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Number two fifty eight. Go tell it on the mountain.
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Yeah, let's let's start worshiping, Alright. Go tell it on the mountain over the hills and tell it on the mountains over the hills and everywhere go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ mountain that Jesus Christ is Amen.
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I hear a little bit of go tell it on the mountains around here since we got mountains all around us.
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That's right.
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Pretty good. Angels from the Realms of Glory. Hymn number two fifty nine.
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The new born
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Y'all can have a seat. I have a a few announcements. Remember, next Sunday, next Sunday is December 10. It's our combined service, Christmas play, the spirit of Christmas will be happening next Sunday, one hour earlier than this service, okay? 10:00 in the morning, not 11:00 in the morning.
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If you get here when you got here, you're going to be late. Okay? 10:00 next Sunday and there's a dress rehearsal that's coming up from one to four this Saturday for all the actors and musicians. Finishing touches and that sort of thing are going on next Saturday, one to four right here in this room. And then the Christmas play will be at ten.
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Also, the same day, December 10, join us at 04:30 for caroling around town. We'll start right out here in this area and then we'll go around town several different floats probably, a couple of different vehicles. We may go to the living center and spread the joy of Christmas in song all around from 04:30 till about six. We'll come back here. And then we need your chili.
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We have the Buzzard Breath Chili Cook Off that happens each year this time of year. So we need your chili. Prizes will be awarded for the best and for the spiciest chili. So that's next Sunday, 10:00 in the morning, 04:30, and then six for the chili cookout. The angel tree is happening again this year and Tanya has put up a lot of tags out there.
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Tags hanging from the little mounts but it's a cardboard thing. Tanya has some right there. Would you wave, Tanya? Hey, hey. There are some tags back there and you all know how this works.
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This church has always been very generous in the past. Tanya helps to administrate this for turning point and for several different other ministries and needy families in town. We Tanya goes through the process of drawing everything out and making sure on a tag that these things get up on the tree and then we will figure out, get them so that they get to the right people at the right time. If you could have those back here wrapped by December 20, bring em all in together and then we will. Or before.
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Yeah, that wouldn't hurt anything for him to arrive early. Alright. So, that's the Angel Tree. Ladies, there's a Christmas luncheon that is coming up. All you need is love and his name is Jesus.
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Ladies Christmas lunch. It's happening Wednesday, December 13 at Snow King's Grand Ballroom and you can RSVP to Nancy Erwin. She has been out of town for a while but she does still have Email and she does check it. If you've Emailed her already, she knows you're coming. You don't have to check-in and make sure again.
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But if you haven't talked to her, please do. There are upwards of two fifty something people already signed up, so seats go on this thing. Please do call her and what they need is not so much your name as your number so that we can have enough places set up for you. Childcare volunteers are still needed for Christmas Eve services but only for the second one. We have plenty of folks for the 04:30 but we need people still for the six.
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If you could do that, would you please contact Bailey? And she would be delighted to finish this early with having enough people. We don't like to be scrambling for it. Monday nights at First B is happening just like it says, Monday nights. 06:00, meal music, and a message down in the fellowship hall and tomorrow is the first Monday night of the month of December.
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So, on the first Monday night, we do potluck night. So, please, if you want to attend, bring something with you, a side dish or a dessert would be great and we'll get together. Same time that Awana happens in this room that Monday nights at First B are going on down there. So, I want a kids program here at six also. For any other announcements, you can always check-in with your weekly bulletin that is so faithfully folded by Jean and Jo and whoever happens to be accompanying them that Friday but we have paper bulletin so you can keep up with what's going on and now, I'm going to invite Bob and Judy to come forward if they would.
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We are in the first Sunday of Advent and he's got a reading and some an explanation.
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Are we live? Yeah, we are live. Okay. Judy and I are thankful for the privilege that we have participated in the special ceremony, the ceremony of of purple candle lighting of hope. Just as pastor Ray finds it necessary to explain the New Testament biblical idea translated as hope every time he encounters it.
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I too am compelled to deal with it this morning. Oh, yeah. Look. Certainly I'm loud enough to hear. Not not loud enough
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to Okay.
