This week we are listening to an exhortation by Brother Stephen Hill that is entitled “Confidence In The Day Of Judgement” which he presented at the Adelaide Ecclesia in March 2022. The original audio link can be found HERE
We hope this strengthens your Faith and brightens your day!
Thank you for listening, God bless, and talk to you next week.
Send talk suggestions or comments to: [email protected]
For Show Notes, visit our website: GoodChristadelphianTalks.com
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Welcome to Good Burger selfie
and talks.
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I’m Levi and I’m Chris and I’m
Brian, thank you for joining us
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this week.
On this podcast, we select one
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taco week to help us get the
Bible in our daily news feed.
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We post a new episode of the
start of each week with a short
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intro before.
Hand to kind of set the stage
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for the talk.
You’re about to listen to and
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now let’s talk more about this
week’s talk.
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Welcome to the good
christadelphians talks podcast.
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This is Bill O’Brien.
This week’s talk is an
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excitation by Brother Steven
Hill.
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That was given at the Adelaide.
Ecclesia last March.
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The excitation is called
confidence in the day of
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judgment and it’s about how we
can overcome any fears or doubts
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that we may have about how we
may be judged.
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Or that feeling like we haven’t
done enough when we feel like we
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are close to the end of our
Lives, I found the message to
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carry a little bit of extra
weight because he is an older
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brother.
Lamenting about others that he
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knows that are in this stage of
their life expressing fear and
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doubt about how they’ll be
received by our Lord deriving
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from a workspace mindset.
I found it to be a sobering
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reminder that this fear can be
the most crippling.
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When we’re aware that our days
are numbered.
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But his message is all about the
assurance that we are meant to
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hold dear.
That as I says, clearly in
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Romans 8 verses 1 to 2, there is
therefore now no condemnation
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for those who are in Christ
Jesus.
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The law of the spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus
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setting, you free from the law
of sin and death.
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Is that how you feel?
Do you feel free?
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Can you pray when you come to
meeting?
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Do you feel free?
Brother, Stephen makes the point
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very well that we are told to be
confident in Christ and that
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this conference is not a self
confidence in ourselves, but it
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is built day by day.
Now, in our prayer life, That we
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should be honest with ourselves,
so that when we are before our
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lord, it’s not a feeling of
here.
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I don’t know you and you don’t
know me, but that we should be
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able to speak freely about how
we feel if we are taking the
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opportunity to do so, now
building that relationship with
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our prayers, Brother, Stephen
has a lot of good references and
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I just found the whole talk to
be incredibly comforting and one
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that I was listening to over and
over and over again.
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So as always, we hope this
strengthens your faith and
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brightens your day brother,
Stephen Hill, confidence, and
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the day of judgment.
Good morning, my dear brothers
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and sisters and by D young
people, My theme for this
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morning is taken from a reading.
And it is confidence in the day
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of judgement.
And I suspect for some of you at
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least that’s sounds a bit
impossible.
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It sounds as if it’s going to be
a breeze.
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That when we appear before our
Lord, it’ll just be more or less
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in you go.
That such is the confidence that
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appears that we should have as
we read in our reading.
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But let’s step back from that
for a moment.
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We’ll come to that shortly.
Life.
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Is a mixture.
It’s a real mixture of happy
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times and sad times.
We use the Expression ups and
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downs.
And even some young ones have
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already experienced that
reality, but we all specially.
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Those are a bit older know how
true that is.
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But there is one thing that
makes me particularly sad.
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And that is to hear that someone
who is facing death.
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He’s scared.
Is afraid.
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And I know that’s happened on
many occasions.
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I first experienced that way
back in 1978.
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When I say relatively young
least, I thought I was and there
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was an old brother in our
Ecclesia who was and facing
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death and did soon after.
And the reason why some might
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feel that would perhaps vary
from Individual to individual,
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But in try to still grapple with
that, that difficult issue.
