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If you got a Bible, turn to Luke chapter 3.

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We are looking at a spiritual stud muffin here in John the Baptist.

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Jesus said the greatest of all the prophets was John being filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb.

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And then being a wild man in the wilderness.

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And one other announcement I would like to make tonight's Cowboy Church over at the fairgrounds there at Sandy Downs at 6 o'clock.

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And a potluck, please support Valleygate ministries as Pastor Justin and company,

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minister over there this evening. Just an exciting time.

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The Lord grow and hit the body of Christ all over Idaho Falls.

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So it's super exciting.

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So anyway, please support that and read with me, if you will.

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We're going to pick it up in verse 7.

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We had finished there where John had talked about crooked places being made straight.

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And mountains and hills brought low and valleys filled up or leveled up.

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And that's kind of what the Lord does, right?

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If you're all high and mighty, he brings you a little bit low.

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If you're low and down in the dumps, he'll lift you up.

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Right?

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If you're crooked, and there we are, folks.

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If you're crooked, he'll straighten you out.

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Amen?

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And that's just what the Lord does.

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You know, I heard a preacher here a while back saying, you know, people change,

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but not a lot.

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And so we still kind of have to.

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some of our idiosyncrasies in our life and habits that are hard to break and all those things.

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But it's a process, right?

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The sanctification process is over time, if you consistently seek the Lord, right, he's going to,

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he's going to change your life.

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A good friend of mine, we were just talking a little bit ago.

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And I remember reading in Isaiah where it said, line up on line.

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That means you got to read it.

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Precept upon precept.

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That means you understand it. Here a little, there a little, and it produces fruit.

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And so that's what God has called us to. He's called us to be fruit producers. And John's going to talk about that.

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And, of course, I always get to ask, what's your title? The title today is turn or burn.

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I know that's not very original, but it does prove a point, right?

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turn or burn. And so we're going to read in, and I'll just read through this in starting in verse 7, go through

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verse 20. It says, then he said to the multisies, John the Baptist speaking, then he said to the multitudes

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that came out to be baptized by him, brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee the wrath to come?

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Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have.

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have Abraham as our father. For I say to you, that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these

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stones. And even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not

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bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And so the people ask him saying,

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what shall we do then? And he answered and said to them, he who has two tunics, let him give to him

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who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise. Then tax collectors also came to him.

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All 87,000 of them. Sorry, just had to throw that in. To be baptized and said to him,

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Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, collect no more than what is appointed for you.

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Likewise, the soldiers ask him, saying, and what shall we do? And so he said, he said to them, collect no more than what is appointed for you.

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said to them, do not intimidate anyone, one, or accused falsely, and be content with your wages. Now, as the people

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were in expectation and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

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John answered, saying to all, I indeed baptized you with water, but one mightier than I is coming,

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whose sandal straps, I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,

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and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his

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threshing floor and gather the wheat to his barn. But the chaff, he will burn with unquenchable

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fire, and with many other exhortations he preached to the people, but Herod, the Tretarch, being

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rebuked by him concerning Herodius, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils, which Herod had done,

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also added this, above all, that he shut up. Heard, the shuddered.

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John up in prison. Let's pray. Lord, thank you. Thank you for this word. It's your word. And it does a lot of things to us.

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Lord, it stirs us. Lord, it can convert our soul. And so I just pray that you would use it in a mighty way.

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Lord, as we kind of dig in here a little bit. Lord, may you just reveal things to us, the wonders of your

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incredible word in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Okay, so he starts off here with a bang, you know.

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It's obviously, we saw last time where John is in the wilderness, which, because he was in

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the line of being a priest, he should have been in the temple, but because things had been

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so turned upside down, the Lord had him in the wilderness, right?

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No doubt he probably hadn't shaved in a while.

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Probably had a grasshopper leg hanging out of his beard.

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Right?

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That was his food was locust and wild honey.

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And so he was kind of an odd creature.

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But like I quoted Spurgeon last week, right?

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You set a man on fire and people will come from miles around to watch him burn.

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And they were coming to see John there in the wilderness.

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And boy, was he on fire.

