Episode 2_Sonship: Christianity Defined

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Hey and welcome everybody. This is Kevin and many of you listening out there

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may know me and there's probably many of you who do not know me.

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This message is something that's been on my heart for a while and in light of

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recent events, I felt moved in my spirit to record this piece.

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I've been working on it for a while and it seemed very appropriate for a time like this.

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Over the last five years, I've been researching and exploring the scriptures

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to gain wisdom and perspective on how to respond to the state of humanity in

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a way that glorifies God,

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in a way that's not judging or condemning the behavior that I see,

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yet at the same time, speaking God's word against the very things that I see.

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And it's heartbreaking.

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And I'm sure the things that are going on, it breaks God's heart for his people.

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So this piece is a culmination of the work that God has been doing in my heart

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over this five-year period.

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And my prayer is that it provides the hope and encouragement you need today

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to stand firm in this challenging climate.

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Now, to begin with, what I'd like to do is start with a scripture from Galatians

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chapter 4, starting in verse 4 through 5.

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And this is really to set the table for our conversation today.

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And it reads, but when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman.

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Born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

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Adoption to Sonship Now that's a term and a word that If we don't know the cultural

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history of adoption We may not really get the depth Of what's being said here,

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But in light of this scripture And what I understand and know it to mean I want

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to share an opinion that I have Based upon observation throughout the years And especially now,

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My opinion is this, is that as a whole, believers have gotten away from what

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it means to be a Christian.

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I don't mean everyone, but I would say as a whole, we've gotten away from what

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it means to be a Christian.

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For some, it's a means to avoid going to hell. For some, it's adhering to commands

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and regulations to manage against sinful behavior, quote unquote, being good.

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For some, it's a moral platform on which to judge the world and others.

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For some, it's the blending of culture to appeal to the mainstream.

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And yet for some, it's a quest for super-spirituality.

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Now, the truth of the matter is that it can be all of these things and even more.

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Because people can make it mean whatever they want it to mean.

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We have evidence throughout history of different types of religions or versions

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or derivatives of Christianity popping up because someone had an idea on how

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to improve upon what was done on the cross.

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And so because of this, we have so many different versions of Christianity.

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So then the question that begs to mind is, what is really Christianity?

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And why does it even matter? Have you thought about that question before?

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Has that come to mind? What is Christianity?

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Not what someone tells me, but what does the word say that it is?

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And why does it really matter?

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And so that's what we're going to dig in today through scripture so that it's

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not my word, my view, my opinion, but it's the word of God that brings it to

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light for you to see for yourself.

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But before we tackle the question, I just want to take a quick moment to refresh

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your memory of the scene in the garden, which is God's original plan.

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We get a picture of God's original plan for humanity.

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So we're going to pick it up in Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 through 31 and it reads,

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Then God said, Let us make man in our image,

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in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds

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in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures

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that move along the ground.

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So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them.

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Male and female, he created them.

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God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number.

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Fill the earth and subdue it.

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Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living

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creature that moves on the ground.

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Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole

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earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food.

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And to all the beasts of the earth, all the birds in the sky and the creatures

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that move along the ground, everything that has the breath of life in it,

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I give every green plant for food. And it was so.

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And verse 31 says, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

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God saw all that he had made and it was very good.

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So God had created the earth specifically

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for Adam and Eve to rule over in divine relationship with him.

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God's plan was to walk among and be among his creation.

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And that was his plan for all of humanity. They were to be fruitful and multiply.

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And I would suspect that if they got around to it, that would have gave birth

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to me, you, and many of you that are listening. But we know how the story went.

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Because of sin, Adam and Eve forfeited God's original plan for humanity.

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So because of sin entering this world through the garden by choices of Adam

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and Eve, they forfeited God's original plan for humanity.

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And just in case you missed it, God's original plan was to be in divine unity

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relationship with his creation To walk with and among them To live with them Together,

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united with God, where he provided everything He didn't miss a beat He established

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perfect order and balance For

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man to live in unity with the living God So that was the original plan.

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So now this brings us to the focus of this message.

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And the focus is around another character named Abraham.

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And Abraham is the beginning of God's redemption plan.

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Abraham is the beginning of how God was going to undo what was done in the garden.

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So that though that plan was forfeited by Adam and Eve, his desire to live in

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divine relationship with his creation would still be accomplished.

