019: Harry Tennant - Exhortation: He Is Able

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   Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post at the start of each week for you to listen with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to hear. And now let's hear more about this week's talk. This week's talk is an exhortation titled He is Able by Brother Harry Tennant. We don't know the year or where he presented this exhortation. This is a really wonderful exhortation really on grace and the ability that God and Jesus have in providing salvation for us, no matter how dark our sins are, and providing a way to salvation. And we are really encouraged by it. He has a line that really struck me that it's heartbreaking to hear when someone says that they feel worse after the exhortation at meeting than they did before. And anyways, it's a complicated topic.

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   It's kind of, it is very, very uplifting, but it's also really an encouraging and interesting study into the concept of grace and helps me examine how I apply it into my life. This is our first repeat as far as a speaker. Harry Tennant was one of the early episodes as well. It kind of came from, we've had this one in our back pocket for a while. This was a suggestion from a listener.

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   And we would love if you made a suggestion. It is a big help to us. And I just had a rough week looking for other classes. So we've added a bunch more to our queue and we'll see how this week goes, but really excited to share this one. He is Able by Brother Harry Tennant. We do want to take a minute to plug the extended podcast, Good Chris Luffian Talks Extended, which has the full series on it. If there's one of the talks you'd be more interested in, this is an exhortation.

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   He is Able by Harry Tennant. So it will not have an extended series, but we've added the Tim Badger series on there. So again, He is Able by Harry Tennant. Good morning, my dear brethren and sisters. I suppose there are several reasons why we might feel that we are not going to be in the kingdom of God. It could be that our way of life is not right and we know it. It could be because despite all our deepest desires, we're not able to achieve what we set out to achieve. It could be that we've fallen into some deep and gripping sin. Or perhaps most likely of all, because we do not feel good enough.

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   Now, these are very discouraging things and I just want to examine them. And place something in your hands and hearts that is the antidote, truly, altogether, completely and absolutely for all of those things. So, first of all, come to Hebrews chapter 7. And here the apostle is reasoning concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's just, described his death, described his death, and then says in verse 25, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.

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   See those three words. He is able. Do you really believe that? That's what the breaking of bread is about. That he is able. It isn't that he might be able or could possibly or, well, probably, or with a stretch of the imagination, it says, he is able. That's what it says. Do you believe it?

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   That's the question, isn't it? See, all those reasons that I set out, some of which apply to us at one time or another or all the time, are all looking at me. There is no salvation in looking at me. He is able to save to the uttermost. That means completely. See, when we doubt, we're not just doubting ourselves.

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   That's bad enough, but that's not what it is. We're saying, Lord, you died at Calvary. I well understand that. But it's not quite good enough for me. Now, that can't be true. Can it? It cannot be true. There's no point in breaking bread if that's what we believe. It says, he is able to save to the uttermost.

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   Those three words keep occurring all over the place. They're marvellous words. You say, yes, but that brother had it. Really, in a kind of way, that's, you're playing tricks with the cards there. All you've done is to bring the aces to the top and you put the others at the bottom and you can't see them.

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    But they're there all right. Well, just come to Romans chapter 15. Just have a look at this. It says, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. You see that word strong there, it means we then that are able ought to bear the infirmities of the unable.

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    That's what the words mean. That's our relationships. Just between ourselves, amongst ourselves. These are our relationships. There is no cannot with Jesus. He is able. He can. That's what we're being told. Just shift your stance and come to stand on that ground. I haven't really begun to open the subject out yet. I'm just challenging us with one or two verses that make it very plain that it is wrong and can be almost blasphemous to say, no, he can't do it for me. I understand that he can do it for Brother Frank. I can understand that.

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    Or Sister Grace. I can understand that, but not for me. It isn't quite enough. It doesn't just go round. And that is not right. You see, looking at ourselves, God is saying to us, look, I didn't send Jesus because you were able. I sent him because you were unable. Don't keep complaining about it.

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    He is the answer to your dilemma. He more than makes up the shortage that is in you. He is my ableness to save you. Just help me to, then, with you, just to focus. Come to Mark chapter 9. Come to Mark chapter 9.

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    This is the description in this gospel of the transfiguration. I just want to come in at verse 6. For they wist not what to say, for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them. And a voice came out of heaven saying, This is my beloved Son. Hear him.

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    And suddenly, when they had looked round about, They saw no man anymore save Jesus only with themselves. They saw no man anymore save Jesus only. That's the secret.

