404: Josh Hodge – Exhortation: What is your joy?

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Welcome to Good Christophian
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And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
Howdy, this week we’re listening

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to an exhortation given by
Brother Josh Hodge at the

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Branford, Ontario Ecclesia on
May the 3rd, 2026 entitled What

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is Your Joy?
As you may have deduced, the

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title is taken from First
Thessalonians where Paul

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delivers that beautiful
discourse by asking 3 questions.

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What is our hope or joy or crown
of rejoicing?

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The impressing message of this
exhortation is to get us to ask

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ourselves, where do we get our
joy?

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What is it that makes us
happiest?

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See, for Paul, his joy and his
hope was being with his brothers

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and sisters in God’s Kingdom.
And we’re all invited to reflect

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and wonder.
Is that thought a source of joy

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for us?
Do the things of God truly bring

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us happiness and satisfaction?
Brother Josh said something in

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this exhort to keep your ears
open.

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For he says if we joy in the
temporal things that are

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natural, our joy will be
temporary.

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There will be no future joy for
the things we are joying in now.

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It is the spiritual things that
will be reflected in the future

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for eternity.
So I hope by the end of this

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exhort, we’ll all have a
stronger appreciation for the

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ecclesia that God has put us in
and that we can learn to cherish

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our beloved brethren to the
point that we can recite Paul’s

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words.
You are our glory and joy.

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So with that, here is brother
Josh Hodge.

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What is your joy?
Brothers and sisters, young

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people, what is your hope, what
is your joy, and what is your

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crown of rejoicing?
These words have been echoed

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down through time and we hope
this morning to to echo them

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here.
What is your hope?

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Hope.
The Greek word elpis.

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What is your vision?
Do you have a vision of the

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future?
Who is there, What is there?

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What will it be like?
Brothers and sisters, our hope

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is real, and we can’t forget
that.

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There’s one other occurrence of
this word in First

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Thessalonians.
Just turn to chapter 4 and verse

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13 of First Thessalonians.
But I would not have you to be

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ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, that ye

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sorrow not even as others which
have no hope.

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You see, there’s a class of
people that don’t have hope.

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There’s a class of people that
do.

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Just think about what that is in
this context.

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First Thessalonians 4 we keep
reading if we believe that Jesus

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died and rose again, Even so
them also which sleep in Jesus

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will God bring with him.
Do you believe that?

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Is that part of your hope?
For this We say unto you by the

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word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the

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coming of the Lord, shall not
prevent them which are asleep.

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The Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with

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the voice of the Archangel, and
with the trump of God.

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The dead in Christ shall rise
first, Then we which are alive

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and remain shall be caught away
with them in clouds to meet the

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Lord and air.
And so shall we ever be with the

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Lord.
Do we draw comfort from those

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words?
We’ll only find comfort in them

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if we believe in them.
And that’s part of our hope.

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And that’s how this chapter
ends.

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Comfort one another with these
words.

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What is our hope?
Brothers and sisters, young

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people, what is our joy?
What fills your mind with

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happiness?
What do you rejoice over?

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What fills you up with comfort
and satisfaction?

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This is the common word for joy
in the Greek, meaning just that,

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joy and gladness.
We find this word occurs again

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in chapter 3.
Just look at verse 6, when

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Timotheus came from you unto us
and brought us good tidings of

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your faith and love, that he
have good remembrance of us,

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always desiring greatly to see
us as we also to see you.

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Therefore, brethren, we were
comforted over you and all our

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affliction and distress by your
faith.

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For now we live if he stand fast
in the Lord, Now we live, if we

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stand fast in the Lord.
What is Paul’s saying?

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He’s saying my life and my my
breath and energy comes from the

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very faith and steadfastness of
the brethren.

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And he says this in verse 9.
For what thanks can we render to

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God again for you, for all the
joy wherewith we joy for your

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sakes before our God.
The joy that the apostle Paul

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had was founded on the
Thessalonica ecclesia, on the

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brothers and sisters there.
That’s what he’s telling them.

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I joy in you.
What is our crown of rejoicing?

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What is your crown of rejoicing?
That word rejoicing in First

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Thessalonians 2 and verse 19,
it’s not your common word for

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rejoicing.
It’s often translated boasting.

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It’s translated as glorying, but
it’s different than the word

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what is our?
What is our joy?