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And so we're going to take a look at Abraham and the significance of Abraham

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through the word of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3, which is actually the New Testament.

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Now, there's quite a bit to read here, but I'm going to take my time.

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And if you're bored, you can go ahead and drop off right now,

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but you're going to miss out.

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So if we pick up in chapter three, starting at verse one, it reads,

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You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?

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Before your eyes, Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

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I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law?

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Or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?

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After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

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Have you experienced so much in vain, if it really was in vain?

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So again I ask, does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you by

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the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

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So also Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

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Understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham.

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Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce

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the gospel in advance to Abraham.

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All nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed

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along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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I want to stop for a second and we'll continue, but I want to point out a word,

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justify, because that may be a term that many of you are not familiar with.

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And it's important to understand what that word really means.

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Justification is part of how we are saved. So justification is a component of salvation.

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Sometimes we talk about being saved and we just leave it at that.

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And we don't specify exactly what happened.

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So our salvation starts with justification. And the word justification means

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to be made right with God or rendered not guilty.

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And we're made right and rendered not guilty from the punishment of sin.

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So when we say yes to Christ, we are automatically justified before God because

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of the blood of Jesus Christ.

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There's nothing else that you need to do. There's nothing else that you can

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do. It is a gift to receive justification.

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So not only are your sins forgiven, but you are made right with God once and for all.

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So justification is a big deal and it's important for us to understand.

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So I'm going to read it one more time so that you can pick up on what's being said here.

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Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles, meaning non-Jews,

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by faith, and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham?

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You mean God announced the gospel in advance before Christ even came to Abraham?

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Saying, all nations will be blessed through you.

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So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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It picks up in verse 10. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse.

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As it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything

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written in the book of the law.

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Clearly no one relies on the law. Who relies on the law is justified before

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God because the righteous or the just will live by faith.

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The law is not based on faith. On the contrary, it says, the person who does

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these things will live by them.

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So if you're going to start with the law, you better live by the law.

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In 13, it says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

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For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.

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In some translations, it says on a tree.

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He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the

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Gentiles through Jesus Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

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I want to go back to a word, redeemed. Redeemed, think of it as a transaction.

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I am coming to pay for your freedom.

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And so Christ went to the cross to redeem us out of sin so that we could be

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restored back into our rightful place with God.

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That's what redemption means. So think of it as a counter at a retail store.

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You want something, you go to the counter and check out and you pay for it and it is yours.

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And so Jesus went to the cross to redeem us from the curse of the law so that

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we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

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Now we're going to pick it up in verse 15.

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Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life.

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Just as no one can set aside or add

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to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.

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The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.

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Scripture does not say and to his seeds, meaning many people,

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but and to your seed, meaning one person who is Christ.

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What I mean is this. The law introduced 430 years later does not set aside the

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covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.

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For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise.

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But God, in his grace, gave it to Abraham through a promise.

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There's so much in there. But I think the important part is to realize that

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God is making a promise to Abraham,

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giving a foreshadow of the gospel to Abraham 430 years before the law is even given.

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So what does that tell you? That tells you that God had a divine plan that he was orchestrating,

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behind the scene through Abraham so that you and I could be blessed through

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this promise to a man in the Old Testament in the first book of the Old Testament so that by Christ,

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we might be saved.

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And so it picks up, why then was the law given at all?

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It's a good question. It was added because of transgressions,

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until the seed to whom the promise referred had come.

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So the law was given because of sin, and the purpose of the law was to reveal sin.

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Therefore making it clear that man would need a Savior to redeem them out of sin.

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So the law was not set up to save or give life It was to condemn life, to bring death,

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The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator A mediator,

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however, implies more than one

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party But God is one Is the law therefore opposed to the promise of God?

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Absolutely not For if a law had been given that could impart life then righteousness

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would certainly have come by the law.

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This is good. But scripture had locked up everything under the control of sin

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so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ,

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might be given to those who believe.

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And so that term locked up does also mean imprisoned. So we were imprisoned

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to sin by the law because it revealed sin.

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And the purpose of the law was so that when the promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ,

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we might be set free from the law by just believing in Jesus Christ. Now that's something.

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All of this complicated thing, this death-giving law that we are bound by because

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of something that was done in the garden way before you and I were born.

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Yet God in His grace, His love, and His mercy made a way for you and for me.

