Sermon
Being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit pt 2
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. So I want to thank God for this opportunity
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given to me to bring the Word to us. And I also
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want to thank the pastorate for the opportunity
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as well. On Sunday we were looking at being sensitive
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to the leading of the Holy Spirit and today we're
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going to continue in that light. So we looked
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at Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. For
Matthew 28 chapter mention Matthew 28 chapter mention
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verse 18 to 20. So just a quick recap of what
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we did. We looked at that and we said that when
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the gospel is preached, that there is an explanation
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and there is an instruction that follows. We
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said that the leading of the Holy Spirit is The
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leading of the Spirit involves when we hear the
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explanation of the gospel or preaching, and then
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we follow the instructions that follow. So he's
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mindful of the things that he hears, and he wants
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to pay close attention to those things. He's
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very careful about these things. He treasures
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the things that he heard. Praise the Lord. There
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is an alertness that somebody who is growing
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spiritually has. He wants to hear more. He's
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very alert about the things that are around him.
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Praise the Lord. And then we look at John chapter
John 14 chapter mention
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14, where he talks about, In my Father's house
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are many mansions. And we say that he's talking
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about the union of places. He's talking about
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the indwelling of the Father in us. That is,
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Him in us and us in Him. Praise the Lord. And
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we also looked at, The same place that was talking
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about that he would send another comforter. And
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we say that word is alus paracletis, which means
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that the way the Father is indwelling in Christ
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is the same way he's going to be indwelling you.
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The same way that Christ is in the Father, so
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also Christ will be in the inside of you. Praise
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the Lord. And so we saw that Jesus was leading
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his disciples by... preaching and teaching. Jesus
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was leading them to preach and teach the gospel.
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Praise the Lord. We saw that in Matthew, same
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Matthew that we read, 28 verse 20, right? And
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we also saw that he said to them in Matthew chapter
Matthew 10 chapter mention
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10, Matthew chapter 9, towards the ending, that
Matthew 9 chapter mention
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the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are
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few. The thing he said that the Lord of the harvest
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should do, that is, to send laborers, he did
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by sending his disciples into Bethlehem. From
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verse 1. Praise the Lord. So today we're going
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to continue and we're going to be looking at
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being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
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Praise the Lord. Matthew chapter 28, verse 18.
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And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, And
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we say that to teach there, when he says to teach
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or to make disciples, as you saw, I said, go
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and make disciples, right? It means to make a
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student or to train with the intention to educate
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this person. Praise the Lord. So we cannot, he
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doesn't want to assume that everybody know what
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they should do. Praise the Lord. Even as a church,
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we cannot assume that you know how to pray. We
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cannot assume that you know how to... Live the
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way that God intends you to live. So that's why
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discipleship is important. Because he's saying
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to them that he makes them a student. He trains
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them with the intention to educate them. Praise
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the Lord. So we don't assume that people know
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how to do things, that they know how to pray,
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that they know how to live their life. That is
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why even as a church, we don't presume that everything
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should just go the way it is. Just live your
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life the way you want to live it. We practicalize
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all of the things that we say to you. Praise
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the Lord. So if we say that you can pray and
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you will hear God. We will do that for you to
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see, praise the Lord, because that is the way
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you teach a student. That is how you educate
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somebody, right? There's practicality to the
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things that we do, praise the Lord. So when we
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say we pray or go and pray, as pastorates, we
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are not in our houses or we're not in our houses
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just relaxed. We are also praying as we are telling
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you to pray. Or there's a task that we're saying
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do. As a church, we are also doing the same thing.
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Praise the Lord. So when we say, okay, let's
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come for prayer cruise, we come there and we
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demonstrate prayers. Praise the Lord. So when
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somebody say, do you know how to pray? You will
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know you have seen it somewhere and you have
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learnt it somewhere and you know how to pray.
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You know what it means to pray for that long
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or pray for a short period of time because you
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have been trained and educated, because you have
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been a disciple. Praise the Lord. So the teach
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is to make a student, to train. To make somebody
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with the intention to educate them. Praise the
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Lord. Like I said, we don't assume that people
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know how to do it. That's why even, again, as
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pastorate, we want to know exactly, or we want
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to ask you a few questions. How is your life
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going? What is happening here? What is happening
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here? We invite you, or come to our house, or
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let's meet somewhere. And we want to talk about
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these things because we know that for you to
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be able to live the life that God intends you
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to live, you need to be guided. Praise the Lord.