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I thought well perhaps it’s
because they felt that they
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should be doing more.
That in there perhaps in their
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upbringing, there was a great
emphasis on doing good works and
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that they felt they hadn’t done
enough.
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Or perhaps like the man with the
one Talent, he thought the
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Christ was going to be harsh in
his judgment.
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Severe austere.
Or maybe as I’ve heard it
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mentioned, the argument is that?
Well, there’s only going to be a
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few saved.
And therefore, I’m not going to
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be one of the few.
Am I?
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Whatever the reason that might
happen and it tends to happen.
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I think mostly with elderly
people, but I haven’t have
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witnessed it in people in middle
age, too.
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It’s incongruous with the
reading, we’ve just read.
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And it’s a real challenge
reading that chat World.
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In fact, the whole of first of
John is extremely challenging
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because it’s so simple to read
but absolutely powerful.
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It’s the language is.
It’s this or nothing.
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There’s no gray in this letter
of John.
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It’s absolutely black and white.
And that’s a bit confronting
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because I think we feel Gray.
We know we’re not perfect.
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And we know we’re not a mass
murderer, so we’re in the middle
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somewhere, where Gray?
But Jon knows, nothing of Gray.
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You’re either black or wise?
And I just like to read a couple
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of sentences from Brother Melva
perkis in his book on the first
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Epistle of John.
If you haven’t read it in that
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might interest you, I strongly
recommend it.
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He says, in time past great
emphasis was placed on fear.
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It was almost used as a go to
drive men to obedience, sadly in
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a medians to a system rather
than loyalty to God.
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Except in primitive societies,
those days have all but gone.
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Yet they have left.
A lurking dread in the minds of
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some Add red, which is kept
Alive by some passage of
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scripture taken from its true
context.
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And I think that is part of the
issue.
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So let’s have a look at first,
John four and particularly Verse
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18, the first quote on the young
people’s list to look at today.
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And we’ll look at the previous
verse in a moment.
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But let’s just go read Verse 18
as it is.
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First, John 4:18, there is no
fear in love, but perfect.
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Love casts out fear because fear
involves torment.
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So that is a very bold
statement.
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As I said it’s there’s no
qualifications in there, there’s
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no year but maybe your it’s bit
of this and a bit of that.
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It’s absolute.
And that should in fact be the
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main point that we get out of
this letter because as I said,
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it’s all like that.
And only with that appreciation.
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Are we going to come to grips
with this issue?
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That the previous verse mentions
it on look at in a moment where
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it says we should have
confidence in the day of
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judgement?
But that’s not that verse 18 is
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not the only place where we’re
told that we should not live in
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fear, for example, Hebrews to
15.
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It says that Jesus came and died
to release those who through
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fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.
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Or in Romans 8:15, you did not
receive the spirit of bondage
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again to fear.
Or in second Timothy 1:7.
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God has not given us a spirit of
fear And how many times did
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Jesus say?
Well, an angels say in the
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gospel record but you’re not
afraid.
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Be not Afraid.
Well, they were afraid which is
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why they were told not to be.
When confronted by an Angel.
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Or witnessing an extraordinary
Miracle by the Lord people were
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stunned and Roberto re real back
and were afraid of this awesome
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power.
And then the words come time and
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again, be not afraid.
And So that obviously follows
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from verse 17, love has been
perfected Among Us.
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You remember in verse 18?
It talked about that.
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Perfect.
Love casts out.
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Fear.
Perfect, love well, verse, 17
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said love has been perfected
Among Us in this That we may
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have boldness or confidence in
the day of judgment because as
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he is.
So, are we in this world?
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Boldness doesn’t sound right
even confidence.
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Doesn’t really quite sound,
right?
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Does it.
So what is John saying?
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Well, literally the word that’s
been translated as either bold,
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or so, confidence means free
speech.
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Unreserved speech, the absence
of fear.
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So it’s telling us that when we
meet our Lord, We should be if
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you like relaxed.