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And all we have to do is believe that Jesus Christ is the one,

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the one that was promised,

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the seed of Abraham that came so that all nations would be blessed through Abraham?

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It's hard to believe. It's hard to believe and comprehend how loving God is.

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He put an intricate plan together for you and I to be redeemed and to be restored.

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We're getting close to ending. And so in 23, and this is where it gets beautiful.

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Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law,

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locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.

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So the law was our guardian until Christ came, that we might be justified by

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faith, meaning Christ's coming justifies us by faith in him.

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Now that this faith has come, We are

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no longer under a guardian So in Christ

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Jesus All are children of

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God through faith For all

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of you who were baptized into Christ Have clothed

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yourselves with Christ There is neither Jew nor Gentile Neither slave nor free

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Nor is there male and female For you are all one in Christ Jesus If you belong

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to Christ Then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

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To read this piece again just in case you missed it.

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In verse 26, so in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith.

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That means you, that means me.

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By faith in Jesus Christ, we are now children of the living God.

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Let that sink in.

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This is not me saying it. This is the scripture itself.

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And it says, if we belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

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And so what he's saying is, what I'm saying is that as long as an heir is under age,

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He is no different from a slave Although he owns the whole estate The heir is

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subject to guardians and trustees Until the time set by his father So also when

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we were under age We were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world,

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And here's our verse from earlier But when the set time had fully come God sent

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his son Born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law that

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we might receive adoption to sonship.

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You are his son, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts,

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the spirit who calls out Abba, Father.

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So you are no longer a slave, but God's child.

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And since you are a child, since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

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Now, I want to come back and break down a term, a phrase in here that,

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again, we may not be clear on.

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And the term is adoption to sonship.

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Adoption to sonship. And here's kind of the challenge when we try to understand,

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biblical terminology in the context of modern world definitions.

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Because when we hear the word adopt or adoption, that's when people without

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a child go to a foster place and they get a child.

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They pick one out, they adopt it, and it's part of the family.

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But it's part of the family, but yet not part of the blood line of the family.

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So in relationship with the family, not related to the family.

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And so I want to read to you real quick what it meant in this time in the ancient Rome culture.

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Adoption had a powerful meaning.

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When a child was born biologically, the parents had the option of disowning

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the child for a variety of reasons.

00:22:02.620 --> 00:22:08.900
The relationship, therefore, was not necessarily desired by the parent, nor permanent.

00:22:10.367 --> 00:22:16.267
So, however, if a child was adopted. In Rome, adopting a child meant this,

00:22:16.567 --> 00:22:24.807
that a child was freely chosen by the parents, desired by the parents, chosen and desired.

00:22:25.407 --> 00:22:28.787
The child would be a permanent part of the family.

00:22:29.327 --> 00:22:32.367
Parents couldn't disown a child they adopted.

00:22:32.747 --> 00:22:38.387
So a permanent part of the family, and you couldn't be disowned by a family,

00:22:38.387 --> 00:22:39.947
by your parents that adopted you.

00:22:40.367 --> 00:22:44.607
In addition, an adopted child received a new identity.

00:22:45.047 --> 00:22:47.527
Say that word, new identity.

00:22:48.127 --> 00:22:55.287
Any prior commitments, responsibilities, and debts, transgressions, were erased.

00:22:56.007 --> 00:22:58.847
New rights and responsibilities were taken on.

00:22:59.347 --> 00:23:04.707
Also in ancient Rome, the concept of inheritance was part of life,

00:23:05.027 --> 00:23:06.667
not something that began at death.

00:23:06.667 --> 00:23:10.967
So usually in our culture we wait for someone to die to inherit what they have

00:23:10.967 --> 00:23:16.727
That was not so in the roman culture You got to inherit while you were living

00:23:16.727 --> 00:23:20.507
So being adopted made someone an heir to their father.

00:23:21.507 --> 00:23:26.947
Joint sharers in all his possessions And fully united,

00:23:27.787 --> 00:23:37.907
Fully united to him, the father So now I ask you the question based upon the scripture,

00:23:38.587 --> 00:23:41.987
what would you say is Christianity?

00:23:42.647 --> 00:23:46.487
How would you define or describe Christianity?

00:23:47.187 --> 00:23:50.667
Well, here I have for you, by this word in scripture.

