They Had All Things in Common

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[ Music ]

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>> I'm so glad that we could put together a trip

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for Shari

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and her friends.

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[ Laughter ]

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But you know what?

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You walk out of those women's retreats with more friends

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and with more community, with more insight, with more --

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with more, and so I encourage you to sign up.

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It's going to be a good, good trip.

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Are you guys ready to get into the word?

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Well, I'm not.

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So I was supposed to tell you

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that the business collective meets this Tuesday morning.

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If you are a business owner or a manager or a leader

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in your job, entrepreneurs, you are invited, male or female,

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to be here at 8 o'clock Tuesday morning in the cafe area.

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We will provide breakfast for you, a word of encouragement

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for you, and then send you on your way

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to that job that you love.

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So the business collective Tuesday morning.

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I hope you will join us for that.

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You all -- now then, let's stand up and let's read a passage

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of scripture because what we do know is that we always have

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to start with truth, right?

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Let's start with truth.

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All right.

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Let's put up that passage.

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And if Pastor Kevin was here, he is on.

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A mission from God in the words of the Blues Brothers,

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which means he's just not in the house today.

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Everything he does, he travels

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and he does what the Lord asks him to do.

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But if he were here at this moment, he would go,

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"Let's read this like we mean it, okay?

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So we're going to read it like we mean it."

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They were continually devoting themselves

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to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking

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of bread and to prayer.

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Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders

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and signs were taking place through the apostles.

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And all those who had believed were together

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and had all things in common.

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Can we say that one more time?

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And all those who had believed were together

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and had all things in common.

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And they began selling their property and possessions

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and were sharing them with all as anyone might need.

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Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple

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and breaking bread from the house to house,

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they were taking their meals together with gladness

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and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor

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with all the people.

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And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those

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who were being saved.

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Father God, I thank you so much for the rich soil of your Word.

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I thank you for the washing of the water of the Word.

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I thank you for the power that is found in your Word.

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I thank you that it is alive and active and it messes with us,

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God, and we are grateful for that.

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So Father, today I ask that your Word would scratch and awaken

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that eternity written on our hearts, Father,

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so that it comes alive and that your Holy Spirit is able

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to speak to us and help us to navigate these waters

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that we find ourselves in these days.

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You are faithful and good.

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Father, let them forget my stuff and remember yours.

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In Jesus' name, and they said.

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Amen. God is so faithful.

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Hopefully you recognize that passage of scripture.

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Someone, my glasses, would they be by anyone's chairs

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down there by chance?

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Who is that?

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Okay, this is going to go a lot better now that I can read.

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I was thinking about, you know, this passage

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of scripture is familiar because we studied from it last week.

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And Pastor Kevin shared with us the importance of this God

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who does miracles and his sovereignty

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and what our response should be to the Lord if his answer is yes

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and if his answer is no, regardless to be able to walk

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in those places with the Lord and to recognize his sovereignty

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and his goodness regardless of the situations

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that we may find ourselves in.

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I get tickled with this passage of scripture.

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Did you know scripture can make you laugh

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if you just pay attention?

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The stories and the scenarios and the things

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that you find yourself in are amazing to me.

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And the second chapter of Acts is more than a music group

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that was around in the '70s, '80s,

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before most of you were born.

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And, but the second chapter of Acts is really just the

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foundational portions of scripture

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for the Pentecostal church.

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And if, since we're in the second chapter of Acts,

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let me just give you a brief synopsis, okay?

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We know that in the beginning, before Jesus ascended

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into heaven, he told them that he was going

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to send a comforter.

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And so basically scripture tells us that 120 people,

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including the disciples, gathered together

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in the upper room and they tarried and they waited

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on the Lord and waited on that which had been promised.

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And the Holy Spirit did descend on them and tongues

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of fire began to move through the place.

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And if you've ever been in one of those services,

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we know that the people

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in the place probably understand it a whole lot better

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than the people who are outside, right?

