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First of all, one great love.
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To love the Lord our God
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with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
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And that should be something
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that is set before us daily.
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As we see in Deuteronomy chapter 6,
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it’s something that should be written
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on the doorpost of our house.
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That when we leave, when we come in,
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we are constantly reminded
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that the great thing we are about
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is to love the Lord our God.
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That when it all comes down
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to the basic root of everything,
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I’m to love the Lord my God,
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and I must be reminded
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that this is the thing I’m to do.
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I’m to have one great love,
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and then again, I’m to have one great passion.
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We listen to Matthew 6:33,
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that kind of sums it all up:
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"But seek first His kingdom
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and His righteousness
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and all these things will be added to you."
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Men.
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How different would we be
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if only these two verses were taken seriously?
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If only these two verses
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were brought before our eyes
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two or three times a day?
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And as I said this morning,
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is it not true,
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that you and I can go weeks
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without being reminded
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of the most important things in the Christian life?
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The things that God Himself incarnate
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set out for us
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are forgotten.
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In all our activity
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and all our busyness.
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And everything we do
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we are to do because it is the will of God,
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and because it brings glory to God.
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Even the most menial tasks.
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Something that I often ask myself:
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'When was the last time
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you drank a glass of water
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to the glory of God?'
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'That you relished a glass of water
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to the glory of God?'
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'When you drank it knowing
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it is a gift
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from God?'
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It comes from Him
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and is to return to Him in praise.
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In a sense we are to be reminded of Him
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every time we think,
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every time we look down at our hands and feet,
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every time we attempt any endeavor
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we are to do it to the glory of God.
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There has never been a time
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in the life of Paul Washer
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that I have loved God
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as He ought to be loved.
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And there has never been a time
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in the life of Paul Washer
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that I have glorified God
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as He ought to be glorified.
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You see it changes everything doesn’t it.
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Now it’s not just a knit picky little legalistic system
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that you can check off and say,
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'I’m a righteous man.'
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You see holiness,
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when it comes down to it,
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is separation from the things that displease God,
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in order to be separated unto the person of God.
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To esteem God above all things,
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infinitely above all things His value,
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and to live in accordance with that estimation.
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So as men
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our goal
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is to learn,
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is to grow in this truth
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that everything we do
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we're to do for the glory of God.
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I have met men in the world
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that were not only consumed by passions,
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but were controlled by them.
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Men who are controlled by singular passion.
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I’ll give you a perfect example, it's about to come upon us here
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and it’s the Olympics.
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I in no way want to speak on this in a negative light,
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but I want to use it as an example.
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There are men
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who since they were six years old
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have done nothing
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but run down a 100 meter track.
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Every day of their life
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since they were six years old.
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They have gone without sleep.
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They have gone without hobbies.
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They have gone without lives.
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They have gone without dating.
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They have gone with absolutely everything in their life,
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for one purpose;
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to run down a 100 meter track and get a medal.
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Is that not true?
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Look at the gymnasts,
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they're absolutely amazing,
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their bodies.
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Many of them since they were three
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and four years old,
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all they have ever done
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is eat and sleep
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this passion.
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And then there’s us.
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It’s not some gold medal
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to be hung around the neck
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or some wreath that will be put on our heads
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that will last only for a day.
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But you and I.
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You and I are called
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to be controlled
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by one singular passion;
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the doing of the will of God
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and for a crown, that does not perish.
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We must strive
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to be in the center of God’s will.
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Now, another thing that He has given us,
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not just one great love,
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not just one great passion,
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but He’s also given us a great commission.
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Men,
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we were not made
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to live like most men.
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We were made to fight.
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We were made to strive.
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We were made to work.
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We were made to conquer.
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We were made to give ourselves for something that is eternal.
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Adam was given the command to do what?
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To go out and subdue.
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To bring everything in creation
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in harmony with the will of God.
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To do all his governing,
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all his things
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within the context of God’s will.
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Now we live in a fallen world
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that lives in darkness
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and death.
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The kingdom of the evil one
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spread abroad throughout the land.
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You and I were not called to play video games.
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We were not called
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to sit in front of a television set.
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We were not called to give ourselves to trifles.
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We were called to advance a kingdom!
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To live with a passion,
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to fight for Him!
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And to only every once in a while
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drop our swords and look up for a smile.
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I want to fight!
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I don’t want comfort!
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I don’t want ease in Zion!
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Because the kingdom of God
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is built
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not by those who rest easily in Zion,
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but by those who go out into the streets and fight.
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And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
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They are mighty.
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Intercessory prayer,
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the proclamation of the Gospel,
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and sacrificial love.
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Men.
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Rise up O men of God.
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Do what you were called to do!
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Be valiant and strong!
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And know
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that it’s going to cost you.
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You take your stand beside Jesus Christ and His cause,
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and you watch the devil come after you
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buffeting you from the outside and from the inside.
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But that’s what war is about.
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And so He has given us
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a great commission.
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To pace a room at night saying,
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"There Is a place, there is a place
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where He is not worshiped,
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where He is not worshiped.
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There is a place where He is not worshiped."
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"I can not sleep."
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"There is a place where He is not worshiped."
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"There is a place where the flag of Zion does not fly."
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That’s what we were made for,
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to set aside
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our little temporal causes,
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and to give ourselves
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to this one great battle.
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And so if we set aside
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these basic principle difficult things,
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in order to jump out there
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and do something public
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and something great.
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Then we prove ourselves to be hypocrites.
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What is the most important trait in a man,
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is it giftedness?
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Absolutely not!
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Some of the most gifted men in the world
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are self destructive,
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and destroy others.
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What does your wife need?
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What do your children need?
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What do your children need?
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What does the world need from you?
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Christ-likeness.
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This is what were are to strive toward
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and it breaks my heart.
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Sometimes you know,
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I don’t like to go to conferences,
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I don’t like to preach in them.
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Sometimes in the middle
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of all the stuff being said
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all the time,
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I just want to stand up and say,
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"Enough!"
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"I’ve already got more truth
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than I know how to obey."
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I don’t just want to 'know!'
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I want to 'change!'
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And I don’t want to change on the so called 'spiritual level.'
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That at 'public' level, (maybe is a better word.)
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I want to change
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in the inner chambers of my heart.
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That even His thoughts,
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-the deepest expression of who He is-
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it was His desire that they be according
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to the will of almighty God.
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The freest man on the face of the earth
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is the one who makes himself
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a slave to a perfect master.
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Where has God been wrong,
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and where has He wronged you?
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Has there ever been a time when you've listened to Him,
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when you've obeyed Him,
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when you've sought out His will,
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that He has misled you somehow?
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Never!
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But have you ever followed your own ways
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and been misled by your own devices?
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Always.
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It is extreme.
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It is deliberate.
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1st Timothy 4:7-8
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"But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women,
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on the other hand discipline yourself
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for the purpose of godliness."
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Now here’s an extremely important question.
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When I go to an Olympic athlete