414: Martyn Lawrence – Choose Life

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Welcome to good Christophian
talks.

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Thank you for joining us this
week.

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On this podcast, we select one
talk a week to help us get the

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Bible.
In our daily.

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News Feed Each week we post a
talk that we previewed from

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suggestions sent in by listeners
from around the world.

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Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

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recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

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

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Welcome to the good Chris
Adelphian Talks podcast.

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This is brother Brian.
This week’s talk is a one off

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class by brother Martin Lawrence
from the Cleckheaton UK

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ecclesia.
And I’ll say it again,

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Cleckheaton, because I’m sure he
would be thrilled that we

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Americans paid attention enough
to pronounce it correctly.

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Or perhaps I’ve just reinforced
the stereotype.

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His class was entitled Choose
Life, and it was the opening

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talk of last year’s Mid-Atlantic
Shippensburg Bible School.

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Brother Martin frames the volume
of choices that we’re bombarded

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with each day as a threat to our
spiritual stamina, whether we

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are aware of it or not.
Choices of what to purchase on

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Amazon, what drink to buy today
from Starbucks, what bank to use

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for our portfolio.
And it makes a clear point that

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we have perhaps become numb to
the simplicity of what God has

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ordained for us, the basis of
our free will.

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One choice, one God to follow
and obey, or not to choose his

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life.
In our modern society, we become

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sometimes paralyzed to making
many critical decisions because

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we’re just already bogged down
by the overabundance of very

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trivial decisions that we’ve
already had to make each day.

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Brother Martin didn’t say this,
but as I was listening to it, it

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reminded me of a very millennial
problem of having 50 unread

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emails on a Monday morning,
taking all day.

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And when you finally clear the
stack, you realize that the most

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important urgent, time sensitive
one was at the bottom, and that

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was the one you’re going to put
off until tomorrow.

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Brother Martin, make the
connection to how God Himself is

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a choosing and a very particular
being.

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Deciding for the Israelites what
type of foods they could eat,

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where they could worship, what
they could offer, and all this

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so that the only choice they
actually had to make was the

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most important one.
Hopefully, it’s a choice that

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you’re making to choose what he
said was holy and right, to

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choose life over death.
So as always, we hope that this

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strengthens your faith and
brightens your day.

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Brother Martin Lawrence, choose
life.

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How many exhortations, brothers
and sisters, have you heard this

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week?
How many exhortations have you

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heard this week?
I don’t mean can you remember

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what the speaker said last
Sunday.

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I don’t mean did you listen to
anything as you made your way to

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Bible school yesterday.
I mean, how many other

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exhortations have you heard this
week?

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Maybe you heard the Amazon
exhortation that the best choice

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you can make is to buy more
stuff.

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Or maybe you heard the social
media exhortation that the best

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choice you can make for life is
to see it through a lens to to

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self curate your own authentic
experiences and share them with

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a bunch of people you’ve never
met and who have never heard of

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you.
Maybe you heard the corporate

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branding exhortation.
They said the best choice you

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can make for your future and
where you sell, where you keep

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your money and and who looks
after your your Social Security

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is to put it into a bank that
will have your best interests at

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heart.
Or maybe you heard the health

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and well-being exhortation that
said that’s somewhere, somewhere

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if you look hard enough, there
is a supplement or a fitness

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influencer or, or a workout
regime that has your name on it

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and only yours.
And, and just to fend off any

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potential questions afterwards.
I’m not saying don’t work out.

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I’m not saying don’t eat
healthfully, and I’m not saying

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don’t put your money safely in a
bank.

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I’m not saying those things.
But these exhortations come at

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us quietly because we don’t
think that they’re exhortations.

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Brother Steve’s going to give us
our memorial exhortation in a

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little while.
It’s on the program.

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You know what time it is, you
know when you have to be here.

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And I presume you’re going to
sit respectfully and listen to

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him and take it all in.
I mean, I’ve not been here

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before.
I don’t know how that if that’s

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how it works.
But I’m presuming that, you know

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roughly how a memorial
exhortation goes ahead.

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These other exhortation surprise
us because they sneak on up on

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us without us knowing that
they’re there.

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And I might sit there thinking,
well, you know, I don’t get the

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doctrine of mortality from going
to the gym, do I?

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And I don’t understand the
doctrine of grace from Disney,

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do I?
And yet just piece by piece,

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brothers and sisters, just step
by imperceptible step, all of

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those things that we mentioned
at the beginning are are shaping

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our very outlook on our
discipleship.

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Whether it’s the workout regime
telling me that I don’t need to

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grow old gracefully no matter
what my son tells me.

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Or whether it’s Disney telling
me to follow my dreams and be my

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very best, my own authentic
self, and not to let anybody

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else tell me how to chart my
course.

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Or whether it’s Starbucks
telling me that yes, I really do

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deserve the latest multi multi
calorie mega 20 oz drink.

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All of these things are just
subtly working on my

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understanding of the world and
God be praised that we are not

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helpless to respond to all of
those.

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God be praised that in our
discipleship, we’re encouraged

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to elevate not those other
issues, but those of Almighty

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God and of his Son and to drown
out the voices that we hear

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around us.
Can you join me if you’re not

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there already in Deuteronomy?
We’re going to start in chapter

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29 and then make our way up to
the verse that’s from which our

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our entire week is is taken.
Deuteronomy 29 is is Israel, of

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course, camped on the the shores
of the Jordan where where the

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same sorts of issues existed.
They may not have couched them

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in exactly the language that I
just did, but the same sorts of

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issues existed.
Now you will know the book of

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Deuteronomy and you will know
what’s going on, but just in

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case little bit fuzzy around the
edges with it.

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They were in the 40th year of
the wilderness journey.

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It’s the 11th month, so the
entire process of coming out of

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Egypt is nearly at an end.
And Moses is giving this speech

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on his 120th birthday.
And with the exception of Joshua

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and Caleb and the Levites,
everybody who is listening to

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him is 59 years or younger
because the entire first

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generation that came out of
Egypt has gone.

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They’ve fallen like carcasses in
the wilderness.

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And this now is the second
generation to whom Moses is

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speaking who are going to go
into the land and inherit it.

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And this is Moses handover
speech, if you like.

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Now, we’ve heard an awful lot
about handovers in recent months

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and years, an awful lot about
transitions of power, he says

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nervously.
Whether it’s the papacy and the

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handover from 1 Pope to another,
whether it’s the notion of

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peaceful transitions of power in
the White House.

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Whether even you go back a
couple of years to the death of

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Queen Elizabeth in the UK and
the instantaneous constitutional

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switch to the to the next
monarch as somebody came out on

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a balcony and he announced that
the queen was dead and Long live

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the king.
And this is a different kind of

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handover.
And Moses is passing over, isn’t

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he, to this new generation who
will, who will take over from

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him and go into the land after
he dies?

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Might like to think about other
handover words, last words, if

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you like.
That Scripture has the Lord’s

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words in John 17, where he where
he gives his disciples to his

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father.
He’s going to the cross.

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He’s finished the work that his
father’s given him to do, and he

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places his disciples into the
hands of his father before he

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goes to the cross.
Or maybe you think about the

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words of Paul when he’s there on
the beach at Myelitus and he

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speaks to the Ephesian elders
and, and tells them that he’s

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going to Jerusalem and he’ll
never see their face again.

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I, I feel convinced that he’s
expecting not to survive the

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journey and he is, as it were,
handing over the chance to them.

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Lots of threads actually that
connect up those words of Paul

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in Acts chapter 20 with this
section of Deuteronomy.

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But we’re here in chapter 29,
and this is a, this is an

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enhanced covenant, a new
covenant, chapter 29 and verse

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one that the words of the
covenant which the Lord

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commanded Moses to make with the
children of Israel in the land

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of Moab beside the covenant
which he made with them in

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Horeb.
And goes on to articulate what

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has happened over the last 39
1/2 years or so.

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Come down to verse 10, chapter
29.

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You stand this day, all of you
before the Lord your God, your

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captains of your tribes, your
elders, your officers, or the

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men of Israel, your little ones,
your wives.