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So this passage talks about that they began to speak

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with other tongues and there were people out in the crowd

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who heard them speaking in their language

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and they were astonished.

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But they also thought they were drunk.

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So, and that can be the fallout

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of a really good service sometimes.

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You walk out and you're like, who are these people

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and where am I?

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What just happened?

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And those are the good ones, you know?

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Those encounters with the Lord.

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And while it was birthed in that place, we'll call it the fallout

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of the baptism of the Holy Spirit into that place.

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The cool thing is, is it there were residuals everywhere.

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When we have a corporate religious experience together,

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not only does it change us individually, it changes us

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and impacts us corporately because we are designed

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to live in community.

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That's why the very first thing that God ever looked

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on the earth, he made the light and it was good

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and he made the oceans and it was good and he made the birds

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of the air and the animals in the field

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and he said all of it was good.

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And the first thing he looked at that said it is not good was

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for us to be alone.

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We were not intended to make this journey alone.

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And how wonderful for us that God provided a way and a model

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for us to live in community.

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Peter begins when the people in the outside begin to say,

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well you know what, they're just drunk.

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Peter gets the wonderful opportunity

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to preach his first message that we know about,

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that we're giving-- given-- made privy to.

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And he says that Peter stood up with the 11

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and raised his voice and he addressed them.

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And he says, men of Judea and you live in Jerusalem,

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let this be explained and listen closely, pay attention.

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These people are not drunk.

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I think that would be a good sign

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for the four year, don't you?

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[ Laughter ]

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These people are not drunk.

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Let me explain something.

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And-- but then he goes on to share his message and he says,

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and it shall be in the last days says God.

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He begins to quote from the book of Joel that I will pour

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out my spirit upon all mankind and your sons

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and your daughters shall prophesy.

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And your young men shall see visions

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and your old men shall dream dreams.

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Even on my bondservants, both men and women,

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I will in those days pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy.

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And he gives that message and then he goes on and gets

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to messing in their business and he starts telling them, well,

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you know, the law said this, the prophets prophesied this and all

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of these things add up to one thing, all of these things

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that have been fulfilled in Christ Jesus and it says this.

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Therefore, let all the house

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of Israel recognized beyond all doubt.

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Let all of the house of Israel recognized beyond a doubt

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that God has made him both Lord and Messiah.

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Your Messiah has come.

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Your Messiah has come and it says this Jesus

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whom you crucified, you just crucified your Messiah.

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You just crucified your Messiah, the one that you had waited for,

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the one who had been prophesied that would come.

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You just crucified him.

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And it talks about the people grabbed it, they saw it

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and they begin to go, well, what can we do?

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What must we do?

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We've crucified the one that was promised to come to us.

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What do we do?

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And then Peter has the wonderful opportunity to go,

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you have to repent and be baptized.

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Repent and be baptized.

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The powerful message of the redemptive love

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of Jesus Christ, he didn't go, well, you've just lost it.

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I guess you've just messed up.

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That's it.

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No, you repent, you change your mindset,

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you go in the opposite direction, you get baptized

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and you sow into something bigger and better.

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And here, every pastor or every evangelist

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or every apostles dream, his first message that we know

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about with Peter, 3,000 people were saved.

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I'm just hoping you'll stay awake.

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I have got to dream bigger.

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I'm just hoping you're still with me at the end here.

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3,000 people, can you even imagine?

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And that is where we begin with this passage of scripture.

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You've got basically, if scripture bears out the way

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that it shows, you've got about 3,200 people

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who are building a community of faith and believe

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and it says they had all things in common.

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You can't put three people in a restaurant

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and get an order right.

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And you've got 3,200 people who have this baseline faith

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in common, this baseline faith in common.

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Can I tell you something?

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Corporate experiences change us.

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They impact us.

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They leave their mark on us.

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And we find ourselves strongly tied to those people

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who have experienced those things with us, you know,

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this common ground that we find with one another.