I don’t mean totally relaxed, of
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course, but in the sense that we
are not afraid to say something
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to say how we feel, We’re not
reserved, we’re not holding
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back.
How is that possible?
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Well, if it was just the one
verse in the Bible you might
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kind of feel.
He could get around this but go
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back to chapter 2 verse 28.
Now, little children abide in
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him that when he appears, we may
have confidence and not be
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ashamed before him at his
coming.
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So Jonah said this twice,
there’s no possible way of
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misunderstanding that.
It is really important, then
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that we understand how it is
possible for us to appear before
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our Lord with confidence.
Well, I think the explanation is
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in the same letter so now have a
look at chapter 3 and verse 21.
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Beloved.
If our heart does not condemn
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us, we have confidence toward
God.
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Same word. and in that context,
it is clear that it’s a
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relationship with God now, That
our relationship with the father
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and the son, now is one of
confidence.
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And again, in 5:14, it appears
again.
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Now, this is the confidence that
we have in him that if we ask
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anything according to his will
he hears us.
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And so again twice the Apostle
tells us that we need to have
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must have confidence in our
relationship with God now and
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it’s fairly obvious, I think, if
you think about it, if we do
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have confidence with him now, We
will be able to have confidence
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with him when he comes.
Why would it be any different?
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Any Fair confidence now is based
on the fact that we have been
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entirely open with our Lord in
prayer now. then when he
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physically appears, there’s no
difference.
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We’ve told him everything, he
knows everything.
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Now.
And so, it will be no different
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when he appears. and so today is
the time for confidence in a
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sense more than in the day of
judgment that will follow
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reasonably logically and
inevitably, if we have
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confidence with him now and
particularly so, in our prayer,
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Again, this is not unique to the
Epistle of John.
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In Ephesians 3, 12.
It says, in whom we have
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boldness, it’s the same word and
access with confidence through
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faith in him, talking about
prayer, obviously, or in Hebrews
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4:16 again on prayer, let us
therefore come boldly to the
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throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find Grace to
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help in time of need.
So you see this repetition of
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the thought now is the time
particularly in prayer to have
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that confidence in our
relationship with the father and
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the son, so that when the Sun
appears, we will still be in
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that same frame of mind. in
Chapter 2 and verse 1 of this
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letter of first, a John, the
Apostle describes our Lord in a
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very unique way My little
children, these things I write
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to you so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an
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advocate With the father, Jesus
Christ, the righteous.
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We have an advocate.
He’s on our side.
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The Judgment isn’t a human us.
It’s not like that.
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He is our Advocate.
He’s on our side.
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If you like to use modern legal
analogy, it’s your defense
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lawyer when you appear in court,
he’s on your side.
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And if you’ve been honest with
your defense, lawyer told him
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the whole story, his job is to
present your story in the best
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possible light.
That’s exactly what our Lord’s
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doing every single day.
But of course, if we are less
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than honest with him, that might
not follow.
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Because although he knows
anyway, the key to, this is
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being honest with our Lord.
Now, There’s a verse which is
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one of my favorites in Luke
12:32, which is it is your
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father’s, good.
Pleasure to give you the
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kingdom.
And many of us, here are
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parents, and we were had very
small children.
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We recall those occasions when
perhaps we’ve got them, their
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first bike and it’s a huge thing
for the child.
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But as a parent, you probably
felt at least as much, maybe
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even more excited that you were
able to do this to give him such
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enjoyment.
It’s the father’s good pleasure
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to give you the kingdom.
It’s not a question of well, I’m
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not sure if I will, or won’t.
Let’s see.
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It’s, he wants to give us the
kingdom.
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And that’s entirely consistent
with the idea of confidence that
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we’ve been talking about.
Let’s come to another passage of
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scripture and this one is in
2nd, Timothy chapter 4, it’s the
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second on the list for the young
people. 2nd of Timothy chapter
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4.
And particularly verses 7 and 8.