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They, they came, my brothers and
sisters in their families to

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listen to Moses.
It might be a bit of a stretch

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to say that it was like a Bible
school, but they came from

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different parts of the camp to
listen and they came with the

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service committee as well.
Verse 11, the Hewer of wood and

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the drawer of water.
Maybe that’s the maybe that’s

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the catering staff at the
college.

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I don’t know how far I’m pushing
that verse, but they came.

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Verse 12 that you should enter
into covenant with the Lord your

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God and into his oath, which the
Lord your God makes with you

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this day that he may come
establish you today for a people

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to himself and maybe to your
God, as he said to you and as he

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swore to your Father’s, to
Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.

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It’s a covenant anchored in the
promises made to the father.

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It’s not based on the law of
Moses.

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We’re we’re, we’re stretching
back even further and it’s going

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to be established.
Verse 14 says not just for the

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generation going into the land,
but for the future generations

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as well.
Neither with you only do I make

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this covenant and this oath, but
with Him that stands here with

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us this day before the Lord our
God, and also him who is not

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here with us this day.
So much of chapters 29 and 30

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actually is about how how the
future generations will pick up

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the message, how future
generations will react to the

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promises that God made to the
fathers that they should show

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their faith not so much in the
Lord of Moses, but in in the

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Abrahamic promises which have
been laid down much earlier.

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Just keep a finger here or or
the the digital equivalent.

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If you have an iPad, come over
to Psalm 78 and we’re going to

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go in and write at the
beginning.

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It’s a chapter all about the
exodus and the wilderness

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journey.
We’re only going to read from

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the beginning, but just cast an
eye all the way through when it

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and it catches every moment of
the journey that they took.

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Verse one of Psalm 78 give ear O
my people to my law, incline

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your ears to the words of my
mouth.

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I will open my mouth in a
parable, utter dart saying

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sayings of old which we have
heard and known and our fathers

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have told us we will.
And this is the issue of the the

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message going to the next
generation.

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We will not hide them from their
children, showing to and just

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mark this expression, showing to
the generation to come the

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praises of the Lord, and his
strength and his wonderful works

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which he’s done for.
He established A testimony, and

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Jacob appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers,

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that they should make them known
to their children that.

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And here’s the phrase again,
that the generation to come

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might know them, even the
children which should be born,

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who should arise and declare
them to their children on the

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message goes down through the
generations to make sure, just

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as when you come to a Bible
school, not just that you sit

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there and learn and enjoy what’s
being said and marvel at the

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Scriptures, but that you make
sure that you pass it on to your

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children and to your
grandchildren.

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That this isn’t just some moment
which is fossilized forever and

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00:14:19,280 –> 00:14:21,920
is recorded and you go back and
listen to it and there it is set

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00:14:21,920 –> 00:14:23,760
in time.
But that this is something that

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00:14:23,760 –> 00:14:25,720
goes on down through the
generations.

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And as Moses stood there almost
within sight of the promised

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land and re established this
promise with his people, with

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God’s people that he had been
leading.

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Yes, it was for them, but by the
grace of God, it was for those

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who would come after.
And we’ve already touched on it

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00:14:48,280 –> 00:14:50,000
in the last few hours when we’ve
been here.

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We we don’t know how many Bible
schools there will be until the

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king is here again in the earth.
But if in some way he tarries,

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we come together for ourselves
to learn and to enjoy our

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fellowship and to be with each
other.

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And how marvellous those things
are.

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But we come to so that the
generation which should be born

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should declare them to their
children, that they might set

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their hope in God and not forget
his works.

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That that phrase is hooked right
out of Deuteronomy 29, the

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generation to come.
We’re just going to go back and

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00:15:23,680 –> 00:15:28,480
see if we can find it.
Just drop back with me to

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00:15:28,480 –> 00:15:34,880
Deuteronomy 29, brothers and
sisters, because God has been

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articulating, hasn’t He in the
book of Deuteronomy, what will

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come upon the nation if things
do not work out as He has

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promised or has He has commanded
them?

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00:15:49,000 –> 00:15:51,200
Where do we finish?
I think we finished in verse 15.

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We were going to skip out the
section where the brackets come

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to verse 18 and chapter 29.
In case there should be among

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you, man or woman or family or
tribe whose heart turns away

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this day from the Lord our God,
to go and serve the gods of the

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other nations in case they
should be among you.

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A root that bears gall and
Wormwood.

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00:16:11,240 –> 00:16:13,360
And it shall come to pass when
he hears the words of this

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00:16:13,360 –> 00:16:16,640
curse, that he bless himself in
his social media account and in

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00:16:16,640 –> 00:16:21,040
his corporate business statement
and in his Instagram exhortation

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00:16:21,040 –> 00:16:22,760
and shall say, I have peace in
my heart.

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I’ve added a few words there,
but you understand what I’m

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trying to get to.
I shall have peace, though I

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walk after the imagination of my
heart, to add drunkenness to

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thirst.
The Lord will not spare him, but

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00:16:32,600 –> 00:16:35,240
then the anger of the Lord and
his jealousy shall smoke against

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00:16:35,240 –> 00:16:37,320
that man, and all the curses
written in the book shall lie

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00:16:37,320 –> 00:16:40,440
upon him, and the Lord shall
blot out His name from under

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heaven.
We’re not going to go back into

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chapter 28 and look at those
cursings, but they are.

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They are framed around the
Exodus journey.

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All of the things that God is
saying will come upon them if

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things do not go as He’s
commanded are a reversal of the

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00:16:52,120 –> 00:16:56,160
Exodus.
They’re going to be taken to

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slavery, but nobody will buy
them.

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They’re going to go back in
ships across the ocean almost in

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a reverse of the Exodus when
they came through the sea.

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And, and systematically God is
going to unpack the work that he

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did through the Exodus because
of their unfaithfulness.

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So that verse 22.
And here’s the expression that

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we took right out of Psalm 78.
So that’s the generation to come

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of your children that shall rise
up after you, when the stranger

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00:17:24,440 –> 00:17:26,680
that shall come from a far land
shall see the sickness and the

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00:17:26,680 –> 00:17:29,640
plague upon the land.
And they shall say, why has the

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Lord done this?
What means the heat of his great

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00:17:33,400 –> 00:17:36,560
anger?
I wonder how Israel felt when

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00:17:36,560 –> 00:17:39,840
they heard Moses words, when
he’s just told them that he’s

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00:17:40,360 –> 00:17:44,400
bringing before them a new oath
and a new promise and a new

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00:17:44,400 –> 00:17:47,240
covenant.
Scripture works like that

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00:17:47,240 –> 00:17:50,200
sometimes, doesn’t it?
When we, we’ve read something

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00:17:50,200 –> 00:17:56,600
that seems so encouraging, so
uplifting, we’ve, we’ve seen

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something that is well, in the
words of Genesis chapter 1, very

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00:18:01,040 –> 00:18:04,560
good.
And, and here they are about to

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00:18:04,560 –> 00:18:06,320
enter the land of promise.
And we look at this covenant

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00:18:06,320 –> 00:18:08,600
that God is making and say,
well, surely this will fix it.

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This will be the moment.
This will resolve the issue of

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00:18:11,560 –> 00:18:15,440
human sinfulness once and for
all, because the old generation

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00:18:15,440 –> 00:18:17,480
is gone and we don’t have to
worry about their temptations

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00:18:17,480 –> 00:18:24,000
anymore.
And and then suddenly Noah gets

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00:18:24,000 –> 00:18:32,280
drunk, or Abraham goes down into
Egypt, or David sees Bathsheba

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00:18:33,680 –> 00:18:38,440
bathing on the roof, or or Peter
hears the cock crowing and goes

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00:18:38,440 –> 00:18:41,400
out and weeps.
And we realise that that things

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00:18:41,400 –> 00:18:45,600
are still broken, that things
are not yet resolved, that there

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00:18:45,600 –> 00:18:47,800
has to be something bigger,
something better, something,

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00:18:48,160 –> 00:18:52,160
something even more that will
come to God’s people.

