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>> As we begin this morning, I
want to invite you to stand with
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me. We're gonna
sing some songs of
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praise together.
Please stand with me.
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Let's bow our heads.
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Dear Father in heaven, we
are here to worship You this
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Sabbath. Thank You so much for
that opportunity, for friends
and family we can worship with,
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and that You are worthy of
our praise. Please come into our
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hearts this morning, fill this
place with Your Holy Spirit, and
may You be lifted up, and may we
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be encouraged, as well.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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[ "Praise Him!
Praise Him!" begins ]
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Let's praise Him.
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¤¤ [ Song ends ]
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Amen. You can be seated.
[ Mid-tempo music begins ]
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[ Song ends ] You
know, we have some good
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friends that are also part of
this church family that recently
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lost a loved one, a
father, to aggressive cancer.
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And we've been singing these
really positive, upbeat praise
songs, but it seems almost
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counterintuitive to come to
worship with these sorts of
things on our hearts and praise
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Him in those times, doesn't it?
You know, in the midst of his
sickness, this next song that
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we're gonna sing, a modern
version of "It Is Well With My
Soul," became one of his
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favorite songs. And I imagine it
must've been difficult for him
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to embrace the words to this
song, but God gave him the
strength to do it, to recognize
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that he could have peace through
the most difficult of
circumstances. So, I don't know
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what you're facing this morning,
but as you sing this song with
us, know that God can give you
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peace and allow you to praise
in the midst of difficult times.
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[ "It Is Well
With My Soul" begins ]
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[ Song ends ]
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Will you stand with me for
our last song? Maybe there's
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something that is on your heart
today and it's trying to pull
you down. If there's something
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like that, I invite you to come
forward as we're singing this
song, symbolically bringing it
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to God, and we're gonna pray for
it and ask that the Lord work in
your life and give you peace
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amidst the storm
and bring you out of it.
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[ Song ends ]
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¤¤ >> ¤ None other Lamb ¤
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¤ None other Name ¤ ¤ None other
hope ¤ ¤ In heav'n or earth or
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sea ¤ ¤ None other hiding
place ¤ ¤ From guilt and shame ¤
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¤ None beside Thee ¤ ¤ My faith
burns low ¤ ¤ My hope burns low
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¤ ¤ Only my heart's desire ¤ ¤
Cries out in me ¤ ¤ By the deep
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thunder ¤ ¤ Of its want
and woe ¤ ¤ Cries out to Thee ¤
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¤¤ ¤ Lord, Thou art
life ¤ ¤ Though I be dead ¤
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¤ Love's fire Thou art
¤ ¤ However cold I be ¤
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¤¤ ¤ Nor heaven have I ¤
¤ Nor place to lay my head ¤
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¤ Nor home ¤ ¤ Nor
home ¤ ¤ But Thee ¤
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¤¤ [ Song ends ] >> Amen.
00:20:18.38\00:20:25.39
Thank you, Charles Reid, Ken
Logan. The compelling text -- I
00:20:30.43\00:20:38.17
wish you had as I had it on the
phone, on my knee. Wish you had
00:20:38.17\00:20:44.11
that text. You could've followed
the words. You caught them, some
of them. I want to read that
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last line, that last stanza.
"Lord, Thou art life, though I
00:20:50.45\00:20:56.72
be dead. Love's fire Thou art,
however cold I be. Nor heaven
have I, nor place to
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lay my head, nor home,
but Thee." That's powerful --
00:21:05.43\00:21:11.87
Christina Rossetti. Music
composed by Kenneth Logan, sung
00:21:11.87\00:21:21.14
by Charles Reid. Let's pray that
right now. Oh, God, Lord -- as
Charles just sang -- "Lord, Thou
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art life, though we are dead.
Love's fire Thou art, however
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cold we be. Nor heaven have we,
nor place to lay our head, nor
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home, but Thee." Be
that home for Laodicea.
00:21:46.84\00:21:50.71
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Nobody likes to be called a
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name. Aw, I tell
you, it sticks with
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you. I remember I was playing
00:22:00.08\00:22:01.55
basketball with a
bunch of guys at college.