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    It's this looking around at ourselves and at other people That produces all our wiltingness. That shrivels our energies. We've just got to look at Jesus only. No, it doesn't just say that, does it? It says save Jesus only with themselves.

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    Not remotely, but with them. Marvellous as this vision, this actuality of the transfiguration was. In the end, it was just Jesus. And the faithful three. That's where the secret lies.

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    Now, come to the epistle of Jude. We're coming to the crunch now. Now. There is one of those mind-blowing verses here. It's verse 24. Now. Now.

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    Unto him. That is able. Alright, so don't go back on that. Hang on to it. Now, listen to what it says. Now. Unto him. That is able. To keep you from falling.

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    And to present you. Faultless. Before the presence of his glory. With exceeding joy. Do you believe it? Now. Do you believe that? It's the end of all. All our ditherings and faults and doubts. All our looking at ourselves and seeing how ugly we are. Just read it again. This is praise. This is not just a.

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    These are not just words. It says now. Unto him. That is able. Brethren. We have got to believe that. Otherwise we are limiting the God of the stars.

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    We are limiting him and saying. You can't do it Lord. You can't do it. Praise be that it is. He is able. Look. And they are almost. It is almost an extravagance of language. Isn't it? This. Just look at it again. Now unto him. That is able. To keep you from falling. That is to guard you from stumbling.

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    That is what it says. That he is able. It doesn't say you won't stumble. It just says that if we lean on God. He won't let us fall. And then it says. And to present you faultless. You say to yourself. That can't be true Harry. What you started with told us that we were faulty.

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    How can we be faultless before the presence of his glory? Is this some slight of hand? Is this what this is? Is this the God that just nods about our sins and says forget them?

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    I am a God of grace. Is that what he is saying? And the answer is no. It says. He can present you faultless. Before the presence of his glory. In other words. The searchy light and beauty of God can rest upon us. And it will find no sin.

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    Now for the moment you think. Well that is excluding all of us. After what you said brother Harry. It isn't. This is all inclusive. And what is more. It says with exceeding joy. We should not be cowering. Trembling. Before the Lord. And saying we can't bear the light Lord. It won't be like that.

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    That we should be faultless. Before the presence of his glory. Why? Because he is able. This is the God that made Baron Sarah have a child. This is the God who opened the Red Sea. This is the God who casts the garlands of the stars. That makes the birds sing. That marvellous psalm that you know.

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    That the God who. Is the God of the stars. Is the God who mends broken hearts. This is the God. He says to the children of Israel. He says this is marvellous in your eyes. Do you think it's marvellous in mine?

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    God is able. To do these things. Now don't doubt it. Don't. Don't. Just. Look for a side door to get out. Don't do that. Come to Revelation chapter 14.

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    Revelation chapter 14. And the words are here again. Here they are with a lamb upon Mount Zion. And they are singing. Singing. Singing. Singing. With marvellous joy. Let's read it from the beginning. And I looked and know a lamb stood on the Mount Zion. And with him a hundred and forty and four thousand.

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    Having his father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven. As a voice of many waters. And as the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of the harpers. Harping with their harps. And they sang as it were a new song. Before the throne. And before the four living creatures.

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    And the elders. And no man could learn that song. Save the hundred and forty and four thousand. Which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women. And there are men and women these. So it's not just talking about women. Virgins. He's talking about being intact for God.

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    For they are virgins. These are they which follow the lamb. Whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men. Being the first fruits unto God. Unto the lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile.

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    For they are without fault. Before the throne of God. This is more than a dream. Brethren and sisters. This is that only God could do this. The only God could do this. No one else could do it. And it isn't by some trickery at all. It's by the wonder of the grace. And goodness.

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    And forgiveness of God. This is the God who wipes slates clean. For those who repent. For those who repent before God. So now we've got two verses. Fault less. Before God. There's no guile in their mouth. Jacob. It's not what we are. So much as what we will be. Before the throne of God.

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    I mean the wonder of these verses. Is not so much without fault. You can have inspection lines. For whatever goods are being made. And there the girls are. Just looking at things. And letting them go by. It's exactly what the girls do. In the great whiskey factories of Scotland. In the distilleries. They just sit in a line.

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    As the newly bottled spirit goes by. They do nothing else. But just look at the bottle. That's all they're doing all day long. To see whether it's faultless. As far as they are able.

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    But God. Doesn't do that. He's not just going by. And we may have missed it. We are before. The throne of God. And we are faultless. Before the throne of God. That's what we. That's where we are. And that's what we've got to believe. Brethren and sisters. There is no salvation without that.