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You need to be guided. You need to receive counsel.
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You need to be discipled. That is what it means
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to make disciples. That's what it means to make
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disciples. For example, of Jesus, when he takes
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his disciples to go and pray, he doesn't just
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tell them to say, Our Father who art in heaven.
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They saw him praying. Praise the Lord. They saw
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him praying. They saw him taking time to pray
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over and over again. And they'll be wondering,
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why do you have to pray for so long? Praise the
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Lord. And last week we saw that if you don't
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know the why of a thing, it will profit you nothing.
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Praise the Lord. So he tells them or he teaches
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them to pray. And in teaching them or in saying,
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come Peter, let's go somewhere. And maybe Peter
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is sleeping as he's praying. He knows that Peter
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is learning something. Praise the Lord. He knows
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that Peter is learning something. Because after
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the resurrection, we'll begin to see some of
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those things manifest. Because these are people
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who have been with Christ. They have been with
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him and they have learned a lot of things. They've
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learned how to live their life. They've also
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learned how to lead. Praise the Lord. They've
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learned how to lead. They have known how to,
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oh, let's do this or let's do that. Praise the
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Lord. When there is hundreds and thousands of
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people, they are not confused about how to lead
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these people because they have seen a blueprint.
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They have seen somebody lead them in the way
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they should go. That is what it means to make
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disciples. So in discipleship, there is practicality
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to it. Praise the Lord. So somebody is telling
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you, have you prayed today? You want to find
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out, are they also praying? Praise the Lord.
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Or are they just telling you that prayer is important?
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What benefit or how have you done your own? As
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you're encouraging me to pray, as you're encouraging
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me to read my Bible, how in your own life, how
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has that been beneficial to you? Have you struggled
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as well? Praise the Lord. So this is a process
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of making... There is practicality to it. And
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Jesus is a good example of what we saw in that
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place. So the things that he said in the four
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Gospels, or the thing that Jesus was saying,
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even as we're from the teaching on Sunday, is
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some of the things he said were post -resurrection
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realities. Praise the Lord. Some of the things
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he's saying were post -resurrection realities.
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So when he said, I pray the Father. We saw that
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he's saying that because of the things I will
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do, because of the fact that I will die, I will
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be buried and I will be raised up, I pray the
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Father. I make a request on your behalf. Praise
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chapter 1 from verse 1 to 14. In the beginning
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was the Word, the Word was with God, and the
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Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
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All things were made through him, and without
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him nothing was made. Nothing was made that was
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made. In him was life, and the life was the life
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of men. And the light shines in darkness, and
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darkness did not comprehend it. There is a man
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sent from God, whose name was John. This man
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came for a witness, to bear witness of the light,
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that all things through him, that all through
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him my belief. He was not a light. but he was
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sent to bear witness of the light. That was the
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true light which gave light to every man. Sorry,
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he was not the light, but you're sent to bear
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witness of the light. That was the true light
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which bears light to every man coming into the
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world. He was in the world and the world was
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made through him and the world did not know him.
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He came to his own and his own did not receive
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him. But as many as receive him, to him he gave
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the right to become children of God, to those
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who believe in his name, who were born not of
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blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
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will of man, but of God. The Word became flesh
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and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,
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the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
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full of grace and truth. Praise the Lord. Full
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of grace and of truth. So John is saying to us
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that the Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled
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in the Incarnation. Praise the Lord. The Old
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Testament prophecies have been fulfilled in the
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Incarnation. The things that have been prophesied
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about the Christ, or the things that have been
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prophesied about what God is going to be doing,
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they have come to fulfillment. The prophecies
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of the Old Testament have come to fulfillment
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in the Incarnation. Praise the Lord. The Christ
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is here. So when he says, in the beginning was
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the Word, as we know, that Word is the Word Logos,
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right? That is the Logos in which, sorry, in
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the prophet, right? And that Logos became flesh.