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Okay. Okay. Sorry. So what does this word mean, and what does, what is the... What is this word and what does this word mean?
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In the twenty first century, hope has taken a different meaning from when the King James version was translated at the beginning of the seventh seventeenth century. For example, I might say I hope that LSU wins the National Football Championship or I'm... I was hopeful that we were able to light that candle. I guess we had trouble this morning. I think we all agree that this line of thinking is clearly not what the candle is about.
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So what does it represent? To find out, we have to go to the New Testament Greek word for hope, which is LPs. LPs appears 54 times translated 53 times as hope and one time as faith. Now I'm not a Bible scholar, so I have to rely on information from the concordances to kind of make this definition for me. I use Strong's and Thayer's so I can get some sort of idea of what these definitions are.
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And I see when I study these definitions that the we see that expectation is the prevailing word of choice. In both of my lame examples, expectation was not in view. But before we go further, we must consider the relation... Another word relationship and that's the relationship between faith and hope or expectation. In Hebrews eleven one, we find the simple statement, faith is the substance of hope or expectation.
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Faith, the Greek word is pistis. It appears 244 times in the in the New Testament and is faithfully translated as faith 239 times. And Strong's general definition is precise. To have faith in something means that we have faith in an object of faith. The something is the object of the faith.
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And to have faith in something is to be convicted, persuaded of the truth that rep... That, represents that something or the truth of that something. In our scripture below, Romans fifteen thirteen, this something is identified as the God of hope or expectation. The context of Romans 15 verses leading up to verse 13 allows us to identify the God of hope or expectation as the Lord Jesus Christ. From scripture, we know him as the creator sustainer of all things in heavens and on the earth.
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We know him as the brilliance of the glory and the exact image of Godhead. Here, we can focus on his attributes, specifically the attribute of his truthfulness, of his absolute perfect veracity. We know him also as the redeemer who died on the cross as the righteous payment for our unrighteousness. And we know him as the one in whom we lead trust. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the substance, the essence, the elemental composition.
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I like that. Or the foundation of our hope and expectation. So since the foundation of our hope and expectation is the perfect veracity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we're free to redefine this Hebrew word of peace as absolute certain... Certainly certainty and absolute certainty because he is the Lord God. So just as we have exposure to raise RMD translations, you have exposure this morning.
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At this time, Judy and I invite you to join us in the Wales version of the first Sunday of Advent.
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Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We light the first candle, the candle of absolute certainty. We have absolute certainty because of the faithful promise of God. He sent his son, and we receive our savior through faith in all that he is, a savior born to redeem the world from sin and death. Romans fifteen thirteen says, may the God of absolute certainty, our Lord Jesus Christ, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with absolute certainty by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Thank you. You both. Would you all stand actually and greet one another and we'll bring you back together. Thank you, Bob and Judy for taking that on. Amen.
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It's worshipful. Worshipful.
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Taste of that song. Just a worshipful taste. Number two sixty.
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Worthy you are worthy. Number two sixty.
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You the frontline team to come forward.
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Just want to, would y'all pray with me and give God thanks? God, thank you for this. As well, as I get to December, I can't help but look back on the year. I thank you for the good that you have done. The mighty deeds lord that you have done, the saving grace that you have extended and God, the provision that you've made for this church family and for each one of us as individuals, lord.
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We have seen sickness, some of us have experienced a death of one of our closest friends. Some of us have experienced, lord, difficulty but God, throughout all of that difficulty, we see your provision and your goodness. I thank you lord for all that you have done in the life of this church during this year and I pray lord that you would use this church to bless others in this community and beyond all the way to the ends of the earth. So, we come to the time in the service right now, lord, where we give back. What we are saying is that we trust you.
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Lord, we trust you to do your will and your way through this body. So, God, would you bless, gift, and giver and would you direct the hearts of the people right now? As you have provided, lord, freely, freely, would you allow us? Lord, the privilege of freely, freely giving. In Jesus name, we ask your blessing and multiply these gifts to do your kingdom's work and advance the gospel.
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Amen. Carl, what are you doing? Special music? Thank you. Good.