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And perhaps that’s why in the
book of Deuteronomy, God is the

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one who takes so much of the
initiative.

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God is the one who who shapes
their not only the way that they

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00:19:02,120 –> 00:19:05,720
worship, but their very
existence.

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00:19:05,720 –> 00:19:10,040
Come with me to Chapter 7 in
Deuteronomy because all the way

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00:19:10,040 –> 00:19:12,240
through the book of Deuteronomy
and and you perhaps have these

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00:19:12,240 –> 00:19:15,280
references marked.
God is a choosing God.

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00:19:17,600 –> 00:19:20,440
He’s not only brought them from
Egypt, not only LED them with a

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00:19:20,440 –> 00:19:23,320
mighty hand and an outstretched
arm, but he is the one who is

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00:19:23,320 –> 00:19:26,040
going to shape their very
existence as they come into the

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00:19:26,040 –> 00:19:29,800
land.
Deuteronomy Chapter 7 and come

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00:19:29,800 –> 00:19:33,480
to verse 6.
You are a holy people to the

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00:19:33,480 –> 00:19:38,120
Lord your God.
The Lord your God has chosen you

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00:19:39,440 –> 00:19:42,120
to be a special people to
himself.

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00:19:43,760 –> 00:19:46,240
The Lord did not set His love
upon you or choose you because

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00:19:46,240 –> 00:19:48,880
you were more in number than any
people, because you were the

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00:19:48,880 –> 00:19:52,120
fewest of all people, but
because the Lord loved you and

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00:19:52,600 –> 00:19:56,320
because He would keep the oath
which He sworn to your Father’s.

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00:19:57,840 –> 00:20:00,520
You know, if we extend those
verses to ourselves, you know,

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00:20:00,520 –> 00:20:02,160
it’s, I often feel it’s quite a
leveler.

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You know, we’re not chosen
because we’re bigger or taller

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00:20:04,240 –> 00:20:06,600
or more clever or more
articulate or richer than

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00:20:06,600 –> 00:20:09,160
anybody else.
Which is fine, and we can

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00:20:09,160 –> 00:20:10,760
probably appreciate that.
The problem is, all of those

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00:20:10,760 –> 00:20:12,960
exhortations that we listed out
at the beginning have a habit of

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00:20:12,960 –> 00:20:16,160
telling us that we are bigger
and stronger and more articulate

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00:20:16,160 –> 00:20:18,000
and cleverer and richer than
everybody else.

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00:20:18,560 –> 00:20:20,440
And suddenly we come to this
verse and say, Hang on, Lord.

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00:20:20,440 –> 00:20:23,680
What if my secular exhortation
is telling me that I am better

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00:20:23,680 –> 00:20:28,640
than this and we suddenly have
to sit here and go hang on a

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00:20:28,640 –> 00:20:34,280
minute.
Maybe God is the great one and

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00:20:34,280 –> 00:20:35,960
I’m the one who has to bow
before him.

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00:20:36,280 –> 00:20:40,320
He is, to use the words of verse
9, the faithful God who keeps

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00:20:40,320 –> 00:20:43,880
covenant and mercy with those
who love him and mercy to 1000

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00:20:43,880 –> 00:20:47,240
generations.
God is the choosing God.

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00:20:47,520 –> 00:20:49,080
God is the one who shapes their
world.

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00:20:49,080 –> 00:20:53,080
Just come on to chapter 12,
because not only is he the God

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00:20:53,080 –> 00:20:55,960
who chooses His people, but He’s
the God who will choose where

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00:20:55,960 –> 00:20:59,640
they worship.
Deuteronomy chapter 12 and come

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00:20:59,640 –> 00:21:05,240
to verse 5.
You shall come to the place

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00:21:05,240 –> 00:21:11,120
which the Lord your God shall
choose to put His name there out

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00:21:11,120 –> 00:21:13,680
of all your tribes, even to his
habitation, and there you shall

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00:21:13,680 –> 00:21:15,520
come and offer your burnt
offerings, and eat before the

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00:21:15,520 –> 00:21:19,520
Lord, and rejoice before him.
Seven times in chapter 12, God

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00:21:19,520 –> 00:21:22,680
speaks of the place that He
shall choose that you would come

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00:21:22,680 –> 00:21:26,040
and worship, bringing the people
to a central part that they

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00:21:26,040 –> 00:21:27,680
might come and worship before
Him.

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00:21:28,040 –> 00:21:33,720
He chooses them as a nation.
He chooses the place that they

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00:21:33,720 –> 00:21:36,760
will worship.
If you come on to chapter 17 and

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00:21:36,760 –> 00:21:43,600
verse 15, He’s going to choose
more even than that, because

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00:21:43,600 –> 00:21:45,640
when they come into the land
which the Lord gives them to

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00:21:45,640 –> 00:21:48,920
possess and they want to set a
king over them.

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00:21:49,760 –> 00:21:57,720
Verse 15, whom the Lord your God
shall choose, chosen the nation,

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00:21:58,200 –> 00:22:01,680
chosen the place, chosen the
king.

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00:22:03,160 –> 00:22:11,600
Chapter 18 and verse 5, when the
Levites are appointed, the Lord

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00:22:11,600 –> 00:22:17,240
your God has chosen him out of
all of your tribes, chose the

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00:22:17,240 –> 00:22:23,080
people, chose the place, chose
the king, chose the priests,

355
00:22:23,800 –> 00:22:27,600
gods shaping their very
existence as he leads them

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00:22:27,600 –> 00:22:31,160
towards their promised land.
It’s a key theme throughout the

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00:22:31,160 –> 00:22:32,680
book of Deuteronomy.
In fact, for those of you that

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00:22:32,680 –> 00:22:37,040
like counting these kind of
things, I think it’s 30 times in

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00:22:37,040 –> 00:22:41,480
the book of Deuteronomy that God
is the one who is choosing God

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00:22:41,480 –> 00:22:44,520
is the one who is, who is
shaping their existence.

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00:22:44,520 –> 00:22:48,320
He’s in control of where they
live, of how they worship, of

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00:22:48,320 –> 00:22:52,120
what they do, of what they wear.
Even you might think of the

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00:22:52,120 –> 00:22:55,240
words from Job that that
marvellous speech where Job

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00:22:56,000 –> 00:22:58,840
comes, as it were, to his senses
at the end of all those

365
00:22:58,840 –> 00:23:04,640
experiences, and understands
more about God than ever did he

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00:23:04,640 –> 00:23:06,360
did before.
Have you entered the springs of

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00:23:06,360 –> 00:23:09,080
the sea?
Have you entered the storehouses

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00:23:09,080 –> 00:23:11,440
of the snow?
Did you give the horses

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00:23:11,440 –> 00:23:13,120
strength?
Did you show the eagle how to

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00:23:13,120 –> 00:23:17,560
mount up in his wings?
No, but the God who chooses,

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00:23:19,280 –> 00:23:23,840
He’s the one who did.
And we were in DCA couple of

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00:23:23,840 –> 00:23:25,160
years.
A couple of days ago, we went to

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00:23:25,160 –> 00:23:27,760
the Air and Space Museum.
There’s that Apollo 8 exhibition

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00:23:27,760 –> 00:23:31,200
with Jim Lovell putting his
thumb over the earth.

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00:23:31,200 –> 00:23:33,800
You will perhaps I was going to
say, remember, those of you who

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00:23:33,800 –> 00:23:36,120
were around in December 1968
will remember.

377
00:23:36,680 –> 00:23:38,920
The rest of you will have to
have to go to the museum.

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00:23:38,920 –> 00:23:41,600
And he comes up over the horizon
and puts his thumb over the

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00:23:41,600 –> 00:23:47,640
earth and says, all that I ever
knew, every person I ever met,

380
00:23:49,040 –> 00:23:53,120
every experience I ever heard
SAT beneath my thumb.

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00:23:53,560 –> 00:23:55,040
The earth on the other side of
it.

382
00:23:55,040 –> 00:23:58,200
He said, that’s how small we
were.

383
00:23:59,600 –> 00:24:02,280
God is the choosing God.
God is the creator God.