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The things that the prophet have said for thousands
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of years have come to materialize in the incarnation
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of the Christ. Praise the Lord. So that's what
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John is saying to us in John chapter 1, from
John 1 chapter mention
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verse 1 to 14. In verse 14, he tells us that
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the Word became flesh. He became flesh. So if
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you look at what Jesus did in the four Gospels,
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you will come to this conclusion that the things
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that have been prophesied have come to fulfillment
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in the Incarnation. Praise the Lord. So Jesus
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is God's plan and purpose for humanity. He's
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not just an addition to the world or to the things
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that God has in plan or the plans of God. He's
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not just an addition. He's the God's plan and
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purposes for humanity. This is God's idea to
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humanity. He's not just an addition or an alternative
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to the plans of God. He's the fulfillment of
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the things that God desired in humanity. Praise
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the Lord. He's a fulfillment of what God desires
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in humanity. He's the explanation of everything.
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Praise the Lord. In verse 18 now. He says, no
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one has seen God at any time. The only begotten,
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the only begotten, the only begotten of... Praise
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the Lord. So Christ has declared him. He's the
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explanation of everything. So this word declared
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him is the word... G -E -O -M -A -I. He's a word
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to share in experience or to share your experience.
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Praise the Lord. He's a word to share your experience.
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So God, Jesus is the experience of God. Praise
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the Lord. He said because he declared him. He's
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God's, he's the Father's manifest. He explained
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God to us. Praise the Lord. It's this word that
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he explains God to us. We understand God through
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him. Because remember, we were reading last week,
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and he tells us that if you see him, you have
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seen the Father. Praise the Lord. He's the explanation
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of the Father. And then this word bosom is the
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word kaupos. K -O -L -P -O -S. So he's not...
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You know, bosom is, I looked at it, is the top
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part of your chest. Right? So, it's an idiom.
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It's not that Christ is the top part of God's
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chest. Okay? So, it's not what he's saying. Right?
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When he says that, the second part of that, verse
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18 says, who is in the bosom of the Father, he
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has declared him. He's not saying that Christ
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is in the chest of God and he's declaring him.
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Praise the Lord. It's an idiom and it means an
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inseparable union. Praise the Lord. And it's
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the same theme of what we have been seeing or
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what we have been studying, that God is in him
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and he is in God. If you have seen him, you have
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seen the Father. Praise the Lord. He's in the
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bosom of the Father. It means an inseparable
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union. Praise the Lord. So Christ is in insuperable
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union with God and he has declared a father.
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He's the explanation of the father. He's the
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experience of the father. Praise the Lord. So
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he declared a father, right? So that's why we
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can see that they were using things like pronoun
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at the end of that. He said, who is in the bosom
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of the father? He said he has declared him. Praise
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the Lord. He has declared him there. John chapter
John 10 chapter mention
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1 to 5 Most assuredly I say to you, he who does
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not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs
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up some other way, the same is a thief, and a
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robber. For he who enters by the door is the
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shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper
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opens, and the sheep hears his voice. He calls
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on his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.
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And when he brings them out, when he brings out
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his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep
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follow him, for they know his voice. Praise the
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Lord. Verse 5 now said, Yet they will not by
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any means follow a stranger, but they will flee
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from him, for they do not know the voice of a
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stranger. Praise the Lord. For they do not know
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the voice of a stranger. So in verse 3, he tells
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us that the sheep, he said, knows his voice.
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In verse 4, he tells us that For they know His
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voice. They know His voice. They know the voice
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of the Father. Praise the Lord. Whose voice do
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they know? They know the voice of the Father.
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They know Him. They know His voice. So one fundamental
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thing about the believer, or you can say two
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fundamental things about the believer, is that
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one, the believer has the Spirit of God in the
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inside of them. The believer has the Spirit of
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God in the inside of them. Secondly, the believer
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has the ability to know when God is speaking.
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Let me say that again. Fundamental fact about
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a believer, or fundamental fact about you, you
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have the Spirit of God in the inside of you.
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Secondly, you know when God is speaking. Praise
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the Lord. And again, it means that you don't
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need to pray to have this ability. The believer
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has the Spirit of God in the inside of them.