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    There's no point in coming here. After we've drunk the wine. And we've. After we've taken of his body. We say. Well it won't work for me. That won't do.

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    This table is dynamite. That's the word. He is able. That's the verb. That's what it is. He is able. That's what the table is about. He is able. He is able.

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    Isn't this a question of making up the last mile. We never get off the starting block. Brethren and sisters. Were it not for God.

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    You remember. That on one occasion. Some people. Came to Jesus. And they asked this question. And young people ask this. Quite frequently. Because of the nature of what it is to be young. What can we do. For God. What is the work of God. And in John's gospel. It says. This. Is the work of God.

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    That you believe. You see. The wonder of being able to say. Brother. You can say this. And it will be true. He is able.

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    Whether you are alone. Or in a crowd. Or in difficult circumstances. Or have got besetting sins. That are constantly tripping you up. If you are too weak to do things. If your prayers dry up. We have got to say. He is able. Just repeat it. He is able. The ability. The ability. Is in Christ.

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    That is where it is. It is already there. This is the meaning of Calvary. Come to Psalm 130. One hundred and thirty. A little psalm. A little psalm. You have probably been in the first verse. Out of the depths. Have I cried unto thee. O Lord. Lord. Hear my voice. And let thine ears be attentive.

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    To the voice of my supplications. If thou. Lord. Shouldest mark iniquities. O Lord. Who shall stand. But there is forgiveness with thee. That thou mayest be feared.

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    So. Watching. For iniquity. Is that what God is doing? A sister spoke to me. Over the telephones. A little while ago. And said. And she had ceased to come. To Christadelphian meetings. Because she said. I felt worse. After the exhortation. Than ever I felt before. And I couldn't stand it. She did wrong.

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    In what she was doing. But she was explaining. And sometimes. That's the nature of exhortation. Just have a go at them. Boy. That's it. Hit them hard between the eyes. You've got plenty of ammunition.

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    If. Thou Lord. Shouldest mark iniquities. You go through Psalm 32. Psalm 51. Back into Leviticus 16. Go on to Isaiah 23. And you will discover. That there are three words. Constantly coming up.

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    They are sin. Transgression. And iniquity. That covers the whole range of sin. And they are all atoned for. You follow the places. Where you see it. It's all over the place. These three words. Keep occurring. And God has made absolutely certain. That no brother. No sister. Can feel that his. Or her. Particularly sin.

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    Sin. Sin. Sin. Is not being covered. By Christ. Now this is not some casual matter. Brethren and sisters. This is not. Oh well I can just go. This is Romans 6 isn't it. Oh well. And if God likes to forgive. Let's give him the opportunity. Go on sinning. Gives him great opportunity for grace.

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    Because Paul was answering this argument in Romans 6 chapter 1. It's not that. The awfulness of our sin increases. But the magnanimity of God. His benevolence. His love. Is greater than anything. You know what he said to the. Children of Israel. Deuteronomy. He said I loved you. Because.

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    We stand wondering. What's God going to say then? What's God going to say then? He says I loved you. Because I loved you. That's God.

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    So it isn't because of anything in us. It's not that we are able. It's just that that's the nature of God's love. And so. We've got to respond to that. By faith. By faith. By faith. In him. They don't. So you can't. Have faith.

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    You see the other is saying. Look at our sins. We can't always get rid of them. And that's true. But the other is not the same. There is no reason why you can't believe. Why I can't believe in God. That he's able to do this thing. We know all that he's done. Don't we?

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    We know all that he's done. There are five to six million Israelis in the land. And God said he would do it. And he's done it. And the work will go on. And nothing will stop it. He is able. Nothing will stop it. That's why the Syrophoenician woman asked him. Because she believed he was able.

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    That's why that humble sinner said. God be merciful to me. A sinner. Because he knew that God was able. You've got this 130th Psalm. Just look how it ends. It says there. Verse 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord. With the Lord there is mercy. And with him is plenteous redemption. It never runs out.

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    Complete wonder. And this word redemption comes up in the 8th chapter of Exodus. And goes running on and on. It's a marvel of the work of God. What this man says. Verse 5. I wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.

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    Any of you who have nursed somebody sick through the night will understand that verse. As the night begins and the darkness closes. And the sick person is there. And you're there. And you're going to be there for the night. The night seems very long.

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    There is a relief. When daylight comes. More than they that watch for the morning. You see. That word watching for the morning. Is the same word as mark iniquity.

