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November 4, 2015 · Romans

Series · Romans · Week 10 of 85

Scripture referenced 18 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Romans 12:1 offering your bodies as living sacrifices, true and proper worship

1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

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Romans 12:2

do not conform to the pattern of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind

2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

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Micah 6:8

do what is right, love mercy, walk humbly, three things God requires

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

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Ephesians 4:23

be renewed in the spirit of your mind

23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

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2 Corinthians 3

the veil over minds removed when anyone turns to the Lord Jesus

1 Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

3 being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.

4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God;

5 not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;

6 who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away;

8 won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory?

9 For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

10 For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.

11 For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

12 Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,

13 and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.

14 But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.

15 But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

16 But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18 But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.

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Galatians 5

works of sinful nature versus fruit of the Spirit listed

1 Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.

3 Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.

5 For we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.

7 You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth?

8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

9 A little yeast grows through the whole lump.

10 I have confidence toward you in the Lord that you will think no other way. But he who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

11 But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed.

12 I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.

13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,

21 envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,

23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.

26 Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.

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2 Timothy 3:1-2

in the last days people will be lovers of self, narcissistic

1 But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come.

2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

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Romans 12:3

do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, sober judgment

3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.

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Romans 12:6-8

different gifts listed: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy

6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;

7 or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;

8 or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

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Ephesians 2:10

God made us to do good works planned in advance for us

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

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Psalm 18

David saying God gave him the shield of victory, right hand supports me

1 I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

2 Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

3 I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

5 The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me.

6 In my distress I called on Yahweh, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.

8 Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

12 At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.

13 Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.

14 He sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yes, great lightning bolts, and routed them.

15 Then the channels of waters appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

18 They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support.

19 He brought me out also into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands has he recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away his statutes from me.

23 I was also blameless with him. I kept myself from my iniquity.

24 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.

26 With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

27 For you will save the afflicted people, but the haughty eyes you will bring down.

28 For you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.

29 For by you, I advance through a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, except Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God,

32 the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?

33 He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and sets me on my high places.

34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great.

36 You have enlarged my steps under me, My feet have not slipped.

37 I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them. Neither will I turn again until they are consumed.

38 I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise. They shall fall under my feet.

39 For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.

41 They cried, but there was no one to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.

42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind. I cast them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

44 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.

45 The foreigners shall fade away, and shall come trembling out of their close places.

46 Yahweh lives; and blessed be my rock. Exalted be the God of my salvation,

47 even the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me.

48 He rescues me from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.

49 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations, and will sing praises to your name.

50 He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his offspring, forever more.

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Romans 12:14

bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.

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Romans 12:17

do not repay evil for evil, do what is right in the eyes of everyone

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.

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Romans 12:18

if possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone

18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.

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Romans 12:20-21

feed your enemy if hungry, heap burning coals, overcome evil with good

20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Romans 13:1

be subject to governing authorities, no authority except that established by God

1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.

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Romans 13:8

let no debt remain except the continuing debt to love one another

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

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1 Corinthians 13

love is kind, does not keep a record of wrong, not selfish

1 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,

5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

13 But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Deborah Buckingham walked First B women through Romans 12 and 13, tracing Paul's argument that right belief is meant to produce right living, and that a church full of untransformed, quarreling people is a contradiction of everything Paul is urging.

What was said

Paul opens chapter 12 with "therefore," and Deborah emphasized that the word is load-bearing. Everything from chapter 1 through 11 is the foundation; chapters 12 and 13 are what that foundation is supposed to produce. Paul's word choice matters too: he says "I urge you," not "I command you," because God gives us free will. The call to offer our bodies as living sacrifices is a voluntary, ongoing act. The well-known problem, as one unnamed quote put it, is that a living sacrifice keeps crawling off the altar when the heat rises.

The mechanism Paul gives for staying on that altar is a transformed mind. Deborah drew on the Ephesians 4 phrase "the spirit of your mind" to make the point that the mind is not a neutral data-processor. It carries a whole orientation, a viewpoint that colors everything we see. That orientation is what has to change, and the only thing that changes it is God's Word, because His Word is His mind, and taking it in is how we begin to reflect Him. The image Paul uses elsewhere, the metamorphosis of a caterpillar, makes clear this is not a minor adjustment but a complete remaking.

Deborah described two church experiences from her recent travels, including a pastor who barred her and her husband from communion because he had not "interviewed" them, to show what happens when doctrine accumulates without transformation. The fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and the rest, was simply absent. She connected this to a pattern she kept running into: a Moody Radio interview about church hurt, a dissolved California congregation she had worshipped in for twenty years, and a new believer on a plane to Jackson who had stopped attending church entirely because of jealousy and gossip among members. The thread running through all of it, she said, is what Paul names at the end of Galatians 5: envy and jealousy, which she called serious enough that someone had told her they put Jesus on the cross.