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Secondly, they have the ability to know when
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God is speaking. Thirdly, they don't need to
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pray for that ability that they have. Praise
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the Lord. Now, the believer may be ignorant of
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this fact. Praise the Lord. The believer may
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be ignorant of this fact that they have the ability
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to know when God is speaking or to hear the voice
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of God. Right? Or they might ignore the voice
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of God. But it's not the absence of it. Do you
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understand? The fundamental thing about us is
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that we have the Spirit of God in the inside
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of us. We have the ability to know when God is
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speaking to us. We don't need to pray for this
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ability. We may ignore it or may be ignorant
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of it. But it doesn't mean that there is an absence
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of it. It doesn't mean there is an absence of
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this ability. Praise the Lord. Because the human
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spirit, the born -again human spirit recognizes
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the truth. They know what truth is. As a believer,
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you know what truth is. Your spirit is able to
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recognize truth. It can relate with truth. Praise
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the Lord. It can relate with truth. So when you
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find people arguing about what is truth, right,
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you need to pray for them. Praise the Lord. You
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need to pray for them. So you can also say that,
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oh, I made a mistake. You can say I made a mistake.
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It is also true that there has been warning and
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sign by the Spirit of God concerning that mistake.
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Praise the Lord. So you can say, I made a mistake,
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or you cannot say, I made a mistake, right? But
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one thing that you cannot say is that you did
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not receive warning or signs to tell you that,
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oh, that is the wrong direction. Oh, don't do
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that. Or you find conflict with the inside of
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you about the things that you want to do. Like
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I said, you may ignore it. Or maybe ignorant
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of it. But you would receive warning because
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you have the Spirit of God in the inside of you.
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Praise the Lord. They know His voice. They know
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His voice. They know His voice. And what is this
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talking about? From verse 7 to 10, he's talking
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about salvation. But we'll get to that. They
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know his voice. Because the reason why you know
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or why you receive this warning and you know
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the voice of God is because you are born again.
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You are born again. Why? Verse 4 of John chapter
John 10 chapter mention
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10. He said, and when he brings out his own sheep,
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He goes before them and the sheep follows for
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they know his voice. Praise the Lord. He said
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when he brings out his own sheep, right? He goes
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before the sheep. He goes in front of it to tell
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you, oh, this is the way you should go. This
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is what you should be doing. Oh, don't go that
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way. He goes before them because he doesn't,
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he's not a shepherd that is behind. Praise the
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Lord. He's not a shepherd that is behind the
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sheep. He's always in front of the sheep and
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he's telling them this direction. Oh no, let's
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go this direction. This is the way you should
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go. They follow him. Praise the Lord. And they
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say they know his voice. That is the reason why
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you cannot say, or you can also say, but the
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thing you cannot deny is that there has been
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warning along the line or signs along the line,
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suggesting to you that that part is a good part
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or suggesting to you that that part is not a
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good part. Praise the Lord. Because you are born
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again. He goes before them. And what does he
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do before them? He directs them. He instructs
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them. He guides them. He tells them, go this
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way. Don't go that way. So you might be learning
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the things that he's telling you. You might be
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learning the things that you're just learning
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that, oh, that is wrong. Oh, that is wrong. You
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might be in that process of learning. But he
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shows you what you should do. Sometimes you ignore
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them. Sometimes you don't listen to them. Praise
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the Lord. In verse 7 to 10. So then Jesus said
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to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I
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am the door of the sheep. All who come, all who
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came, whoever came before me are thieves and
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robbers. But the sheep do not hear them. Verse
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10. Praise the Lord. So this is telling us about
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salvation. Praise the Lord. It's telling us about
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salvation. Right? Let's go back again. In verse
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3 and verse 4 and verse 16 tells us that, in
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verse 3 he says, they hear his voice. In verse
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4, he tells us that they know his voice. In verse
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16, he tells us that, and the other sheep that
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I have, which are not of this food, them also
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I must bring. They will hear my voice and will
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be, and they will be. One flock and one shepherd.
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Praise the Lord. He said, they will hear my voice.
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They will hear my voice. Praise the Lord. They
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will hear my voice. So when he says they will
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hear my voice, he's also suggesting to us or
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telling us as well that these are post -resurrection
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experience. Praise the Lord. There are others
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that will come after the resurrection into this
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fold. He's talking about salvation. Praise the
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Lord. They hear his voice. They know his voice.
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They will hear his voice. It's the word phoneme.
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Right? Like phone. It's spelled phone. Right?
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But it's pronounced phoneme. Right? Phone as
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P -H -O -N -E. That is the word voice. Right?