00:23:51.627 --> 00:23:58.387
Christianity is the fulfillment of a promise God made to Abraham that all nations

00:23:58.387 --> 00:24:02.487
would be blessed through his seed, Jesus Christ.

00:24:02.487 --> 00:24:08.527
So Christianity is not a religious movement It's not a denomination It's not

00:24:08.527 --> 00:24:13.627
any of the things that we've made it to be For our convenience The truth of

00:24:13.627 --> 00:24:19.007
the matter is Christianity is the fulfillment of a promise God made to Abraham,

00:24:19.767 --> 00:24:26.887
That all nations would be blessed through his seed Jesus Christ And the blessing

00:24:26.887 --> 00:24:32.327
is redemption from the punishment of sin And restoration of the divine unity

00:24:32.327 --> 00:24:38.267
as sons and daughters related to the one true living God.

00:24:38.827 --> 00:24:45.627
Not in relationship with. Every one of you will define your relationship with God.

00:24:45.987 --> 00:24:52.027
But God has defined who you're related to through Jesus Christ.

00:24:52.287 --> 00:24:57.627
You are related to the one true living God by the blood of Jesus Christ,

00:24:57.627 --> 00:25:02.787
the fulfillment of a promise that was made to Abraham to undo and make right

00:25:02.787 --> 00:25:08.987
what was done in the garden that disrupted God's original plan for humanity.

00:25:10.574 --> 00:25:14.754
Think that Christianity is something special, by virtue of this word,

00:25:15.014 --> 00:25:17.454
I don't know what else to say to you.

00:25:18.054 --> 00:25:22.734
When we make Christianity about anything else other than this truth,

00:25:23.014 --> 00:25:27.954
we detract and diminish the amazing accomplishment of Jesus on the cross.

00:25:28.674 --> 00:25:33.474
When Jesus rose from the grave, he fulfilled the promise God made to Abraham

00:25:33.474 --> 00:25:35.534
thousands of years before,

00:25:35.834 --> 00:25:39.694
saying that all nations, meaning people, could be justified,

00:25:39.954 --> 00:25:46.374
made right with God, and made heirs to the promise to be adopted into sonship by the living God.

00:25:47.114 --> 00:25:52.114
We are related and united with him and is unrevocable or irrevocable.

00:25:52.654 --> 00:25:56.154
It is a gift that is beyond our comprehension.

00:25:56.654 --> 00:26:01.374
And when we trivialize it by making it about moral positions,

00:26:01.614 --> 00:26:06.074
when we trivialize it about being good, when we trivialize about not going to hell.

00:26:06.254 --> 00:26:12.614
We miss out on the amazing gift that has been given to us through our Savior,

00:26:12.814 --> 00:26:15.014
Jesus Christ, by God, our Heavenly Father.

00:26:15.854 --> 00:26:21.254
Now, I want to share this. The day-to-day of Christianity, because of this truth, looks different.

00:26:21.974 --> 00:26:26.054
It's not about our effort anymore. It's not about what you can do.

00:26:26.734 --> 00:26:28.314
It's not about your restraint.

00:26:29.014 --> 00:26:32.874
It's not about your willpower. It's not about your discipline.

00:26:33.414 --> 00:26:35.854
It's not even about your feelings.

00:26:36.434 --> 00:26:41.674
The day-to-day of a Christian life, according to this word,

00:26:42.254 --> 00:26:49.094
is learning to walk this earth as a son and a daughter of the Most High God

00:26:49.094 --> 00:26:52.714
under the direction of His Spirit within us.

00:26:53.214 --> 00:26:56.154
Just like Jesus did.

00:26:57.134 --> 00:27:03.694
Exactly like Jesus did. So let's quickly take a recap.

00:27:05.425 --> 00:27:10.065
Exactly the way in which Jesus walked this earth.

00:27:10.945 --> 00:27:17.025
So what we know is he knew his identity and the identity of the one who sent him.

00:27:17.685 --> 00:27:21.905
So according to the life of Christ here on earth, the example that he set forth

00:27:21.905 --> 00:27:28.105
for us, he knew his identity and the identity of the one who sent him.

00:27:28.785 --> 00:27:32.785
He knew where he was from. He knew where he came from.

00:27:33.685 --> 00:27:39.025
He was not confused about his citizenship, where his loyalty was,

00:27:39.845 --> 00:27:44.625
where his perspective was from, where his thoughts came from.