Before Paul assigns spiritual gifts, he inserts a call to humility, and Deborah argued that sequence is deliberate. Pride treats a gift as personal achievement; false humility refuses to use a gift at all, which she called laziness and disobedience. Both waste what God has already prepared for a person to do. The test for whether someone is working in their actual gift, drawing on John Piper, is simple: there will be joy in doing it, and there will be fruit. If year after year there is neither, it is time to ask the Lord again.

The Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee illustration, shown on screen, carried the point about output. Both receive water from the same source. The Sea of Galilee is alive because it has a large outlet; the Dead Sea has none, and historically was called the "stink sea." Deborah applied this directly to Christians who only receive in church and never give out, and to the stinky-sponge problem of taking in doctrine without squeezing it out in service. Using the gifts is not optional if the body is going to stay healthy.

Romans 13 brought the discussion to civic responsibility. Deborah read Paul's statement that governing authorities are established by God, and pushed back hard on Christian disengagement from voting, citing figures suggesting that in the last presidential election only around a quarter of eligible Christian voters actually cast a ballot. She held up Daniel as the model: a cooperative, exemplary citizen of a pagan empire right up to the moment the law required him to worship a man instead of God. That, she said, is the posture Paul calls for, full civic participation with a clear line about where God's law takes precedence.

She closed by following Paul's ending, "Wake up," with a short two-wolves story told by a grandfather to his grandson. One wolf is anger, jealousy, arrogance, and lies; the other is joy, peace, kindness, and generosity. Which one wins? The one you feed. The question she left the room with was whether, day by day, they were feeding their minds on God's Word or on the noise of the surrounding culture.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Deborah described a living sacrifice as something that keeps crawling off the altar when the heat is turned up. When have you found yourself wanting to crawl off the altar, and what made it hard to stay?
Pastor Deborah talked about the difference between letting feelings drive your life versus letting a transformed mind lead, with feelings eventually following. Where in your own life do you find that tension hardest to navigate?

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0:08 Yay, thank you. Love that song, wow. Susie liked that song too. Well, Romans twelve and thirteen, great chapters, weren't they? Just very easy to get your brain around very practical, good living stuff.

0:34 It's interesting because Paul starts off in verse one of Romans chapter 12. If you want to follow along, I'm not going to hit on every verse in twelve and thirteen, but we'll go through pulling out some of the key verses. In verse one of chapter 12, Paul says, therefore and in the Greek, therefore is an important word because what Paul is saying is, therefore, if you have believed everything I've taught you up to this point, how to be right with God, how to be saved, confess with your mouth, believe in the resurrection, if you have believed that there is a new not a new way, but that the old covenant led into the new covenant of faith and trust. He's like, if you believe all this doctrine I've laid down, now this is the way to live. And that's what he gets into.

1:33 And he's like, this should be your natural progression. This is what we should be doing after believing. And I think it's interesting that he says, therefore, I urge some translations say, I beseech you, I encourage you, I beg you. He's not saying I command you. Why isn't he saying I command you and how to live?

1:53 Because it's up to us. Right? God gives us free will. So Paul says, therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.

2:12 Lord bless the reading of your word, bless the teaching of your word, may it penetrate our very hearts. Amen. In Jesus name, Amen. So, what is so interesting here is one of my life verses. Y'all should know this verse because I just love how clear God can be with us.

2:32 And Paul's kind of repeating this verse from Micah. Micah six:eight says, The Lord has told you what's good. He's like, I laid it down for you, and this is what I require of you. Three things I want from you. Number one, just do what's right.

2:50 Romans one says, We know. We know what's right. God put that already in our hearts. Number two, love mercy. Be merciful people.

3:03 James says, If you don't show mercy, be careful because what? God's not going to show you mercy. Do what's right, love mercy and walk humbly. Paul unpacks that further in this chapter. I love that Paul says, Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

3:28 I tried to find the person who said this quote, but I couldn't find the author to give them credit. I'm going say it's a she. She said, The problem with a living sacrifice is that it's always crawling off the altar. I thought about that and I was like, Well, yeah. If I look at my life, amen.

3:52 Because what does the altar do? The altar heats up, right? And when things heat up, my inclination is to say, I'm out of here. Lord, that's a little uncomfortable for me. You're calling me to do that?

4:07 You're calling me to do what? I'm out of here. I don't want to do that. The problem with the living sacrifice is that it's always crawling off the altar, but Paul's saying, God wants you to say, It's going to be your way, Lord. I'm going to stand that sacrifice, and I'm going to wait for You to move, and I'm going to trust You, and I'm going to believe You.