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00:24:02,280 –> 00:24:04,760
God is the one who is shaping
our very existence.

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00:24:04,760 –> 00:24:07,560
The earth is the Lords and the
fullness thereof.

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00:24:07,840 –> 00:24:11,480
And as he paints this picture
for them about their future in

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00:24:11,480 –> 00:24:15,880
the land and that of other
generations to come, it almost

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00:24:15,880 –> 00:24:18,440
seems if you’re in Deuteronomy
29, that the battle is too

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00:24:18,440 –> 00:24:24,400
difficult, too hard, because,
well, something will go wrong.

390
00:24:24,400 –> 00:24:27,160
Something won’t work.
The the people themselves will

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00:24:27,160 –> 00:24:32,520
not be able to keep faith.
And it’s only when we come into

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00:24:32,520 –> 00:24:38,360
chapter 30 that it’s as if the
scales flip and God begins to

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00:24:38,360 –> 00:24:42,640
talk in more positive language
to tell us about what repentance

394
00:24:42,640 –> 00:24:46,840
looks like, what coming to the
the Father actually sounds like.

395
00:24:48,040 –> 00:24:50,560
Let’s come into Deuteronomy 30.
I’m conscious I’m jumping things

396
00:24:50,560 –> 00:24:53,720
just to keep the well, to keep
the time as much as anything

397
00:24:53,720 –> 00:24:56,200
else, but just just to make sure
that we keep the flow going.

398
00:24:57,360 –> 00:25:00,800
Let’s go into to chapter 30 and
verse 1.

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00:25:01,560 –> 00:25:03,720
So come to pass when all these
things that come upon you, the

400
00:25:03,720 –> 00:25:05,800
blessings and the curse which
I’ve set before you, and you

401
00:25:05,800 –> 00:25:09,200
shall call them to mind among
all the nations where the Lord

402
00:25:09,200 –> 00:25:14,320
has driven you.
And you shall return to the Lord

403
00:25:14,320 –> 00:25:18,000
your God and obey his voice
which I command you this day,

404
00:25:18,000 –> 00:25:21,280
you and your children with all
your heart and all your soul.

405
00:25:21,280 –> 00:25:25,640
But then the Lord your God will
turn your captivity and have

406
00:25:25,640 –> 00:25:28,640
compassion upon you.
It’s, it’s Hosea language, isn’t

407
00:25:28,640 –> 00:25:29,800
it?
Hosea’s going to paint this

408
00:25:29,800 –> 00:25:32,760
picture of the of a nation who
will return that the prodigal

409
00:25:32,760 –> 00:25:37,240
son is going to be, is going to
be ripped through with this sort

410
00:25:37,240 –> 00:25:41,680
of language of a, of a son who
goes out on his own initiative

411
00:25:41,680 –> 00:25:43,440
and lives the high life out in
another land.

412
00:25:43,440 –> 00:25:46,840
And only when he comes to
himself, only when he realizes

413
00:25:46,840 –> 00:25:51,640
that a return from exile has to
be done on his initiative, that

414
00:25:51,640 –> 00:25:53,640
he’s the one who has to take the
first steps back.

415
00:25:53,640 –> 00:25:58,360
And then the father comes
running to him, does his life

416
00:25:58,360 –> 00:26:01,040
begin to make sense again When
he realizes that in the father’s

417
00:26:01,040 –> 00:26:03,480
house the bread of life is to be
found.

418
00:26:04,160 –> 00:26:08,040
Then the Lord turns their
captivity and has compassion on

419
00:26:08,040 –> 00:26:12,760
them and they will return, I
suppose, twice over to the to

420
00:26:12,760 –> 00:26:18,480
the Lord and also to the land.
And we could paint a whole

421
00:26:18,480 –> 00:26:20,800
picture about what this means in
the life of the nation of

422
00:26:20,800 –> 00:26:23,600
Israel.
But but just for us at the

423
00:26:23,600 –> 00:26:25,600
beginning of our gathering
together this week, we’re going

424
00:26:25,600 –> 00:26:29,080
to think about how these how
these verses apply more to us.

425
00:26:29,680 –> 00:26:32,800
Not to suggest that it is an
important tool to to think about

426
00:26:32,800 –> 00:26:36,120
the Israel focus, but just to
capture ourselves as we, as we

427
00:26:36,120 –> 00:26:39,840
walk through our Bible school
together, because it’s not easy,

428
00:26:41,720 –> 00:26:46,800
but it is within our grasp.
Come to verse 11 of Deuteronomy

429
00:26:46,800 –> 00:26:50,040
chapter 30.
These were the words that we

430
00:26:50,040 –> 00:26:51,920
read together.
This commandment which I command

431
00:26:51,920 –> 00:26:53,600
you this day, it’s not hidden
from you.

432
00:26:55,560 –> 00:26:59,920
It’s not far off.
It’s not in heaven that you

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00:26:59,920 –> 00:27:02,600
should say, who shall go up for
us to heaven and bring it to us

434
00:27:02,600 –> 00:27:07,800
that we may hear and do it.
It’s not beyond the sea that you

435
00:27:07,800 –> 00:27:10,200
should say, Who shall go over
the sea for us and bring it to

436
00:27:10,200 –> 00:27:14,920
us, that we may hear and do it,
But the word is very nigh unto

437
00:27:14,920 –> 00:27:20,720
thee in thy mouth and in thy
heart, that thou mayest do it.

438
00:27:20,760 –> 00:27:26,280
I suppose it explains why so
many of the curses are framed

439
00:27:26,280 –> 00:27:29,320
around the Exodus journey,
because God is saying, you have

440
00:27:29,320 –> 00:27:31,080
seen what I did to the
Egyptians.

441
00:27:31,520 –> 00:27:34,680
These things are very near to
you because the consequences for

442
00:27:34,680 –> 00:27:37,920
sin are not a surprise.
You know what God does to those

443
00:27:37,920 –> 00:27:41,800
who break covenant.
You know the consequences of sin

444
00:27:41,800 –> 00:27:43,760
and you know the impact that
that will have on you as a

445
00:27:43,760 –> 00:27:46,840
people.
It’s not hidden from you.

446
00:27:47,400 –> 00:27:50,080
It’s not far off.
Paul captures that in Romans,

447
00:27:50,080 –> 00:27:52,080
doesn’t he?
Since the creation of the world,

448
00:27:52,080 –> 00:27:55,760
his invisible attributes, his
eternal purpose and divine

449
00:27:55,760 –> 00:28:00,880
nature have been clearly seen.
Well, yes, they have.

450
00:28:00,880 –> 00:28:05,120
But how does how does
Deuteronomy 30 help us to

451
00:28:05,120 –> 00:28:07,320
understand our faith?
Well, of course, that’s the

452
00:28:07,320 –> 00:28:10,520
phrase that Paul picks up in
Romans chapter 10.

453
00:28:10,520 –> 00:28:12,960
And I just asked you just to
hold those two verses open so we

454
00:28:12,960 –> 00:28:16,480
can look at them both together.
Come to Romans chapter 10.

455
00:28:16,480 –> 00:28:19,080
And if you can see Deuteronomy
30 as well, it will be helpful.

456
00:28:34,610 –> 00:28:37,130
And having asked you to do that,
I’m now just trying to work out

457
00:28:37,130 –> 00:28:38,370
how I’m going to do.
I’m going to use a bottle of

458
00:28:38,370 –> 00:28:39,730
water and see if I can keep a
marker.

459
00:28:40,490 –> 00:28:44,880
There we are Romans chapter 10
and of course the focus in one

460
00:28:44,880 –> 00:28:48,200
sense is Israel.
Here Romans 10 and verse 5,

461
00:28:48,200 –> 00:28:50,640
Moses describes righteousness,
which is of the law that the man

462
00:28:50,640 –> 00:28:55,280
who does these things shall live
by them talking about salvation

463
00:28:55,280 –> 00:28:57,760
through faith, of course, and
not by law.