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Then it's my turn. Alright. Here we go. Just making sure. We're up to Philippians two and I know that it's Christmas but this is a great Christmas passage right here.
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Philippians two one through 11. We're kind of leading into this this season but I wanted to go through it. You know, this is where we are in our chronological study. So, you can be guaranteed. Most weeks, this is the way it's going to be.
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I will go off of the study a bit for the message on the twenty fourth on Christmas. I'll do a Christmas message and then we'll come back to it on the thirty first but this is my favorite passage in the New Testament and I've said in a lot of different places, I say, oh, this is one of my favorites. This is one of my favorites. This one is my favorite. God used this passage in my life when I was about 18 or 19 years old and when I finally got this, Christianity made sense.
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Finally, I've been in church my whole life. I knew the good little boys do this and don't do that. I got that but this passage made a bigger difference probably than any other. I think in my Christian walk, I think and it is my favorite. Before I get into the text though, I have a quick story from a long time ago.
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Not not much longer than after I was 19, probably 20 years old. I hung out with a group of guys all the time. Chad, my friend who passed. Y'all know Chad from this year. Haven't passed in March And Jason, his first cousin, my double third cousin, good, good friends.
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Jason and I played basketball together four or five hours a day, and when Jason wasn't playing basketball or sleeping, he was working. I had a job during college, but it was like eleven hours a week moving tables and chairs around a continuing education center just to be able to say I had a job, 4.15 an hour. You know, I didn't have a real job. Jason had a real job and then had another real job, and he was busy all the time, always has been. He's a hardworking man.
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He and I are about the same size. We graduated together. His dad and my dad graduated together. We'd go way, way back. Close friends.
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Jason had a job at an airport. He stood behind the little computer stand there, and he typed, mhmm, yes sir, uh-huh. He did that, okay? That was his job. He also loaded the bags on the plane.
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It was a small airport. So he did everything from the counter work to making sure everything was happening right in the plane. It was a smaller airport than the Jackson Airport. And occasionally, he'd have customers came up that were not friendly. They were less than friendly, let's say.
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And I would go in and be waiting on Jason to go get something to eat or to go home or go play basketball or something. I'd hang around his workplace. And I saw a guy come up and when the guy came up, he was already angry when he got to it and he started off cussing. Now, that's bad when you start off cussing. It didn't escalate.
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He started off there and he was dog cussing, Jason. Just up one side, down the other. He was questioning everything about Jason's mental state and his parentage and everything else. He he had said everything that he could say about Jason directly about him, not about the company. Just blasting him and I was just beside myself.
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I could not believe that he could just stand there and take that and Jason, six five, two forty barrel chested football player type. Yes, sir. Uh-huh. Yes, sir. I am sorry that you're going through this.
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We're working to do everything that we can for you, sir. Yes, sir. And eventually, Jason prints out a boarding pass and hands it to the guy and the guy huffs away, you know, and just and I went up to Jason and said, Jason, I don't know how you did that, man. He goes, did what? Like it happened every day.
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And I said, dude, you just stood there and took it. If he'd been dog cussing me like that, I'd had to cross his teeth and dot his eye. You know, I would not have taken that and that's not a good response but that was the true response, you know? And he said, I said, so so how do you take it? He said, I send his bags to Alaska.
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That is a true story. Now, my response was not the right response, but Jason's response was not the right response either. I was... Mine was, I would term it aggressive aggressive and his was passive aggressive. That guy left with his boarding pass assuming that when he got to LA, he was going to have bags and he didn't.
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Neither of those was a good response. This passage that we're dealing with this week is about how we get along with one another. And the first service when I said that right now, I said, it's how we get along with one another. Just listen to what the passage says. It is the best.
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In my opinion, it is the best. Forget it. For Christians getting along with one another. I know that that's not exactly the same relationship Jason had with this unnamed man. There's a customer and a business, and the business wants customer satisfaction because the customer pays them money.
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Customer wants customer satisfaction because he's paying for a service that he wants to receive the best, you know. So, that's a commercial reaction. That's not exactly the same thing as Christians getting along but I think it illustrates the point. Both of us were wrong. Therefore, starts off.