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I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have
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kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me
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the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous
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judge will give to me on that
day.
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And not to me only but also to
all who have loved his
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appearing.
As pretty obvious, you cannot
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love his appearing and be afraid
at the same time.
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You can’t be scared of the Lord
and love his appearing.
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They just don’t go together.
So the apostles really stretched
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re-emphasizing, very strongly,
isn’t he?
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That same idea of confidence if
you like loving his appearing?
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Many many many years ago in fact
in 1868 at the age of 29
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brother.
Robert Roberts wrote about this
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thought.
That we should be looking
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forward.
Eagerly and excitedly to the
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coming of the law because to use
his term, he’s the best friend
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we can have And that’s
absolutely right, isn’t it?
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What more reliable, supportive
helpful friend, could you ever
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have?
And that again adds to this
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sense of confidence in the day
of judgement.
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Just one of the thought though.
This is not self confidence.
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When I appear before the Lord,
It’s not confidence in myself.
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It’s confidence in him.
That he will do what he said.
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As we’ve been reading.
That the father’s work in him
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will be achieved, it will be his
pleasure to give us the kingdom
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and so on and so on.
But then perhaps we still find
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it a little challenging to
actually think about this day,
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the day of judgment.
What is the Lord going to be
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looking for?
How is that?
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I don’t like the word
particularly, but assessment
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going to be carried out.
I don’t actually see it as an
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assessment in the sense of a
day-by-day rehearsal of our
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lives in any way.
But what is it that he’s looking
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for?
Well surprisingly in a way there
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are not many verses in the Bible
that give us a direct statement
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as to what will happen at the
day of judgement.
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Hence you get a lot of
speculation which is not helpful
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very often but let’s just think
of a few passages about what
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kinds of things we know.
Let the father and the son I
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looking for in us.
One backing, Jeremiah 9 verse 24
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says, but let him who glories
glory in this.
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In other words, have confidence
that he understands and knows
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me.
That I am the Lord exercising
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loving-kindness judgment and
righteousness in the Earth.
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For in these, I Delight says the
Lord.
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In other words, if we are
practicing the same kinds of
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characteristics now, Which are
the same as God’s himself, then
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he will Delight in US.
And therefore we have confidence
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because we know he will Delight
in US, exercising
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00:23:35,600 –> 00:23:41,200
loving-kindness.
The well-known parable of the
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last days that Jesus gave.
Whoever gives you a cup of water
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to drink in my name because you
belong to Christ assuredly, I
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say to you.
He will by no means lose his
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00:23:54,300 –> 00:23:58,800
reward.
So the couple of things there
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that I think are really
significant, it’s as simple as
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giving someone a drink of water.
Something refreshing something
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to help them in their life.
In my name that is we do it
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because we know this is what
God’s looking for.
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00:24:20,700 –> 00:24:25,500
And then, we can say, or know,
for sure, we will not lose our
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00:24:25,500 –> 00:24:30,000
reward, Lose It.
It means you’ve already got it.
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You can’t lose something.
You don’t have.
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So what we’re being told there
and many, many other scriptures,
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we already have very clear
evidence of how much God loves
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us.
We read it in our reading today.
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And we will not lose it if we
maintain this attitude to others
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even perhaps the most pointed
one is in Romans 14 verse 10.
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Why do you judge your brother
for?
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We shall all stand before the
Judgment seat of Christ.
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So clearly they’re the key point
is how have you treated your
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brother?
That is going to be the real
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issue.
Not in the sense of an
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inquisition.
But a simple position where you
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can appear before the Lord,
knowing that you have treated
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your brother.
In fact, all people in the right
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way. it doesn’t necessarily
Advance you or your cause it
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00:25:40,800 –> 00:25:44,400
may, in fact, sometimes be
detrimental to you, but you
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maintain this approach to one
another and as a reading this
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morning, says he who loves God
must love his brother also.
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So all of this is telling us
that the issue is our treatment
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of others.