464
00:28:57,760 –> 00:29:01,000
You could spend an entire week
in this chapter and and not

465
00:29:01,120 –> 00:29:04,320
really scratch the surface, but
let’s just see whether we can

466
00:29:04,320 –> 00:29:08,840
capture this quotation from
Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 6

467
00:29:08,840 –> 00:29:10,800
of Romans 10.
But the righteousness, which is

468
00:29:10,800 –> 00:29:16,000
of faith speaks like this.
Say not in your heart who shall

469
00:29:16,000 –> 00:29:19,680
ascend into heaven, that is to
bring Christ down from above, or

470
00:29:19,680 –> 00:29:22,560
who shall ascend into the deep,
which is to bring Christ to gain

471
00:29:22,560 –> 00:29:25,120
from the dead.
But what does it say?

472
00:29:25,440 –> 00:29:29,160
The word is near to you, even in
your mouth and in your heart.

473
00:29:30,600 –> 00:29:32,440
There’s a difference there.
I don’t know whether you’ve

474
00:29:32,440 –> 00:29:33,920
clocked it.
You may have written notes in

475
00:29:33,920 –> 00:29:36,280
your Bible alongside this, that
the fact that Paul has under

476
00:29:36,280 –> 00:29:40,880
inspiration just just very
subtly shifted the language from

477
00:29:41,360 –> 00:29:43,800
from Deuteronomy in the second
part of that quotation.

478
00:29:44,600 –> 00:29:47,920
What does he say in Deuteronomy
30, verse 12?

479
00:29:48,320 –> 00:29:51,920
It’s not in heaven that you have
to go up and get it.

480
00:29:52,240 –> 00:29:55,560
So we have to hear it and do it.
And then he goes on to say that

481
00:29:55,560 –> 00:30:00,040
it’s not, it’s up to 30, verse
13, beyond the sea.

482
00:30:00,440 –> 00:30:02,360
Well, that’s not what Paul says
in Romans 10, is it?

483
00:30:03,320 –> 00:30:09,800
He says, verse seven, who shall
descend into the deep, and it

484
00:30:09,800 –> 00:30:11,560
doesn’t look very different, but
it is different.

485
00:30:11,560 –> 00:30:13,520
Rather than going beyond the
sea, he’s talking about going

486
00:30:13,520 –> 00:30:15,920
down into the depths.
And he’s obviously framing this

487
00:30:15,920 –> 00:30:17,880
around the Lord Jesus Christ
because he’s added that for us

488
00:30:17,880 –> 00:30:20,120
already.
Paul has taken us on a little

489
00:30:20,120 –> 00:30:23,320
diversion as we travel from
Deuteronomy to Romans, and he’s

490
00:30:23,320 –> 00:30:28,320
just asked us just to stop off
somewhere, asked us to stop off

491
00:30:28,320 –> 00:30:33,800
in the prophecy of Jonah.
The man who voluntarily went

492
00:30:33,800 –> 00:30:38,560
into exile voluntarily when
given that commandment to go to

493
00:30:38,560 –> 00:30:42,720
the Ninevites and preach, said
you must be kidding, and went in

494
00:30:42,720 –> 00:30:44,840
the opposite direction and got
on a boat.

495
00:30:44,840 –> 00:30:47,920
And to use Deuteronomy language
went beyond the sea.

496
00:30:47,920 –> 00:30:50,440
Only he didn’t get as far as
beyond the sea because when he

497
00:30:50,440 –> 00:30:54,840
was now to use Roman’s language
on the sea, they threw him

498
00:30:54,840 –> 00:30:56,880
overboard and he went down to
the depths and for three days

499
00:30:56,880 –> 00:30:59,240
Jonah was dead.
Whether he was really dead or

500
00:30:59,240 –> 00:31:01,000
whether it’s just picture
language, you can decide for

501
00:31:01,000 –> 00:31:03,160
yourself.
And of course, you know the

502
00:31:03,160 –> 00:31:05,840
significance of that echo, the
way in which that’s picked up

503
00:31:05,840 –> 00:31:07,440
for us as a resurrection
picture.

504
00:31:08,600 –> 00:31:10,840
And Paul has just taken us via
Jonah and said, well, this was

505
00:31:10,840 –> 00:31:14,040
the man who went, who tried to
go off beyond the sea and take

506
00:31:14,040 –> 00:31:17,760
himself into voluntary exile,
and instead went down into the

507
00:31:17,760 –> 00:31:21,000
depths and emerged as a picture
of what the work of the Lord

508
00:31:21,000 –> 00:31:24,080
Jesus Christ would be like.
It’s not like the law, verse 5,

509
00:31:24,080 –> 00:31:26,320
which you do.
The man who does these things

510
00:31:26,440 –> 00:31:29,120
shall live by them.
Salvation, Paul says, is near to

511
00:31:29,160 –> 00:31:31,760
us because it’s been shown us in
the person of the Lord Jesus

512
00:31:31,760 –> 00:31:34,760
Christ.
And so he continues his

513
00:31:34,760 –> 00:31:39,440
quotation to tell us about the
one who ascended to the heavens

514
00:31:39,440 –> 00:31:41,920
to be with his Father, the one
who went down into the grave

515
00:31:42,320 –> 00:31:47,920
three days, the one who, if you
like, put himself.

516
00:31:47,920 –> 00:31:49,440
Can I use this language?
I think we can.

517
00:31:49,440 –> 00:31:57,560
Into voluntary exile for his
people in order to come back and

518
00:31:57,560 –> 00:32:00,920
lead them.
And who is now Romans 10 and

519
00:32:00,920 –> 00:32:05,880
verse 8 near to us.
In fact, just track the way in

520
00:32:05,880 –> 00:32:07,760
which Paul is picking up these
words.

521
00:32:08,280 –> 00:32:12,840
If you go into Deuteronomy 30
and verse 14, the word is very

522
00:32:12,840 –> 00:32:16,840
nigh unto thee in thine mouth
and in thy heart.

523
00:32:18,200 –> 00:32:20,520
That’s what Paul says.
And then he adds it adds to it

524
00:32:20,640 –> 00:32:22,040
for us.
So we understand what he means.

525
00:32:22,040 –> 00:32:24,520
It’s the Word of Faith which we
preach.

526
00:32:24,760 –> 00:32:27,360
And if we’re in Deuteronomy,
we’re just waiting for the bit

527
00:32:27,360 –> 00:32:30,880
to land, which is the very end
of verse 14 that says that you

528
00:32:30,880 –> 00:32:32,880
may do it.
And we’re looking for it in

529
00:32:32,880 –> 00:32:35,200
Romans chapter 10 and wondering
where that bit is.

530
00:32:37,440 –> 00:32:41,280
And then we realise that what
Paul’s Paul’s doing through

531
00:32:41,280 –> 00:32:46,680
inspiration is saying that the
bit that says where you do it is

532
00:32:46,680 –> 00:32:52,440
verse 9 where he’s talking about
faith, that if you confess with

533
00:32:52,440 –> 00:32:54,760
your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God

534
00:32:54,760 –> 00:32:56,920
raised him from the dead, then
you shall be saved.

535
00:32:56,920 –> 00:33:01,400
This is the doing bit of
Deuteronomy 30, verse 14,

536
00:33:02,880 –> 00:33:04,880
because with the heart man
believes to righteousness and

537
00:33:04,880 –> 00:33:07,200
with the mouth confession is
made to salvation.

538
00:33:07,400 –> 00:33:10,320
For as the Scripture says,
whoever believes on him shall

539
00:33:10,320 –> 00:33:14,600
not be ashamed through faith in
the one who went into exile,

540
00:33:14,720 –> 00:33:17,520
went down into the depths and
came out because it was not

541
00:33:17,520 –> 00:33:21,600
possible, my brothers and
sisters, for the grave to hold

542
00:33:21,600 –> 00:33:24,680
him.
Well wasn’t reserved for

543
00:33:24,680 –> 00:33:29,240
mythological fantastic beasts.
It wasn’t reserved for for

544
00:33:29,240 –> 00:33:31,000
people who could do great
miracles.