4:33 It's interesting that He would say, Offer our bodies. Did you find that interesting? Instead of our mind, or our soul, or our spirit? You know what he means there? He says, Your body is who you are on Earth.

4:48 Your body encompasses everything. Inside my body is my emotions, my spirit, my mind, my will. So you know what the Lord is saying here? He's saying, I don't don't want the sacrifice of what you're gonna do for me. I want all of you.

5:09 I want it all. He says, I want it all. I want yourself. And the very next verse, Paul says, and this is how we start to give it all to him. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

5:28 I remember there was an old Campus Crusade illustration, Becca, you probably know this, of a choo choo train. And the engine was the mind because the engine that drives our life is our mind. It's what we think. And back in the caboose was our feelings. Because if I have in my mind the truth of God's Word and I make those choices, guess what?

5:58 Eventually, my feelings will follow. My feelings will follow what's in my mind. It's interesting that Paul almost says the exact same thing, but he adds a word in Ephesians. Ephesians four twenty three, Paul says, Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. What does he mean by the spirit of your mind?

6:21 You know what he means there? He means that our mind is the place that doesn't just take in data and just leave it there. It takes it in and then it makes a judgment call on it. We all have a mind that has a mindset. Through our mind, we don't just view things, we actually have a viewpoint about everything.

6:48 The spirit of our mind is really how I see everything around me. And I don't know why, I think the Lord gave me this, but I guess it was about the time my kids were in middle school. If they were acting up, I would say, Hey, you have a spirit of rebellion right now. And for some reason, my daughter would say, Mom, don't say that about me. I don't know why it convicted them, but I used it all the time when they were acting up.

7:15 And they would say, Mom, don't say that. I'm like, Well, then have a spirit of obedience. Because our mind does have a spirit that directs our life. The thing I think is interesting in the church today, We see so many Christians and we think, Wow, they've been in church for so long and they're no different than the world. Why is that?

7:42 Because their minds haven't been transformed. They still live their life based on what they're doing or their feelings. And you know what, ladies? Feelings won't transform and change us. Our feelings can be so crazy off.

7:58 You know what? Sometimes I don't feel like being a godly wife. Sometimes I don't feel like buns in the chair studying for hours and hours to prepare for this. I want to go out and play like everyone else. But I don't live my life based on feelings.

8:16 That's gonna get me in a heap of trouble. Our feelings can just be very messy and they can easily not line up with God's Word. You know what's interesting, the only other place Paul uses this word for transformation which is metamorphosis, which I love because it's the visual of a worm turning into a beautiful butterfly. Such a great visual, But he uses this in two Corinthians chapter three. Here again, he's reaching out to his beloved Jewish nation.

8:51 He's Jewish, his family is, his friends are, and he's reaching out to them, but it is so applicable to us as well, to everyone. He says, But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day when they hear the old covenant being read, the same veil covers their mind, so they don't understand the truth. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord Jesus, that veil is taken away. So already God has done the hard work. When we believe in Jesus, He takes that veil away and when we read His Word, it actually makes sense to us.

9:32 Have you ever tried to share something from the Bible with a non believer and they look at you like, Are you crazy? What is that? That's what that verse don't throw pearls to pigs means. It means that you can't give the pearls the wisdom of God's Word and expect a non believer to go, Great, yeah. Yeah, don't seek vengeance, I'm on it.

9:55 No, I won't do that. No, life is not all about me. Are you kidding? No, that's not how the world lives. But Paul says in that Corinthians passage, the Spirit makes us more and more like Him, the more we're in His Word.

10:16 Because what is God's Word? It's truth and it's God's mind. So when we learn His Word, what are we doing? We're essentially putting His mind in our mind. And then we start to reflect Him.

10:32 That's incredible that we even get to do that. And I just think Paul's saying here, he's urging us because he's saying, You don't wanna waste this short time God has given you on earth. And you don't wanna waste not being an agent of change for all those who come in contact with you because that's what a transformed person is. They're an agent of change for good. You know, A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to visit our son and he wanted us to go to the church that he's been attending with him.

11:11 So we went and it was quite the experience. The message was awesome, but we were told right up front we were not permitted to take communion, and this was a Protestant church. We were like, We are followers of Christ. No, no communion for you. We had never experienced that before.

11:40 So we went out we took my son and his buddy who goes to this church out to lunch and his buddy texted the pastor and said, Can you meet us for lunch? And we didn't even know this. So he shows up for lunch and one thing about my husband, Greg Buckingham, you never question what he's thinking. He's not the kind of guy that you ever walk away from and go, I wonder what he was really thinking. So the pastor sits down, and my husband goes, That was a great message, but what the heck?

12:18 You wouldn't let your brother in Christ take communion? He said, Well, he goes, You know, I would have let you if I'd interviewed you, but I don't know who and your wife are. I don't know if you're walking the walk. My husband goes, Well, I just have to say what I'm thinking here. That sounds very legalistic and judgmental.

