hills

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livestream, and in his
excitation which is titled.

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Spiritual Rehabilitation brother
Simon is looking at the concept

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of time and more specifically in
his situation during the

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pandemic that has been going on,
he has had an excess of time and

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what to do with that additional
time, that he’s been given,

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especially right now with With
every day seeming to be the

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same.
For some people it can be easy

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to lose track of what you’re
going to do each day and feel

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like you’re just sitting around
waiting for things to happen.

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So for his expectation brother.
Simon is taking a look at the

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restoration of Israel when they
are restored.

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After they have been carried
away into captivity to Babylon

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and then how to make the
scripture and the story of

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Israel real and applicable to
our lives.

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I know for myself personally
with everything that’s been

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going on with the pandemic.
I have felt like I’ve had less

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time.
My job was able to transition to

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remote which I’m very thankful
for but has made everything seem

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busier for me and it was a
refreshing perspective for

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myself to hear it from the
perspective of somebody who

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isn’t that busy and what this
time can be like.

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So I wanted to share this
excitation because I thought it

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was a good perspective for a
Viewpoint that isn’t my own

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which is kind of the point of
these podcast is to try to get

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as many perspectives on things.
Things as possible for everyone

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and also I thought it would be
an encouraging one brother.

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Simon is a younger brother who
is doing a fantastic job and it

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was very encouraging to hear
him.

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Give his words so wanted to make
sure we share this one with you.

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As always please continue to
send in the the recommendations.

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I know there’s been a lot of
different online youth weekends

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and Bible schools and things
have been going on over the

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summer.
Haven’t been able to attend all

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of them.
So, if you heard any classes or

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anything on any of those,
please, please do send those in.

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We’re always appreciative of any
sort of recommendations to

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suggestions that you can send
in.

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And so with that, we will turn
it over to our brother.

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Simon to causton for his
excitation spiritual

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Rehabilitation, good morning,
everyone.

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I’d like to thank you for the
invitation to share an

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exhortation with you this
morning.

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Under any other circumstances, I
would readily be able to give

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you the love and greetings of
the Verdugo Hills Ecclesia.

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But excluding the few of us that
are here this morning, I haven’t

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seen everyone in a long time.
I am able to share the love and

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greetings from my own family,
though.

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It’s very nice being here and
being able to share some

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thoughts with you this morning.
It’s July now, which means that

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a lot of us have been staying
home for around four months.

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I can’t speak to how this
quarantine has affected all of

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us, as I’m sure we’ve all been
impacted in a variety of unique

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ways, but I can’t speak about my
family’s experience is, and how

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I’ve been affected at this stage
of my life.

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I’m still a student and back in
March.

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My school went fully online.
My summer job prospect has

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fallen through.
And in the fall I’m going to

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continue.
I’m going to continue school by

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sitting in my bedroom and
watching virtual lectures until

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the semester ends in December.
Many of the other young people

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in the Verdugo Hills, Ecclesia
are facing a similar change.

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My parents jobs have been
affected and elsewhere in the

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Brotherhood I’ve heard of
handfuls of firings furloughs

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and for those people who do
continue to work perhaps,

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there’s not enough work to be
done right now.

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Loved ones have been separated
across borders and even for

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those who live nearby health,
concerns have prevented visits

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to grandparents and others who
were in The high-risk category.

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I say, all these things to
summarize, some of the

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difficulties that we’re facing
right now in the Brotherhood.

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There’s fear in the uncertainty
of it.

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All right, when things appear to
be getting better, we’re seeing

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a relapse in numbers and our
hope Falls I daresay, there’s no

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way for us to know when things
will return to being completely

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normal or even if we will be
fully able to comprehend, what

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has been going on in the world
and how our lives have been

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affected from those things. the
plans that we once had and we’re

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excited about have been
cancelled and instead all we’ve

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been left with is time for most
of us, there’s no shortage of

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time and that’s something worth
considering I don’t want to

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dwell on the unrest of the world
for too long but it should it

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should be descriptive enough for
me to say that all of us have

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been directly affected by the
things that have been happening

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in the world.
So far, even if the effect on

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our lives has been something
small, like being required to

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wear a mask at work or in public
and to keep our distance from

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other people.
Those are still big changes in

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the inability to interact with
people as freely.

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As we once did can be both scary
and Saddening.

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But as I’ve alluded to already,
perhaps the biggest change of

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our day-to-day life has been the
amount of time that we have.

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Personally I’ve been drowning in
free time ever since my school

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has gone online for months ago,
and as more things in the summer

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are cancelled, all of us are
facing unprecedented amounts of

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free time.
If our Instinct might have, once

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been to drive to a friend’s
house and spend all of our spare

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time with them, maybe the
opinion on this one, is still

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changing, but for a while now,
doing something like that has

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been out of the question for
most of the quarantine up to

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this point.
For all of these reasons, I

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thought it would be appropriate
for our topic this morning to be

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about time.
A lot of us have more time than

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we’ve ever had before and rather
than just looking at the subject

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of time, abstractly, I’d like to
consider how we use that time,

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how we’ve used it so far in
quarantine and how we should use

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it until things, start returning
to the way they were, or if

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Christ returns first.
For all of us, I’m sure being

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stuck at home has been hard.
If you’re a social person and

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your normal routine, involves a
lot more interaction with other

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people.
People in the Ecclesia at school

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or other co-workers,
understandably, quarantine has

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been a trial.
There are other reasons that

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being locked down at home, might
be challenging as well.