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And so the salvation of God was something that he was pointing to for the people,

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because obviously the people were expecting the Messiah to come, and they had a skewed view of that,

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and John was coming to kind of line them out and let them know that God's going to save you,

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but it starts with repentance, right?

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It starts with turning or the changing of your mind.

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Somebody has rightly said, repentance is when you come to the place in your life where you finally agree with God, about yourself.

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right? You agree with God about yourself that you've sinned and fallen short of his glory

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and that you need to turn from that. So here is the baptizer proclaiming the Lord.

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And he starts off there in verse 7 and he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him,

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brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Now it's not politically correct

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to look at a congregation and said, all right, you bunch of snakes.

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Who's warned you to flee the wrath to come?

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Because we all are, we are all crooked.

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We're all in need of what Israel was looking for there

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and being rescued.

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They're a Messiah, their anointed one, to come and save them,

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though they believed it was going to be a big political sweep.

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That sounds familiar.

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And that politically Jesus is going to come and take over and overthrow Rome and set on his throne.

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But they forgot.

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They forgot to read Isaiah 52, 53, and 54, right?

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They forgot to read about this suffering servant who, not until the second advent, the second coming of Christ, do we see him sitting on the throne and taking over?

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over. And so they were a little bit misled by their own understanding. And he tells them,

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brood of vipers. This kind of goes along with what Jesus was talking, right? When he called the Pharisees,

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you, you snakes. And you had better change your ways. Right? You had better change your ways.

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Right? You had better change your ways. And he says there, he says, who warned you?

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right? Who has warned you from this judgment to come? I'm going to do it right now. I'm going to warn you

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right now that there's a judgment coming. Are you ready? Are you ready for that judgment?

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Because see, even Christians get judged. Correct? Right? We stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

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The Bible tells us. We're all going to stand there. And many believe that it's a reward seat. Right? If you

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fail in that judgment, at least hell is not going to be your home. There's going to be rewards or

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or the lack thereof. Many commentators believe. And I'm okay with that. That's where I want to be.

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I want to be at that judgment. I don't want to be at the other one. It's known as a great white

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throne judgment. You can read about it in the book of Revelation. And he says, I'm going to, I'm going to do it right now.

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I'm going to tell you that you you need to change your ways. Therefore, he says in verse 8,

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bear fruits or fruit, fruits, worthy of repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have

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Abraham as our father, right? Bring fruit. When you repent, it's obvious. It's obvious to people.

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I remember after my brother and I got saved and some of the scuttle butt that was going around

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Filer, Idaho. Say, did you hear about them brown boys? They got religion. Yeah, they're

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bribal thumpers now. Can you believe that? And sure enough, the Lord started cleaning us up. I remember

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Rick calling me right after he got saved. He goes, man, how do you cost when you're a Christian?

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He says, everything I say sounds so hokey.

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Oh, golly gee whiz.

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I said, I don't know.

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I don't have it figured out yet, right?

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I didn't have it figured out.

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But the Lord would convict us as we began to try to do some of the things we had done before

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Jesus came and just freight trained us.

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And so people noticed.

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It's just like, wow.

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And I remember her in the first time hearing my little brother preach for the first time.

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It was in our hometown at a youth event at the old Mormon church who had been bought by the Baptist church.

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Right.

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It was quite a little merry-go-round.

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And Rick shared his testimony there and Father.

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And I'm just thinking, holy cow, the Lord, he's got some stuff in our future.

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And it ain't what we used to do.

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Thank you, Jesus.

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right? And so there's this fruit that happens. It's just a fruit. He says, worthy of repentance.

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That's worthy to be acknowledged that there is a huge change. And that needs to happen in you and in me.

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There needs to be a change in us. Right. People say, well, I love Jesus. Yeah, but you live like hell.

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What are you doing? Your witness sucks.

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Sorry.

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Am I supposed to say that from a pulpit?

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But it's terrible.

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It'd be better not to say anything about Jesus.

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I've met people like that.

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Please don't say anything about Jesus.

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Because if they think that you're what Jesus is all about, right?

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You've let them astray.

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And so there's this, there's this fruit.

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that comes and this change that is obvious.