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A number of versions actually
say what is our boasting?

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What is our glorying or crown of
glorying?

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Crown of boasting.
And so there’s something that’s

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a crown, a stephanos, that
elevates and brings them glory.

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But it’s not a prideful glory.
It’s a glorious reward.

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It’s something that’s reflective
and fitting of the work and

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service and of who Paul was in
that life.

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It’s the same word in Second
Corinthians Chapter 7.

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Great is my boldness of speech
toward you.

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Great is my glorying of you.
I’m filled with comfort.

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I’m exceedingly joyful, he says.
And Paul was overjoyed, filled

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with comfort to the point he
could glory in the Corinthians

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despite his difficulties and
tribulations.

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And it’s similar here in First
Thessalonians chapter, but just

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like in Corinthians and here in
Thessalonians, Paul seems to be

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Speaking of the comfort that he
has, the rejoicing and the

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things that he’s glorying and
based on the present, based on

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the people in the Thessalonica
ecclesia that were right there.

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But Paul’s answer to his own
question in chapter 2 and verse

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19 is this, What is our hope?
What is our joy and crown of

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rejoicing?
Isn’t it you, brothers and

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sisters in the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

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It’s you in the future, he says
at his coming.

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Paul’s hope, his joyous crown of
rejoicing, was about those whom

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he loved and their eternal
well-being, their relationship

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with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And how could he say that?

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He could say it because of verse
20.

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Ye are our glory and our joy.
They were already his glory and

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His joy.
They were already a reflection

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of the work and service Paul had
done with them.

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The joy and the hope and the
glory of the future was just a

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reflection of what was
experienced now with the

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ecclesia.
Paul had poured himself out to

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these brothers and sisters, and
now they were steadfast.

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You see, someone getting to the
Kingdom is not a reflection of

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individual merit, is it, but of
communal fellowship, fellowship

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of service, fellowship and
trial, fellowship and

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sufferings, fellowship and
comfort, fellowship of

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sacrifice, fellowship of giving
and receiving.

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And the joy that we have now
with each other is a joy that

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will be reflected in the future.
And of course, if we joy in the

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temporal things that are
natural, our joy will be

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temporary.
There will be no future joy for

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the very things that we’re
joining in now.

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It is the spiritual things that
will be reflected in the future

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for eternity.
Now Paul is this immense feeling

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of joy and hope for his brothers
and sisters and they’re not even

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part of his home Ecclesia.
How is that possible to have

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such intense feelings for these
brothers and sisters?

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Well, we know he was an apostle
sent to the Gentiles, wasn’t he

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really?
Our answer to that question is

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explained if we look at the 1st
2 chapters or the context of

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this question.
What is our hope?

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What is our joy?
What is our crown of rejoicing?

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So let’s just look at some of
the context.

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Turn of me to chapter 1 and
verse 2.

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It says we give thanks to God
always for you all, making

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mention of you in our prayers,
remembering without ceasing your

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work of faith and labor of love
and patience of hope in our Lord

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Jesus Christ.
But did you notice the two

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things which indicate Paul’s
intensity and continuous love

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for them, this consuming love he
says, We give thanks to God

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always for you.
Verse 3, remembering without

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ceasing, Paul was consumed by
them.

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Now look at verse 5.
For our gospel came not unto you

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in Word only, but also in power
and in the Holy Spirit, and in

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much assurance, as you know what
manner of men we were among you

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for your sake, and ye became
followers of us and of the Lord,

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having received the Word in much
affliction with joy of the Holy

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Spirit.
Now there’s something a little

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bit odd about verse 5.
Don’t know if you caught it.

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Paul says for our gospel, our
gospel.

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What does he say our gospel?
I think he says our gospel

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because he let the gospel impact
his own life.

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He was living the gospel.
He was pouring out the gospel

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message in how he communicated
with them and how he lived his

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life.
There was personal devotion and

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conviction and Paul expressed
this message to them in the very

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way that they that he lived his
life.

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And as a result, this group of
believers in Thessalonica and

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verse 6 ye became followers of
us.

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Having received the word in much
affliction.

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Paul was willing to share this
gospel even during a time of

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affliction.
But of course, this wasn’t

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simply the apostle Paul’s gospel
or or Silas’s or Timothy’s.