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There may be fear and not having
a steady source of income for

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the brothers and sisters whose
jobs have been Gravely affected.

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and perhaps above all else in
quarantine, there’s the fear of

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getting sick It’s my
understanding of the situation

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is correct.
The virus still very much, not

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understood and the best
treatment of all at this point,

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is to just avoid getting it.
I understand fear is one of the

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first emotions that you feel
living through the problems that

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we see today.
But despite all that fear and

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hopelessness, that might feel
instinctive are natural at a

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time like this, the quarantine
has been an incredible blessing

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and a lot of ways. now, if it’s
hard to see that in your own

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circumstances, I hope that my
expectation can change your

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perspective about what we’ve
gone through up to this point,

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Keep in mind and all the things
that happen to us that God is

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faithful and he will not let you
be tempted beyond your ability.

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But with temptation, he will
also provide you the way of

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Escape that you may be able to
endure it.

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Elsewhere were also encouraged
that the testing of our faith

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produces steadfastness.
Therefore, let steadfastness

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have its full effect that you
may be perfect and complete

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lacking in nothing.
Nobody was prepared to be locked

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up and kept apart from their
families, both physical and

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spiritual families for so long.
Nobody expected that.

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And we volunteered through it up
to this point.

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What I’d like to remind us that
the trials we experience now are

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there to help build our
character When we were cut off

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from our brothers and sisters,
we’re stuck at home.

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Do we still read the Bible?
If no one is there to read it

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with us allowed in person, like
we do in meeting.

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If we can’t Gather in person
like we used to.

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Does it mean that we’re sort of
off the hook for the week and we

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can just wait out however many
Sunday’s go by until we meet

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again without remembering Jesus.
From a spiritually sluggish

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point of view, maybe that’s what
our Instinct.

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Our response to the situation
has been But that’s not how it

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should be.
Instead, I’d like to bring our

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attention to the idea that this
abundance of free time is a

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blessing, it’s truly a gift from
God.

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If you look at it from the right
perspective, I referenced James

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is letter earlier, when I read
that the testing of your faith,

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produces steadfastness, but
right before he says that, James

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begins his letter by saying,
count it all joy my brethren

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when you meet Trials of various
kinds, It might be hard to see

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through the negatives but James
is words ring.

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So true in our quarantine trials
as well.

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There is reason to be joyful,
there is reason to give, thanks

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to God for all this time.
He’s given us think about the

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reasons why when Alice and your
life have you been advised to

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stay home to stay away from the
noise and busyness of the world

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and to take a break from the
things that suffocate our

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spiritual lives.
I admit there are disadvantages

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to the things that were facing
right now, but looking at our

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trials, through the lens of
spiritual growth, God has given

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us more uninhibited time every
day to pray to him to study his

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word and to speak.
About our hope with friends,

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over a phone call or writing
letters to people who are in

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need.
And the Brotherhood the

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additional hours of free time
that were looking at everyday

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are not meant to be an
opportunity for us to spend it

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all on entertainment or it’s a
Fritter and waste all that

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valuable life pleasures of the
world.

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This free time shouldn’t be a
way for us to satisfy our shhhh

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instead, I hope that we can
understand that this is a

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precious gift from God as a
period of spiritual meditation

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and Rehabilitation If your
spiritual life has been weak

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recently, if it was week coming
into quarantine or it has become

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weaker without the benefit of
seeing our brothers and sisters,

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I want to encourage all of us to
redeem the time.

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Let’s use it wisely.
Personal prayers shouldn’t be

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the 32nd recitations that you
say before you eat food.

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God has given us time to cut
from our lives.

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The influences that eat away at
our faith, to cut those bad

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things out.
And instead to spend that time

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by Falling On Our Knees, and
speaking to God of our feelings,

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and our concerns, We ought to
give him, thanks for what he has

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done and to ask for help in the
ways that we are struggling.

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If as a student or an employee,
your life felt choked of anytime

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or opportunities to get closer
to God.

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If you were overburdened by
deadlines and expectations, now

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burdens of that, kind have been
relieved ever.

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So slightly, and God has given
us the breathing room.

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We need to be refreshed to turn
to him in prayer.

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Right now, we no longer have an
excuse to say something.

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Like, if only, I had enough
time, Time is all we’re looking

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at these days and it’s now a
responsibility to use it

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appropriately again.
I can’t guarantee that everyone

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in the audience wherever they
might be from, I can’t guarantee

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that everyone has an abundance
of free time because of the

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lockdown.
But even in the case of those

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whose work lives are just as
busy as they used to be.