00:27:45.125 --> 00:27:49.745
He knew he was from the kingdom of God, heaven.

00:27:50.305 --> 00:27:58.625
So he wasn't confused and he wasn't overly fixated on the way of this world, what was going on.

00:27:59.025 --> 00:28:04.005
We have no account of him going to Rome and talking to Caesar about all of his

00:28:04.005 --> 00:28:06.185
immorality and what he was doing.

00:28:06.785 --> 00:28:09.665
He knew his purpose.

00:28:10.645 --> 00:28:17.145
He knew what he came to do, to be the sacrifice and the substitution for us,

00:28:17.425 --> 00:28:24.625
the sacrifice to atone for sin and the substitution to go in our place and face death,

00:28:25.025 --> 00:28:31.085
the full wrath of God's punishment against sin so that you and I would not have to face it.

00:28:31.465 --> 00:28:33.445
So he knew his purpose.

00:28:34.165 --> 00:28:38.765
He knew the power he had to do the work he was sent to do.

00:28:39.305 --> 00:28:47.205
He knew the power he had to do the work he was sent to do, the power of the living God.

00:28:48.816 --> 00:28:55.816
Beautiful when you look at the life of Christ. He didn't do to become. He did because he was.

00:28:56.396 --> 00:29:01.036
You think about that. He didn't do to become something.

00:29:01.516 --> 00:29:05.376
He did because he was the Christ.

00:29:06.476 --> 00:29:09.996
And so that's different. That's different in our culture.

00:29:10.396 --> 00:29:16.056
Our culture teaches you have to do something to become something.

00:29:16.496 --> 00:29:21.776
From the time we begin school, we're indoctrinated in an idea do to become.

00:29:22.616 --> 00:29:26.356
And part of that is true. You got to get educated. You got to do these things.

00:29:26.976 --> 00:29:32.576
But in the kingdom, as it relates to God and who we are in him through Jesus

00:29:32.576 --> 00:29:38.776
Christ, we don't have to do to become anything because by the blood of Christ,

00:29:38.996 --> 00:29:41.876
he declares that we already are.

00:29:42.496 --> 00:29:47.176
So when we talk about being Christ-like, it's not doing to become.

00:29:47.956 --> 00:29:51.976
It's believing in Christ and knowing that we are.

00:29:52.656 --> 00:29:56.556
We've been given a new identity, the gift of sonship.

00:29:57.136 --> 00:30:01.696
And you know what that means now. You have been chosen and you're desired.

00:30:02.236 --> 00:30:08.496
You are united. You cannot be disowned. It comes with new responsibilities.

00:30:08.496 --> 00:30:12.136
The debt has been wiped clean, erased

00:30:12.136 --> 00:30:15.336
You are now joint sharers

00:30:15.336 --> 00:30:19.556
of the inheritance It's yours We've

00:30:19.556 --> 00:30:22.356
been given a new citizenship The kingdom of

00:30:22.356 --> 00:30:27.356
God So that we can see from that perspective And live from that perspective

00:30:27.356 --> 00:30:35.136
Not from the perspective of this world When we live or try to live As Christians

00:30:35.136 --> 00:30:40.316
From the perspective of the world There's no way we glorify God.

00:30:42.209 --> 00:30:49.889
Live as Christians, sons and daughters of the living God, from the perspective of the kingdom,

00:30:50.649 --> 00:30:55.489
when we see from that perspective and live from that perspective,

00:30:55.949 --> 00:31:00.149
God is glorified, which actually is our purpose.

00:31:00.609 --> 00:31:03.309
We've been given a new purpose for our lives.

00:31:03.829 --> 00:31:09.809
It is to glorify God in all that we say and all that we do so that people would

00:31:09.809 --> 00:31:13.149
be drawn unto Him. That's exactly what Jesus did.

00:31:13.349 --> 00:31:18.849
Everything that he did, everything that he said, it was set up to glorify God and point people to him.

00:31:19.329 --> 00:31:23.869
And that's the privilege and opportunity that we get now as sons and daughters.

00:31:24.649 --> 00:31:30.429
And the most important part is that we've been given the full power of the living

00:31:30.429 --> 00:31:34.289
God by his spirit alive in us.

00:31:34.889 --> 00:31:43.309
Not a portion or a fraction, but the same fullness of God that enabled Christ to do all that he did.