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And then he tells these, the Jews, he says, and don't, please, and do not begin to say in

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yourselves, we have Abraham as our father, for I say to you that God is able to raise up

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children to Abraham from these stones.

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I feel like there's something.

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Is this rubbing on something?

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Maybe I'm breathing too hard.

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But when we come to Christ, obviously, there's this change. And then there's fruit.

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And the Bible talks about the fruit of the spirit, right? There in Galatians chapter 5,

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there's love and joy and peace and long suffering and goodness and kindness and faithfulness

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and all these things. And John, when he talks about Abraham here, he's kindphing, their self,

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righteousness or their self-deception, should I say, in the bud where he says, don't think, don't think it's

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okay to, oh, Abraham, we're just riding the wave of Abraham's faith all the way into heaven.

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And this was a, you know, it was widely taught that that Abraham's merits were plenty for any

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Jew for salvation. I know a lot of, I know a lot of people like that. Oh, my.

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My grandma takes care of that.

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She prays for me all the time.

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You realize it doesn't work like that?

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And yet so many people, right?

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So many people are convinced.

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And John's saying here, listen,

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that ain't the case.

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If God just wanted people to impersonally,

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be with him, without a personal relationship, he can raise up people from these rocks.

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I believe it's literal, right?

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Because I say it all the time, and I know I feel like a broken record,

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God does not need us. He wants us, but we need him.

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Right? We need him. And so John's just calling it, man.

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I remember thinking I was okay because I had a grandma that knew Jesus.

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And boy, did I have a day of reckoning?

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No, I need Jesus.

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Just like my grandma needed Jesus.

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And so that's what John is telling the people here.

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And like I say, I had this boss.

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He said, yeah, and we always got in these. And he always brought it up. I would try to be quiet, right?

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Zip my lip. We'd be driving down. We'd be going out through the brush, go get a bunch of cows or something, and he'd bring it up.

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And we'd get in an argument about God, right? And I'd always say, you keep breathing this up, right? I haven't been bringing this up.

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Because he's seen the change in me, right? When I first went to work for him, I was a helian.

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And then I got saved and he got, and I remember him telling one of whispered to one of his friends,

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hey, Scott, he's one of them. He's one of them born againers.

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Born againers. Are you a born againer? I hope you're a born againer. And he's one of them

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born againers. And right before I worked for him for a couple years after Connie and I got married and we left,

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and right before I left, we had a conversation. And he said,

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you know, the God thing, I'm not too concerned about the God thing, because I know you'll take care of that for me.

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I go, Bill, I can't do anything. I can't even do anything for me. What do you think I could do something for you?

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I have to come to Jesus on my knees, broken and sinful and ready for judgment. And but because of his

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Mormon background, he believed that I could, you know, do his work for him.

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You can't do that, right?

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It's all, it's all on us personally.

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God wants a personal relationship.

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And that's what John's kind of hammering home here.

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Because he says, you know, if he wanted sons of Abraham,

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he'd just make him from these rocks.

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He says now in verse 9, and even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees.

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Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is,

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cut down and thrown into the fire. What's your fruit basket look like? Right? He says, if you don't bear fruit,

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you can say you're mine. But like Jesus said, you said all these things to me. You said,

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Lord, Lord. And he goes, depart from me. I didn't even know you. Right? I don't know if you're

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resting on someone's spiritual laurels to get you into heaven.

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but the only way is to have this personal relationship with the living God.

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And he says, it's ready.

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It's judgment's coming.

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The axe is right there.

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In that culture, any tree that did not produce fruit, they cut it down and they burned it.

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And John is liking that tree to people who hear the gospel, but then does it transform their

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does it, does it produce fruit?

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And so,

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Jesus

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suggests in Luke 19

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and God's power

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with the same thing when the people are praising him,

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as John told him, he can raise up.

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children from these rocks.

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And when they were praising Jesus and he was coming in to Jerusalem down the

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Mount of Olives there and the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God.

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The Pharisees told him to rebuke.

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Rebuk your disciples.

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And Jesus answered and said to them,

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I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.

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that rocks are actually more spiritual than some people.

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That they actually recognize the creator.

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That you and I are designed.