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It's a word funny. It's pronounced funny. It's
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not, it's not just, it does not just mean sound
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or voice. Okay? It's much more deeper than that.
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It, it means or is used for dialect. Right? It
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is used for dialect in this place. It is used
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for dialect. It means that they know his language.
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Praise the Lord. It means that they know his
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language. They know his voice. So, like I said,
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when he says that they will not hear somebody
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else or they will not follow somebody else, he's
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saying that they know his language. He's not
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just saying that a shepherd will just come and
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say, hey, let's start going. Right? A shepherd
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will come and will speak their language. Praise
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the Lord. He said they will hear his voice. It
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means that they know there's a language that
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he speaks to them. Praise the Lord. There is
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the language of the Spirit, the things that they
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understand. Praise the Lord. They know His voice.
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They know His language. There is a language that
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they understand. They are aware of this language.
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The strangest language they will not follow.
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Praise the Lord. Because already they will see
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it as a red flag. Oh, something is wrong there.
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That's not what we speak. Praise the Lord. That's
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why when I say to you that you cannot see or...
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You can say, but you can never deny that you
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don't understand the language of the Spirit.
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Praise the Lord. You might ignore it or might
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not take it as important, but it's speaking to
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you because you have the Spirit of God in the
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inside of you. A stranger's voice, a stranger's
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language, they will not follow. Praise the Lord.
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So, you look at it as not just, oh, when you
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look at it literally, you say like, okay, how
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would they differentiate? His voice. He now tells
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us what we are seeing is that there is a language
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that he speaks to them. Or there is a language
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that they understand. So there is no confusion
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about whether it is God who is saying or the
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devil who is saying it. Praise the Lord. Or it
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is God who is saying it or a stranger who is
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saying it. Hallelujah. They know his voice. Verse
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9. Verse 9 and 10 tells us that, he said, I'm
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the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be
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saved. And he says, and will go in and out and
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find pasture. And verse 10 says, that the thief
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does not come except to steal, to kill, and to
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destroy. But I've come that they may have life
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and that they may have it more abundantly. They
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will go out, they will come in, and they will
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find pasture. So the more abundantly in verse
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10, he said that they may have it more abundantly.
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Or abundantly in verse 10, he's talking about
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that they will have abundance of pasture. What
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is he saying in verse 9? Praise the Lord. What
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is he saying in verse 9? They will have the abundantly
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of verse 10 is the pasture. He's not talking
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about cars. He's not talking about houses. He's
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not talking about mansions. He's not talking
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about businesses. Praise the Lord. Abundantly.
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So abundantly is the word periosis. P -E -R -I
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-S -S. P -E -R -I -S -S -O -S. Which means that
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what I'm doing now, or what I'm doing, or what
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I'm doing is to give you more abundantly, or
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what I'm doing will make you more abundant. Praise
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the Lord. It means what I'm doing will give you
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or will make you more abundant. What I'm doing
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will make you more abundant. You will have abundance
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of pasture. Praise the Lord. You will have abundance
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of pasture. So like I said earlier, some of the
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things that he says are post -resurrection experience.
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We see in verse 11. Right? In verse 11. He says,
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I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives
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his life for the sheep. Praise the Lord. Speaking
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of sacrifice, right? Speaking of sacrifice, some
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of the things that he's saying are not available
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at the moment. We saw that in verse 16. He said,
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they will hear my voice. Praise the Lord. Some
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of the things he's saying are post -resurrection
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experience. They will know my voice, verse 3.
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Verse 4, they will know my voice. He said, for
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they will know my voice. Praise the Lord. So,
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direction, or to get direction, is a new... It's
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a reality of the new creation. Praise the Lord.
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To get direction is a new creation reality. Praise
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the Lord. It is. To get direction is the things
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that come with being born again. It is not a
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mystery. You can explain it. Praise the Lord.