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This was the gospel of God.
Just turn to chapter 2 and we

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read in verse 2.
But even after that, we had

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suffered before and were
shamefully entreated, as ye

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know, at Philippi.
We were bold in our gospel to

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speak unto you, the gospel of
God.

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See there, it’s framed
differently.

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This is the gospel of God.
Paul had just made it his own.

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There’s a good question for all
of us.

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The gospel message that we get
to read every day from God’s

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holy word of truth.
Does it define who we are?

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Well, it did for the apostle
Paul.

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And if we keep reading in verse
4, it says, But as we were

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allowed of God to be put in
trust with the gospel, so we

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speak and there we have it.
It was really the gospel of God

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that was entrusted to the
apostle Paul.

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And it was on that basis that
the apostle spoke what he did In

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verse 5 it says neither at any
time use we flattering words, as

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ye know, nor a cloak of
covetousness.

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God is witness, nor of men
sought.

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We glory neither of you, nor yet
of others, when we might have

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been burdensome as the apostles
of Christ.

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For but we were gentle among
you.

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And you can see this language.
Paul didn’t misuse the gospel

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either.
He didn’t use it for his own

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advantage, although surely he
could have.

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He didn’t use it for his
benefit.

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He didn’t use it for his own
personal glorying.

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No, Paul wasn’t just willing to
to give this gospel message.

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Look at what he says in verse 8.
So being affectionately desirous

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of you, we were willing to have
imparted unto you not the gospel

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of God only, but look at this,
but also our own souls, because

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ye were very dear unto us.
It’s quite the language, isn’t

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it?
Paul’s saying I’m not just going

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to give you this gospel message.
I’m prepared to give my life for

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you.
That’s how much I care for you.

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That word affectionately
desirous in verse 8, the

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beginning there it means or it’s
it.

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It gives us that idea of 2nd
Corinthians 1215, doesn’t it?

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I will gladly spend and be spent
for you, affectionately desirous

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of you.
It’s powerful, emotive language.

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Now Paul’s bringing this gospel
to them.

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He’s doing so in a in a couple
of ways.

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I just want to point out two of
them.

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We skipped over verse 7.
Verse 7 says, but we were gentle

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among you as a nurse cherisheth
her children, A nurse it means

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just that, a nurse or a
caregiver.

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This role was primarily the
responsibility of the mother who

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nurtured the children.
But Paul is saying that he’s

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caring for the Thessalonians
like that in a nurturing way.

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He provided for their emotional
and spiritual well beings.

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00:17:56,880 –> 00:18:01,640
That word cherisheth in verse 7
means to warm, to to cherish

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with tender love, to foster with
tender care.

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You know, it’s only used one
other time in the New Testament.

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It’s Ephesians 5 and verse 29.
Ephesians 5, verse 29.

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00:18:17,960 –> 00:18:20,960
This is the only other
occurrence of that exact Greek

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00:18:20,960 –> 00:18:23,840
word.
It says no man ever yet hated

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00:18:23,840 –> 00:18:31,600
his own flesh, but nourisheth it
and cherisheth it even as the

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Lord, the ecclesia And Christ
did give his life for the

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00:18:38,640 –> 00:18:42,880
ecclesia, didn’t He?
Paul’s saying just like the Lord

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Jesus Christ cherished you.
That’s that’s how I’m bringing

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the gospel to you, but not just
as a mother, not just as a nurse

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or a caregiver.
More than that, the apostle says

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00:19:00,080 –> 00:19:05,200
in verse 9, he says, ye remember
brethren, our labour.

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Now, this isn’t the normal word
for labour.

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00:19:08,680 –> 00:19:16,240
This means intense labor coupled
with trouble and toil and

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00:19:16,240 –> 00:19:19,560
weariness.
That’s the labor that the

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00:19:19,560 –> 00:19:25,360
apostle Paul is giving them.
You know, our labor, he says.

248
00:19:25,400 –> 00:19:32,280
And travail means hardship,
distress for laboring.

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00:19:32,280 –> 00:19:40,480
Now this is the more common word
for laboring, but this time it’s

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00:19:40,480 –> 00:19:45,440
constant for laboring night and
day.

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00:19:46,760 –> 00:19:48,880
Because we would not be
chargeable to any of you.