00:22:01.55\00:22:04.02
One of the guys turned to me in
the middle of a play and said,
00:22:04.02\00:22:06.09
"You sissy." [
Chuckles ] Obviously, I've
00:22:06.09\00:22:09.09
never forgotten it. It
sticks with you because
00:22:09.09\00:22:12.76
nobody likes to be called names,
and I finally figured out why we
00:22:12.76\00:22:16.20
have such a hard time with
the last letter, the very last
00:22:16.20\00:22:19.73
letter of the Bible,
the last letter of the
00:22:19.73\00:22:21.94
Book of Revelation.
It's to a community called
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.31
Laodicea. Seven
little churches -- they're
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number seven, the last
before the return of Christ.
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I finally figured out this week
-- why'd it take me so long? --
why we don't like that
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letter. And that's why we don't
read the letter, by the way.
00:22:33.62\00:22:36.32
We don't like it, we don't
read it. Because you know what?
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It feels like Jesus is calling
us five names, five adjectives,
and it makes us mad.
00:22:38.95\00:22:44.19
"I don't have to put up with
this stuff. I don't have to read
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a letter like this. You want
to call me that? [ Scoffs ] Last
00:22:47.73\00:22:51.27
time I'll read your Word."
Nobody likes to be called a
00:22:51.27\00:22:55.70
name. We got to detoxify this
thing, or we're gonna have this
innate resistance to a letter
00:22:55.70\00:23:02.41
that's critically essential
for our survival. We have to
00:23:02.41\00:23:07.65
demystify it. We have to do
something with those five names.
They are hardly complimentary.
00:23:07.65\00:23:13.09
They feel on the border of
derogatory, and when somebody
calls you a name that's
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derogatory, you never forget
it. Trust me. I'm gonna show you
00:23:18.19\00:23:26.07
these five names and then tell
you that, in fact, these five
adjectives, these five names
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were embraced by Jesus and
became His five adjectives,
became His five names on the
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Cross. Watch this. Open your
Bible to the last letter,
Revelation chapter 3.
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Revelation chapter 3. Drop down
to verse 17. Red letters in my
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Bible because Jesus
is dictating this letter.
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Revelation 3:17 -- to the
endgame church of Christianity.
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Verse 17 -- "You say, 'I am
rich; I have acquired wealth and
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do not need a thing.' But
you do not realize --" you
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do not know -- here it comes
now, five names He's gonna call
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that church -- "you do not
realize that you are wretched,
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pitiful, poor, blind --"
and what's that last word? --
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"naked." Nobody
likes to be called naked.
00:24:22.19\00:24:26.39
And yet all five of those were
the names Jesus embraced upon
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the Cross. Wretched? [ Chuckles
] Are you kidding? "Desire of
Ages" actually uses
00:24:33.80\00:24:38.57
the word "wretch." Some poor
wretch came up with a
full-frontal spit, clearing his
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throat into the face of Christ.
Jesus said, "You can call me
00:24:48.22\00:24:56.89
wretched. Go ahead. Spit on me."
Wretched, pitiful. Some of your
translations render
00:24:56.89\00:25:02.46
it "miserable." Miserable.
By the way, that's the very word
00:25:02.46\00:25:09.24
that the Bible uses in 1
Corinthians 15:19 to describe
how miserable we are if the
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story of the Resurrection
is not true. We are miserable.
00:25:16.41\00:25:19.31
We are pitiable. Do you know
what? Jesus, when he's hanging
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on the Cross for you and me,
when he's hanging on that Cross,
he believes that he's on a
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dead-end destiny -- dead end,
meaning he's ending his life
forever and ever in the grave.
00:25:29.96\00:25:37.10
He's pitiful, he's miserable
-- wretched, pitiful, pitiful.
00:25:37.10\00:25:45.94
Poor. Poor. [ Chuckles ] The
prisoner, because it is a custom
00:25:45.94\00:25:50.15
of the Roman soldiers, who have
to waste their time waiting for
this victim to die, it is the
00:25:50.15\00:25:55.72
custom that, whatever he has
left, they dice for. But the
prisoner has nothing,
00:25:55.72\00:26:03.93
nothing but an outer garment,
and it's seamless, and so,
rather than ripping it into
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pieces, they throw dice. "Who
gets it?" That's how poor he
00:26:08.20\00:26:15.27
was. Wretched, miserable,
poor, blind. Do you know what?
00:26:15.27\00:26:23.88
That somewhere it reads, "And
the Savior could not see through
the portals of the tomb."