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Why can you explain it? Because you know His
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voice. Praise the Lord. You know His voice. Verse
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11 and 15. He said, I'm the good shepherd. The
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good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. In
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verse 15 now says, As the Father knows me, even
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so I know the Father, and I lay my life for the
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sheep. Praise the Lord. I lay my life for the
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sheep. He said, He gives His life. What life
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is He giving? Right? What life is he going to
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give? He said the life in the resurrection. The
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life in the resurrection. He laid down his life
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for the sheep. The life he's giving is the life
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in resurrection, which means that Jesus is reproduced
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in us. Praise the Lord, in resurrection. Jesus
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is reproduced in us. This life is available in
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resurrection. Praise the Lord. This life is available
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in resurrection. So that's what he says to go
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and preach. Go and preach. Go and make disciples
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of every nation. Go and make disciples of every
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nation. There is a life in resurrection. There
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is a new reality in resurrection. Praise the
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Lord. There is a new reality in resurrection.
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This life is available in resurrection. John
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chapter 8, verse 12. Then Jesus spoke to them
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again, saying, I am the light of the world. He
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who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but
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have the light of life. Praise the Lord. Jesus
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spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of
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the world. He who follows me shall not walk in
-
darkness, but have the light of life. Praise
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the Lord. So the follower or the believer does
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not walk in darkness. Praise the Lord. The believer
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does not walk in darkness. Why? Because he has
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the light of life. Praise the Lord. He does not
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walk in darkness. There is direction for his
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life. He hears the Father's voice. Praise the
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Lord. He hears the Father's voice because he
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has the life of God. He does not walk in darkness.
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Praise the Lord. Can somebody say, I have the
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light of life. I have the light of life. I know
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the voice of the good shepherd. I know the voice
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of the good shepherd. The voice of a stranger
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I will not follow. Praise the Lord. So he says
-
to them that they have the light of life. They
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know the voice of the good shepherd. They understand
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the dialect of the good shepherd. The voice of
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the stranger they will not follow. Praise the
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Lord. So whenever you are confused or on the
-
crossroad, or you need to speak to yourself as
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often as you can, That I have the light of life.
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I know the voice of a good shepherd. I don't
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follow everything. Praise the Lord. I don't follow
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every trend. I'm not taught by somebody else.
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I know the voice of the good shepherd. Praise
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the Lord. I don't follow the voices of my generation.
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I don't follow the voices that draw men away
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from God. I don't follow the voices that trend.
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Praise the Lord. I hear the voice of a good shepherd.
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I hear the voice of the good shepherd. I have
-
the light of life. Praise the Lord. It means
-
that there is no darkness. I cannot be confused.
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Praise the Lord. I have direction in my life.
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Praise the Lord. So you need to train yourself
-
to speak the abilities of God. Not the many things
-
that are not going right in your life. Speak
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the abilities of God in your life. Praise the
-
Lord. Speak the abilities of God in your life.
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Not the negative things around you. Not the inabilities
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around you. Not the things that are not working.
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Rather, the abilities of God in your life. Why?
-
Because you have the Spirit of God in the inside
-
of you. And you know the voice of the Father.
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You understand His dialect. Praise the Lord.
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You understand His dialect. So how do you know?
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That you know the voice of the good shepherd.
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Because you are born again. That is how you know.
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That is how you know. Praise the Lord. So last
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Sunday we said that how do you know that God
-
is leading you? You know that he is leading you
-
because it is for his sake, not your sake. Praise
-
the Lord. So you know the voice of the good shepherd
-
because you are born again. That is how you know.
-
Praise the Lord. So if you don't know the voice
-
of the good shepherd, you will not be born again.
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Because it is the same voice that convinced you
-
about the Christ. Praise the Lord. It is the
-
same voice that convinced you about the Christ.
-
It is that voice that you recognize at salvation.
-
When somebody preached the gospel to you, when
-
somebody shared the word to you, that voice,
-
you recognized it. Praise the Lord. So if you
-
recognize the voice of God in salvation, or you
-
recognize the voice of God in the gospel that
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was preached to you, it means that you know the
-
voice of God. Praise the Lord. So that is how
-
you know. So I'm not saying something that is,
-
okay, say an affirmation. Sorry. I'm not saying
-
something like, you know, they tell you, they
-
call it a make -believe. Say something. Say something
-
until you believe it. Just keep saying it. Keep
-
saying it. That's what I'm doing. Okay? It's
-
not like that. You know because you recognize
-
the voice of God at salvation. Because when the
-
gospel was shared to you, you found out. You
-
can hear the voice of God in the message that
-
is being preached. God was speaking to you. The
-
person was saying something, but you were hearing
-
something else. You were able to detect the dialect
-
of God in the message that was preached to you.