545
00:33:31,920 –> 00:33:37,280
It was God’s coming close to
every Israelite coming close to

546
00:33:37,280 –> 00:33:41,120
us in the person of His Son.
And you would not expect Paul in

547
00:33:41,120 –> 00:33:45,520
Romans, when talking about faith
as opposed to works, to come

548
00:33:45,520 –> 00:33:49,120
back into the law and to pull
language out of the law of all

549
00:33:49,120 –> 00:33:53,480
places to articulate what
righteousness looked like

550
00:33:53,480 –> 00:33:55,160
through faith.
And yet, of course, Deuteronomy

551
00:33:55,160 –> 00:33:57,160
chapter 30 is full of this
issue.

552
00:33:57,800 –> 00:34:00,520
Just come back to Deuteronomy 30
with me and see how many times

553
00:34:00,520 –> 00:34:04,440
he talks about what your faith
is to be in your heart.

554
00:34:07,520 –> 00:34:10,199
I think we touched upon it
before in verse 2 of chapter 30,

555
00:34:10,199 –> 00:34:13,040
the words that I command you,
you and your children, with all

556
00:34:13,040 –> 00:34:17,440
your heart and all your soul.
It’s in verse 6 of Deuteronomy

557
00:34:17,440 –> 00:34:20,000
30.
The Lord your will circumcise

558
00:34:20,000 –> 00:34:23,360
your heart and the heart of your
sea to love the Lord your God

559
00:34:23,520 –> 00:34:26,199
with all your heart and with all
your soul.

560
00:34:27,120 –> 00:34:29,520
And it’s in verse 10, isn’t it,
that you will turn to the Lord

561
00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:32,480
your God with all your heart and
with all your soul.

562
00:34:32,639 –> 00:34:35,239
The Lord wasn’t mechanical.
It always contained faith and

563
00:34:35,239 –> 00:34:38,080
love.
It’s Paul in Romans again, isn’t

564
00:34:38,080 –> 00:34:40,679
it talks about the law as being
good and right and true.

565
00:34:40,679 –> 00:34:44,040
And of course it was because it
came from the creator of all

566
00:34:44,040 –> 00:34:52,600
life and, and what Deuteronomy
seems to be commanding them and

567
00:34:52,600 –> 00:34:56,000
the generations to come.
And therefore, I think by

568
00:34:56,000 –> 00:35:00,560
extension, you and I this
morning to take that nation upon

569
00:35:00,560 –> 00:35:04,680
ourselves, to take the history
of God’s promises into our

570
00:35:04,680 –> 00:35:10,880
hearts, to make it part of the
very fabric of our being, to

571
00:35:10,880 –> 00:35:13,080
reflect upon it when we wake in
the morning and when we go to

572
00:35:13,080 –> 00:35:17,400
bed at night.
God is giving them life because

573
00:35:17,400 –> 00:35:21,480
He is life.
And that perhaps helps us to

574
00:35:21,480 –> 00:35:24,720
understand this great
commandment that comes a little

575
00:35:24,720 –> 00:35:28,840
further down in chapter 30.
Let me bring you there if I can.

576
00:35:31,200 –> 00:35:33,800
Verse.
Well, let’s go to verse 17 of

577
00:35:33,800 –> 00:35:36,760
chapter 30.
If you’re heart, there it is

578
00:35:36,760 –> 00:35:41,880
again turns away so that you
will not hear, but should be

579
00:35:41,880 –> 00:35:43,840
drawn away and worship by the
gods and serve them.

580
00:35:43,840 –> 00:35:46,280
I denounce to you this day you
will surely perish.

581
00:35:47,280 –> 00:35:49,520
You will not prolong your days
upon the land where you go over

582
00:35:49,520 –> 00:35:54,320
Jordan to possess it.
I call heaven and earth to

583
00:35:54,320 –> 00:35:59,600
record this day against you that
I’ve set before you life and

584
00:35:59,600 –> 00:36:07,040
death, blessing and cursing.
Therefore choose life 30 times

585
00:36:07,040 –> 00:36:08,840
in the book of Deuteronomy,
brothers and sisters, God

586
00:36:08,840 –> 00:36:10,520
chooses he chooses where they
live.

587
00:36:10,720 –> 00:36:13,640
He chooses their his people, he
chooses their king, he chooses

588
00:36:13,640 –> 00:36:17,120
their their priests.
One place, one place only we are

589
00:36:17,120 –> 00:36:21,960
asked to choose and it’s here.
Choose life that you and your

590
00:36:21,960 –> 00:36:26,720
seed may live.
God is the God of all power and

591
00:36:26,720 –> 00:36:30,680
all creation, and he is making
this command to us because it’s

592
00:36:30,680 –> 00:36:32,360
an extension of his own
character.

593
00:36:32,720 –> 00:36:35,320
And you could look at it and go,
well, you know, it’s, they’re

594
00:36:35,320 –> 00:36:37,760
not particularly equally
balanced choices, Lord, are

595
00:36:37,760 –> 00:36:39,720
they?
I mean, it’s not like he might

596
00:36:39,720 –> 00:36:44,120
compare this with Mary and
Martha, where where Mary is sat

597
00:36:44,120 –> 00:36:46,520
at the Lord’s feet and Martha is
cumbered about serving.

598
00:36:46,520 –> 00:36:50,040
And of course, Martha has to be
chided and told that there is

599
00:36:50,040 –> 00:36:52,520
one thing that’s more important
to come close to the Lord and

600
00:36:52,520 –> 00:36:55,600
listen.
But she wasn’t being told that

601
00:36:55,600 –> 00:36:59,280
serving was wrong, just that her
priorities need a little bit of

602
00:36:59,360 –> 00:37:02,400
of adjusting.
This is not that case.

603
00:37:03,360 –> 00:37:05,840
I have said before you, life and
death, blessing and cursing,

604
00:37:05,840 –> 00:37:08,320
therefore choose life.
It’s pretty obvious, brothers

605
00:37:08,320 –> 00:37:10,520
and sisters.
You could survey 1000 people who

606
00:37:10,520 –> 00:37:13,040
were not here as as part of the
gathering and say, which would

607
00:37:13,040 –> 00:37:14,280
you like?
Pick one.

608
00:37:14,400 –> 00:37:16,160
You can have life or you can
have death.

609
00:37:17,000 –> 00:37:19,800
And even in the murky world of
assisted dying laws, not many

610
00:37:19,800 –> 00:37:23,480
people are choosing top option
#2 you know, any doctor will

611
00:37:23,480 –> 00:37:26,720
tell you that the patient who
wants to live is easier to treat

612
00:37:26,720 –> 00:37:28,080
than the patient who has given
up.

613
00:37:29,640 –> 00:37:32,720
Does not guarantee success, but
it certainly tilts the balance

614
00:37:32,720 –> 00:37:35,600
in the right direction.
We are choosing one choice.

615
00:37:35,600 –> 00:37:39,680
We are not used in this world of
of secular exhortations.

616
00:37:39,680 –> 00:37:43,120
We are not used to one choice.
Have you tried shopping for

617
00:37:43,120 –> 00:37:46,640
toothpaste?
I mean, I hope you have.

618
00:37:46,640 –> 00:37:48,760
If you’re sat near me, please
tell me you’ve been shopping for

619
00:37:48,760 –> 00:37:50,120
toothpaste.
But have you tried it?

620
00:37:50,120 –> 00:37:53,160
There’s like 5 lanes of it.
Or mineral water.

621
00:37:54,720 –> 00:38:00,360
Or sat in a hotel room and gone.
I’ve got 999 channels and I have

622
00:38:00,680 –> 00:38:02,720
and you work your way through
and go, well, they were all

623
00:38:02,720 –> 00:38:03,800
rubbish.
There’s nothing there at all.