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We are given the free will to praise God or not.

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He tells the children of Israel and Isaiah 43,

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the people whom I have formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.

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That we're the ones.

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to praise him.

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And not just be barren in our, in our spiritual lives.

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Lest that acts should come and cut us down.

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God's desires that we make, right, a choice.

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And that's truly what true love is, is God gives you a choice.

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Because I've had people, why don't God just make me walk with him and make me love him?

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Because that's not, that wouldn't be love.

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because love demands a choice. You got to make the choice.

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It would be so much easier, wouldn't it? Yes, it would be.

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It would be so wonderful, wouldn't it? We wouldn't have to deal with this nastiness in our heart.

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God would just, you know, no. He wants you to wrestle and get after it and walk with him on purpose.

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And so that act.

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He says, is ready to start whacking.

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Verse 10 says, so the people ask him, obviously, this struck fear in their heart.

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They ask him, what should we do?

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What do we got to do?

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It's that aha moment.

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Oh, no.

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And so he comes up with four things John does.

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First, he says, there, he says,

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he who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise.

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He says, be generous. Right, be generous. What's God giving you? Be generous with it. Right?

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Give. Find someplace to give something because it helps your greedy tendencies. I got those greedy

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tendencies, don't you? Mine. Right? Started when I was like six months old.

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Mine. Had siblings. We were fighting over stuff. Mine.

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So be generous. We're building a new church. Please be generous.

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Just kidding. Where God dies, God provides, right?

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So, Proverbs 11.25, a generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be.

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refreshed.

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God loves a cheerful giver.

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If you can't be cheerful about giving, then keep it.

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Don't give it.

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I love what First Chronicle says in 29, verse 14.

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But who am I?

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And who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this?

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Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

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Think about it. That's so true. Everything you and I have, God has given us. Are we not?

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Aren't we not to be generous? Because God's been generous with us. It's just, it's just kind of the way he works.

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Right? The next one says, and the tax collectors also came to him to be baptized and said to him,

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teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, collect no more than what is appointed for you. Be honest.

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Just be honest.

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I'm honest, doesn't that mean I have to tell the truth?

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Well, yeah. Even about me? Yeah.

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I don't want to tell the truth about me. The truth about me is scary.

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Just, just be honest.

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Colossians 3 says, do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds

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and have put on the new man who is renewed.

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and knowledge according to the image of him who created him.

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Just be honest.

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How many times when people ask, how are you doing? Good.

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When all hell is breaking loose in our lives, right?

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Oh, good. It's just great. Praise the Lord.

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Liars.

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Thirdly, thirdly, he says, be humble.

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Likewise, the soldiers ask him saying, what shall we do?

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And he said to them, do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.

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Right?

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He says, be humble.

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You're not better.

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Just get you wear a badge.

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You're not better than anybody else.

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It's so funny when I hear police officers.

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I know there's some in the room, but sometimes police.

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Leafs officers, classify people, right? There's people groups. There's the bad guys and the good

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guys. That's a misnomer. There's only bad guys. Some of them have a badge on. Right? There's the bad guys and

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good guys. No. There's just bad guys. The only good guys are the ones who actually know Jesus.

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Because he's the one that's good and brings that goodness to our life. So be humble. Know what you are.

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Don't elevate yourself.

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Just because you're not guilty of being a drug addict,

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don't look down on a drug addict, right?

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Because Lord knows you've got your own stuff, don't you?

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We all got our own stuff.

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And so don't be looking down on people.

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Don't these guys, you know, he says, don't intimidate people because of your position.

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You realize we're all in the same boat.

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And if Jesus ain't in the boat with you, sorry, it's sinking.

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So be generous, be honest, be humble,

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and don't be greedy, be content with what you got.

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What do you got?

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Right?

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Whatever I got, sometimes I just want more.

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Why do you want more?

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Have you not learned?

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the more you have, the more headaches you have.

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That's just so true.

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If I had that, it would just, you know, it would just kind of soothe my soul.

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Yeah, for five seconds.

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And then it's labor.

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Just keeping up on the thing.

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Whether it's a new home or a new car.

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Some people go as far to get a new wife or a new husband.