That’s not a big deal.
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That’s not something
complicated.
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It’s not something that requires
that, you know, the Bible
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backwards It’s simply saying
that we have learned of God and
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we have learned of his son and
therefore we want to be like
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them.
Just as often little children,
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want to be like their parent.
You know, if dad’s a mechanic
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then it’s very often the case
that the little son wants to
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learn how to do things like that
doesn’t mean you’ll finish up
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being a mechanic himself, but
that’s what happens.
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Or, for example, young girls
will doodle and draw pictures of
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Bridesmaids.
That they’ve got this concept of
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one day.
I’m going to be like mum.
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I’m going to be a wife and a
mother.
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So there’s that sense of
naturally in US wanting to mimic
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those who we admire and love,
and that’s how it should be with
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our Lord. we won’t read it now
but it back in first of John in
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00:27:17,200 –> 00:27:22,300
chapter 5, Twice verses 11 and
13.
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The Apostle says we have eternal
life.
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00:27:29,600 –> 00:27:32,400
Now, that can be a bit
confronting, if you’ve got a
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fixed view, that eternal life
means the same thing as
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00:27:36,500 –> 00:27:41,500
immortality.
Well, first of all, if it does,
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Why didn’t it say so?
Words aren’t used in
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00:27:44,900 –> 00:27:48,200
discriminately in scripture,
there’s a reason for them.
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And as we’ll see in a moment, in
several of these keywords that
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00:27:54,700 –> 00:27:58,800
I’m going to go through, in a
moment, they can have more than
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00:27:58,800 –> 00:28:03,700
one application and the words
eternal life clearly can apply
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00:28:03,700 –> 00:28:06,700
now.
It’s the life.
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We live in the Eternal in the,
in the father and the son who
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are eternal This new life that
we have.
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Or in Ephesians chapters 1 & 2.
The Apostle there talks about
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the fact that we are.
Now in the heavenlies, we’re not
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in physical Heaven.
If you like, we’re not up there
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00:28:30,900 –> 00:28:33,600
in the Stars somewhere.
We know if we’re down here on
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00:28:33,600 –> 00:28:37,100
Earth very much.
But the apostles telling us that
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because we are in Christ, we
have been elevated to a high
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status as the children of God.
We are in that sense in the
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heavenlies.
Also in Ephesians 1, the Apostle
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is mentioned, many times.
We are now already redeemed and
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there.
He explains that by saying it’s
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the same as having your sins
forgiven.
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00:29:06,800 –> 00:29:11,900
We’ve been redeemed or similar
idea to being rescued or Rants
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00:29:11,900 –> 00:29:18,300
and from captivity we’ve been
saved out of something into
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00:29:18,300 –> 00:29:23,000
something much better.
We’ve been redeemed, these are
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00:29:23,000 –> 00:29:25,600
things that have already
happened.
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Let’s now, look at one of the
next one.
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00:29:30,700 –> 00:29:35,500
In my list of those kinds of
present Privileges and
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00:29:35,500 –> 00:29:39,100
blessings.
It’s in Romans chapter 5.
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And in a moment, we’ll look at
verse 10, which is number three
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00:29:48,500 –> 00:29:50,000
on the list for the young
people.
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But before that, let’s look at
verse 9, Romans 5, verse 9, much
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more.
Then having now been justified
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by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him again.
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His, another thing we already
have, we have been Justified.
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It’s the same word, translated
righteous.
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00:30:16,100 –> 00:30:19,400
The word righteous sometimes can
be a bit challenging.
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00:30:20,000 –> 00:30:23,700
It sounds almost like we’re
saying we’re perfect, but that
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00:30:23,700 –> 00:30:28,500
isn’t what it means, it doesn’t
mean that at all or not.
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We don’t have time to go off on
a tangent like in a Bible class
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00:30:32,000 –> 00:30:37,000
here but the Apostle is clearly
telling us, it’s something
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00:30:37,000 –> 00:30:42,800
that’s already happened so far,
let’s just take them off one.