00:26:23.88\00:26:30.99
He was blind, can't see. You
know what? Every time I think
00:26:30.99\00:26:39.13
about, every time I brood over
that reality, it just -- it just
00:26:39.13\00:26:43.93
blows my mind. I mean, can you
imagine? He was willing to die
forever and ever so that I,
00:26:43.93\00:26:48.17
little old me, can live forever
and ever. Go figure -- die
forever and ever so that you
00:26:48.17\00:26:53.14
might live forever and ever.
He's blind. He couldn't see past
00:26:53.14\00:26:58.71
his nose. Wretched, pitiful,
poor, blind, and naked. Yeah,
00:26:58.71\00:27:06.72
you got it. There isn't an
artist alive that has ever
painted the actual picture of
00:27:06.72\00:27:10.06
the Crucifixion. You know why?
Because it would be rated X. You
can't show a man like that.
00:27:10.06\00:27:17.83
So every artists' rendition of
the Cross, there's a loincloth,
there's something that's hiding
00:27:17.83\00:27:25.71
his masculinity. That was
intentional, barbaric, by the
00:27:25.71\00:27:34.05
Romans. "We'll shame you till
your last moment and breath."
And all of hell stood there with
00:27:34.05\00:27:41.59
their catcalls and
wolf-whistles, trying to shame
him back down from that Cross
00:27:41.59\00:27:48.00
before he dies a victor.
Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind,
00:27:48.00\00:27:58.57
naked. And here we thought He
was calling us names, but, in
fact, they're the five names
00:27:58.57\00:28:06.18
that became His at Calvary for
you and for me -- detoxified the
00:28:06.18\00:28:14.46
letter. The One who writes this
letter is in love with you. He's
in love with the human
00:28:14.46\00:28:18.06
race, but He's passionately,
desperately in love with the
last church on Earth.
00:28:18.06\00:28:26.23
Open your Bible with me, please,
to Revelation 3. If you didn't
00:28:26.23\00:28:29.94
open it last time, open it now.
00:28:29.94\00:28:31.34
I want to pick up right at
the beginning of the letter.
00:28:31.51\00:28:33.94
Title of this teaching --
"Reading in Between the Lines."
00:28:33.94\00:28:37.15
You see it on the screen there?
"The Last Letter: Reading in
00:28:37.15\00:28:40.48
Between the Lines."
You see a website there --
00:28:40.48\00:28:43.12
newperceptions.tv. You
go there, there's a study
00:28:43.12\00:28:45.62
guide today. You'll have it.
00:28:45.62\00:28:47.12
It'll be ready
and waiting for you.
00:28:47.12\00:28:48.92
You just go to that study
guide, get that study guide, and
00:28:48.92\00:28:51.66
download it right now,
but we're gonna keep going.
00:28:51.66\00:28:55.10
Pick it up, Revelation 3.
Now, the top of the letter...
00:28:55.10\00:28:59.00
"So, because you are
lukewarm --" half and half,
00:29:13.95\00:29:16.55
neither cold, neither not
-- "I am about to vomit you --"
00:29:16.55\00:29:19.55
New King James
-- "out of my mouth.
00:29:19.55\00:29:21.56
You say, 'I am rich; I have
acquired wealth and do not need
00:29:21.56\00:29:25.03
a thing.' You do
not know --" that word
00:29:25.03\00:29:27.50
there is "know." NIV
tries to soften it up --
00:29:27.50\00:29:30.23
"You do not realize." No,
it's, "You do not know that
00:29:30.23\00:29:34.87
you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
00:29:34.87\00:29:37.81
So --" verse 18...
00:29:37.81\00:29:39.61
There's a bit of tomfoolery
going on in between the lines of
00:29:50.99\00:29:55.32
this letter. We don't quite
catch it, because embedded in
the letter is a dialectic.
00:29:55.32\00:29:59.53
It is a contradiction between
two realities. Reality number
00:29:59.53\00:30:06.33
one -- "I know who you are.