12:44 Do you know what he said? He goes, It is my job to judge. And my husband said, Isn't that God's job? And it was just He said, Well, I don't know if you're living a moral life. And I just My son sat there, did not say one word.

13:05 And When we drove away, I said, Buddy, do you know what just happened? Are you in agreement with that? He goes, Mom, he goes, Absolutely not. He goes, I've never been able to take communion, and I go every week. He's like, But I just don't know where else to go.

13:28 I mean, at least he teaches the Word, it's just the legalism thing. I'm gonna come back to that about the state of the church in America. Because you know what Paul said? He said, If you're really living by the Spirit, if you're really transforming, this is what you're going to see from Galatians five. He said, The Holy Spirit will guide your life.

13:55 There are two forces that are constantly fighting for you, and we know that. The force of the world and the force of the Holy Spirit. And he said, When you follow the desires of the sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, and other sins. He said, However, if the Holy Spirit is driving your mind's thoughts, your life will have fruit of the Spirit, and that fruit will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Don't, to me, I didn't feel loved by that church.

15:02 I didn't feel they were being kind. I am their eternal sister. We will spend eternity together and I can't commune with you. I don't get that. No, that is not the fruit of the Spirit.

15:18 And you know what's really interesting? Paul ends, as he ends so many passages, as the 10 Commandments end with this, Do not be jealous and provoke one another. And I thought, Okay, this was so interesting to me because last week I went to California and before I left, Moody Radio was interviewing this author of a new book that's out that's doing really well about dissension within the church, the American church. And he was just saying how so many people in America have been hurt by people in the church. They just don't want to go to church anymore.

16:04 And then I go to California, the church we raised our family in, we went there twenty years, all my friends went there, has just blown up. And it is the most heartbreaking thing. I feel like someone in my family died. It is so painful. I asking a bunch of my friends when I was there, what happened?

16:29 And you know, the root of it is just what the guy in the radio was saying. If it's not pride, it's jealousy. It's jealousy. Jealousy I heard the most incredible message I wish I had time to unpack with you about how envy and jealousy put Jesus on the cross. It is that serious.

16:51 And then I get on the plane and I'm sitting by this precious lady who is a nervous wreck. You know how coming into Jackson can be a little sketchy. And I said, Now honey, let me tell you something. You live in Tennessee, it's gonna get a little rough. Do not be scared.

17:06 And she goes, Oh my gosh! She's really loud, and I'm just like, Okay, shh. It's gonna be okay. Jesus is with us, we're fine. I started talking to her and she goes, I'm sorry.

17:20 She goes, I am a new believer. She goes, My trust isn't I'm working on it. And I said, Well, where do you go to church? And she goes, Well, I can't right now. I said, Why not?

17:36 She said, The people in the church, not so much to me, but were so ugly to one another. I went to another church. This isn't here, this was in Tennessee. And they were so mean and jealous and biting one another and gossiping about one another. She said, I just can't go.

17:59 I was like, Oh my gosh, Lord, you are really sending a message. And then this morning when we're praying in the room, I look up and there's this book. I can't remember what it's called, Healing in the Church or some. Healing Church Hurts. And I said, Jenny, oh my gosh, this is hitting me everywhere I go.

18:17 And she goes, Oh, it's the story of this community. Oh my gosh, you guys. All I can think about is how sad our Lord must be. Especially for us, we have every privilege to know Him, every freedom to know Him. And we're gonna just be like the world and treat each other like that?

18:45 That's why Paul says in verse one, in view of God's mercy, oh my gosh, show a little mercy. You know what? They're just poor slobs like you and me trying to get through. Show some mercy. Show some mercy.

18:59 I think it's interesting that in Galatians five, Paul starts the chapter, For freedom Christ has set us free. Do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Do you know what Paul is saying here? He's saying, Don't let that yoke of sin come around you again, it's our natural bend to go there. But that's not the real you.

19:21 You are free in Christ. The real you is going to reflect Him. That's the real you. You know, I mean, just pulling out one of these sins, outbursts of anger. I have heard Christians say before, Well, you know, I just have a short fuse, that's how I'm made.

19:39 That's who I am. And I wanna say, No, that's not the real you. The real you is the real moral you and the real moral you is patient and kind and loving. That's the real you in Christ. And that's why I think you see so many Christians who are miserable because they're not being who God made them to be.

20:05 They're living in conflict, constant conflict within themselves. You know, it's interesting that Timothy says in two Timothy three:one-two, I was thinking about our culture And he says, In the last days, there will be many troubles, for people will be lovers of self. And the Greek word there means they'll become very narcissistic and self focused. Think about where our culture has gone so fast, you guys. We didn't even have the term selfie ten years ago.