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And I was thinking about this.

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It goes on to say that they had all things in common.

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And so they began to sell their properties and pool their funds.

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You know, in the '60s that would have been called a commune.

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But it's not that kind of commune and you cannot.

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But in Israel, it's called the kibbutz.

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In Israel, communities are built and they are built

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on commonality and there are generations

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that will be a part of that.

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It may be 100 people, it may be 1,000 people.

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And they build their community together

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and it nurtures generations.

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You've got great grandparents and grandparents and parents

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and kids and grandchildren.

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They are all nurtured in the kibbutz.

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They are all provided for.

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And in that model, they all take all of their funds.

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Still to this day, they'll take their funds

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and they put them in a pool.

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And everybody is treated equally.

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Your children get the same education that my children get.

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You have the same budget that I have.

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You have the same dignity conferred to you

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that everybody else does.

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And provision is made and everything is in common.

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And I think about, you know, if we have the main thing,

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the main thing, and we have that in common, guys,

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we have such a launch pad.

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We don't have to have the same opinions.

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We don't have to have the same ideas.

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We don't even have to have, you know, we don't have

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to dress alike or look alike or do anything.

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But we can have this common ground,

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this place that we have based our lives,

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this faith that we have based our lives on,

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that gives us the opportunity to build a community unlike

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anything I think that the world has to offer.

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This commonality, this commonality of goals

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and this thing that we get drawn into.

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And I think about, you know, pulling our funds.

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I know a lot of people are exiting society these days

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and they're going to pull their funds.

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And that is not what I'm asking you to do.

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However, I'm thinking, you know, a thousand acres in Montana,

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you know, nice little property to spread out.

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That's not necessarily a bad thing.

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But that is not what I'm asking.

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So all of you guys who are already packing your bags

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and thinking about riding horses with Kevin Costner, that is not,

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that is not what we're talking about.

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But it would be cool.

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Let's just say that.

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But what we do have is a commonality of goal.

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We all, our faith, we stand in this place of faith.

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We believe in the same Jesus.

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We believe in the same God.

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We believe in the Holy Spirit.

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And that changes everything.

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That gives us a place to function from that is rich and powerful.

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And these this commonality lends strength.

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One of the most powerful moments, I believe,

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that I've experienced in this body.

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Howlin and I came here in '92. Was that right?

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And I'm glad one of us can remember stuff.

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We came in 1992 and the Lord has just blessed us here.

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This has been our home.

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There was a moment that happened.

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I don't know how many of you were here when 9/11 took place.

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And as a nation, we went into such a place of grief

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and we went into a place of fear and

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it just shook us.

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But one of the things that I think impacted me so much

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is the way that God can bring beauty from ashes,

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is the way that God can bring something beautiful out of the most

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horrific places and people just started showing up here.

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In honor of Justin, it was an ordinary Tuesday.

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It really was a Tuesday.

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And it was just an ordinary one until it wasn't.

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People just started coming through the doors here.

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We unlocked everything.

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We didn't put out an invitation.

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People just started showing up here, just coming through the doors.

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They came through the the doors that some were weeping.

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Some were afraid.

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Someone in prayer.

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Someone had just to be with family.

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And I can remember that day so clear because we gathered over there

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in the old sanctuary and I just remember holding a friend and her just weeping.

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And I remember just the covering of the Holy Spirit

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and that cementing on the inside of me to go, you know what?

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God has built something here that is for the comfort of his people.

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It's for the encouragement and the nurturing of the body of Christ.

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It is a community.

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It is a family.

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And we talk about healthy family and all of this and we can talk about it.

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But what really is the clarifier is the moment that you need it.

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The moment that you need family and they are there.

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And that's the way we were designed that that corporate experience changed us.

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Pastor Ronnie has always been such a strong proponent.