I know what you are." Reality
00:30:06.33\00:30:09.77
number two about Laodicea --
"You do not know who you are. I
00:30:09.77\00:30:15.01
know." Let's put it on the
screen -- "I know" versus "you
do not know." Now, look, the
00:30:15.01\00:30:21.35
ancient Greek sages used to
declare, "Know thyself." That
was a fine -- a fine
00:30:21.35\00:30:27.26
invitation, and Socrates comes
along a few centuries later, and
he waxes eloquent on that little
00:30:27.26\00:30:32.96
line, "Know thyself," with his
line -- "The unexamined life is
00:30:32.96\00:30:36.87
not worth living." So, yes, it's
good counsel. It's good counsel
to know yourself, to know what's
00:30:36.87\00:30:41.50
going on inside of me, but the
tragedy of Laodicea is they have
no clue what reality is.
00:30:41.50\00:30:47.21
They do not know themselves.
And you know why we can't know
00:30:47.21\00:30:52.05
ourselves? I'll tell you why --
because the biggest liar alive
is you. You're the biggest the
00:30:52.05\00:30:56.95
liar alive -- and maybe me. [
Laughter ] The biggest deceiver
00:30:56.95\00:31:06.59
we live with is ourselves.
We are hoodwinked by our own
00:31:06.59\00:31:11.57
self-delusion and
self-deception. We're
hoodwinked, and we believe the
00:31:11.57\00:31:16.04
lie! [ Chuckles ] Mercy. A few
weeks ago, I came across this
line in Oswald Chamber's
00:31:16.04\00:31:20.58
book, "My Utmost for His
Highest." I read a page out of
00:31:20.58\00:31:24.41
that book every day of my
life. Been at it for decades.
00:31:24.41\00:31:28.15
Oswald Chambers on the screen...
00:31:28.32\00:31:30.59
"The greatest curse in spiritual
life --" write it down -- is
00:31:37.49\00:31:41.76
conceit." Come
on, that's verse 17.
00:31:41.76\00:31:47.34
Read it again. "You
say, 'I am rich; I have
00:31:47.34\00:31:49.74
acquired wealth, and
I don't need a thing.'
00:31:49.74\00:31:52.11
But you do not know that are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind
00:31:52.11\00:31:55.31
and naked."
00:31:55.31\00:31:56.75
The greatest curse in spiritual
life is conceit. By the way, may
00:31:56.91\00:32:02.52
I remind you it was the
Achilles' heel of Lucifer? Turns
out it's the Achilles'
00:32:02.52\00:32:05.89
heel of Laodicea --
both of those L's. "Loser!"
00:32:05.89\00:32:11.66
Achilles' heel.
00:32:11.66\00:32:14.36
Here's a stunner [Chuckles]
from -- would you believe it? --
00:32:14.56\00:32:19.10
Ellen White, "Steps to
Christ," that little classic.
00:32:19.10\00:32:22.44
On the screen -- "God does
not regard all sins as of equal
00:32:22.44\00:32:25.84
magnitude." "Oh, really?
00:32:25.84\00:32:27.51
Well, tell me what are the
greatest sins in God's eyes?"
00:32:27.51\00:32:30.01
Well, keep reading. "The
drunkard --" we'd say today
00:32:30.01\00:32:32.78
the alcoholic, all
right, or the drug addict.
00:32:32.78\00:32:35.48
"The drunkard is despised and is
told that his sin will exclude
00:32:35.48\00:32:39.09
him from heaven; while pride,
selfishness, and covetousness
00:32:39.09\00:32:42.49
too often go unrebuked.
But these are sins --" what are
00:32:42.49\00:32:46.26
sins? Pride, selfishness, and
00:32:46.26\00:32:47.73
covetousness. "These
are are sins that are
00:32:47.73\00:32:51.00
especially offensive to
God..." Have mercy -- especially
00:32:51.00\00:32:57.41
offensive. "...for
they are contrary to the
00:32:57.41\00:33:02.11
benevolence of God's character,
to that unselfish love --" that
00:33:02.11\00:33:05.81
Charles just sang about --
"which is the very atmosphere of
00:33:05.81\00:33:10.19
the unfallen universe.
She who falls into some of the
00:33:10.19\00:33:13.52
grosser sins may feel a sense
of her shame and poverty and her
00:33:13.52\00:33:16.76
need of the grace of Christ; but
pride feels no need, and so it
00:33:16.76\00:33:21.13
closes the heart against Christ
and the infinite blessings He
00:33:21.13\00:33:23.10
came to give."
00:33:23.10\00:33:24.50
"I have need of nothing,"
pride boasts. [ Scoffs ]
00:33:24.67\00:33:29.84
[ Chuckles ] We're
living with a liar. It's me.