20:42 I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a selfie. I've taken them before but I think it's wrong when you're obsessively selfie. I think that's wrong. Think about what our number one TV shows are, reality TV shows. I'm sorry, but I really don't care what Kim Kardashian is having for lunch tomorrow.

21:03 It's bizarre to me how we've become so focused on ourselves. I refused Facebook for years. Just like, I know I don't have time for that. But because of nourishments, I had to go on Facebook. And I look at some of my friends none of you guys here in Jackson, I don't think you guys are like this.

21:23 My friends in other parts of the country, sometimes my mouth is hanging open going, Oh my gosh, does she not see how narcissistic this is? Like constantly? Are you kidding me? This is where our culture is going. And this is how our kids are being raised in a very narcissistic culture.

21:48 So Paul says, How do we transform? I just want to encourage you guys, if you don't have a daily Bible, I think we still have some Becky Terabasi daily Bibles, you can get one today. Just buy a cheap notebook and write whatever the Lord says to you as you read your daily reading. It doesn't take that much time. If you're really stressed for time, just read the Psalms and the Proverbs.

22:17 And I've done this since I can remember. Every year I have a new set of index cards. You guys know this. I always talk about this because it really matters. Just the other day, I was stressing about a situation in our life and I was like, Lord, I need a word from you.

22:35 And I sat down in His word and He gave me the most beautiful verse. It's in a version I've never read. I think it's called the New Century Version. And it just totally calmed me down. Know that the Lord is God.

22:49 Okay, transforming your mind. Know that the Lord is God. He made me, I belong to Him, I am His people, I am the sheep that He tends to. I was like, Alright, there you go. And I just carried this with me for two days.

23:04 Every time I got stressed, I would say it. His Word is so alive and powerful. You want to change your life? Put His Word in your heart, put it in your mind. So going on to verse the rest of verse two.

23:27 You know, so many Christians will say to me too, How do you know what God's will is for you? I have no idea what God's will is for me. And I tell them, We'll get in His Word. Ask Him, He'll tell you. He doesn't want to play hide and seek with us with our life.

23:42 Our life matters to Him. So Paul says, If you transform your mind, then you will be able to test and improve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will. I love that. That's a promise from the Lord.

24:00 Okay, awesome. So then Paul kind of shifts here. He's like, Okay, so get to know the Lord, you'll know His will. And then as you're moving in His will, He kind of shifts gears and he comes out with this verse that says, Be humble. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has given you.

24:24 Do you know why Paul says this right now? Because next, he's gonna lay down some spiritual gifts for us. And he's saying, If you're a believer, every single one of us, God has deposited spiritual gifts for us to use to build up our brothers and sisters. But he says, before God will use you, you need to have the right perspective of yourself. That's what humility is.

24:57 We as humans, we tend to swing from one extreme to the other. Over here, we can become very prideful. Where what I have is because of what I am. And that's all about me. And look at me.

25:11 Oh my gosh, everything that I am, everything that I have is because by His grace, He gave it to me. I wasn't there when I made myself. Well, kind of. But God is the one who made me. But I didn't get to have input there.

25:30 Okay, so we get prideful and you see this with people who have some of the more visible gifts. You know, like when I'm working out sometimes I'll scan the Christian TV channels and I'm like, Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Prideful. But the other side is false humility. Oh, I can never be worthy of the Lord using me.

25:55 Oh, I'm just not that good. Well, that's a lie too. God says you're the apple of my eye. I made you in my image. You're more than worthy, and I have plans for you.

26:07 And the plans are for you to use your spiritual gifts for everybody else and to glorify Me. And Paul gives us some of these. I'm just gonna read a few of them because they're so amazing. But he starts off by saying, Just as each one of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have all the same function, so in Christ, all of us, we form one body. Even I was thinking about this Bible study.

26:36 A lot of hands bring this together and not one person can do it all. Now, I can't sing. You definitely don't want to hear me try. And thank God we have Christina and Laura who give their time singing. I can't get here that early to set everything up.

26:58 Casey and Diane and Roseanne, they do it all this behind the scenes stuff for us. We need each other, and it works best when we're all working together. All the small group leaders that send out our prayer request, thank you so much for all that you do. Paul says, We have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If your gift is prophesying, prophesy.

27:23 If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If it is to encourage, then encourage. If it is giving, then give generously. If it is to lead, then do it diligently.

27:34 And if it is to show mercy, then do it cheerfully. So you know what Paul's saying here? He lists other gifts and other passages, so this is not an all inclusive list. And a lot of the things he says here is very interesting because it goes in line with transforming your mind. These are Christian virtues that all of us are supposed to have.