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So, we're going to go see what that is there for. If you go back just to verse 27 and come forward from there, you see the main thrust of last week's message is this, y'all, all of y'all, stand fast or be standing fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together. This is about getting along, okay? Striving together for the faith of the gospel not just for the faith of let's say, the Baptist faith and message or the Lutheran confessional statement of whatever Augsburg, Heidelberg, wherever Not just a particular confession or demonstration of what we call faith but the faith of the gospel, the actual faith of the gospel. Striving together for the faith of the gospel.
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Knowing that we're each limited, we're each imperfect, and if we strive together, that's the closest that we will get to the faith of the gospel. In no way, terrified by your adversaries or frightened by your opposition because you will have opposition If you carry the faith of the gospel with you, you'll have opposition and then at the end that Paul says, for to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake and then, so, this message is going to be about getting along with one another. It says, all of that, standing fast one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel in no way frightened or terrified by your opposition or adversaries for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him which is great for you, right? But also to suffer for his sake. We talked about suffering for Jesus last week.
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Yeah. So, he bases his therefore on that and he starts like this. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, he starts off right after that, therefore, with four big ifs and these are they. If there is any consolation in Christ. Well, answer me.
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Is there any consolation in Christ, Christian? Yes. Praise God. That's one of the main tenets of Christianity is that he offers consolation. If you look up that word consolation, it is part of You all know what the Paracletas is.
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The comforter, the Holy Spirit is the comforter Paracletas encouragement, comforter, or consolation. It's the way the New King James puts it. If there is any consol if your spirit feels comforted because of Christ if it starts off with a new. It's rhetorical but it does say if. If there's any comfort of love, is there any comfort in love?
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This particular love is agape love and there is comfort in God's good unconditional love. I would argue that there's even comfort in phileo love, brotherly love. There's some comfort there and if I went further, married folk, there is comfort in Eros love too but this is talking about comfort of God's love. Is there any comfort of God's love? If there is, if there is any fellowship of the spirit.
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Now, fellowship there is Koinonia. We hear that. It's beyond what we typically think of as fellowship. Fellowship is just kind of going down to the end of the building down there and drinking coffee together, right? No.
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It's partnership and he's already mentioned their Koinonia partners with him in the advance of the gospel. We saw it from the first day until now as Paul would say. And that has been about eleven years by this point. If there is any Koinonia of the spirit, any fellowship of the spirit, is there any? Have you ever been anywhere else where you just immediately felt a bond with someone and it was because they're a brother or sister in Christ?
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Ain't it amazing to be able to be somewhere in the world where you can't communicate and yet, you feel an a complete oneness with someone because they believe in Jesus. Across cultural bounds, across all bounds. If there's any fellowship of the spirit and is there? By the way, is there? Yes.
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Okay. If there's any affection and that affection and mercy, affection Carl really latched on a few weeks ago when I said from the bowels deep down, this deep seated heart of affection. He's been saying that word since then. That's the same word right there. Affection is there.
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If there is any if there's any affection or mercy and that is a deep seated or visceral thing where it's all the way down. It's not surface level. It's not politeness. It's not a sweet. Oh yeah, I love your hair.
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How's your mama? It's not that, okay? It is actual deep seated affection where you actually love somebody, really? And visceral mercy where you feel it down to your gut, okay? So, the New Living translates these ifs in question form and I think that's a good way to do it because it's a rhetorical feature where you have to answer yes if you're a Christian.
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If you're a Christian, you have to answer yes to these questions. Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Yes. Is there any comfort from his love? Yes.
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Is there any fellowship together in the spirit? Yes. Okay. Now, all of that is on Christ, right? But then this last question gets to the heart of the matter.
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Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Honesty, at times. She said, yes. No, it exists. The New Living, I think, stepped into contextual a little bit.
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They stepped into a dynamic translation right there because it says, is there any affection and mercy? If there is any affection and mercy and it does exist and on our best days, we are a channel of that affection and mercy but he's asking for their best days That's what he's asking for is if it exist and it does, then, go with it. These are, if we were to say this emphatically consolation in Christ does exist Comfort in God's love does exist Fellowship of the spirit of God does exist and affection and mercy really do exist. Now, if you're a downturned mouth corner Christian where you just sit around grumpy all the time A and mercy really does exist okay? If you don't agree with these four statements, you may not actually know Christ I don't ever question anybody's salvation If they tell me they're a Christian, great.