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00:30:42,800 –> 00:30:47,600
We have eternal life.
To, we’re in the heavenlies 3.
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We’ve been redeemed for we have
been Justified.
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Now, there’s three more to come.
Five in the next verse verse 10.
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For if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God.
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Through the death of his son.
Much more having been
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00:31:09,900 –> 00:31:13,000
reconciled.
We shall be saved by his life.
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00:31:13,900 –> 00:31:18,000
So we’ve been reconciled.
We were to use.
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00:31:18,000 –> 00:31:22,600
Paul’s graphic language, we were
enemies, we were in no
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00:31:22,600 –> 00:31:29,500
relationship with God at all.
And suddenly that’s been brought
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00:31:29,500 –> 00:31:34,100
together.
We’ve been reconciled, there is
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00:31:34,100 –> 00:31:39,800
no longer, any enmity between us
and the father and son.
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00:31:42,100 –> 00:31:46,500
So that’s number five.
We’ve been reconciled.
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00:31:47,200 –> 00:31:49,800
And of course all of these
happened the day we were
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00:31:49,800 –> 00:31:55,600
baptized And while we’re in this
part of scripture, let’s just
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00:31:55,900 –> 00:32:03,900
come over to chapter 8.
And verse to his number 6.
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00:32:07,000 –> 00:32:11,000
Well, I read verse 1 as well.
There is therefore now no
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00:32:11,000 –> 00:32:16,400
condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk
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00:32:16,400 –> 00:32:19,300
according to the flesh.
But, according to the spirit
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00:32:19,900 –> 00:32:24,600
verse 24, the law of the spirit
of life in Christ, Jesus has
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00:32:24,600 –> 00:32:28,900
made me free.
From the law of sin and death
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00:32:29,800 –> 00:32:34,500
free.
Is that how you feel?
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00:32:38,400 –> 00:32:40,400
Do you come here on a Sunday
morning?
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00:32:41,600 –> 00:32:46,800
As we do too and as will do
shortly to focus on the
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00:32:46,800 –> 00:32:50,800
wonderful things that have been
done for us and represented in
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00:32:50,800 –> 00:32:54,200
the bread of line and does that
make you feel free?
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00:32:54,500 –> 00:32:58,800
Does it remind you that you were
freed from the law of sin and
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00:32:58,800 –> 00:33:05,000
death when you were baptized Or
somehow have you got the idea?
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00:33:06,300 –> 00:33:10,300
That life’s live before our God
is a struggle.
401
00:33:11,800 –> 00:33:15,800
That we have no sense of of
assurance.
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00:33:17,300 –> 00:33:21,300
That we are approaching the end
of our life or the coming of the
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00:33:21,300 –> 00:33:24,100
Lord with a certain amount of
dread.
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00:33:26,100 –> 00:33:28,600
Well, that’s not what I read in
the Bible.
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00:33:29,900 –> 00:33:35,200
I don’t know how that might have
happened in your mind, but I
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00:33:35,208 –> 00:33:40,300
know it has done for some.
But if possible is in this
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00:33:40,300 –> 00:33:43,400
chapter 8 is an extraordinary
and a wonderful chapter.
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00:33:44,800 –> 00:33:50,800
He’s saying we have already been
freed now, you and I know that
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00:33:50,800 –> 00:33:53,700
doesn’t mean we won’t and do
sin.
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00:33:55,000 –> 00:34:00,100
What we’ve been freed from the
law of sin and death.
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00:34:01,700 –> 00:34:07,300
It’s similar to the idea of
being in bondage, being a Slave.
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00:34:08,300 –> 00:34:13,800
Which chapter 6 talks a lot
about we were born slaves to
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00:34:13,800 –> 00:34:19,000
sin.
But when we were baptized, we
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00:34:19,000 –> 00:34:25,400
were bought with a great price,
the life of the son of God.