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One of the one of his great gifts and he has many one of his great gifts

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was nurturing unity in this in this house, covering this house,

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praying that we would be unified in our pursuit of him

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and that we wouldn't let the small things become major things,

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but that the major thing would stay the main thing.

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So we have always valued unity as a church body.

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Why? Why is unity important?

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Why is unity important in your family?

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The word tell the scripture tells us that how good and pleasant it is for believers,

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brothers and sisters, to be dwelling in unity.

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It is as the oil.

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I told Aaron, I almost almost grabbed a bottle of oil there

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and you were almost in trouble.

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And I thought he doesn't have a change of clothes.

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So I probably ought to do that.

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But I'm like the imagery that unity has is oil

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being poured over, it says, over the head of Aaron.

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It drips down into his beard and so that it drips down into his robes

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and it begins to encompass those around.

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That's what unity does in the body of Christ.

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There is a commanded blessing in unity as we walk together.

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It doesn't mean that we all agree on everything.

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It just means we can still walk together

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and there won't be division and there will not be strife because of it.

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That unity also goes on to say it is as the dew of Mount Hermon.

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Mount Hermon is the highest peak in Israel

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and everything about around it, the mountains beneath it

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and the grounds and desert spaces beneath it can be as dry as bone.

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But Mount Hermon has ice caps

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and there is a continual flow, a continual melting

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that nourishes all that is around it.

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That's what unity does in the body of Christ.

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And that's why it has always been so important to this house.

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We want the commanded blessing.

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We want the blessing of the Lord in the house.

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Conversely, on the other side of that, the word tells us that where there is strife,

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every evil work abounds.

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Every evil work abounds.

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We do not do strife here.

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We do everything we can to move away from it, to resolve it,

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to bring peace to the situations because we don't want the door kicked open to the enemy.

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Do you want the door kicked open at your house?

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See, this isn't just about church.

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This is in your home when the enemy tries to come in and sow things

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and create misunderstandings and cause strife in your family.

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Get him out of there. Get him out of there.

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It is literally as if the picture that that passage of scripture paints

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is that it's as if the door gets kicked open

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and all of the minions come in with strife.

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So we will always, always be a unity family.

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We will always be trying to address anything

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that challenges the unity within this household.

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There the Lord commands a blessing.

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You know, Rodney Boyd was one of our gifted teachers

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for a very long time in this house and probably at least 20 years ago.

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I remember him saying he was teaching and he said,

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he said, "Humans," or I'm sorry, "Christians are the only two-legged species

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who eat and devour their wounded."

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I never forgot that.

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Now, I know in the physical that's not true,

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but in the spiritual, man, we can sure tear some people up

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if we think their lives aren't going the way we think they should

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or we can start stirring things up that have nothing to do with us,

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nothing to do with us.

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And God is going, "Can you keep unity?

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Can you respond differently than the world responds

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when somebody is broken, when they're wounded,

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when they're struggling, when they're in sin?

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Can you respond differently as the body of Christ?"

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Because we're supposed to.

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We're supposed to.

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You know, the word tells us there are so many things in the scriptures

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that the Lord tells us, you know, that that he would like us to do.

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He gives us the Ten Commandments and he and he pours out his heart

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in order for us to grab hold of his heart.

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And but one of the things that struck me and impacted me

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and has continued to impact me for so long

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is this passage of scripture.

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Let me pull it up here. Proverbs 6.

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Why do we keep unity in this house?

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Why do we care about the blessing?

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Proverbs 6,

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beginning with verse 16.

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Guys, this is not the list I thought the Lord would give

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because we all form our opinions about the things the Lord accepts

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and likes and doesn't like.

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You know, we all it must be that that must be the worst sin.

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Oh, no, that's the one we want to point out.

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That one can't really.

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And we point to these things that really have nothing to do

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with what the scripture says.

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And this passage of scripture has been a guard to me for so long

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because it says you want to pay attention to this.

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I want to pay attention to this.