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00:19:48,880 –> 00:19:55,840
We preached unto you the gospel
of God, your witnesses, and God

253
00:19:55,840 –> 00:19:59,520
also how holily and justly and
unblameably we behaved ourselves

254
00:19:59,520 –> 00:20:03,200
among you that believe.
Paul’s pouring himself out to

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the Thessalonians.
He’s saying, you know.

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You know what manner of man I
am.

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You know what I’ve given you and
he says verse 11 as ye know how

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we exhorted and comforted and
charged everyone of you as a

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00:20:18,200 –> 00:20:27,080
father doth his children.
Can you feel the dedication, the

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00:20:27,080 –> 00:20:33,760
intense focus of the apostle to
share the gospel, but to live

261
00:20:35,400 –> 00:20:41,200
what he was sharing and to live
it towards the very people that

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00:20:41,200 –> 00:20:47,120
he is sharing the gospel with?
And he doesn’t just do it in a

263
00:20:47,120 –> 00:20:50,880
gentle way as a a nurse or a
mother does, but he does it in a

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00:20:50,880 –> 00:20:56,880
fatherly way.
It says he, he exhorts them that

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00:20:56,880 –> 00:21:01,520
word, exhorting the means to
call to one side.

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He’s comforting them.
He’s he’s calling them to their

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00:21:06,600 –> 00:21:10,240
side.
And it kind of struck me

268
00:21:10,240 –> 00:21:14,520
actually as a father, what I
find myself doing with my

269
00:21:14,520 –> 00:21:19,280
children as you have to educate
them or warn them or comfort

270
00:21:19,280 –> 00:21:23,040
them in, in different ways.
I will call my child to my side

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00:21:23,040 –> 00:21:27,560
and I always put out both hands
and I have them take my hands.

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00:21:27,880 –> 00:21:31,320
So there’s a, a connection.
I’ve called them to my side and

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I’ll have that serious
conversation with them.

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00:21:36,280 –> 00:21:39,160
And Paul’s saying, this is what
I’ve done for you,

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00:21:39,920 –> 00:21:47,320
Thessalonians.
I’ve treated you in a fatherly

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00:21:47,320 –> 00:21:52,520
way.
You know, we, we often suffer

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00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:54,520
because of the truth’s sake,
don’t we?

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00:21:55,640 –> 00:21:58,760
And the Thessalonians, as a
result of adopting the gospel

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00:21:58,760 –> 00:22:02,280
message, would suffer.
They would endure trial.

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00:22:03,320 –> 00:22:06,440
You know how many exhortations
are said from this platform

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00:22:06,760 –> 00:22:09,040
where trial is a part of the
exhortation?

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00:22:09,120 –> 00:22:13,280
It’s addressed because trial and
difficulty, we know, is such a

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00:22:13,280 –> 00:22:17,120
real part of our lives and it’s
such a real part of God

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00:22:17,120 –> 00:22:19,440
developing and working with our
character.

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00:22:21,520 –> 00:22:25,320
And here in verse 14, we can see
that now the Thessalonian

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00:22:25,320 –> 00:22:27,880
brethren are enduring trial for
you.

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00:22:27,880 –> 00:22:32,280
Brethren became followers of the
ecclesia of God, which in Judea

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00:22:32,280 –> 00:22:36,840
are in Christ Jesus.
For ye also suffered like things

289
00:22:36,840 –> 00:22:40,320
of your countrymen, even as they
have of the Jews.

290
00:22:41,160 –> 00:22:43,560
So, so how are they following
other ecclesias?

291
00:22:44,560 –> 00:22:47,440
They were following them in the
fact that they suffered with

292
00:22:47,440 –> 00:22:54,240
them.
Being part of the body of Christ

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00:22:54,240 –> 00:22:59,160
means that’s part of our lot to
suffer with Christ.

294
00:23:00,240 –> 00:23:03,360
We keep reading who both killed
the Lord Jesus and their own

295
00:23:03,360 –> 00:23:05,680
prophets.
They’re persecuting us and they

296
00:23:05,680 –> 00:23:09,120
please not God, and are contrary
to all men, forbidding us to

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00:23:09,120 –> 00:23:12,600
speak to the Gentiles that they
might be saved to fill up their

298
00:23:12,600 –> 00:23:17,160
sins alway for the wrath is to
come upon them to the utmost.