27:57 But a spiritual gifting is a little bit different. Paul says that our natural progression so far is doing what's right with God, trusting Him, but recognizing that every single one of us are as unique as a snowflake. And God wants to take our story because your story is different than mine. Even identical twins have a different story. He wants to take our whole history, our whole story, our spiritual giftedness, and He wants us to use it to bless others and to glorify Him.

28:39 I think that's really cool how He just weaves everything together for my walk. I just want to pull out something here though. He says to transform your mind and to be humble before He says to use your spiritual gift. And I think that one of the acid tests for me, and I would encourage you to write these four things down from verse 8b, that if you wanna be fruitful and use it because you can be using your spiritual gift and not be fruitful at all. It can be all about you and not about the Lord.

29:13 But if you want to be fruitful, these virtues that Paul says, first of all, be an encourager. Are you an encouraging person? Do you encourage your husband, your kids? Do you encourage those in your small group? Do you encourage the guy at the market?

29:33 Be an encourager. You think the world encourages others? Very rarely. Be an encourager. Then he says, to be diligent.

29:44 And I thought this was so interesting because I'm like, what exactly is diligent? And so when I looked up the word, it says to be passionate but with great care. And if you look at the end of diligently, it's gently. We are not called to be in your face, aggressive, I'm going to shove my views right down your throat kind of people. Okay, how did that work out for the moral majority?

30:12 It didn't work out too good, did it? We're called to be lovers and gentle and encouraging. And then I love this, we're called to be very generous. I can't tell you how many Christians I know who are not generous at all. They're not generous with their kind words.

30:31 They're not generous with their time. They're not generous with their resources that aren't even theirs. Everything they have is because God gave it to them. We are called to be generous people. And finally, oh my gosh, don't even do it if you can't do it joyfully.

30:53 If I walked in and I saw Casey going, Well, great, Deborah, I need coffee again for the Bible study. I hope you're happy. I would be so bummed. Casey serves joyfully. It just puts me in a great mood, right, from the get go.

31:14 Joyfully, don't even do it if you can't do it joyfully because you don't get any credit from the Lord from it. Going back to that pastor and why you see By the way, he wasn't joyful at all. I loved his truth, but I wanted to just hug him and say, Oh my gosh, you're missing it. God loves you so much. He wants you to love your flock joyfully.

31:47 But I was thinking about this. When you take in a lot of doctrine, do you know people like this? They've been in church their whole life. They've taken in a lot of doctrine. But where's the joy?

32:00 Where's the generosity? Where's the encouragement? And I thought, it's like that stinky sponge in my kitchen sometimes. Have you guys ever cleaned something and then just throw the sponge under the sink and then a few days later you're like, Something died in here. Do you know why it got stinky?

32:22 Because we didn't squeeze it out. We didn't squeeze it out. Amy, can you show the Sea Of Galilee? I think another great visual of this concept. The beautiful Sea Of Galilee receives all of its water from Mount Hermon.

32:39 This refreshing, clean water pours into the Sea Of Galilee. Can you show the Dead Sea? Well, the same water source pours into the Dead Sea. The exact same water source. And the Sea Of Galilee is alive with abundant fish and all kinds of great things.

33:00 You know why? Because it has a huge outlet. When that water comes in, the Sea Of Galilee fertilizes the whole Jordan Plain huge outlet. But the Dead Sea, that water pours in and just like the stinky sponge, just sits there. No outlet.

33:18 No outlet. Do you know at one time in history, this is a fun fact, the Dead Sea was called the stink Sea. It was one big stinking sponge. So I thought, Oh my gosh, Lord, this is why we have to use our spiritual gifts. And this is why Paul said, First be transformed, be humble, show mercy, and then start using your gifts.

33:41 Start serving. You know why? Because we don't want to be a stinky Christian. We don't want to stink up the church. We want to be the fragrant aroma of Christ, right?

33:54 So we can't just take in. So many people have the attitude about church that they just have to come and take. And I'm like, Well, if you don't feel like you're taking enough, then start giving. That will change your attitude. Start giving.

34:10 Going back to the spiritual gifts, I just want to encourage you. John Piper says, and I'm totally paraphrasing him, he says, If you want to know what your spiritual gift is, if you're not sure, then first go back to verse one and say, Lord, let me be a merciful woman. And then go to verse three and say, Help me keep the right perspective about who I am. And then He said, Just start volunteering. And the thing that will happen when you're volunteering, it will become very clear to you two things that you will know this is your spiritual gift.

34:49 Number one, you will have joy in doing it. Okay, it just will naturally bring you joy. My greatest joy in teaching is the prep work. I love researching and Greg makes constant fun of me because I'm like, Oh honey, this is delicious. I can't wait to share this with you.