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Before I hope our
considerations, this morning are

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helpful in reminding us of how
we should spend spare time

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whenever we have it. now hand in
hand with the idea of time, I’d

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like to shift our discussion
this morning towards the ideas

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of spiritual growth or spiritual
rehabilitation These are some

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ideas that I want to talk about
as a great alternative way to be

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spending our free time,
recognizing that each and every

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day, we have the opportunity to
grow and become more

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spiritually, mature, it isn’t
the kind of development that

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only happens on Sundays.
It takes a lot of stress off

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your mind to frame, the
unfortunate things that we’re

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going through as a positive
experience or an opportunity for

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growth rather than focusing on
the negative ways that we’ve

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been affected.
To be rehabilitated is to be

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restored to health through
training and therapy after an

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illness.
In Jeremiah we read that the

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heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately sick, who

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can understand it.
The thing that I’d like to take

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away from Jeremiah’s comment,
here is that he says that human

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hearts are sick.
He knows that human nature tends

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towards wickedness and that’s a
struggle that we will forever

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wrestle with until our bodies
and our nature are changed using

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that verse.
And that new understanding about

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human nature from Jeremiah, the
idea of spiritual Rehabilitation

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is a pretty powerful concept.
We are sick.

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We struggle with disobedience
and wickedness and if there is

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any way for us to be
rehabilitated or nursed back to

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spiritual health and Oneness
with God, that is the course

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that we ought to pursue.
The time that we’ve uncovered in

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quarantine is a great
opportunity for meditation and

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self-reflection.
God is presented us with the

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time, and the means to approach
him.

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And now that we have the time,
and the means to draw near to

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him, the next move is on us,
it’s our responsibility now to

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examine ourselves into cut out
the bad habits that drag us down

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and to, in the place of those
old habits create new ones.

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Let’s look at a few biblical
examples that give us an idea of

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what spiritual growth or
Rehabilitation looks like.

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For the first example, let’s
consider the restoration of the

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people of Israel back into their
land under the guidance of Ezra

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and Nehemiah. now, to set the
stage first before we look at

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Nehemiah chapter 8, let’s
remember the Captivity of Israel

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and Judah because of their
Disobedience, both the kingdoms

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of Israel and Judah had been
sacked by Foreign Invaders,

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Israel being attacked and taken
by the Assyrians at an earlier

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time and Judah being besieged
and captured by the Babylonians

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at a later date.
Four generations before God had

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Sent His prophets to warn his
people, both in Israel and in

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Judah to repent and change their
ways.

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I’m generalizing here, but of
course, we know that the people

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were stubborn and they didn’t
take heed to the warnings and

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exhortations of the prophets.
They were urged to change and

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when they had rejected God’s
word killed his prophets.

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Finally, the two kingdoms were
taken by Foreign Invaders.

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It’s easy to be remorseful after
you’ve been punished for your

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faults.
That’s something that we can all

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relate to.
The 137th Psalm gives us an

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insight into the sadness.
People of Judah, experienced in

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their captivity, They lived in a
Land of idolaters in a Land of

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foreign gods and people who did
not know the true God of Israel.

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For these reasons, the people of
Judah, wept by the Rivers of

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Babylon and thought of how good
their life had been in the

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protection and care of their
father in Heaven.

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The psalm reads by the Rivers of
Babylon.

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There we sat down.
Yea, we wept when we remembered

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00:17:35,300 –> 00:17:39,300
Zion, we hanged, our Harps upon
the Willows in the midst thereof

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00:17:40,200 –> 00:17:43,500
for they that carried us away,
captive required of us a song

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and they that wasted us required
of us mirth saying sing us.

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One of the songs of Zion How
shall we sing the Lord’s song In

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a Strange Land?
This passage gives us an idea of

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the prep actual sorrow.
The captives in Babylon, must

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have experienced.
They knew there was a better

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00:18:04,500 –> 00:18:08,000
land from which they had been
taken, and they remembered in

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00:18:08,000 –> 00:18:11,800
anguish that it was for their
stubbornness and their faults

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that they had been removed from
it.

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00:18:16,200 –> 00:18:19,500
The people of Judah, dwelt in
Babylon, as captives for 70

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00:18:19,500 –> 00:18:23,200
years until the proclamation
came from Cyrus that they could

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return and rebuild the Temple in
Jerusalem.

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And so, with that introduction,
we come into the events of Ezra

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and Nehemiah.
I consider the events that

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happened in Ezra Nehemiah.
I really wonderful illustration

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00:18:37,600 –> 00:18:40,400
of our topic.
This morning of the idea of

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00:18:40,900 –> 00:18:46,300
spiritual rehabilitation The
land had been desolate compared

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00:18:46,300 –> 00:18:49,100
to what it once had been
Jerusalem.

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00:18:49,100 –> 00:18:52,800
Itself was in shambles, the
walls were broken and it lay

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00:18:52,800 –> 00:18:56,800
there defenseless.
And so it was with the minds of

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00:18:56,800 –> 00:19:01,000
the people to their Spirits were
crushed from the challenges of

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00:19:01,000 –> 00:19:05,100
living in a foreign land and
being assimilated to their Pagan

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00:19:05,100 –> 00:19:08,800
culture.
The Fortress of their mind was

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00:19:08,800 –> 00:19:12,100
broken into just as Jerusalem,
lay their pillaged.