-
Praise the Lord. That is how you know. It is
-
not a make -believe. It's not say it until you
-
believe it. Praise the Lord. It's an affirmation
-
of your reality, of the realities of your faith.
-
So when you say, I know the voice of God, it
-
is the affirmation of your reality. You are saying
-
what you have. You are saying what you have.
-
You're not trying to say it until you believe
-
it. You're not lying to yourself. Praise the
-
Lord. You're not lying to yourself. You are affirming
-
what you... Have already the realities of your
-
faith. When you say, I know the voice of the
-
good shepherd. Why? Because you're the sheep
-
of his pasture. Praise the Lord. You say you
-
know the voice of the good shepherd. Why? Because
-
you're the sheep of his pasture. You're not a
-
stranger. You are among the indwellers. Praise
-
the Lord. You are among the people that are united
-
in the place. Praise the Lord. You are in him
-
and him in you. Hallelujah. You know his voice.
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13 to 17. For if you live according to the flesh,
-
you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to
-
death the deeds of the body, you will live. For
-
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these
-
are the sons of God. For you do not receive the
-
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have
-
received the spirit of adoption by which we cry
-
out, Abba, Father. Praise the Lord. That we may
-
also be glorified together. In verse 14, he says
-
what? For as many as are led by the Spirit of
-
God, he's talking about salvation. As many as
-
are led by the Spirit of God, he's talking about
-
salvation. In verse 15, he tells us that, For
-
you do not receive the Spirit of bondage again
-
to fear, but you have received the Spirit of
-
adoption, by whom you cry out, Abba, Father.
-
Praise the Lord. So when he says, When we say
-
we cry Abba Father, it's also another idiom,
-
right? He's not saying that, you know, we just
-
say Abba Father, Abba Father, Abba Father. That's
-
not what he's saying. When he says by which we
-
cry Abba Father, right? We're not shouting Abba
-
Father, Abba Father. Do you understand? Maybe
-
you expect something to happen. Praise the Lord.
-
But what he's saying there is what? He shows
-
relationship. By which we cry out, Abba, Father,
-
it simply means that we have relationship to
-
God or we have relationship with God. It shows
-
relationship that we are dear to God. Praise
-
the Lord. So when you say, Abba, Father, it shows
-
relationship that you are dear to God, our Father.
-
In verse 16 tells us, He said, For the Spirit
-
himself bear witness with our spirits that we
-
are children. The Spirit bears witness with our
-
spirit that we are children of God. Bears witness
-
is the word somatoro, right? Is S -Y -M -A -R
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-T -Y -R -E -O. So it means to bear joint witness.
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Praise the Lord. Two people saying the same thing.
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Right? Your witness is the same. What Pastor
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Custin is saying and what Mr. Gabriel is saying
-
is they are talking about the same thing. They
-
are bearing witness of the same fact. It's a
-
joint witness. Two things saying the same thing.
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Two things as one. Praise the Lord. Meaning that
-
we are in union with God. He said, for the Spirit
-
bears witness with our spirit that we are children
-
of God. Praise the Lord. That we're children
-
of God. He's saying that we're in union with
-
God. We are in union with God. Praise the Lord.
-
Can somebody say, I'm in union with God? I am
-
in union with God in Christ Jesus. I'm in union
-
with God in Christ Jesus. It is a realm of knowledge.
-
And absolute knowledge. Praise the Lord. So you
-
know the Father. You know the Father's will.
-
Praise the Lord. You are in union with the Father.
-
What does that mean? You know the Father. You
-
know what the Father is saying. You know His
-
desires. Praise the Lord. You know the Father's
-
will. You know what His plans are. You know what
-
His purposes are. And you walk in it. Praise
-
the Lord. You are an absolute light, right? You
-
are an absolute direction. There is no shadow
-
in your life. There is no shadow in this realm
-
of life that we have in God. Praise the Lord.
-
There is no shadow in this realm of God that
-
we have. Hallelujah. So when the gospel is preached,
-
right, by us, it's to the unsaved. We preach
-
the gospel to the unsaved. But we also live the
-
gospel. Praise the Lord. But we also live the
-
gospel. Our life shows the gospel. We also speak
-
the gospel. Praise the Lord. We speak it to ourselves.