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They're a Christian. Wonderful But if you don't, if these things don't resonate with you, you probably don't know Jesus Do you do you get what I'm saying? Because it does exist and this is the ground level for Paul's great statement on getting along. Christ console His love comforts His spirit binds us together, brings us together, and his affection for us, the affections of Jesus Christ as Paul said he already had for the Philippians and his overwhelming mercy is what we should be exhibiting to one another. Philippians two one says, therefore, if there's any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, then, because you've said yes to all of that.
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Okay, if you believe that, then do this. Fulfill my joy Paul says to the Philippians and to us, fulfill my joy by what? Being like minded. He's already covered this. Remember He's already covered this a few verses back By being like minded, having the same agape same love Stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel in no way terrified It's been granted to you not only to believe but also suffer for his sake.
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Let nothing be done through selfish ambition. Now, this in two, three, selfish ambition, he's using this term that he just used back a ways right here. In fifteen and sixteen, remember he said there were some who preach out of envy and strife, some preach out of love, some preach out of envy and strife. They preach from selfish ambition. Hoping to aggrandize themselves, build themselves up.
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They are preaching for notoriety selfish ambition. They want to keep on climbing upwards, upwards, upwards Not sincerely supposing that affliction to my chains, Paul says and then he lets them go. At that point, he says, either way, the gospel is being preached. He's able to just let it go Praise God. I wish we could just let it go sometimes, right?
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Let nothing be done through this self aggrandizing ambition or conceit. You know what the word conceit means? I mean, we all, I think knows what it, we know what it means. In high school, the worst insult that one girl could make about another girl when I was in school was, she's stuck up. She's conceited.
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She thinks more of herself than she ought. So conceit is empty pride. There's an estimation of oneself that does not match oneself. Does that make sense? An empty pride or conceit.
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It's a puffed up version that we have sometimes of ourselves. Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition to make ourselves look better or conceit, thinking we already do, but, I love a good adversity of conjunction in there but in lowliness of mind which is the opposite of conceit, right? Lowliness of mind is the opposite of conceit and the opposite of selfish ambition In loneliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Others, all others better than oneself. Let each of you, Paul says, look out not only for his own interest because in general, usually, people do a pretty good job of taking care of themselves.
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I can say, yes, there are people who don't take good care of themselves, they eat the wrong things, they don't exercise enough, all that but in general, we look out for number one, right? We're Americans. We're very individualistic and we tend to look out for our own interests Paul saying, don't just look out for your own interest. That's fine. Do that.
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You gotta live but also look out for the interest of others. Have we heard that before anywhere? Jesus. Yeah. All of the gospels point to him saying this, look out for others.
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So getting to the end of that, that's about kind of us. Let each of you, da da da da da, it's their commands in there. But then this is the command of commands. Let I I highlighted that to remind me that let this mind be in you as a second person plural command to all Christians. This one is one that gets at the human will because you have the Holy Spirit in your life.
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If you're a Christian and this letters to Christians and I'm speaking, I know to the majority of you are Christians. You have access to the very spirit of God. He's put that in you. Let this mind be in you as a second person plural command to all of y'all and me for us to allow that spirit to be what governs our actions. You cannot of your own free will do right without paying attention to what the spirit of God within you is directing you to do.
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So, let this man, I don't know where that's coming from y'all. Let this man be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Shall I go to this or you tell me. If it does it again, we'll we'll swap up. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
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Second person, plural command, all Christians. Now, as my story at the beginning of this hour noted because Jason's a Christian and I'm a Christian, right? There are plenty of wrong ways to relate to one another. We all have a wrong way of relating to one another and it is very personality driven but there's only one right way and that's the way that Jesus dealt with people. It's the way that Jesus dealt with his command from his father.