307
00:19:13,600 –> 00:19:16,700
Their faith was weakened by the
poisonous impact of the world

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00:19:16,700 –> 00:19:20,900
around and now more than ever,
they needed to be rehabilitated

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00:19:21,100 –> 00:19:24,000
to be nursed back to health and
a relationship with their

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00:19:24,000 –> 00:19:28,300
father.
In these two books of History,

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we see life breathed into the
land.

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00:19:30,400 –> 00:19:33,400
Once again and the temple in
Jerusalem is rebuilt.

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00:19:35,200 –> 00:19:38,300
I understand that there’s quite
a lot of not-so-good stuff that

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happens in these books as well.
Like, when both Ezra Nehemiah

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have to separately rebuked, the
people for intermarrying with

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00:19:45,600 –> 00:19:49,200
the people of the land, but
nevertheless there is a

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00:19:49,200 –> 00:19:52,200
beautiful passage in Nehemiah
chapter 8, that I think is

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00:19:52,200 –> 00:19:54,200
worthy of our time to consider
this morning.

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00:19:56,300 –> 00:20:00,200
Ezra was a scribe, and he had in
his possession, a copy of the

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law of Moses.
I’m having to read in between

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00:20:04,000 –> 00:20:06,100
the lines a little bit with what
I’m about to share.

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But to my understanding we
aren’t specifically told if the

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people as captives had access to
their law while they were in

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00:20:13,500 –> 00:20:16,900
Babylon.
I would assume they didn’t have

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00:20:16,900 –> 00:20:20,400
access to their law because of
their reaction to hearing it.

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00:20:20,400 –> 00:20:25,000
Read in chapter 8, let’s take a
look and consider the reaction

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00:20:25,000 –> 00:20:26,800
to hearing it being read in
their midst.

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00:20:28,300 –> 00:20:31,300
Ezra stood on a wooden platform
that had been built specifically

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00:20:31,300 –> 00:20:34,700
for that purpose and he read
among them from early morning to

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00:20:34,700 –> 00:20:37,400
midday.
So now I’m reading from Nehemiah

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00:20:37,400 –> 00:20:42,800
chapter 8 and beginning at verse
5 and azra, opened the book in

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the sight of all the people for
he was above all the people.

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00:20:46,500 –> 00:20:50,300
And as he opened it all the
people stood and azra, bless the

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00:20:50,300 –> 00:20:54,000
Lord, the great God and all the
people answered amen.

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00:20:54,100 –> 00:20:57,000
Amen.
Lifting up their hands And they

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00:20:57,000 –> 00:20:59,600
bowed their heads and Worship
the Lord with their faces to the

337
00:20:59,600 –> 00:21:03,800
ground.
Skipping a verse They read from

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00:21:03,800 –> 00:21:07,300
the book from the law of God,
clearly, and they gave the

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00:21:07,308 –> 00:21:09,400
sense.
So that the people understood

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00:21:09,400 –> 00:21:16,000
the reading, For one thing I’m
Struck from this passage with

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00:21:16,000 –> 00:21:19,600
the respect and reverence, The
Returned captives had for the

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00:21:19,600 –> 00:21:23,000
word of God.
I’m imagining the multitudes

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00:21:23,000 –> 00:21:26,600
that gathered to hear Ezra read
to them and when he began the

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00:21:26,600 –> 00:21:32,200
people stood, it says earlier in
verse 3, that all the ears of

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00:21:32,200 –> 00:21:34,500
the people were attentive to the
book of the law.

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00:21:36,500 –> 00:21:40,300
I find that encouraging, the
people had a great attitude,

347
00:21:41,000 –> 00:21:43,800
they had an opportunity for
divine learning and correction

348
00:21:44,300 –> 00:21:46,900
and they respected that
opportunity, listening

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00:21:46,900 –> 00:21:50,500
diligently to Ezra speak and
having the words expounded to

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00:21:50,500 –> 00:21:53,500
them.
This was different than their

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00:21:53,500 –> 00:21:55,800
rejection of the prophets before
the Captivity.

352
00:21:58,000 –> 00:22:00,900
The most stunning part of this
passage and sort of the reason

353
00:22:00,900 –> 00:22:04,300
that I brought us here, we find
in the response of the people to

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00:22:04,300 –> 00:22:08,600
the words that they had heard.
Verse 9 of Nehemiah chapter it

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00:22:08,800 –> 00:22:13,000
reads and Nehemiah, who was the
governor and Ezra the priest and

356
00:22:13,000 –> 00:22:16,100
Scribe in the Levites who taught
the people said to all the

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00:22:16,100 –> 00:22:18,700
people this day is Holy to the
Lord.

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00:22:18,700 –> 00:22:23,300
Your God do not mourn.
Her weep for all the people wept

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00:22:23,300 –> 00:22:24,800
as they heard the words of the
law.