00:31:43.849 --> 00:31:48.429
We get the full power of the living God by the indwelling Holy Spirit,

00:31:48.709 --> 00:31:55.149
which is one of the things that we get to inherit as part of the promise, the Spirit of God.

00:31:55.929 --> 00:31:59.749
I know I'm a little fired up, I'm sorry, and I'm about to conclude.

00:32:00.609 --> 00:32:07.009
Brothers and sisters, when we understand and embrace this truth that is presented

00:32:07.009 --> 00:32:13.269
to you today, Today, we get to influence the world just as Christ did,

00:32:13.769 --> 00:32:19.449
rather than be influenced by the world. We are set here.

00:32:20.089 --> 00:32:25.369
Our faith is not given for us to prop ourselves up and say, look how good I am.

00:32:25.949 --> 00:32:31.129
It should be to say, look how great God is in what he has done.

00:32:31.609 --> 00:32:38.849
And it only requires you to believe in the one that he sent to accomplish it so that we can have it.

00:32:39.329 --> 00:32:46.169
It's God's love for us poured out on us through Jesus Christ.

00:32:46.929 --> 00:32:53.609
And because of the pervasiveness of sin in this world, we can't control the

00:32:53.609 --> 00:33:00.689
epidemic of sin, and we should truly look at it as an epidemic. but Jesus is the cure.

00:33:01.129 --> 00:33:03.069
It doesn't take sin out of the

00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:09.949
world, but it frees the person in the world from sin and gives new life.

00:33:10.589 --> 00:33:14.869
And so in today's climate of lies, deceptions, and distortion of truth,

00:33:15.409 --> 00:33:21.949
the impact of the church will come from living who we are instead of by what

00:33:21.949 --> 00:33:24.549
we say or what we stand for.

00:33:25.049 --> 00:33:29.209
And so when we seek to live from our true identity, our true citizenship,

00:33:29.789 --> 00:33:32.709
our true purpose, and the power of the living God within us,

00:33:32.949 --> 00:33:37.309
we will be the light against the darkness of this world.

00:33:39.274 --> 00:33:45.354
Light that we are called to be. So I say this in closing.

00:33:46.394 --> 00:33:53.374
Collectively, let us seek God with all of our hearts to ask him to help us,

00:33:53.774 --> 00:34:00.214
to teach us how to live out our faith as sons and daughters in a manner that

00:34:00.214 --> 00:34:03.994
glorifies and honors his name, not our name.

00:34:04.674 --> 00:34:08.854
If people are seeing us, then they're not seeing God in us.

00:34:09.594 --> 00:34:12.674
We must decrease so that He can increase.

00:34:12.974 --> 00:34:17.714
It's not about glorifying our name. There's too much of that.

00:34:18.394 --> 00:34:23.514
And it doesn't have impact against the evil and wickedness in this world.

00:34:24.194 --> 00:34:32.074
And it's by the power of His Spirit alive in us that we can be a blessing to the world around us,

00:34:32.554 --> 00:34:41.234
which is God's good and perfect will for our lives, just as it was for our Savior,

00:34:41.834 --> 00:34:49.094
our great high priest, and our example of how to live in sonship,

00:34:49.974 --> 00:34:54.994
inclusive of daughters, with the one true living God.

00:34:55.574 --> 00:34:59.034
I'm going to ask you to do something on your own time.

00:34:59.994 --> 00:35:04.074
In John chapter 17, Jesus prays to the Father.

00:35:05.194 --> 00:35:11.914
And in light of this message, I want you to read it slowly and picture it through

00:35:11.914 --> 00:35:18.254
the lens of a son speaking to his father.

00:35:18.754 --> 00:35:24.374
Because Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is speaking.

00:35:25.574 --> 00:35:31.814
Praying on our behalf, on the behalf of the disciples and for himself as a child,

00:35:32.234 --> 00:35:36.214
a son of God, the Father in heaven.

00:35:36.534 --> 00:35:42.114
And it is the most beautiful and tender piece of scripture that you'll read

00:35:42.114 --> 00:35:44.894
when you view it in that light.

00:35:45.454 --> 00:35:50.554
I thank you and I pray that God would bless you for taking the time to give

00:35:50.554 --> 00:35:54.414
attention to his word. Amen. Thank you.