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00:34:27,199 –> 00:34:32,600
And bought by a new master.
And we are now to use that same
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00:34:32,600 –> 00:34:38,600
term slaves to God.
And he’s not the same as the
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00:34:38,600 –> 00:34:41,800
hard Taskmaster that we had
before.
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00:34:44,100 –> 00:34:47,100
And coming to number seven, and
the last one.
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00:34:47,100 –> 00:34:51,400
It’s also in chapter 8, here is
a number 4 on the list for the
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00:34:51,400 –> 00:35:03,100
young people verse 24.
For we were saved in this hope.
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00:35:04,100 –> 00:35:07,400
But hope that is seen is not
hope for what has one still like
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00:35:07,400 –> 00:35:11,000
40 sees.
Let’s take that first part of
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00:35:11,000 –> 00:35:16,600
the verse and the King James
kind of blurs this a bit.
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00:35:16,600 –> 00:35:20,500
But many other translations I
think are more helpful.
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00:35:21,200 –> 00:35:27,500
We were saved.
There was a time years ago when
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00:35:28,400 –> 00:35:33,800
people like Billy Graham from
America was on a campaign, had
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00:35:34,100 –> 00:35:36,700
one of the biggest audiences
ever in Adelaide.
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00:35:36,700 –> 00:35:42,200
Incidentally, back in the 1950s.
Where it was all about.
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00:35:42,200 –> 00:35:47,400
I you saved come up to the front
and repent and you’re saved and
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00:35:48,300 –> 00:35:50,800
our community wasn’t comfortable
with that.
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00:35:52,300 –> 00:35:58,300
Because we so got locked into
thinking that salvation was only
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00:35:58,300 –> 00:36:03,200
about immortality.
And it’s not only about
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00:36:03,200 –> 00:36:09,600
immortality as we’ve seen with
this term eternal life, or with
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00:36:09,600 –> 00:36:12,200
the word Redemption that we’ve
looked at here.
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00:36:12,200 –> 00:36:15,600
The words saved, they are
clearly used in more than one
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00:36:15,600 –> 00:36:23,600
way, that one kind of salvation.
We just read in verse two that
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00:36:23,600 –> 00:36:29,600
we’ve been brought out of the
bondage of sin and death set
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00:36:29,600 –> 00:36:35,600
free and here use the same kind
of idea the apostles saying we
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00:36:35,600 –> 00:36:40,000
were saved in this hope and
that’s built on chapter six
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00:36:40,000 –> 00:36:44,300
which is all about baptism.
That’s when it happened.
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00:36:44,500 –> 00:36:48,500
We were set free from that
bondage, saved from it.
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00:36:50,600 –> 00:36:54,100
But it’s not the only time at
that idea occurs just one other
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00:36:54,900 –> 00:36:59,500
in Titus 3:5.
The Apostle says, according to
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00:36:59,500 –> 00:37:05,200
his Mercy, he saved us through
the washing of regeneration.
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00:37:06,200 –> 00:37:08,500
The clear application to
baptism.
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00:37:11,000 –> 00:37:16,000
So my brothers and sisters, I’ve
just gone through seven areas
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00:37:16,000 –> 00:37:22,000
where we’re told very plainly.
These are the good things that
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00:37:22,000 –> 00:37:30,600
God has already given us.
And so look at verse 32, he who
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00:37:30,600 –> 00:37:36,200
did not spare his own son.
But delivered him up for us all
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00:37:37,200 –> 00:37:39,700
and just pause there.
That’s what we’ve been talking
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00:37:39,700 –> 00:37:42,700
about.
Really Through.
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00:37:44,000 –> 00:37:49,400
The sacrifice of the Son of God,
we have been granted eternal
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00:37:49,400 –> 00:37:53,400
life in being in the heavenlies
redeemed.
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00:37:53,500 –> 00:37:58,500
Justified reconciled set free
and saved from sin.