299
00:23:21,280 –> 00:23:29,400
These brethren suffered the very
pain that Paul suffered because

300
00:23:29,400 –> 00:23:34,520
Paul in his pain and in his
suffering shared the truth and

301
00:23:34,520 –> 00:23:39,800
lived it.
Just look at the sentiments.

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00:23:39,800 –> 00:23:46,120
Now verse 17 as we approach our
P verse again, verse 17 says,

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00:23:46,120 –> 00:23:52,840
But we brethren, being taken
from you for a short time in

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00:23:52,840 –> 00:23:57,200
presence, not in heart,
endeavoured the more abundantly

305
00:23:57,200 –> 00:24:02,600
to see your face with great
desire, wherefore we would have

306
00:24:02,760 –> 00:24:06,760
come unto you, even I Paul once
and again, but Satan hindered

307
00:24:06,760 –> 00:24:10,640
us.
Isn’t that an amazing sentiment?

308
00:24:11,600 –> 00:24:14,080
Just love that, don’t you,
brothers and sisters, I was

309
00:24:14,080 –> 00:24:18,400
taken from you for a short time
in presence, but I was not gone

310
00:24:18,400 –> 00:24:20,960
in heart.
I was right there in your midst.

311
00:24:21,240 –> 00:24:25,640
My mind was there with you,
comforting you, cheering you on

312
00:24:25,640 –> 00:24:32,800
in the race.
He was gone physically, but he

313
00:24:32,800 –> 00:24:38,560
was there with them in heart, so
much so that he tried to come

314
00:24:38,560 –> 00:24:41,560
back to them on more than one
occasion.

315
00:24:46,120 –> 00:24:49,040
Just think what Paul has
expressed to the ecclesia so

316
00:24:49,040 –> 00:24:51,800
far.
We’ve learned in chapter 1, he

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00:24:51,800 –> 00:24:56,600
he thinks about them always and
prays without ceasing for them.

318
00:24:58,400 –> 00:25:01,880
Paul’s adopted the gospel of God
with such intensity, he calls it

319
00:25:01,880 –> 00:25:05,960
his own gospel.
And it’s that gospel which he’s

320
00:25:05,960 –> 00:25:08,320
passed on to the ecclesia.
He does so without being a

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00:25:08,320 –> 00:25:10,520
burden to them in every way
possible.

322
00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:13,160
He shares the gospel amidst
persecution.

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00:25:13,160 –> 00:25:18,240
He does so as a caregiver, as a
father, and now he desperately

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00:25:18,240 –> 00:25:21,280
wants to see them and has
attempted to on multiple

325
00:25:21,280 –> 00:25:29,040
occasions.
And he was stopped by Jewish

326
00:25:29,040 –> 00:25:33,320
opposition, Gentile opposition,
likely the Satan referred to in

327
00:25:33,320 –> 00:25:38,960
verse 18.
And so it makes perfect sense

328
00:25:38,960 –> 00:25:44,960
that at this point in his
letter, he would say of brothers

329
00:25:44,960 –> 00:25:50,880
and sisters, what is our hope,
What is our joy?

330
00:25:50,880 –> 00:25:57,040
What is our crown of rejoicing?
It’s you.

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00:25:59,600 –> 00:26:02,960
It’s you in the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

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00:26:03,120 –> 00:26:12,280
You are our glory and joy, and
You are glory and joy, whether I

333
00:26:12,280 –> 00:26:15,840
can see you or not, whether I am
there physically or in your

334
00:26:15,840 –> 00:26:22,160
presence or whether I am there
in heart, my hope and my joy and

335
00:26:22,160 –> 00:26:25,160
my crown of rejoicing,
everything that I work for the

336
00:26:25,160 –> 00:26:31,600
Apostle Paul says just to see
you in the presence of our Lord

337
00:26:31,600 –> 00:26:38,720
Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, young

338
00:26:38,720 –> 00:26:45,680
people, what feelings do you
have for the Platanka Guyana

339
00:26:45,680 –> 00:26:49,960
ecclesia?
What about the Georgetown

340
00:26:49,960 –> 00:26:55,160
ecclesia in Guyana?
What about the Coventry West

341
00:26:55,160 –> 00:26:59,320
ecclesia in the UK or the North
Battleford ecclesia in

342
00:26:59,320 –> 00:27:05,600
Saskatchewan, or the Enfield
ecclesia in Australia, or the

343
00:27:05,600 –> 00:27:10,800
Prince George ecclesia in BC?
You know, and I’d imagine,

344
00:27:10,800 –> 00:27:15,680
brothers and sisters, is that
there are some very strong

345
00:27:15,680 –> 00:27:20,200
feelings of loving care, of
gentle concern, of deep

346
00:27:20,200 –> 00:27:23,320
compassion for some of those
ecclesias.