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It says these six things the Lord hates.

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These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are repulsive

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or detestable to him.

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Don't you want to know what he hates?

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The very first thing it says is a haughty look.

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The very first thing it says is this haughty look,

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this prideful, arrogant thing, like I don't need anybody but me.

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I mean, I know I've got an erratic eyebrow that looks haughty from time to time.

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But hopefully my heart does not match my eyebrows.

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A haughty look.

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What? What?

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I can't take pride in all of this stuff that I'm not sure you can.

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But you know what?

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We have become such a a a culture of competition.

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It's like we are against one another all of the time when we're supposed to.

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You be the best.

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You win it. Run faster.

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Jump higher. Climb that ladder.

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You be the prettiest. You be the smartest.

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You do this. You get the trophies.

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And all the while God is going.

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You're supposed to be brothers and sisters.

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You are not my competition.

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I am not your competition.

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We are supposed to be walking in tandem with one another as the body of Christ,

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building a community that looks like the community that we will one day

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be a part of if we ever get the opportunity to cross over and stand in his presence.

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We get to model that now.

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A haughty look.

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Pride should not be a part of what we do in this place.

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If it is, there's a problem.

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The second thing it says is that a mouth that lies.

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Pride and liars.

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Tongues that lie.

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It says hands that shed innocent blood.

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And it's not just killing somebody.

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It's destroying somebody.

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That you have no business destroying.

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It says a heart that devises wicked plans.

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A heart that thinks about, "Oh, I think I'm going to go do that.

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Oh, I think I'm just going to tell them this.

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I really think dot dot dot."

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And a heart that devises wicked plans.

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It says feet that are quick to run to things that they shouldn't run to.

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Being in places. Going things.

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And being quick about it.

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Getting to those places that you shouldn't even be.

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Now listen to the last two.

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A false witness who breathes out lies.

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Somebody who talks about others. Who gossips.

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Whom aligns. Whom slanders.

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What? These are all behavioral things, Father.

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We wanted open sins that we could easily mark.

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But what if God just wants to check our hearts?

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What if God just wants to go, "You need to deal with this.

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I need to deal with this because I can fall into these."

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Sometimes we just need to hush.

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But the last thing.

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One who spreads strife among the brethren.

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It says it's detestable to him.

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It is abhorrent to him.

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Why? Because I have three children.

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And I have three children-in-laws.

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And I have eleven grandchildren.

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I want them to love each other.

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I want them to be kind to one another.

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I want them to speak lovingly of one another.

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Even when the other one's not in the room.

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Especially when they...

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That is what I want for my family.

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How much more does God want that for us?

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That we could walk in unity.

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That we could be kind to one another.

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And Kevin's word has struck me the other day when he said,

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"Love is my name protected in your mouth."

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That could render some of us mute for a long time.

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When I used the word "us" I didn't say "you" I said "us."

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Love is your brother's name protected in your mouth.

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Love is your brother's name protected in your mouth.

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Why do we value unity? Because God loves it.

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And because God hates strife.

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So what does authentic Christian community look like?

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In my world, what it looks like is...

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Ten years ago when my mom passed.

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My mom lives two and a half hours away.

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And my sisters didn't...

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When you are a pastor, it is all automatically assumed

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that you are going to be the one to do the service

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regardless of whether you want to do the service or not.

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And that kind of fell to me.

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And it was an honor and a privilege to put that together.

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But on the day of the service,

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I just remember feeling so weighted.

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And so overwhelmed.

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And the place was packed.

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My mom's influence and the blessing of her life

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was evident in the room.

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But they were all people that were her church and all this stuff.

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And I'm standing to the side and I'm thinking about God.

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And I'm thinking, "Lord, you've got to help me.

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You've got to help me."

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And the doors opened in the back.

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And carloads, carloads of people from this house

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had carpooled to get there and to be there and to support.

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And it felt like that dew of Herman.

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It felt the blessing when they walked through the door.