-
Praise the Lord. We speak it to ourselves. How
-
do we speak it to ourselves? You see, I know
-
the voice of the good shepherd. Praise the Lord.
-
I know the voice of the good shepherd. I have
-
direction, absolute direction. I have the light
-
of life. Praise the Lord. So the fact of the
-
gospel must form the way that we live our life.
-
Praise the Lord. It must form the way that we
-
live our lives. It must form our conversation.
-
It must form the lifestyle that we live. Praise
-
the Lord. The fact of the gospel must affect
-
every area of your life. Why? Because you have
-
the Spirit of God in the inside of you. The realities
-
are available now. Praise the Lord. It is no
-
longer that it is at resurrection. Praise the
-
Lord. It is an available reality to you right
-
now. That you have absolute direction. That you
-
don't live your life by chance. Praise the Lord.
-
You don't live your life by chance. You will
-
not say, if it works, we'll do it. You will not
-
say it will do what it will do. Praise the Lord.
-
You don't live your life by chance. You know
-
the voice of the Father. You know the voice of
-
the Father because you are born again. You know
-
the voice of the Father because you are born
-
again. You know the voice of the Father because
-
you are born again. It is a voice that you listen
-
to, like I said earlier, that convinced you about
-
Jesus. It is a voice that you had as salvation
-
that convinced you about Jesus. So it is not
-
normal for us as believers to say we do not hear
-
God. Hallelujah. Or we are not sensitive to the
-
leading of God. We are not sensitive to the leading
-
of God. Even before Catholicism is still far,
-
a lot of things have been coming. Praise the
-
Lord. And if I ask a couple of us, you will tell
-
us what you have seen or what you have had or
-
what God will do. Praise the Lord. Because you
-
have the Spirit of God in the inside of you.
-
Praise the Lord. You will perceive warnings for
-
people. You will perceive direction for people.
-
You will perceive the things that people should
-
do. Praise the Lord. So it's not normal for you
-
to say that you don't hear the voice of the Father.
-
You are not sensitive to the leading of the Holy
-
Spirit. Why? Because if you're a believer, it
-
is the same voice that helped you or led you
-
or made you believe the gospel. Praise the Lord.
-
So you should not be happy that you don't hear,
-
that you're not sensitive. You don't know what
-
God is saying per time, per season. Praise the
-
Lord. Or if you are, stop ignoring it. Don't
-
say, what would they tell you? What would they
-
say? Praise the Lord. One of the words of vision
-
that came because of the cataclysmos and this
-
church that we are having is because it is that
-
people will begin to look, right? There's a vision.
-
that we receive, that people of the outside,
-
people that cover their hair, they are looking.
-
They are sitting and looking. So what are they
-
doing? They are interested in the things that
-
are doing because this church, the Lord has been
-
leading it. Praise the Lord. As a result of the
-
cataclysm, there are people who are sitting somewhere
-
looking and looking. What are they doing? Why
-
are they in school from Monday to Friday or Saturday?
-
There are people that are looking, and that is
-
what God is saying He's going to be doing in
-
this season. He's going to draw men to this place.
-
Why? Because we are obedient to the voice of
-
the Father. Praise the Lord. We are obedient
-
to the voice of the Father. So you can never
-
say, I've not had it. Praise the Lord. That is
-
not a true statement. That is not a true statement.
-
Why? Because He abides in the inside of you.
-
Praise the Lord. He abides in the inside of you.
-
You have no option but to hear him. So mixing
-
up your life with many, many things or the things
-
that do not please God, you're just delaying
-
or refusing the hearers. Praise the Lord. But
-
he's telling you, oh, that place, don't go there.
-
Oh, that person, don't do this. Oh, that, don't
-
do this. But you sometimes ignore it. Praise
-
the Lord. So you cannot say that you do not hear
-
God because he has been speaking. He has convinced
-
you about Jesus. He has convinced you about the
-
things of the gospel. Praise the Lord. Can we
-
just bow our heads and just begin to pray? And
-
just ask God to help us to be sensitive to the
-
leading of the Spirit. We appreciate you being
-
here today. We hope you carry this word with
-
you throughout your week. Don't forget to check
-
the show notes for additional insights. Stay
-
connected with us through our website or follow
-
us on social media. If you are encouraged, share
-
this message with someone you care about. Until
-
next time, stay blessed.