624
00:38:03,800 –> 00:38:06,960
How on earth can we create so
much rubbish to put onto ATV

625
00:38:06,960 –> 00:38:09,440
screen?
That’s why there’s that’s why

626
00:38:09,440 –> 00:38:12,280
there’s so much money spent on
perfecting the online shopping

627
00:38:12,280 –> 00:38:17,480
experience because we live in
this multi choice world where if

628
00:38:17,480 –> 00:38:19,480
it takes more than two seconds
to achieve something, you’re

629
00:38:19,480 –> 00:38:23,600
going to go somewhere else.
And the most money is spent by

630
00:38:23,600 –> 00:38:26,680
the biggest companies to make it
as easy as possible to buy the

631
00:38:26,680 –> 00:38:29,560
stuff I need or to bank with the
bank that I choose or to pick

632
00:38:29,560 –> 00:38:31,400
the the gym equipment that I
need to have.

633
00:38:33,440 –> 00:38:36,080
And we get to the point where
life is so frictionless that we

634
00:38:36,080 –> 00:38:37,520
don’t even need to talk to a
person.

635
00:38:37,680 –> 00:38:40,080
So if I want coffee, I’ll order
it ahead of time and go in and,

636
00:38:40,240 –> 00:38:42,560
and just take it off a table.
I don’t even need to talk to a

637
00:38:42,560 –> 00:38:46,600
person because why add more
friction into my existence than

638
00:38:46,600 –> 00:38:54,120
I need?
Which is fine until we get to

639
00:38:54,120 –> 00:38:58,440
relationships.
Because relationships need

640
00:38:58,440 –> 00:39:02,320
friction.
Whether it’s your relationship

641
00:39:02,320 –> 00:39:05,160
with your your husband or your
wife or your boyfriend or your

642
00:39:05,160 –> 00:39:11,280
girlfriend, or with your kids or
your grandchildren, or your

643
00:39:11,280 –> 00:39:13,560
relationship with Almighty God
and His Son.

644
00:39:15,640 –> 00:39:20,200
You and I know instinctively,
even if we’re not married, that

645
00:39:20,200 –> 00:39:22,840
a world without friction is a
world without lasting

646
00:39:22,840 –> 00:39:26,520
relationships.
You know instinctively that

647
00:39:26,520 –> 00:39:29,560
marriages need friction because
marriages that work through

648
00:39:29,560 –> 00:39:32,840
trouble become stronger, and
marriages that avoid that issue

649
00:39:32,840 –> 00:39:35,000
become weaker and tend to fall
apart.

650
00:39:35,760 –> 00:39:41,720
The law is about choices, every
aspect of those complicated laws

651
00:39:42,080 –> 00:39:46,320
in the book of Leviticus that
you’ve read through and you’ve

652
00:39:46,320 –> 00:39:47,600
gone.
Why is the Lord bothered about

653
00:39:47,600 –> 00:39:49,400
the clothing that they wear?
What’s wrong with that

654
00:39:49,400 –> 00:39:51,560
particular animal?
And the way it’s hoof is cloven

655
00:39:51,840 –> 00:39:54,480
and what the Lord was doing was,
is setting up an entire fabric

656
00:39:54,480 –> 00:39:56,800
of existence that they could
make choices.

657
00:39:59,040 –> 00:40:02,040
When I when I choose what I’m
going to eat this day, am I

658
00:40:02,040 –> 00:40:04,720
going to be holy like God or
unholy like the world?

659
00:40:05,000 –> 00:40:08,560
When I get dressed and I put the
a particular kind of fabric on

660
00:40:08,560 –> 00:40:11,640
that day, am I going to be holy
like God or unholy like the

661
00:40:11,640 –> 00:40:15,600
world?
When I when I go through my

662
00:40:15,600 –> 00:40:18,760
bodily hygiene processes, am I
holy like God or unholy like the

663
00:40:18,760 –> 00:40:22,040
world and every single aspect of
their life is structured and set

664
00:40:22,040 –> 00:40:24,400
up in a particular way to make
the right choice.

665
00:40:26,080 –> 00:40:33,200
That’s why the Lord has given
them just one option to say in a

666
00:40:33,200 –> 00:40:39,360
multi channel, multi plurality
world, you’ve just got 1, so

667
00:40:39,360 –> 00:40:42,840
make the right one.
Come with me to Proverbs Chapter

668
00:40:42,840 –> 00:40:45,120
7.
Proverbs 7.

669
00:40:45,200 –> 00:40:51,240
I’m conscious of the clock, but
there is a young man in Proverbs

670
00:40:51,240 –> 00:40:54,520
Chapter 7 who’s got a choice to
make.

671
00:41:05,120 –> 00:41:07,360
And as you come to Proverbs 7,
you will notice that although

672
00:41:07,360 –> 00:41:10,160
it’s not directly quoting
Deuteronomy and the verses that

673
00:41:10,160 –> 00:41:13,120
we’ve been in, it’s, it’s the
same theme, the same language as

674
00:41:13,120 –> 00:41:15,200
here.
My son, keep my words.

675
00:41:15,440 –> 00:41:18,200
Lay up my commandments with you.
Keep my commandments and live.

676
00:41:18,520 –> 00:41:20,400
And my law is the apple of your
eye.

677
00:41:20,640 –> 00:41:22,880
Bind them on your fingers.
Write them on the tablets of

678
00:41:22,880 –> 00:41:24,280
your heart.
It’s Deuteronomy language, isn’t

679
00:41:24,280 –> 00:41:26,040
it?
Very stuff that we’ve been

680
00:41:26,040 –> 00:41:30,520
talking about, Say to wisdom.
You’re my sister called

681
00:41:30,520 –> 00:41:33,280
understanding your kinswoman,
that they may keep you from the

682
00:41:33,280 –> 00:41:36,680
strange woman, and he’s going to
paint us a picture of a young

683
00:41:36,680 –> 00:41:40,040
man that makes a bad choice
because it looked like a really

684
00:41:40,040 –> 00:41:43,720
good choice.
And let’s go to to verse 6.

685
00:41:43,760 –> 00:41:48,280
At the window of my house I
looked through my casement and

686
00:41:48,280 –> 00:41:52,200
beheld among the simple ones I
discerned among the youths a

687
00:41:52,200 –> 00:41:57,920
young man void of understanding,
passing through the street near

688
00:41:57,920 –> 00:42:00,920
her corner.
He went the way to her house in

689
00:42:00,920 –> 00:42:04,480
the twilight, in the evening, in
the black and dark night, and

690
00:42:04,480 –> 00:42:07,600
they met a woman with the attire
of a harlot and subtle of

691
00:42:07,600 –> 00:42:10,400
hearts.
She caught in verse 13 and

692
00:42:10,400 –> 00:42:13,400
kissed him and with an impudent
face said, I have peace

693
00:42:13,400 –> 00:42:14,960
offerings.
I’ve paid my vows.

694
00:42:15,480 –> 00:42:17,720
I came to meet you, to seek you.
I found you.

695
00:42:17,720 –> 00:42:22,680
It’s the whisper of of 21st
century life, isn’t it?

696
00:42:22,680 –> 00:42:27,800
I came to find you.
Your search history is is yours

697
00:42:27,800 –> 00:42:30,960
and yours alone.
Your choices are yours and yours

698
00:42:30,960 –> 00:42:32,480
alone.
I came to find you.

699
00:42:32,680 –> 00:42:36,080
This world is created just for
you to be your own perfect,

700
00:42:36,080 –> 00:42:38,160
authentic self.
I’ve decked my bed with

701
00:42:38,160 –> 00:42:40,640
tapestries, carved works.
Finally in and of Egypt.

702
00:42:40,760 –> 00:42:42,400
We’ve got another Exodus echo
there.

703
00:42:42,760 –> 00:42:46,800
It’s so seductive you could
almost read it through and go.

704
00:42:46,800 –> 00:42:49,880
Well, of course he’s fallen for
it because all of the way in

705
00:42:49,880 –> 00:42:52,280
which that picture is painted
for us makes it almost

706
00:42:52,280 –> 00:42:54,720
inevitable that that’s the
direction he’s going to go.

707
00:42:57,360 –> 00:43:01,560
And the choice is wrong.
Even though she’s painted it up

708
00:43:01,560 –> 00:43:06,120
for him, she’s perfumed her bed
and calls him home because the

709
00:43:06,120 –> 00:43:09,800
man of the house is not there.
And there he goes as a bird.