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Yeah.

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How's that go for you?

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All you do is trade trouble.

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right?

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Just a little bit of different color.

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That's all. It's just trouble.

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The grass is so greener.

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Oh, it ain't either.

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Right?

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Be honest with yourself.

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But we have this tendency to be greedy.

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Ephesians 4 says,

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Let him who stole steal no longer,

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but rather let him labor working with his hands.

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What is good, that he may have something to give him who is in need.

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Right?

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Right back to the first one. Be generous.

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So in verse 15, he kind of shifts gears here.

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It says, now as the people were in expectation, what were they in?

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They were in expectation of the coming in the Messiah.

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Are you in expectation?

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I'm telling us a great way to live, folks.

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Right?

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These guys were in expectation of the first coming of the Messiah.

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You and I need to be an expectation of the second coming.

348
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Or the rapture of the church as somebody reminded me yesterday at a funeral.

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I just wish the rapture would hurry up and come.

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Right?

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Because you already missed your loved ones.

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This one had been married for 65 years.

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And no about the spouse that was left behind, there is a ripping and tearing and a huge void in that life.

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I just want to go. Just want to go be with them.

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Want to be gathered to my people.

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And the Bible says that better is the day of one's death than the day of one's birth.

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And when it comes to faith, that's absolutely true.

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Paul says it's, you know, to live as Christ, but to die is gain.

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And being in the ministry, you know, you get to be around it probably a lot more than you would like.

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But man, does it put things in perspective?

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So they were in expectation.

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It says, and all reasoned in their hearts, right?

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00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:26,520
They'd probably been watching John's life.

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00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:30,500
You know, some of the religious leaders had been watching John's life all this time,

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thinking, what is up with this guy?

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There's something up with this guy.

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And maybe even Jesus, and they reasoned in their heart whether he is the Christ or not,

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And John answered, saying to all, indeed, I baptize you with water.

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But one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap, I am not worthy to loose.

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He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

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And John says he just puts them right in their place.

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And no, I am not the Messiah.

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Right?

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I baptize with water.

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This is a baptism of repentance.

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But the one that comes is mightier than I.

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and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, because that is where the fruit comes from.

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That he was talking about earlier.

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It comes from the Holy Spirit.

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That's the difference.

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So it talks about actually three baptisms right here.

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The first baptism is repentance.

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The second baptism is the baptism of regeneration.

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That's where, that's what Jesus set the stage for us.

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That's what happens.

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to us when we follow the Lord in baptism. But then he talks about the third baptism here,

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baptism of fire. I always thought these went hand in hand that the Holy Spirit, right, would

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you would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. You would receive this unction of the Holy Spirit,

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God directing your life, and you would be a person on fire. But in context, here, that doesn't

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seem what it's talking about. It seems like it's two distinct things. Baptism of the Holy Spirit,

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right, which bears the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, long suffering.

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We've been talking about the gifts of this spirit, which is much different than the fruit of

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this spirit.

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In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, we've been looking at that.

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But this next one, the baptism of fire, is not alluding to the Holy Spirit, but most believe to judgment.

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judgment.

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Emmerced in fire.

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Because that's where the unrighteous dead will be.

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Jesus said they will go to a place

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whose fire is not quenched

401
00:31:51,220 --> 00:31:53,100
and their worm does not die.

402
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They're torment.

403
00:31:55,940 --> 00:31:57,940
John's not really pulling any punches here.

404
00:31:58,980 --> 00:32:01,660
It really is turn or burn.

405
00:32:04,660 --> 00:32:07,800
And so, because,

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why we believe that this is talking in context about the baptism of fire as judgment.

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00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:21,880
It says the next verse 17, his winnowing fan is in his hand.

408
00:32:22,540 --> 00:32:28,860
And he will thoroughly clean out the threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,

409
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:30,880
into his presence, right?

410
00:32:31,220 --> 00:32:34,980
But to chaff, he will burn with unquenchable fire.

411
00:32:36,780 --> 00:32:37,860
Most believe that's what this is.

412
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:44,580
is talking about. Right? The difference. It's kind of like the sheep and the goats. Right?