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It's the way that Jesus was and I will say is and the way he can still live his life out through you if you will let this man be in you which was also in Christ Jesus and then it goes to describe in Jesus. Who? Jesus. Being in the form of God and I want to stop right there for form In English, we might see that and go, well, it just says he was in the form of God like a tin soldier was like a soldier. He was kind of like a soldier.
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It was just the outward appearance. He looked like God. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The word form is morphe right there and it means he was inside and out all the way through and through God who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. Now, this is a confusing linguistically a little bit confusing.
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I put nine different versions up here. Four four and then one. New International Version says, who? This is Jesus. Being in very nature by his very nature, he was God.
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He did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. I like that. It gets at the heart of what it is. It's not exactly what it says literally but it gets at the heart. He had something which he was holding and that was complete godliness because he was God.
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From eternity past. He did not consider equality with God which he was holding something to be held on to or used to his own advantage. New Living Translation is a good modern translation Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. English Standard says, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. Do you hear that it's holding on to your rights?
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Jesus was God but he did not consider that holding on to that was something to be grasped. New American Standard, who although he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped. King James, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. That's a pretty straightforward literal translation. Who existing in the form of God, says the Holman Christian Standard Bible, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for his own advantage.
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The Aramaic Bible in plain English, I like this one. He who, while he was in the form of God, did not esteem this as a prize that he was the equal of God. And the English revised, who being in the form of God counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God and then the last one is Young's Literal. Go to Young's Literal Translation anytime you want to hear literally exactly what it says. It will have no figurative meanings in there.
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It's just the literal what it says. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God which looks a lot like the New King James and the King James because it's a hard concept to to describe. I want you to think about something else. But made himself of no reputation. That's the next part.
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He didn't hold on to his every right as king of glory. He did not hold on to it but he made himself of no reputation. He emptied himself, taking on the form of a bond servant. Again, form is inside and out all the way through. He came to serve as a slave.
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And coming in the likeness of manna right there where it says likeness, another in another era, there was a lot of confusion about this likeness of man saying that he just looked like a man but he wasn't really a man. No, he was really a man. Now, he's already talked about his full divinity being equal with God and being in very essence and nature God and now, he immediately turns and says, he is every bit man too Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross. So, this starts out with Jesus in eternity past as the absolute
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God
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and we end with in verse eight, he became obedient obedient to the point of death even the death of a cross. He's emptied himself of all of his divine rights. This is a story about getting along, right? I mentioned that at the beginning. This is about how we get along.
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If we are Christians, who should we be like? We are to be like Jesus And so Jesus, though he had every right and could have held to his right, when the father gave the command for him to go, he went. I've heard it described as the great parabola. The great parabola starts off right here with Jesus and the glories of heaven and he left the glories of heaven to be condescending. It's actually he condescended to be born as a man in a poor family in this little backwater and then he was a refugee in Egypt and then he was a builder and then he was an itinerant preacher People are always cussing builders.
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Have you noticed that? An itinerant preachers, there's hardly a worse occupation People that make their living off of the gospel. People have all kinds of ugly things to say about revival preachers and itinerant, humble teacher, teaching the way of humility, and that got him in trouble with the religious leaders. And so he was kind of blacklisted by those guys All the way to a kangaroo court in front of the Roman authorities where he was declared innocent over and over and over again, but still ended up getting sentenced to death and not just death but death on a cross. So, this has been a downward condition this whole time, right?
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And we're at the point of death and the worst death is death on a cross because that's a criminal's death and it's reserved for the worst of criminal I like this even. The point of, you see how it's in italics right there. We add the words in the New King James Bible. They're added to help it make sense or make it flow in English. They add the ones that are in italics.
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And so that one, if you take that out, I kind of like this. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and he became obedient to death. He obedienced himself to death because death was what it was that God was asking. Jesus in the garden said, father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me but there was no other way and so he went through it, not my will but thine be done. That is obedience to death and even the death of a cross.
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Okay. Therefore, this is a turn. What's that therefore, therefore? Therefore, is because he left the glories of heaven and humbled himself and he comes all the way down to dying the death of a criminal on the cross being numbered with the transgressors and therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on the earth and of those under the earth. Are there any others?