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00:37:59,200 –> 00:38:03,900
God has already given us that.
And the Apostle here is saying
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00:38:04,100 –> 00:38:08,100
if he’s done that if he’s didn’t
spare his own son but delivered
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00:38:08,100 –> 00:38:13,100
him up for us all.
How shall he not with him also?
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00:38:13,800 –> 00:38:19,300
Really give us all things.
All things.
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00:38:20,700 –> 00:38:24,400
And our word immortality covers
that.
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00:38:24,700 –> 00:38:28,900
Absolutely.
He’s already given us this.
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00:38:29,900 –> 00:38:33,500
Why would he not?
Also, give us the rest and
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00:38:33,500 –> 00:38:38,800
that’s what Paul saying he will.
And so we come here this
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00:38:38,800 –> 00:38:42,800
morning, not with any sense of
being in morning.
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00:38:44,300 –> 00:38:47,400
Being sad.
Sure.
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00:38:47,400 –> 00:38:50,500
They may be events in your life
that make you sad.
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00:38:50,600 –> 00:38:53,700
We’re not talking about that.
We’re talking about a
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00:38:53,707 –> 00:38:59,100
relationship with the father and
son. and when the Lord
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00:38:59,100 –> 00:39:04,600
instituted this, supper, What
did he do with the Bread and
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00:39:04,600 –> 00:39:07,000
Wine?
He gave thanks for him.
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00:39:07,800 –> 00:39:10,500
There are one hand.
That sounds a bit strange.
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00:39:10,900 –> 00:39:13,700
I think, because he’s going to
die in a moment.
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00:39:15,200 –> 00:39:17,500
A horrible death and he’s saying
thank you.
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00:39:19,200 –> 00:39:21,300
Well, he’s not saying thank you
for the pain.
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00:39:21,300 –> 00:39:27,700
I’m going to enjoy of course.
But he is so thankful that
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00:39:27,700 –> 00:39:34,500
finally God’s Redemptive work is
coming two weeks, absolute
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00:39:34,500 –> 00:39:39,000
Pinnacle and that he’s part of
that.
477
00:39:40,100 –> 00:39:45,000
He is thankful and so we give
thanks to we give.
478
00:39:45,000 –> 00:39:48,200
Thanks because of all those
things that we’ve been talking
479
00:39:48,200 –> 00:39:54,000
about We’re so grateful.
Surely that were able to come
480
00:39:54,000 –> 00:39:59,400
here and to think about what has
already been done for us and
481
00:39:59,400 –> 00:40:05,500
therefore what is yet to come We
come here to rejoice.
482
00:40:06,700 –> 00:40:13,200
Not to feel sad.
So today as on every occasion
483
00:40:13,200 –> 00:40:19,300
that we do this, we come to a
celebration, we come to a point
484
00:40:19,300 –> 00:40:26,100
of being uplifted and reassured.
and maintain our confidence in
485
00:40:26,100 –> 00:40:31,600
him knowing that we have no
confidence in our own abilities
486
00:40:32,400 –> 00:40:36,600
and it’s all too evident in our
lives as we would all confess
487
00:40:36,600 –> 00:40:44,400
Shirley We have a loving father.
And he loved us before we were
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00:40:44,400 –> 00:40:51,300
even born. and we accepted that
at our baptism, So, brothers and
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00:40:51,300 –> 00:40:55,900
sisters.
I hope all of us can maintain
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00:40:55,900 –> 00:41:01,900
that level of confidence that
level of loving the appearing of
491
00:41:01,900 –> 00:41:06,900
the Lord, and never approach the
end of our life.
492
00:41:06,900 –> 00:41:11,800
For the coming of the Lord, in
any sense with fear.
493
00:41:12,300 –> 00:41:30,300
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to the
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00:41:30,300 –> 00:41:32,100
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495
00:41:32,800 –> 00:41:34,800
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00:41:35,200 –> 00:41:37,600
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502
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