347
00:27:25,440 –> 00:27:28,520
While some of the other
ecclesias, there might be

348
00:27:28,520 –> 00:27:32,040
feelings of satisfaction that
the the truth is vibrant and is

349
00:27:32,040 –> 00:27:37,160
abounding elsewhere, but there’s
less of those personal intense

350
00:27:37,360 –> 00:27:39,120
feelings.
How can that be?

351
00:27:39,400 –> 00:27:43,240
Why for one ecclesia have
different feelings than another

352
00:27:43,240 –> 00:27:46,480
ecclesia when they’re all far
away?

353
00:27:48,200 –> 00:27:52,320
But it’s because you have those
strong feelings are a result of

354
00:27:52,320 –> 00:27:56,880
being invested in developing in
relationships with some people

355
00:27:57,040 –> 00:28:00,600
in those ecclesias.
You’ve sacrificed for those

356
00:28:00,600 –> 00:28:02,640
ecclesias at one point in your
life.

357
00:28:05,320 –> 00:28:07,720
Now, not all of us have
connections all over the world

358
00:28:07,720 –> 00:28:09,560
to all of these different
ecclesias.

359
00:28:10,720 –> 00:28:14,200
And God doesn’t hold us
responsible or expect us to have

360
00:28:14,200 –> 00:28:17,520
relationships all over the world
to all sorts of different

361
00:28:17,520 –> 00:28:23,640
ecclesias.
But what we should all have in

362
00:28:23,640 –> 00:28:30,440
common is what God does hold us
responsible for the ecclesia

363
00:28:30,440 –> 00:28:35,280
which He puts us in.
And I didn’t realise, I have to

364
00:28:35,280 –> 00:28:40,160
admit, that the the visitor list
was going to have such a diverse

365
00:28:40,160 –> 00:28:42,360
amount of ecclesias.
I think there was like 10

366
00:28:42,360 –> 00:28:44,440
different ecclesias mentioned,
which is wonderful.

367
00:28:44,640 –> 00:28:47,480
And I think we all need to to
think about this personally

368
00:28:47,480 –> 00:28:53,000
with, with our home ecclesias.
But brothers and sisters, what

369
00:28:53,440 –> 00:28:57,920
are your feelings when I say the
Brantford ecclesia, that’s your

370
00:28:57,920 –> 00:29:01,520
home ecclesia.
Does that bring you joy and

371
00:29:01,520 –> 00:29:04,560
hope?
Does it consume your minds with

372
00:29:04,560 –> 00:29:07,200
all the sentiments that the
Apostle Paul had?

373
00:29:09,160 –> 00:29:13,080
Now our mind can be taken over
by so many different things,

374
00:29:13,080 –> 00:29:18,240
can’t it?
That’s generally the things that

375
00:29:18,240 –> 00:29:21,320
we invest our time into, our
resources.

376
00:29:22,000 –> 00:29:25,760
And it can’t be that our hope
and our rejoicing is the love of

377
00:29:25,760 –> 00:29:32,560
money, or the financial state we
possess, or the financial state

378
00:29:32,560 –> 00:29:36,560
we hope to possess.
It can’t be that our hope and

379
00:29:36,560 –> 00:29:39,680
our rejoicing is the house we
own or the house we want to the

380
00:29:39,880 –> 00:29:42,280
the car that we have or the car
that we want.

381
00:29:43,400 –> 00:29:47,440
It can’t be that our mind and
our thoughts are taken over by

382
00:29:47,760 –> 00:29:50,640
who’s going to be the next Prime
Minister or who’s going to be

383
00:29:50,640 –> 00:29:54,720
the next president, which
parties in power, what policies

384
00:29:54,720 –> 00:29:57,440
they make.
It can’t be that our mind is

385
00:29:57,440 –> 00:30:01,720
taken over by some sports team’s
success and failure.