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There are no others. Every knee, every tongue. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the father and that we've been through Romans and when we hit Romans, for as it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God but that's it was written somewhere else first. Isaiah forty five twenty three says this, I have sworn by myself because when you are God, there is nothing higher to hang your words on. I have sworn by myself and that word has gone out of my mouth in complete righteousness and it shall not return and return void.
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That to me, the Lord, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall take an oath. Check out the pattern in this and this is how we get along with each other as Christians. This is about Jesus. He humbled himself and became obedient to death even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has exalted him.
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Because he humbled himself, God was able to make that downward path into a parabola that goes up into eternity future with him seated at the right hand of the father interceding for you right now and will go on into our incorruptible hope in eternity future. God made that downward slope a parabola that goes back up, the great parabola that... Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. Let's look at Lucifer just for an example. This is Isaiah 14 of Lucifer.
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For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. He's a created being. He's starting down here. He's not God He's a created thing, created being. For you have said in your heart, Lucifer, I will ascend into heaven.
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I will exalt my throne above the stars of God and I will also sit on the mount of the congregation at the farthest sides of the north and I will ascend above the heights of the clouds and I will be like the most high. How'd that go for him? At the absolute lowest point of Jesus's life, did y'all see the passion of the Christ? I like the movie. I really like this where Jesus is on the cross and the devil's rejoic because he's finally got what he wants but at the pinnacle of what he wants at the low point of Christ life.
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This is where the great reversal happens because he is cast into the pit And that is a progressive action that's going forward right on right now. And Jesus is already seated up high already. So, with seeing our two examples there, Jesus and Lucifer, when we're trying to get along with one another, who should we be like? Yes, all of you be submissive to one another. You're striving together.
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You're striving together for the faith of the gospel, not for your opinion. Your opinion on how you do things. How do you confront sin? There are different opinions on how you confront sin. Lovingly, yeah, that's for sure.
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Is it you gotta tell em you gotta tell em right now or is it let's talk to em in parables first. Let's go to em one at a time. How exactly does that happen? There are differences of opinion there but you are to be submissive to one another when you're talking about this. Striving for the actual faith of the gospel.
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All of you, be submissive to one another and be clothed with what? Humility. Why? Because God resists the proud and he gives grace to the humble. That's there.
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That's in James. That's in multiple places throughout the New Testament and then, the very next verse, Peter says, therefore, humble yourselves. Remember when it said in Christ very actively humbled himself and then God exalted it. Peter's words are, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. Don't puff yourself up.
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Don't try to convince yourself. I'm right and he's wrong. Ugh. I I live these verses The ones in Philippians, I live em and I think I've got em and I feel like this is what my whole ministry is based on and then after the sermon last week, immediately after the sermon last week, I got angry with the brother in Christ and just let him have it. Less than five minutes after the sermon's over.
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I was like, so embarrassed and ashamed. I was exalting self and putting down my brother. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that God may exalt you in due time. Casting all your cares upon him because he cares for you. Amen.
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Okay, this looks long. I'm going to read it to you. I read you a little section from 45 Isaiah forty five twenty three a minute ago. I want you to hear the context of that verse and let this just wash over you, alright? Those of you who are believers in Jesus, listen to God through Isaiah say this, for thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create in vain, who formed it to be inhabited I am the Lord and there is no other.
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There is an exclusivity to Christianity There's an exclusivity to the people of God. It's exclusive to those who put their faith in Christ who call out to him. Listen to this. I didn't create it in vain. I I form who formed it to be inhabited.
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I am the Lord. There is no other. I have not spoken in secret in a dark place of the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak righteousness.
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I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together. You have who have escaped from the nations. Do you realize that you are those who have escaped from the nations?
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He's called out a people for himself and they will come from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He's saying, you who have escaped from the nations, they have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and they pray to a god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared from ancient time?
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Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord, and there is no other god besides me, a just God and a savior. He is both just and merciful and everyone in this room will either be justly condemned or mercifully saved. By the only one and only almighty and living God. Look to me and be saved.