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00:22:26,700 –> 00:22:30,100
I find that very moving because
if you think about it, the word

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00:22:30,100 –> 00:22:32,800
of God had worked.
So powerfully on the people that

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00:22:32,800 –> 00:22:35,200
heard it, that they were moved
to tears.

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00:22:36,500 –> 00:22:39,000
I can only imagine that this is
because they came to an

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00:22:39,000 –> 00:22:42,300
understanding of their faults
and they were sorrowful for what

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00:22:42,300 –> 00:22:46,800
their behavior had been like.
And Powerful as their emotion

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00:22:46,800 –> 00:22:48,800
was.
They were a minded that

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00:22:48,800 –> 00:22:53,200
repentance is more than just
emotion repentance requires

368
00:22:53,200 –> 00:22:57,600
action.
Repentance is change and it

369
00:22:57,600 –> 00:23:01,500
Smiles at the fact that God is
so immeasurably merciful in his

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00:23:01,500 –> 00:23:06,200
dealings with us.
For that reason, Nehemiah and

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00:23:06,200 –> 00:23:11,800
Ezra told the people to be
joyful it’s as if to say don’t

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00:23:11,800 –> 00:23:14,800
dwell on the mistakes, you’ve
made in the past rejoice and be

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00:23:14,800 –> 00:23:18,700
happy that now you know God’s
purpose and you are better able

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00:23:18,700 –> 00:23:20,500
to live a life that glorifies
him.

375
00:23:23,500 –> 00:23:26,200
I want to apply what we read in
Nehemiah to what we’re going

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00:23:26,200 –> 00:23:31,200
through right now in quarantine
the people of nehemiah’s day had

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00:23:31,200 –> 00:23:33,900
not meditated enough, they did
not.

378
00:23:34,100 –> 00:23:38,300
Are there ways enough?
It took until Ezra read from

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00:23:38,300 –> 00:23:41,300
God’s word, expounding it to
them, in their ears through the

380
00:23:41,300 –> 00:23:44,400
span of a day that they
understood and reflected on

381
00:23:44,400 –> 00:23:49,100
their own lives.
Of course they were dissatisfied

382
00:23:49,200 –> 00:23:53,200
and they mourned because they
realized their mistakes and yet

383
00:23:53,200 –> 00:23:59,200
they were encouraged not to be
sad but they were encouraged to

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00:23:59,200 –> 00:24:01,800
be joyful for God’s enduring
Grace.

385
00:24:03,300 –> 00:24:06,500
I want to encourage all of us to
look at our experiences in

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00:24:06,500 –> 00:24:10,400
quarantine as an excellent
opportunity for self-reflection.

387
00:24:12,200 –> 00:24:14,900
And the case of the captives who
had been removed from the evils

388
00:24:14,900 –> 00:24:19,000
of Babylon, the reflection was
made all the more powerful by

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00:24:19,000 –> 00:24:22,900
hearing God’s word.
I hope for all of us is to

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00:24:22,900 –> 00:24:26,600
understand how similar our
situation is to theirs.

391
00:24:28,100 –> 00:24:32,300
We have the opportunity to draw
our minds out of Babylon to

392
00:24:32,300 –> 00:24:36,100
return to spiritual thinking,
the thinking that pleases God,

393
00:24:37,900 –> 00:24:41,500
just as, with the captives
scripture in prayer, will Aid us

394
00:24:41,500 –> 00:24:45,200
and considering our ways with
all the Abundant time that we

395
00:24:45,200 –> 00:24:48,800
now seem to have what better
opportunity do we have.

396
00:24:48,800 –> 00:24:54,100
But to read the word and reflect
today, Change can start.

397
00:24:54,200 –> 00:24:58,400
Now, we can redeem the time and
appreciate the fact that God has

398
00:24:58,400 –> 00:25:00,200
given us a way to draw near to
him.

399
00:25:00,800 –> 00:25:03,300
All the while severing our ties
with the world.

400
00:25:05,200 –> 00:25:09,200
It’s pretty easy for me to stand
up here and to abstractly,

401
00:25:09,200 –> 00:25:13,200
recommend reading scripture This
is one of those times where

402
00:25:13,200 –> 00:25:16,200
spiritual growth has an idea and
starting hat.

403
00:25:16,200 –> 00:25:19,400
Starting good, habits is
something that’s a lot easier

404
00:25:19,400 –> 00:25:23,100
said than done.
Right now, I’d like to take a

405
00:25:23,100 –> 00:25:26,300
little bit of time to shift our
thoughts, to making scripture

406
00:25:26,300 –> 00:25:30,200
more real to us.
If we understand that the Bible

407
00:25:30,200 –> 00:25:34,500
is a practical book and written
for our times as well, as for

408
00:25:34,500 –> 00:25:38,100
others throughout history, we’re
in a much better place to learn

409
00:25:38,100 –> 00:25:42,800
from it and to respect it the
way I’d like to make scripture

410
00:25:42,800 –> 00:25:48,200
real to us is to consider the
gospel of Mark. in Romans, Paul

411
00:25:48,200 –> 00:25:52,400
writes, whatever was written in
former days, was written for our

412
00:25:52,400 –> 00:25:55,100
instruction that through
endurance and through the

413
00:25:55,100 –> 00:25:59,600
encouragement of scriptures, we
might have hope That’s a

414
00:25:59,608 –> 00:26:03,200
powerful verse, especially if
you ever wonder why we try to

415
00:26:03,200 –> 00:26:05,600
make a habit of reading.
The Bible every day.