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    God doesn't mark iniquity. And our response to that is that we watch for the morning. Zion's glad day. Zion's glorious morning. The day when all these things are going to be brought. To their wondrous and marvellous fruition. So you brought your package and baggage of troubles.

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    Your doubts and despairs. It was God you were doubting. Not yourself. Just turn to him. Just turn. Just come. Our last little cluster of verses. And our exhortation is complete. Come to Ephesians chapter 1.

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    I just want to point out to you. That this subject is inexhaustible. Now you know what the Ephesians were like. You got all kinds of magical books. And curious arts. They were just like the rest of us. They were sinners. And their sins did not just disappear. Because they were baptised. Here is the assurance.

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    Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. In heavenly places. Now just listen. And you will hear. Those verses we read. Echoing again. According as he hath chosen us in him. Before the foundation of the world.

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    That we should be holy. And without blame. Before him. In love. Now there are little keys there. That fit the lock. This is faultless. This is exactly the words we have had before. Just in a slightly different form.

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    We will be holy. And without blemish. Before him. That is what we thought. Before the throne of God. That is what we read before. Wasn't it? But there is just a little extra here. How it has all been accomplished. In love. You know what it is like in marriage. You don't want to know your partner's faults.

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    That is what you are looking for is it? You just want to bestow your love upon him or upon her. You are not looking for faults. They are always there. The fault looker has them himself. He has got a beam in his own eye.

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    The eye of love. It says you are faultless. You are undefiled my love. As the songs of Solomon says. And so God in looking at us. Just look at chapter 5. Same book.

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    The wedding chapter. But it is beyond that. It is going to marvellous things. And it says here. Verse 26. That he might sanctify. And cleanse it. That is his bride. With the washing of water by the word. That he might present it to himself. A glorious church. Not having spot. Or wrinkle. Or any such thing.

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    But that it should be holy. And without damage. So there is no doubt about it. That is the purpose of God. He is able.

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    That is what God is going to do. With you. And with me. We are going to be there. Faultless. In the presence of God's glory. Because we believe. In his forgiveness. And repent of our sins. Yes we were miserable. In those opening words. Of course we were. That is our state. Confess it before God.

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    Now don't shrink from confessing it. There is no way to this faultlessness. If we are going to pretend. We can hide our own sins. We can't do that. That is not what it is about. It is confessing them. And still believing. That God is able to do this. And he will do it.

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    Just go. Just a couple of epistles along. To Colossians chapter 1. So it says in verse 21. And you. That was sometimes. Alienated. And enemies in your mind. By wicked works. Yet now hath he reconciled. In the body. Of his flesh. Through death. This is exactly what we are going to do now.

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    In the breaking of bread. The unbridgeable chasm. Has been bridged. In Christ. In the body. Of his flesh. By death. So it is no casual matter. This is not easy come easy go. There is no trade off for sins. Not that at all. We are going to believe. That this is what has happened.

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    In him. Why? Well he wants to present us. Holy. And unblameable. And unreprovable. In his sight. This is the God. Who is of too pure an eye. To behold iniquity. He is going to look at us. At the end. And we will have no fault.

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    I said that was the last verse. You will forgive me. If I just show you one more. Because. You will forgive me. If I just show you one more verse. Which isn't about us at all. It is about the Jews. Now you know what they are like. God. You are stiff necked. Hard hearted.

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    Uncircumcised people. In your hearts. Just come to Jeremiah chapter 50. And this is the last quotation. Jeremiah chapter 50. There. And it is. This is a second coming verse. This is the area. Because it says so in verse 19. And I will bring Israel again. To his habitation. He shall feed on Carmel and Bashan.

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    And his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead. That is both sides of the river Jordan. So we know where we are. And here is the verse.

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    In those days. And in that time. Says the Lord. The iniquity of Israel. Should be sought for. And there should be none. And the sins of Judah. And they shall not be found.

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    I will pardon them. Whom I reserve. Or leave as a remnant. It isn't that we are free from sin. We are pardoned people. In Christ. He is able. Brother when you go away. Sister when you go away. Take it home with you. Keep repeating these words. Don't look at yourself. And be deceived.

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    But just look at him. In whom this is possible. And now at the Lord. Jesus Christ himself. The one who said to his father in the garden.

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    Abba. Father. All things. Are possible. With thee. Thank you for listening to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. Please subscribe for new episodes. And leave a review in Apple Podcasts. Whichever service you use to help people find the show when they search for it. If you enjoyed this talk. Share it on social media so other people can hear it too.

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