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All you ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other. I have sworn by myself and this word goes out from my mouth in righteousness and shall not return that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath, and he shall say, surely in the Lord, I have righteousness and strength. You know why? Because that's the only place that's available. You can by your will choose to go for that righteousness and strength by his power alone and channel that righteousness and strength of God.
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But you are an imperfect person. And if you're gonna get along, you need to recognize that. The only true righteousness is of God. Surely in the Lord, I have righteousness and strength. To him, men shall come and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against him.
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In the Lord, all the descendants of Israel, the chosen people of God shall be justified and they shall glory. Amen. I think that's the last slide up there. And I think I just want to let it kind of hang. Did you see how Jesus left what was his?
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Though he was right, he made himself of no reputation. He emptied himself of his rights. And a lot of times when we're arguing with one another, we're not emptying ourselves of our rights. We'd rather be right than be righteous. Righteousness humbles itself.
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Rightness vaunts itself. Before I started today, I told that story about Jason at the airport, and I should have said one more thing. I finished fourteen minutes early last week. I knew we were going to need it for the communion time this week. So, we are going to go straight into a time of communion right now and I'd like for us all to be prayerful and praying as as the frontline team comes forward.
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I want to pray. God, would you impress upon us that our righteousness is your righteousness and that's the only way we have it. Anything else is just self righteousness and I ask you to cleanse us of that sin of self righteousness that we hold on to so so vehemently. God, would you convict us of our sins of pride as well as our outright, you know, sensual sins too. But pride is that sneaky one, Lord, that led Lucifer astray.
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So God, I pray that as we distribute this bread, we would consider your life and exactly how you lived it in accordance with these verses, that you left the glories of heaven, you emptied yourself of all your right. Spat upon, rejected, and even this supper, lord, we celebrate took place on the night that you are betrayed. In Jesus name, lord, would you bless everyone that partakes and if there is anyone here who's present that cannot partake, lord, because they just don't believe. We do practice an open table but lord, if you don't believe in Jesus, there's no reason for you to take this bread or drink this cup. God, I pray that the lives of the ones who do partake would influence those who must let it pass.
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In Jesus name, would you bless this morning? Amen. To those of you who are partaking of this, it has been granted to you by God not only to believe but also to suffer and as I contemplate the upper room discourse and all that Jesus shared with his disciples, This little piece of cracker, little piece of bread right here. Was a symbol Jesus chose. He said, after he had had supper and had given thanks for this bread, he broke it and he said, this is my body which is given for you.
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Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me. God, would you bless this cup as we distribute it? And God, I pray that the words to this song that Carl and Marcus are going to be singing would bless each heart, lord. We consider your way as we consider our way. Thank you for the blood that was given on our behalf.
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Amen.
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Cross
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Amen. Y'all could come on. The scriptures characterize Jesus as a man of sorrows who is acquainted with grief. If you're struggling in your relationships within the church, concentrate your efforts on the spirit of God and the blood of Jesus that binds us together. In much the same way as he had taken the bread, he took the cup after supper and he told his disciples that this is the new covenant in my blood.
1:07:48
Take this and drink and do it as often as you will as a remembrance of him. In this season where we're declaring the birth of Christ, actually his act of condescension from the glories of heaven, we're expressing the birth of Christ communion, Paul says, proclaims the death of Christ, the end. The end for your sin if you would just have it. I think of the times where Jesus and his humanity, man of sorrows, he wept outside of Jerusalem. Oh, how he wanted to gather them under his wings like a mother hen gathers her chicks but they would not have it.
1:08:39
God, I pray that we would have it, that we would have everything that you have for us, that we would just say yes to Jesus, whatever you would have us do in our life, that you would have your way, absolute sway, Lord. In Jesus name, I thank you for the precious example of Jesus but lord, for the shed blood and payment for our sin, for that atoning sacrifice that he made as a ransom for everyone who would put their faith in him. In Jesus name, amen. And now, as a benediction, would you stand? And I want to say again, it's impossible to do this and to be right without the spirit of God within you doing it but the good news is this, it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good pleasure or his good purpose.
1:09:27
In Jesus name, let's go and do just that this week. Completely surrender to what the will of the father would be just like our big brother, Jesus. Amen.