416
00:26:07,100 –> 00:26:10,800
Paul plainly says that it was
written for our instruction.

417
00:26:11,400 –> 00:26:14,400
It was written for you and me
and the faithful who have

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00:26:14,400 –> 00:26:18,300
already lived and those who will
understand the truth sometime in

419
00:26:18,300 –> 00:26:21,900
the future.
That’s a fundamental concept to

420
00:26:21,900 –> 00:26:26,700
grasp before we move on.
So now, as I mentioned earlier,

421
00:26:26,700 –> 00:26:29,600
let’s consider the gospel as
recorded by Mark.

422
00:26:31,200 –> 00:26:33,700
I’d like to spend a short amount
of time here to try to make

423
00:26:33,700 –> 00:26:38,400
scripture real in our lives.
When you compare Mark to the

424
00:26:38,400 –> 00:26:42,700
other Gospels, it might be
surprising to notice how bald it

425
00:26:42,700 –> 00:26:46,800
is in that there seems to be
significantly less detail in the

426
00:26:46,800 –> 00:26:50,600
other Gospels.
For one thing, you might notice

427
00:26:50,600 –> 00:26:54,700
that Mark is only 16 chapters,
whereas, the other three records

428
00:26:54,700 –> 00:26:58,600
have at least five more, it’s
the shortest of the Gospels.

429
00:26:59,900 –> 00:27:02,200
But despite Mark being a
somewhat shorter book of the

430
00:27:02,200 –> 00:27:06,000
Bible, in contrast with the
other gospels, Mark, as an

431
00:27:06,000 –> 00:27:09,700
author takes a very interesting
stylistic approach to recording

432
00:27:09,700 –> 00:27:13,700
the life of Jesus.
Keep in mind that it’s generally

433
00:27:13,700 –> 00:27:16,700
agreed among Scholars.
That his gospel was also written

434
00:27:16,700 –> 00:27:19,100
first.
And in that sense, it’s sort of

435
00:27:19,108 –> 00:27:24,000
the most straightforward and
sequential in the for You can

436
00:27:24,000 –> 00:27:27,500
imagine that because it was
first, it served a very simple

437
00:27:27,500 –> 00:27:30,400
purpose.
It brought the teaching of

438
00:27:30,400 –> 00:27:33,400
Jesus, in the hope of the
Kingdom, to a wider audience

439
00:27:33,400 –> 00:27:35,600
than Jesus himself, could bring
the message to.

440
00:27:37,000 –> 00:27:41,400
Now, what I find fantastic about
Mark’s gospel is his use of the

441
00:27:41,400 –> 00:27:46,100
present tense of speech.
I’ve read somewhere that Mark

442
00:27:46,100 –> 00:27:51,000
uses the present tense. 151
different places in his gospel.

443
00:27:52,800 –> 00:27:55,400
You might find yourself reading
through a chapter in Mark when

444
00:27:55,400 –> 00:28:00,600
suddenly in the English.
The grammar seems bizarre almost

445
00:28:00,600 –> 00:28:04,000
unnatural.
I should note before we take a

446
00:28:04,000 –> 00:28:07,100
look at some examples of what
I’m talking about that some

447
00:28:07,100 –> 00:28:11,000
translations of the Bible, like
the ESV and The New American

448
00:28:11,000 –> 00:28:14,800
Standard.
These newer translations, ignore

449
00:28:14,800 –> 00:28:18,300
the awkward present tense and
instead they just represent the

450
00:28:18,300 –> 00:28:21,000
verse as being written
completely in the past tense.

451
00:28:22,600 –> 00:28:25,500
If you were to read one of these
newer versions The Dramatic

452
00:28:25,500 –> 00:28:30,100
grammatical effect might be lost
but the lesson still applies.

453
00:28:31,600 –> 00:28:34,400
When Mark was writing his
gospel, he chose to write in the

454
00:28:34,400 –> 00:28:38,300
present tense weaving in some
active and present sentences

455
00:28:38,500 –> 00:28:40,800
along with the rest which are in
the past tense.

456
00:28:42,000 –> 00:28:44,900
He does this to make it real to
the reader.

457
00:28:46,400 –> 00:28:48,800
Let’s think about some examples
that stick out to me in the

458
00:28:48,800 –> 00:28:52,300
later chapters in Mark,
particularly as we draw nearer

459
00:28:52,300 –> 00:28:55,000
to the account of Jesus
crucifixion.