413
00:32:45,620 --> 00:32:56,700
The for me or against me? No neutral ground. It's one or the other. It's turning or burning.

414
00:32:56,700 --> 00:33:07,620
Or burning. So the difference is the wheat in the chaff. And who fears God?

415
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:10,660
Who fears God today?

416
00:33:12,260 --> 00:33:13,280
A lot of people don't.

417
00:33:14,740 --> 00:33:20,320
It almost seems like there's kind of a shift maybe back towards looking even in society.

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00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:21,400
People are starting to look.

419
00:33:21,660 --> 00:33:22,260
Oh, wait a minute.

420
00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:27,440
Things haven't been that great over the last little while in our country.

421
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,320
And things are turning a little bit.

422
00:33:29,780 --> 00:33:33,440
And the Lord is being proclaimed more and more.

423
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:35,100
And so.

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But the fear.

425
00:33:37,620 --> 00:33:45,120
of God is a pretty important thing. It really does to dictate how you live your life.

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00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:56,740
Hebrews chapter 12, verse 29, our God is a consuming fire. Then back a couple chapters in

427
00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:03,640
chapter 10, it says, for if we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will pay, says the Lord.

428
00:34:04,180 --> 00:34:07,600
And again, the Lord will judge his people. It will. It

429
00:34:07,620 --> 00:34:11,280
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.

430
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:19,399
The people that I know that leave this world, you're always wondering, right?

431
00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:20,580
Where they are?

432
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,060
It's a fearful thing to fall under the hands of a living God, especially if you're not

433
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:26,879
prepared for that.

434
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,460
It's important to be prepared for that.

435
00:34:33,659 --> 00:34:45,460
And so John, he's, he's telling them, this one who's coming, right, his winnowing fan is in his hand,

436
00:34:45,919 --> 00:34:48,379
and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor.

437
00:34:48,659 --> 00:34:52,760
He's going to burn all the chaff, all that stuff that doesn't bear fruit.

438
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,200
It's just, it's just hell fodder.

439
00:34:57,620 --> 00:34:58,540
It's going to be burned up.

440
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:07,420
consumed. And then in verse 18, he doesn't stop. Really, he just kind of keeps rolling, but

441
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:12,780
kind of a different subject here. And with many other exhortations, he preached to the people.

442
00:35:13,740 --> 00:35:20,240
But Herod, the Tetrarch, this is Herod Antipus, being rebuked by him concerning Herodius,

443
00:35:20,780 --> 00:35:28,360
his brother, Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done. He called him out. He called out a public servant,

444
00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:29,560
on his wickedness.

445
00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:34,140
It's not lawful, right, for you to have your brother's wife.

446
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:40,020
Because he had wooed, wooed Herodius away from Philip.

447
00:35:41,860 --> 00:35:46,620
History says that Philip was a lot better guy than his half-brother, Herod.

448
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:53,840
And like I said last week, maybe he was just a wanny and wasn't willing to stand up for

449
00:35:54,660 --> 00:35:56,380
and go to cut fisticuffs for.

450
00:35:56,500 --> 00:35:57,720
I don't know what happened there.

451
00:35:57,780 --> 00:36:00,120
but John called him on it.

452
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,440
And he shut him up in prison.

453
00:36:05,380 --> 00:36:06,080
He put him in jail.

454
00:36:11,340 --> 00:36:12,680
I love his boldness.

455
00:36:13,980 --> 00:36:14,680
His time was up.

456
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:16,380
Here's a guy 30 years old.

457
00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:18,100
Kaching.

458
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,580
It's almost like, you know,

459
00:36:20,620 --> 00:36:23,620
we know that he's going to cut his head off, have his head cut off.

460
00:36:24,580 --> 00:36:26,200
And John, 30 years.

461
00:36:26,460 --> 00:36:27,600
His lot.

462
00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:31,140
in the whole time continuum was 30 years.

463
00:36:31,900 --> 00:36:32,380
It's all they got.

464
00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:40,160
It's kind of like when Moses went up on the mountain and Aaron went up on the mountain.

465
00:36:40,260 --> 00:36:41,400
He goes, all right, take your clothes off.