386
00:30:02,000 –> 00:30:05,640
It can’t be that our minds are
taken over by our natural

387
00:30:05,640 –> 00:30:09,000
citizenship.
It can’t be that our minds are

388
00:30:09,000 –> 00:30:12,200
consumed, brothers and sisters,
by the things of the world.

389
00:30:13,960 –> 00:30:23,200
Let our hope and our joy not be
aligned with the people of the

390
00:30:23,200 –> 00:30:28,120
world, but let it be involved
with the people of God, the

391
00:30:28,120 –> 00:30:31,640
faithful that God has put into
your life.

392
00:30:33,880 –> 00:30:36,960
Because these are the people
that will one day be in the

393
00:30:36,960 –> 00:30:39,040
presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

394
00:30:41,960 –> 00:30:46,600
And if we don’t involve
ourselves with the people that

395
00:30:46,600 –> 00:30:53,480
God has put in our lives to
interact with, how can they be

396
00:30:53,480 –> 00:30:58,480
our hope and our joy and our
crown of rejoicing?

397
00:31:01,160 –> 00:31:05,360
I want you to, no matter what
ecclesia you’re from, think

398
00:31:05,360 –> 00:31:09,560
about the things that you can
rejoice over in your home

399
00:31:09,560 –> 00:31:14,000
ecclesia, the things that have
eternal implications.

400
00:31:18,360 –> 00:31:21,280
I was going to ask somebody from
Brantford to to give me a list

401
00:31:21,280 –> 00:31:26,560
of some of the things that can
be rejoiced over here, but I

402
00:31:26,560 –> 00:31:31,560
actually didn’t find it too hard
being just down the road coming

403
00:31:31,560 –> 00:31:35,640
up with a list of wonderful
things that this ecclesia is

404
00:31:35,640 –> 00:31:37,720
known for.
I think that speaks to the

405
00:31:37,720 –> 00:31:45,520
ecclesia constantly.
There are baptisms here.

406
00:31:45,520 –> 00:31:50,280
If you look over the past 7-8
years, there’s been a number

407
00:31:50,960 –> 00:31:55,280
announced from this ecclesia.
And if if angels rejoice over 1

408
00:31:55,280 –> 00:31:59,920
Sinner that repents, how much
more should all the beautiful

409
00:31:59,920 –> 00:32:03,880
and wonderful baptisms that take
place in this ecclesial hall

410
00:32:04,280 –> 00:32:08,120
into the moving stories that are
associated with those

411
00:32:08,120 –> 00:32:17,200
individuals for God’s praise?
What about the hope for the next

412
00:32:17,200 –> 00:32:21,080
generation?
It’s a big Sunday school, a

413
00:32:21,080 –> 00:32:26,320
little disciples group.
That’s something to rejoice over

414
00:32:26,720 –> 00:32:32,920
and to hope in.
What about hoping and rejoicing

415
00:32:32,920 –> 00:32:37,480
in the strength of Bible study?
There are many people in this

416
00:32:37,480 –> 00:32:42,000
room that love to discuss the
Word of God, to wrestle through

417
00:32:42,000 –> 00:32:47,200
passages.
That’s something to rejoice

418
00:32:47,200 –> 00:32:50,560
over.
I know there’s a number in this

419
00:32:50,560 –> 00:32:53,400
room who’ve been able to visit
the Holy Land.

420
00:32:55,320 –> 00:33:00,520
Maybe not everybody, but that’s
something to rejoice over, to

421
00:33:00,520 –> 00:33:02,960
take the strength from those
brothers and sisters that have

422
00:33:02,960 –> 00:33:07,120
walked the same steps of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle

423
00:33:07,120 –> 00:33:13,000
Paul and others.
This ecclesia is busy and

424
00:33:13,000 –> 00:33:14,880
active.
You don’t have to be a member of

425
00:33:14,880 –> 00:33:20,520
this ecclesia to know that.
A number of study days, the

426
00:33:20,520 –> 00:33:23,560
number of young people, events.
You know, sometimes we can feel

427
00:33:23,560 –> 00:33:28,040
like so busy.
There’s you get 1 ecclesial

428
00:33:28,040 –> 00:33:31,480
event done, then there’s the
next one to prepare for.

429
00:33:31,480 –> 00:33:36,960
Do you ever feel like that?
But that’s a good thing.

430
00:33:37,360 –> 00:33:41,280
That’s something to rejoice over
because the busy you are, the

431
00:33:41,280 –> 00:33:47,400
less time there is for other
things to fill our tongue.