460
00:28:56,900 –> 00:29:00,500
As I said before, some newer
versions of the Bible, take out

461
00:29:00,500 –> 00:29:03,900
the contradicting tenses.
So I’m going to be reading a few

462
00:29:03,900 –> 00:29:06,900
verses from chapter 15.
And I’ll take that from the King

463
00:29:06,900 –> 00:29:10,500
James version because the King
James version preserves the

464
00:29:10,500 –> 00:29:14,800
present tense, Starting at verse
20.

465
00:29:15,000 –> 00:29:17,600
I were jumping right into the
time of the crucifixion.

466
00:29:19,600 –> 00:29:22,400
And when they had mocked him,
they took off the purple from

467
00:29:22,400 –> 00:29:26,500
him and put his own clothes on
him and let him out to crucify

468
00:29:26,500 –> 00:29:30,300
him and they present tense
compel.

469
00:29:30,600 –> 00:29:34,700
One Simon a cyrenian who passed
by coming out of the country.

470
00:29:35,200 –> 00:29:38,000
The father of Alexander and
Rufus to bear his cross.

471
00:29:38,800 –> 00:29:42,900
In the present tense, bring him
unto the place called Golgotha,

472
00:29:43,100 –> 00:29:46,200
which is being interpreted the
place of a skull.

473
00:29:47,400 –> 00:29:50,400
And they gave him to drink wine,
mingled with myrrh and he

474
00:29:50,400 –> 00:29:53,900
received not.
And when they had crucified him,

475
00:29:53,900 –> 00:29:56,800
they parted his garments,
casting lots, upon them.

476
00:29:57,100 –> 00:30:01,200
What every man should take and
it was the third hour, and they

477
00:30:01,200 –> 00:30:04,400
crucified him.
In the superscription of his

478
00:30:04,400 –> 00:30:07,400
accusation was written over the
king of the Jews.

479
00:30:08,500 –> 00:30:13,700
And with him, they present
tense, crucify to thieves the

480
00:30:13,700 –> 00:30:15,800
one in his right hand and the
other on his left.

481
00:30:17,900 –> 00:30:20,500
I was a lot of verses all at
once and if you’re wondering

482
00:30:20,500 –> 00:30:24,400
what I mean by all of this
present tense stuff, let me try

483
00:30:24,400 –> 00:30:28,300
to make it a little bit simpler.
In the last example, from that

484
00:30:28,600 –> 00:30:32,800
chunk of verses it says, and
with him, they crucify to

485
00:30:32,800 –> 00:30:36,600
thieves.
The interesting thing is, that’s

486
00:30:36,600 –> 00:30:40,900
not how our grammar Works Mark.
Was written as a historical

487
00:30:40,900 –> 00:30:45,000
account, it should be written in
the past tense.

488
00:30:46,000 –> 00:30:50,100
Jesus was crucified thousands of
years ago, it should say they

489
00:30:50,100 –> 00:30:54,100
crucified past tense, but it
does not say that.

490
00:30:55,800 –> 00:30:58,700
The conclusion that I draw from
all of this is that Mark wants

491
00:30:58,700 –> 00:31:01,200
to put the reader in Jesus’s
shoes.

492
00:31:02,700 –> 00:31:06,500
Every present tense verb in that
passage relates to how we can

493
00:31:06,500 –> 00:31:10,500
die with Christ.
The present tense words make us

494
00:31:10,500 –> 00:31:14,700
visualize someone carrying a
cross brought to the site of the

495
00:31:14,700 –> 00:31:19,100
crucifixion in finally.
They are crucified today in the

496
00:31:19,100 –> 00:31:23,600
present.
Mark wants us to see it if not

497
00:31:23,600 –> 00:31:29,800
to live it in our own lives.
The words compel us to Bear our

498
00:31:29,800 –> 00:31:33,000
cross.
Our burden in life, our trials,

499
00:31:33,000 –> 00:31:38,400
presently, bring us to the hill
and now we are crucified.

500
00:31:40,000 –> 00:31:43,300
Paul offers some incredible
words of wisdom touching on this

501
00:31:43,300 –> 00:31:46,400
idea.
First, we read in 2nd,

502
00:31:46,400 –> 00:31:49,600
Corinthians Chapter 4 verses 8
through 10.

503
00:31:51,200 –> 00:31:54,100
These moving versus that, I hope
are already known to us.

504
00:31:55,800 –> 00:31:57,500
We are troubled on every side
yet.

505
00:31:57,500 –> 00:32:00,500
Not distressed.
We are perplexed but not in

506
00:32:00,500 –> 00:32:05,600
despair persecuted, but not
forsaken, cast down, but not

507
00:32:05,600 –> 00:32:08,300
destroyed.
Always bearing about in the

508
00:32:08,300 –> 00:32:11,900
body, the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life also of

509
00:32:11,900 –> 00:32:14,200
Jesus might be made manifest in
our body.

510
00:32:16,000 –> 00:32:19,200
Just as Mark, brings his reader
to experience the crucifixion in

511
00:32:19,200 –> 00:32:23,400
the present, as if you and me,
as if when we were reading, were

512
00:32:23,400 –> 00:32:27,500
we were crucified.
So Also, Paul says that we must

513
00:32:27,500 –> 00:32:32,100
bear about in our bodies, the
dying of the Lord Jesus that his

514
00:32:32,100 –> 00:32:34,100
life should also be made known
Among Us.