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It felt like I could breathe because my family was there.

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My family was there, but now my family was there.

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And they made the mistake of going, "How can I help you?"

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And I went, "Well, you're speaking.

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And I'm going to need you to lead three or four songs in worship.

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And I'm going to..."

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And man, they did it because they loved us.

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They were instant in season and out of season.

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And they came and they ministered to that body.

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My family ministered to my family.

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Because that's the community God had built.

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My son Matthew got married about four hours away.

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And I thought, "Well, it'll be sweet. I'll have all the..."

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Guys, you showed up.

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I mean, I look out, it's rainy.

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And Anna and Ernie, your eyes are out there wiping down chairs.

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And Pastor Bruce and Jill are helping in the kitchen.

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And I'm like, "God!

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Lord, some of us won't cross the room to hug somebody."

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And I've got people that are driving hours just to be there.

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Guys, we need to be that family.

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That is what God is calling us to.

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I think it is one of the richest things we can do

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is be part of a godly community that shows up.

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That is there for one another.

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And I know many of you have the same testimony.

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We have stood beside graves together.

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We have stood in hospital rooms together.

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We have held noon-born babies together.

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We have experienced the weddings.

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I've done some of your weddings.

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I've been able to be a part of God family.

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God community.

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And that's what He's calling us to.

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I believe we need that.

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We need to be surrounded today, guys.

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We are not called to make this journey alone.

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We're just not called to.

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And I know that there's some going, "Well, I want that,

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and I don't know how to get that."

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Stay.

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Stay.

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Stay.

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Plant deep. Allow the Lord to do something.

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You know, family to me is...

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I have been so blessed.

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Guys, I have been so blessed.

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Hal and I have been able to walk in this community.

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There are people in this...

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I mean, the Meeks, the Kobles, the Berries,

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the Hutchisons, the Gibsons, the Montgomerys,

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the people that we have walked with and done life with.

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This is our kibbutz.

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This is our family.

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This is the strength that we draw from.

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These are the wells that have nourished, nourished my mom,

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nourished my husband and myself,

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that has nourished our kids,

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that has nourished our grandchildren.

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We are a body that can minister to generations

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and love generations.

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And I believe that that is what God is calling us

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as the body of Christ to do.

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Jesus.

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Here's my admonition.

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I'm going to get the worship team.

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I know it's a little bit early.

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But see, God can minister in two words.

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I could have walked up here and said, "Jesus wept,"

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and I would have brought a message.

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It doesn't take Him long.

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But here's the thing.

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If this seems like an unrealistic prospect for you,

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it's not.

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You are here for a reason, and I believe with all of my heart

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that God wants to surround you with family, with community,

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to give you something stable and sure to stand in.

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So this is my admonition.

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Older people in this room, that means everybody older than me.

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I know there's only two of you, but...

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Older people, so into the next generation.

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Don't be afraid of them.

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I know they're scary.

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So into them.

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Pour into those generations.

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Let them know who God is in your life.

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Let them know the things that He has done in your experience.

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Young people, you're not, you don't know it all.

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You don't know it all yet.

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Yet. Yet.

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Glean from those fields.

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Allow people to speak into your life.

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Look friendly when they approach you.

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'Cause we are a bit frightened.

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Glean from those fields.

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Young families, find a church and stay.

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Find a place and stay.

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Plant your roots deep.

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It doesn't have to be Springhouse.

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I would love it if it is.

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You find the church that you are supposed to be a part of and stop running.

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You stay and you plant roots so that your children can have roots

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and your grandchildren can have roots

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and they can have a community that will support them and surround them

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when they go through trials, when they go through difficult places

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and they need somebody to just go, "You're gonna be okay."

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Give them that.

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Give them a place to grow, a place to flourish, a place to be nurtured.

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See, we have all things in common.

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Because we have the most important thing in common.

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We have a Savior who gave all to give us access to the Holy of Holies.