35:09 And he's like, You say that every week, Deborah. But there is such joy in preparing. But number two, there will be fruit. And this is just something very sad I've seen in the Christian community. People will get in their head they have a certain gift and there's no fruit year after year after year.

35:30 And you're like, Oh my goodness, this isn't rocket science, guys. If there's no fruit, probably not your spiritual gift. You need to move on and seek the Lord and ask Him where your spiritual gift is. If a teacher is teaching and everyone's sitting there going, That was the incoherent babble I've ever heard, that's probably not their spiritual gift. I think my gift is exhorting and exhortation means a strong encouragement and comes with a lot of discernment.

36:02 And yet, every time I exhort someone to do something and it never works out for them, it's probably not my spiritual gift. Okay? So there will be joy and there will be fruit. Ephesians says, God has made us what we are in Christ Jesus. God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to do.

36:27 He already laid those down for us. Can I just say that? I don't remember what commentary I read this in, but it was so important that Paul said, Have the right perspective about yourself, the humility, because false humility do you know what that leads to? Like pride will lead to it's all about me, but false humility leads to laziness and disobedience. What a shame.

36:53 God has something for you to do, but because you won't do it, guess what? He taps someone else on the shoulder to do what I should have been doing. What a waste. Don't let that happen to you. Paul says, never be lacking in zeal, keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord.

37:10 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Why does Paul say this? He says, Look, just because you're working in your giftedness and just because you're seeing fruit, it isn't always going to be easy. You're going to be met with a lot of heartache. Because if you stand up for Christ, you stand out.

37:32 You've become a target. Warren Risbee said, Serving our Lord almost always brings satanic opposition and days of discouragement. It just does because you're stirring up advancing the kingdom. You know who our amazing example of this is? David.

37:53 David served the Lord. The Lord even said, He's a man after my own heart. But his own family betrayed him. He said, The man that I went to service with, the man I worshipped with betrayed me and hurt me. David suffered a lot of rejection.

38:10 Read the Psalms. I I think David is the one who said cry all night because joy cometh in the morning. He cried a lot of tears. But I love what David said in Psalm 18. David said, Lord, you have given me your shield of victory, and you and I will be victorious in Christ even when the circumstances really stink, okay?

38:35 We are doing something of eternal value. David said, You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me. Your help, what does he mean by your help? He means you heard every prayer I prayed to you during the heartache and the tears.

38:53 He said, Your help has made me great. And he doesn't mean, Oh, look at me, I'm so great. You know what he means there? Your help made me fruitful. I was fruitful for the Kingdom.

39:07 I did something significant because you stayed with me. Even though I was serving you in my gifting, it was hard. Okay? So I just want to encourage you, the Lord never leaves your side. He's holding your hand through it all.

39:23 And you can be doing the right thing, but it can be hard. Okay? That's why Paul says, Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. It's never okay for us to have a hateful attitude, no matter what someone does to us.

39:40 Can I just tell you this has been my entire journey teaching? There is always opposition within the church. There are always people who won't even say hello to me. I have not sinned against them. And the Lord tells me two things.

39:58 He says, Deborah, your job is to trust and obey. And you let Me deal with that. Can I just tell you that really stretches your faith? And that's when I want to crawl off that altar and say, I'm out of here. But the Lord says, Let me do it.

40:17 Let me defend you. Warren Wiersbe says, If you defend yourself, then the Lord cannot defend you. You take away the opportunity for Him to deal with it. I think He can deal with things much better than we can. So we let the Lord do it.

40:36 Let Him deal with it. That's why Paul goes on to say, Don't repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Just keep doing what's right. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

40:52 And the Greek word for if is you do your part, but it may not always work out. You may not be able to live at peace with everyone because some people just won't receive that. That's okay. That's okay because Paul goes on to say, this whole Christian thing can be so hard, can't it? Because he goes on to say, If your enemy's hungry, feed him.

41:15 If he's thirsty, give him a drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul's saying, Don't be like the world. The world just gives evil for evil.

41:31 And what happens to evil? It grows. Don't be part of allowing evil to grow. How do we stop evil from growing? We just give good.

41:43 And I can only do that directed by the Holy Spirit. But He does give you That's why God says to pray for your enemies because you do see them differently. You stop seeing them as your enemy and you start seeing them as just like me, poor slob trying to get through. That's just what happens to your attitude. Warren Weirsby explained this about the burning coals because that sounds like, Oh, well, I can inflict a little pain.

42:14 No, that's not what that means. It means hopefully that your kindness will give a burning conviction within their heart. If you're ugly to someone and they're ugly back, then your ugliness just fires up, doesn't it? But if you're ugly to someone and they're kind to you, that kinda stops you in your tracks. Okay.