515
00:32:36,000 –> 00:32:38,900
Another great verse and one
that’s even more straight into

516
00:32:38,900 –> 00:32:41,800
the point.
Paul says the same thing, he

517
00:32:41,800 –> 00:32:44,700
exhorts to presently bear.
The burden of Christ’s suffering

518
00:32:44,700 –> 00:32:50,000
in our own lives and we read
that in Galatians. 2 verse 20, I

519
00:32:50,000 –> 00:32:53,200
am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live.

520
00:32:54,200 –> 00:32:58,100
Yet not, I but Christ liveth in
me in the Life, which I now live

521
00:32:58,100 –> 00:33:01,600
in the flesh, I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who

522
00:33:01,600 –> 00:33:03,700
loved me and gave himself for
me.

523
00:33:07,000 –> 00:33:10,000
This morning, we’ve considered
the idea of spiritual

524
00:33:10,000 –> 00:33:13,800
Rehabilitation.
I encourage all of us to look at

525
00:33:13,800 –> 00:33:17,300
quarantine as a time for
reflection and a time for

526
00:33:17,300 –> 00:33:21,600
growth, we’ve considered that
the Bible is here for us to

527
00:33:21,600 –> 00:33:25,900
learn and improve our character,
not to gather dust on a Shelf.

528
00:33:27,400 –> 00:33:30,000
We’ve seen the example of the
captives returning to the land

529
00:33:30,000 –> 00:33:34,000
and Ezra and Nehemiah they were
drawn out of the world and we’re

530
00:33:34,000 –> 00:33:38,600
encouraged by Ezra to turn to
God again. the same opportunity

531
00:33:38,600 –> 00:33:42,200
exists for us to save our minds
from the things of the world,

532
00:33:42,400 –> 00:33:47,200
and to dedicate our thoughts to
God, Lastly, we’ve taken a look

533
00:33:47,200 –> 00:33:49,600
at Mark to make scripture more
real for us.

534
00:33:50,600 –> 00:33:53,400
Our brother Mark has written his
account of Jesus under the

535
00:33:53,400 –> 00:33:57,100
inspiration of God to bring us
into the last moments before

536
00:33:57,100 –> 00:34:01,200
Jesus was crucified.
Mark powerfully brings us to

537
00:34:01,200 –> 00:34:05,200
that scene and reminds us that
we ought to put the Fletch, put

538
00:34:05,200 –> 00:34:11,100
our flesh to death presently.
We are baptized once in

539
00:34:11,100 –> 00:34:16,100
symbolically, we die only once.
Yet continually throughout our

540
00:34:16,100 –> 00:34:20,199
lives, we have the opportunity
to triumph over sin and put it

541
00:34:20,199 –> 00:34:25,500
to death whenever we can.
We Gather every Sunday to

542
00:34:25,500 –> 00:34:29,199
remember Jesus to consider his
death and to rejoice in his

543
00:34:29,199 –> 00:34:33,300
resurrection.
Jesus Christ took the time to

544
00:34:33,300 –> 00:34:35,600
reflect on his life, along his
journey.

545
00:34:36,900 –> 00:34:39,500
We read in several different
places of instances that he

546
00:34:39,500 –> 00:34:43,699
removed himself from his
disciples, more crowds and went

547
00:34:43,699 –> 00:34:47,500
into a mountain, to pray, to
grow closer to God, and to

548
00:34:47,500 –> 00:34:50,699
become more focused against his
own human will.

549
00:34:52,900 –> 00:34:55,000
Jesus is our example in this
way.

550
00:34:55,300 –> 00:34:57,300
Has he is our example in so many
others.

551
00:34:58,900 –> 00:35:03,100
Our Savior has set the example
of meditation and reflection and

552
00:35:03,100 –> 00:35:07,300
I hope that we can all learn
from what he’s shown Us in this

553
00:35:07,300 –> 00:35:10,900
quarantine.
God has given us time to pause

554
00:35:10,900 –> 00:35:13,800
and consider to grow into
mature.

555
00:35:15,000 –> 00:35:18,500
He’s given us the opportunity to
take time out of our busy lives

556
00:35:19,000 –> 00:35:23,000
and ask ourselves the question.
What is important to me?

557
00:35:24,900 –> 00:35:28,200
That line of thinking puts us on
the important path of reflection

558
00:35:28,600 –> 00:35:33,100
and one that I hope brings us to
be spiritually, rehabilitated.

559
00:35:34,800 –> 00:35:36,500
I hope to see all of you again
soon.

560
00:35:36,700 –> 00:35:47,900
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to the

561
00:35:47,900 –> 00:35:51,000
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566
00:36:03,200 –> 00:36:06,100
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00:36:06,100 –> 00:36:08,200
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568
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569
00:36:11,800 –> 00:36:15,300
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575
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God bless and talk to you next
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