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We have a Savior who died to cleanse us of the sins,

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to heal us of the broken places.

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And part of our role and part of our job as the body of Christ

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is that we would extend those hands when somebody is broken,

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when somebody is struggling, when somebody is having a really hard time.

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Don't leave a gaping wound just standing there.

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Minister the love of God.

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This is our family.

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This is your family.

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It's been our family for more than three decades.

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And I would not trade it for anything.

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For anything.

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God has met me here.

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And God has met you here.

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And it is my prayer.

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I need that book, Anna.

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Are you sitting on it?

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Is there a book there?

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Thank you.

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Could you sign it?

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No kidding.

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I ran across this the other day.

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And I thought, "Lord, this is so true in my life."

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I had a marker in it.

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But obviously Anna has done something with that.

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Talk amongst yourselves.

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It says, and I had just left a service here.

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And I'm just going to read it to you.

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Because it so perfectly encapsulates this body

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and how I feel in this body.

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I just walked in from a wonderful program service at church.

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I think pretty much all of you were there.

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If not, you better start being faithful in your attendance

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because someone has now taken your seat.

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The house was full and the family was in rare form.

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What a wonderful exclamation point.

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As the orchestra struck the first strains

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and the choir began to swell,

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I snuggled into my seat.

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I took a deep breath.

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And I relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever.

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I looked around the shadowed room

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and glimpsed the profiles of many that I hold dear

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and that would include each of you.

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I watched as babies crawled over their weary mothers

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who continued to sing.

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I watched sleeping infants drool on their father's shoulders

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as rich baritone voices filled the air.

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I saw mothers and daughters sitting close together

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and fathers and sons nudging one another

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as if to say, "That's pretty cool."

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In a very manly way.

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The sights and sounds surrounded me

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and it wasn't the ones from the stage,

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though they were wondrous indeed,

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but the ones in the seats around me.

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What I heard was the laughter of hearts

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that were content and full.

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The camaraderie of strangers and friends

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that have slowly and perfectly, without notice,

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turned into family.

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In our midst there was a bustling quiet of peace restored

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and the unspoken gratitude of outcasts

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having finally found their place.

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We were home folk, doing what home folk do.

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We were loving, extending, welcoming, accepting, nourishing,

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and making room for each other.

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And this, I believe, is where the truth can overtake us.

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So today, I say thank you.

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Thank you for allowing me to experience

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a night in the heart of family,

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though my relatives live far away.

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Thank you for scooting over and patting the seat next to you

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and offering me a place close by.

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Thank you for sharing your lives, your laughter,

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your tears, and your joy with me.

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Thank you for showing me how completely blessed I am

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and how generously God lavishes his love on the earth today.

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Thank you for being kind.

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Thank you for being tender-hearted.

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Thank you for being compassionate

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and faithful to one another.

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But most of all, today, I thank you

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that you are a family that always makes room.

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You are a family that makes room for one another.

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We're getting ready to do the song.

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What a coincidence. Make room.

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I'm going to ask our elders

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and those who have been asked to pray

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to come forward.

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And the specific charge today,

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I believe the specific anointing

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in this house today, though you may need prayer for something else,

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there is an anointing for connection.

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There's an anointing for doors to open

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and family to be created.

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If you are someone who's gone, "I don't know how to connect.

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I don't know how to become involved and be a part of this."

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Would you be vulnerable enough

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to come forward and let somebody pray with you?

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Would you come and go, "That's what I want.

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I want to plant deep.

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I want my family to know fellowship.

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I want to be a part of something bigger

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than what I am on my own."

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Would you stand? We're going to sing.

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Father, I'm asking that your Holy Spirit

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would fill this space.

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Father, that we could lay down the walls

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that separate us from one another

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and invite family into the innermost places of our lives.

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Surround us, Father.

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Make us transparent, Father, I ask.

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In Jesus' name. Amen.

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[Music]