42:45 Moving on to Chapter 13. Okay, so this is a very interesting chapter, one very close to my heart since we live in the best country ever known to mankind. I have a few things to say about this. Okay, first of all, Paul says, Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

43:14 Wow. Oh my goodness. What is Paul saying? Paul's saying that yes, God does appoint national leaders. No leader gets in position that's slipped by God.

43:27 Is God responsible for their sins? Absolutely not. But he does allow leaders for a purpose. Warren Roosby says that government is a divine institution by God. We have to have governing authorities or there would just be total chaos.

43:45 Those laws that they instill bring order to us. Okay, but let me just say this, that God will use leaders to wake up countries and He will use leaders to discipline His church. Alright? And in America, we have been given everything. We have freedom to come here.

44:08 I don't worry that someone's gonna come in and shoot me. I don't worry that I'm gonna go to jail for sharing my Lord, for reading the Bible. God has given us every blessing. He has given us abundance and we are so stinking asleep and lazy. It blows me away.

44:27 In the last presidential election, 50% of Christians were registered to vote. I'm sorry. That is very irresponsible. And of that 50%, how many do you think voted? 50% of that.

44:43 Okay. And so we cry about these new laws coming in. Well, what do you expect? When we don't vote, do you know what we're doing? We're letting the world take over and be in charge of us.

44:56 Okay. That is not okay. We have a responsibility. Paul says in this chapter, yes, pay your taxes. Yes, obey the law.

45:07 Daniel was a great example of that. Daniel went from Israel, marched off to Babylon, a very pagan nation. Idolatry everywhere, immorality everywhere. And David was the Daniel was a model citizen. He went right up the ranks.

45:25 Even when the Medes and Persians came in and conquered Babylon, he still went right up the ranks because he was a model citizen. But when Nebuchadnezzar said, Daniel, you're going to bow down and worship me as God. Daniel said, Woah, I obey your laws, but if they are in conflict with God's law, I don't obey anymore. And the Lord took care of Daniel. Christians today don't even know what God's Word says.

45:52 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Know the Word of God. And then do your part as a citizen. Pay your taxes, be a model citizen, but you better have a voice or we're gonna lose it, guys. We're gonna lose our voice in this country because we're allowing the world to just take over.

46:13 Oh, man. Daniel goes on to say, Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another. And then he brings in the 10 Commandments and he says, Love fulfills the law. What is he saying there? He's saying, If you're loving your neighbor as yourself, you don't need to worry about keeping the law because you wouldn't hurt them, you wouldn't steal from them, you wouldn't do anything that is harmful to them if you're loving them.

46:46 And he unpacks love in one Corinthians 13. Love is considerate and kind and it doesn't keep a record of wrong and it's not selfish. So Daniel says, Just focus on that. And he ends this chapter. It's very interesting.

47:03 He says, Wake up. Wake up from your slumber. Are American Christians just sleepwalking through life? I think they are. I think that's why you're seeing such conflict within the church.

47:17 Not only do we just have flat out false teachers who won't even teach the whole counsel of God's Word, we have all this dissension and jealousy and ugliness within our churches. Wake up, he says. Wake up, you're just sleepwalking through and it will affect you for all of eternity and you'll never experience that abundant life God has for you. I was thinking about this and I was thinking, Yeah, how true is that? When I'm asleep, I can't love.

47:47 I can't be encouraging if I'm just sleepwalking. If I'm sleepwalking, I can't even hear the Spirit of the Lord directing me. I can't even hear the truth. I can't even walk when I'm sleepwalking, a walk of significance and fruitfulness. Okay?

48:06 So he says, Wake up. Every day he ends this with saying, Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ or put on the Lord Jesus Christ, which just means become more like Him every day. And every day you're in the Word, you are becoming more like Him. I want to just end with this little legend. I'm sure you all have heard it, but it's just so perfect to end with.

48:30 One evening, an elderly grandfather told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, My son, the battle is between two wolves inside all of us. One is evil. It is angry. It is jealous.

48:49 It is envious. It is arrogant. It is resentful, it is full of lies. The other wolf is good. It is joy, and peace, and love, and kindness, and generosity, and encouraging, and patient, and compassionate.

49:10 The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then he said to his grandfather, Grandfather, which wolf wins? And the grandfather said, The one that you feed. Who are we feeding, guys? Are we feeding our mind with the very words and thoughts of our Lord and allowing that transformation to take place? Or are we just feeding off the junk of this world?

49:44 Lord, thank you for your amazing word. That really does change lives, that transforms us to be more and more like you. Lord, by your grace, give every one of us the desire every day to plant a good word from You in the soil of our soul. I pray You bless these women and that You bring us all back safe and sound next week. To God be the glory.

50:13 In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen.

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Christian Voting Church Hurt Jealousy Living Sacrifice Renewing Your Mind Spiritual Gifts

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