432
00:33:48,760 –> 00:33:51,160
And isn’t it the things of the
truth that we should be busy in?

433
00:33:51,960 –> 00:33:54,600
And the more things we have
going, the more opportunities we

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00:33:54,600 –> 00:33:59,200
have for everybody to fulfill
their roles.

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00:34:01,640 –> 00:34:04,600
You know, the greatest
commandment is to love God, to

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00:34:04,600 –> 00:34:08,480
be like Him, to listen to Him,
to communicate to Him, to uphold

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00:34:08,480 –> 00:34:11,760
his commandments, His
principles, His ways, and His

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00:34:11,760 –> 00:34:15,120
gospel.
And the second commandment is to

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00:34:15,120 –> 00:34:19,040
love your neighbor, which is
although applying everything

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00:34:19,040 –> 00:34:24,719
that God is to those that God
loves and giving everything you

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00:34:24,719 –> 00:34:29,600
have to them, making God’s
gospel, our gospel and living

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00:34:29,600 –> 00:34:35,600
it.
When Paul says what is his crown

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00:34:35,600 –> 00:34:40,800
of rejoicing, that word crown
refers to the Stefanos, the

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00:34:40,800 –> 00:34:45,840
Laurel wreath that’s awarded to
the victor at a public games.

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00:34:46,560 –> 00:34:50,880
It refers to the overwhelming
joy of triumph, of victory.

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00:34:53,400 –> 00:34:59,480
Christ was plated with a
stephanos of thorns.

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00:35:01,880 –> 00:35:05,040
It signified His identification
with mankind and that he was

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00:35:05,040 –> 00:35:10,560
tempted in all points, like as
we are, and in some small

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00:35:10,560 –> 00:35:14,960
temporary way.
Sin had victory for three days,

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00:35:14,960 –> 00:35:17,840
didn’t it?
Christ’s heal was bruised as he

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00:35:17,840 –> 00:35:22,640
lay lifeless in the tomb, but in
his resurrection he triumphed

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00:35:22,640 –> 00:35:26,640
over sin for eternity, leading
the way for all of mankind.

453
00:35:29,440 –> 00:35:36,520
And won’t it be such a great
victory if we are standing not

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00:35:36,520 –> 00:35:42,800
alone, but together with all
those in this room in the

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00:35:42,800 –> 00:35:45,920
presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ?

456
00:35:49,040 –> 00:35:53,440
That will be our crown of
rejoicing because we helped get

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00:35:53,720 –> 00:35:57,320
people there.
We helped get our families and

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00:35:57,320 –> 00:36:02,640
our brothers and sisters to the
presence of our Lord Jesus

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00:36:02,640 –> 00:36:04,880
Christ.
It will be our crown of

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00:36:04,880 –> 00:36:09,000
rejoicing elsewhere called the
crown of righteousness, the

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00:36:09,000 –> 00:36:12,480
crown of life, the crown of
incorruptibility, the crown of

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00:36:12,480 –> 00:36:19,280
glory that fades, not away.
As we reflect on this past week

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00:36:20,320 –> 00:36:27,920
and on the week ahead in the
memorials, let us reflect on

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00:36:27,920 –> 00:36:34,920
where we truly receive joy, on
where our hope lies.

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00:36:36,960 –> 00:36:41,400
Because the memorial, the
memorials before us are not

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00:36:41,400 –> 00:36:47,160
simply about us.
It’s about the body of the Lord

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00:36:47,160 –> 00:36:51,480
Jesus Christ.
And his body is made-up of many

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00:36:51,480 –> 00:36:54,080
members, all who sit in this
room.

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00:36:56,360 –> 00:36:59,960
So let us reflect on where we
receive joy, where our hope

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00:37:00,240 –> 00:37:04,880
lies.
Because in these memorials are

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00:37:04,880 –> 00:37:11,760
bound the hope, the joy, and the
crown of rejoicing that we await

472
00:37:11,760 –> 00:37:27,710
for.
Thank you for listening to the

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00:37:27,710 –> 00:37:29,310
good Chris Adelphian Talks
podcast.

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00:37:30,110 –> 00:37:32,590
We hope this talk helped you in
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475
00:37:32,590 –> 00:37:34,950
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491
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God bless and talk to you next
week.