710
00:43:09,840 –> 00:43:14,000
Verse 23 goes to the snare.
And just come to verse 24

711
00:43:15,720 –> 00:43:18,240
because it just sums up where
we’ve been going in our session.

712
00:43:19,520 –> 00:43:25,480
Listen to me now, therefore, O
ye children, and attend to the

713
00:43:25,480 –> 00:43:30,640
words of my mouth.
Let not Deuteronomy chapter 30,

714
00:43:31,160 –> 00:43:35,800
let not your heart decline to
her ways or go astray in her

715
00:43:35,800 –> 00:43:39,600
paths, for she’s cast down.
Many wounded, strong men have

716
00:43:39,600 –> 00:43:43,320
been slain.
Her house is the way to hell.

717
00:43:44,840 –> 00:43:47,400
It’s so easy to make the wrong
choice, brothers and sisters,

718
00:43:47,400 –> 00:43:51,080
even though God is really only
laying before US1 obvious 1.

719
00:43:52,240 –> 00:43:54,040
I don’t know what you brought
here with you this week.

720
00:43:55,560 –> 00:43:59,960
I don’t know what kind of issues
you’ve had in your in your

721
00:43:59,960 –> 00:44:05,160
faith, in your families, in your
eclizes that you carried with

722
00:44:05,160 –> 00:44:08,880
you here and that just still sit
on your shoulders as you’ve been

723
00:44:08,880 –> 00:44:10,080
looking forward to the Bible
school.

724
00:44:10,080 –> 00:44:15,800
But may it be as we, as we share
this week together, that we

725
00:44:15,800 –> 00:44:19,360
strengthen our faith, strengthen
our fellowship, strengthen our

726
00:44:19,360 –> 00:44:23,920
resolve to fight against
temptation and realise that in

727
00:44:23,920 –> 00:44:28,880
this this world that is always
competing for our attention and

728
00:44:28,880 –> 00:44:33,040
always demanding that we have
something more, that we make the

729
00:44:33,040 –> 00:44:38,160
right choice.
I have a theory and I have a lot

730
00:44:38,160 –> 00:44:40,200
of theories and come and tell me
that I’m wrong later.

731
00:44:40,200 –> 00:44:43,800
But I have a theory that our,
our community is in the third

732
00:44:43,800 –> 00:44:49,760
stage of its existence.
So when, when it began 160,

733
00:44:49,760 –> 00:44:53,400
seventy years ago, it was all
about debating truth.

734
00:44:55,120 –> 00:45:00,800
We, we discussed about the
immortality of the soul and what

735
00:45:00,800 –> 00:45:04,920
happened when you died and the
issues about the Trinity and the

736
00:45:04,920 –> 00:45:07,720
Kingdom and, and, and all of the
things that you and I would term

737
00:45:07,720 –> 00:45:11,640
first principles.
And we took the message out

738
00:45:11,640 –> 00:45:12,960
there and people said you’re
wrong.

739
00:45:15,280 –> 00:45:17,720
And then as time moved on, we
moved into a second stage.

740
00:45:18,640 –> 00:45:20,960
I think this was the 1960s and
70s.

741
00:45:20,960 –> 00:45:22,880
But again, you can tell me
whether that kind of guess is

742
00:45:22,880 –> 00:45:26,800
right, where it became less
about specific doctrines, not

743
00:45:26,800 –> 00:45:28,960
that they were not important,
they always have been, but but

744
00:45:29,400 –> 00:45:33,520
the focus shifted and it was
less about individual right and

745
00:45:33,520 –> 00:45:37,480
wrong and more about whether
anybody cared at all that

746
00:45:37,480 –> 00:45:43,440
religion wasn’t so important
anymore because social issues

747
00:45:43,440 –> 00:45:45,960
shifted amongst us, below our
feet almost.

748
00:45:46,160 –> 00:45:48,000
And we looked around and said
people don’t care about the

749
00:45:48,000 –> 00:45:49,720
immortality of the soul and the
Trinity and the devil.

750
00:45:49,880 –> 00:45:51,880
They care about, you know, just
having a good life and getting

751
00:45:51,880 –> 00:45:56,120
on with things.
And so we moved from being told

752
00:45:56,120 –> 00:45:59,960
you’re wrong to being told who
cares.

753
00:46:02,120 –> 00:46:07,720
And now I think we’re in a third
stage where to hold any kind of

754
00:46:07,720 –> 00:46:13,080
definitive faith, anything that
you and I might term as truth

755
00:46:15,200 –> 00:46:18,080
and defend it against something
else that therefore must be

756
00:46:18,080 –> 00:46:21,760
error.
It’s not just an issue of you’re

757
00:46:21,760 –> 00:46:25,640
right and I’m wrong.
It isn’t an issue of who cares,

758
00:46:25,640 –> 00:46:30,400
do what you want.
It’s an issue of you are

759
00:46:30,400 –> 00:46:34,120
actively dangerous to hold to
those things.

760
00:46:34,400 –> 00:46:38,560
Who are you to say that that
person can’t be with that other

761
00:46:38,560 –> 00:46:41,240
person?
Who are you to say that that

762
00:46:41,240 –> 00:46:44,040
person doesn’t feel the way they
say they feel?

763
00:46:45,080 –> 00:46:48,280
Who are you to say that I’m not
allowed to do what I want to do?

764
00:46:49,520 –> 00:46:51,200
And we’ve moved to a third
stage.

765
00:46:51,200 –> 00:46:54,840
We’ve gone from you’re wrong to
who cares to you’re dangerous

766
00:46:55,800 –> 00:46:59,880
and making the right choice.
Well, I’m not going to say it’s

767
00:46:59,880 –> 00:47:02,680
harder now than it’s ever been
because Deuteronomy 2930 say it

768
00:47:02,680 –> 00:47:06,160
was pretty hard then.
But suddenly the truth needs to

769
00:47:06,160 –> 00:47:09,320
be articulated in a way that
deals with those issues too.

770
00:47:10,440 –> 00:47:13,440
And it’s the great challenge
that we face in in this day and

771
00:47:13,440 –> 00:47:17,120
age to be able to say the right
things, to stand for truth

772
00:47:17,160 –> 00:47:20,520
against everything else, and to
make the right choice.

773
00:47:21,000 –> 00:47:23,560
So may it be, my brothers and
sisters, as we thrill together

774
00:47:23,560 –> 00:47:27,440
in our week, as we enjoy our
fellowship, as we sing and read

775
00:47:27,440 –> 00:47:30,720
and pray and meditate together,
that we do come closer to the

776
00:47:30,720 –> 00:47:33,920
King, close to the great
promises that God has laid down

777
00:47:33,920 –> 00:47:38,760
to the fathers, and resolve, no
matter what comes before us, to

778
00:47:38,760 –> 00:47:55,010
choose life.
Thank you for.

779
00:47:55,010 –> 00:47:57,130
Listening to the Good
Christadelphian Talks podcast,

780
00:47:57,970 –> 00:48:00,410
We hope this talk helped you in
your walk and brightened your

781
00:48:00,410 –> 00:48:02,770
day.
If you would like to hear more,

782
00:48:02,770 –> 00:48:04,530
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783
00:48:04,890 –> 00:48:08,170
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784
00:48:09,250 –> 00:48:10,850
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785
00:48:11,090 –> 00:48:13,290
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786
00:48:13,290 –> 00:48:15,730
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787
00:48:15,730 –> 00:48:19,840
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788
00:48:20,120 –> 00:48:22,600
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789
00:48:23,880 –> 00:48:25,800
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790
00:48:25,800 –> 00:48:28,680
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791
00:48:28,680 –> 00:48:31,920
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792
00:48:31,920 –> 00:48:33,960
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793
00:48:34,320 –> 00:48:36,920
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794
00:48:36,920 –> 00:48:39,160
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795
00:48:39,720 –> 00:48:42,760
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796
00:48:42,760 –> 00:48:45,760
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797
00:48:46,400 –> 00:48:49,240
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God bless and talk to you next

798
00:48:49,240 –> 00:48:49,480
week.