466
00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:42,380
You're dead, man.

467
00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:43,220
You're going to die right now.

468
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:46,680
See, to God, that's no big deal.

469
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:51,440
And I don't know why it's such a big deal to us, but it is.

470
00:36:52,220 --> 00:36:52,400
Right?

471
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:53,760
I know it's a big deal to me.

472
00:36:54,420 --> 00:36:55,720
It hurts when people die.

473
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:57,620
But John realized,

474
00:36:58,260 --> 00:37:04,540
no doubt he had doubts later when we hear him from prison telling his disciples to go ask

475
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,540
Jesus are you the one or should we look for another?

476
00:37:06,940 --> 00:37:08,240
Was I wasting my time here?

477
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:12,640
He called a spade a spade.

478
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:16,020
He called sin what it was.

479
00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:20,780
And we live in a world today, even in Christendom, even in the church.

480
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:22,480
People don't want to hear about sin.

481
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,660
They want to hear about love and peace and joy.

482
00:37:27,700 --> 00:37:30,400
and grace and mercy and all those things.

483
00:37:31,740 --> 00:37:35,380
Yeah, but don't they have each other intention?

484
00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:40,920
Because without judgment, what is grace and mercy?

485
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:43,160
Right?

486
00:37:44,500 --> 00:37:46,240
Without judgment, what is grace and mercy?

487
00:37:46,460 --> 00:37:48,500
Grace and mercy mean nothing if there's not a judgment.

488
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:54,560
But if there is a fiery, ferocious, eternal judgment that is bearing down on you and me,

489
00:37:55,020 --> 00:37:57,660
that makes that grace and mercy look a whole lot better.

490
00:37:57,660 --> 00:38:04,080
don't it? Thank you, Lord. And we know what we deserve.

491
00:38:08,060 --> 00:38:15,440
The historian Josephus says that the reason for the arrest was that hered, Herod,

492
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:21,660
feared lest the great influence that John had over the people might put it in his

493
00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:27,640
power and inclination to raise a rebellion. For they seemed ready to do anything, he said,

494
00:38:27,660 --> 00:38:39,540
should advise. Right? That's when Jesus asked the, asked the Pharisees. Was John the Baptist? Was he from,

495
00:38:41,180 --> 00:38:51,240
was he from men or was he from God? And they finally said, well, we don't know. Because they knew that

496
00:38:51,820 --> 00:38:57,200
if they reduced who John was, because they believed he was a prophet of God. And they. And they finally said, well, we don't know. Because they knew that if they reduced to John was,

497
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:01,180
And they said, we don't know.

498
00:39:06,380 --> 00:39:12,700
Because John rebuked Herod Antipus for his adulterous marriage to Herodius,

499
00:39:13,180 --> 00:39:18,060
he was in prison by the king and finally beheaded.

500
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:25,100
However, he had faithfully finished his God-given assignment and prepared the people to meet the Messiah,

501
00:39:25,700 --> 00:39:26,340
the son of God.

502
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:28,520
And here comes Jesus.

503
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,960
You and all have a call on our life, right?

504
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:36,840
I'm convinced we all have a call on our life.

505
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,420
A lot of people's calls not to do what I do here.

506
00:39:42,140 --> 00:39:48,180
A lot of people's calls just to live out your Christian faith in your realm of influence,

507
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:49,620
in your family.

508
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:51,400
How's that go?

509
00:39:51,940 --> 00:39:52,080
Right?

510
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,320
I know some people that, man, they can play the game here at church.

511
00:39:56,340 --> 00:40:01,600
church, but when they get home, right? I know dads that kids and wife both, they just want to keep their

512
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:08,860
distance because he's a jerk at the house. Oh, he's nice at church. He's on the board. Does well.

513
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:19,340
But then he's a jerk at home. What's with that? If you can't be a witness in your home for the Lord

514
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,020
and be generous to your wife and your kids with love and affection?

515
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:36,200
He's called us to that as men, as moms, to be that, that nurturer and that one who prays for

516
00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:36,780
her children.

517
00:40:38,620 --> 00:40:39,820
Simple, it's not easy.

518
00:40:40,700 --> 00:40:41,800
Christian life isn't easy.

519
00:40:42,140 --> 00:40:42,820
It gets mundane.

520
00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:44,660
It gets repetitious.

521
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:46,920
It's a labor.

522
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:49,500
But it's a good labor.

523
00:40:50,820 --> 00:40:50,920
Right?

524
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:53,020
God gives us an opportunity.

525
00:40:53,040 --> 00:41:00,860
to be faithful with what's he put in front of what about your job just show up get there

526
00:41:00,980 --> 00:41:10,960
five minutes early pray for the people you work for be a witness hard work a hard day's work for

527
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,000
hard hard hard days work for hard hard hard days pay just just do it be a witness wherever you're out

528
00:41:16,060 --> 00:41:23,000
that's God's call on your life at this time and maybe the Bible says when you're faithful to little

529
00:41:23,020 --> 00:41:29,320
He'll give you more. Just be faithful to little things. God's given you. Because he has this call on all of our lives,

530
00:41:29,420 --> 00:41:42,040
just like he had on John's life. And we who know the truth should be quick to point out what's right

531
00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:49,800
and what's wrong, even if it's unpopular, even if it may get us thrown in jail. However, I do. I was pretty

532
00:41:49,820 --> 00:41:54,240
excited about all the pro-lifers that were in jail that got pardoned. That was, that was kind of,

533
00:41:54,540 --> 00:42:03,080
kind of nice. God's good. God's good. God's good. God can get you out of prison.

534
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:08,220
The most important thing, though, is God will call you out of the grave if you happen to take your

535
00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:17,300
last breath before this, before the rapture of the church. So turn or burn, right?

536
00:42:19,300 --> 00:42:26,840
It's not to say that everyone that doesn't follow Christ perfectly is going to burn,

537
00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:29,820
but it should be our purpose.

538
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:31,140
It should be our pursuit.

539
00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:39,400
And so may we consider the Lord in all that we do.

540
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:44,740
May we find ourselves being generous, being humble, being honest.

541
00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:51,160
and keeping our greed at bay by simply giving.

542
00:42:51,420 --> 00:42:52,440
It can be of your time.

543
00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:54,220
It can be of some of your resources.

544
00:42:54,460 --> 00:42:55,680
It doesn't have to be your money.

545
00:42:56,740 --> 00:42:58,160
My grandpa told me years ago,

546
00:42:58,420 --> 00:42:59,340
God don't want your money.

547
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:00,920
He wants your devotion.

548
00:43:02,380 --> 00:43:05,420
And we can prove by giving him what he's given us.

549
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,300
And so may we do that with all of our hearts.

550
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:10,040
Shall we pray?

551
00:43:11,100 --> 00:43:14,020
Father, thank you for your word that is,

552
00:43:14,060 --> 00:43:21,840
a light, it's a lamp. Lord, just the right and the wrong that we see proclaimed by your

553
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:30,040
servants from Genesis all the way to revelation, Lord, it's in there. It's a truth that leads us and would

554
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:37,200
cause us turn away from our selfish ways and turn completely and totally to you. May we do that today.

555
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:42,860
And I just pray for anyone who hasn't done that today, Lord, that you would give them your mercy,

556
00:43:43,340 --> 00:43:49,020
your grace, Lord, that we would truly fulfill the call that you have on all of our lives.

557
00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:58,960
Lord, may you inspire us. May you give us wisdom for the future. Lord, may we not take for granted

558
00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:06,660
our freedoms and the forgiveness that you've given us. Lord, may we extend it to others and

559
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:12,380
truly fulfill the law of Christ Jesus. And it's in your name, Lord, we pray. We pray.

560
00:44:12,740 --> 00:44:21,540
Amen. Let's all stand, shall we? We're going to sing a little ditty that when I was first saved, the pastor used to sing these words.

561
00:44:22,100 --> 00:44:37,420
And it's really just the Christian's call. And it goes, love, love, love, love, love. Christian, this is your call.

562
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:42,360
To love your neighbor as your son.

563
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:57,220
for God loves us all. For God loves us all. God loves us all. God bless you. If you need prayer, come over here. Have a great week in Jesus.