00:33:29.84\00:33:36.14
Sigve Tonstad, our New Testament
scholar friend from Loma Linda,
00:33:36.14\00:33:41.52
in that essay, he wrote a blog
on the seven churches. Boy, does
00:33:41.52\00:33:45.95
he nail it for Laodicea.
00:33:45.95\00:33:46.86
I'll put Tonstad on
the screen for you...
00:33:47.02\00:33:49.46
Italics are his...
00:33:58.67\00:34:00.44
Now, here's where he nails it...
00:34:10.15\00:34:12.25
Write that down.
00:34:23.39\00:34:24.89
The way I see myself and reality
-- Whew! "Laodicea -- here's
00:34:25.06\00:34:31.70
where you are, here's what
you think you are. I know you.
00:34:31.70\00:34:38.04
But you, Church, I'm telling
you what, you do not know you.
00:34:38.04\00:34:42.84
Verse 17 again...
00:34:43.01\00:34:46.85
He's not calling us names. He
said, "I became that. Everything
00:34:55.59\00:35:00.83
that Laodicea is I became so
that everything I have Laodicea
00:35:00.83\00:35:08.10
may receive." Mm. [ Raps pulpit
] [ Inhales sharply ] Oh, and
verse 18 -- "And so I
00:35:08.10\00:35:12.01
counsel you..." Now I got to
go on in verse 18. "So I counsel
00:35:12.01\00:35:16.61
you to buy of me gold..." Now,
doesn't that just make you want
to interrupt Jesus?
00:35:16.61\00:35:20.48
"I mean, look, please.
Time-out. Whoa! Whoa, whoa.
00:35:20.48\00:35:22.85
[ Chuckles ] The anachronism of
what You just said -- You just
had the temerity to call us
00:35:22.85\00:35:27.06
poor, and, by the way, we're
taking it rather personally,
these five names, these five
00:35:27.06\00:35:31.09
adjectives You've chosen. You've
just called us poor, and then
You have the temerity to
00:35:31.09\00:35:35.16
turn to us and say, 'And, by the
way, you poor folk, I need you
to buy from me gold.'
00:35:35.16\00:35:39.17
Go figure. How are we gonna
be able to buy when we're poor?"
00:35:39.17\00:35:43.37
Because you and I in the third
millennium, we live with buying
00:35:43.37\00:35:48.18
and selling. We do it online.
eBay, Amazon, Craigslist -- you
name the site, we go there,
00:35:48.18\00:35:53.11
because we do buyin' best. But
in the Oriental/Western mind,
that's not what they're
00:35:53.11\00:35:58.55
thinking about when they're
thinking about shopping. In
fact, God Himself --
00:35:58.55\00:36:02.06
Isaiah 55 on the screen, please.
00:36:02.06\00:36:04.09
God Himself speaking -- "Come,
all you who are thirsty, come
00:36:04.26\00:36:09.86
to the waters; and
you who have no..."
00:36:09.86\00:36:12.43
what? You got no money.
00:36:12.43\00:36:14.70
I understand that.
"...you have no money, come,
00:36:14.70\00:36:17.07
buy --" wait a minute. You
just said we have no money.
00:36:17.07\00:36:20.04
He said, "I did. I
want you to come and buy."
00:36:20.04\00:36:22.58
Now keep reading. Come,
buy wine and milk without
00:36:22.58\00:36:25.45
money and without cost."
You know what's going on here?
00:36:25.45\00:36:28.45
It's just God's way of reminding
you and me that what He has to
00:36:28.45\00:36:31.29
give us is priceless.
It's beyond anything we could
00:36:31.29\00:36:34.19
possibly purchase
ourselves. Jot this down.
00:36:34.19\00:36:37.19
"Without money and without cost"
means, "You'll never have enough
00:36:37.19\00:36:41.63
money to buy it, so I'll never
charge you a penny to have it."
00:36:41.63\00:36:46.57
Because it's priceless, and
priceless means it's free -- no
00:36:46.57\00:36:51.27
price, no cost to you.
00:36:51.27\00:36:54.98
And then He says, "Listen, I'm
gonna sell you three things
right now that are priceless and
00:36:55.14\00:37:00.68
free." And here they
come -- boom, boom, boom.
00:37:00.68\00:37:03.79
Gift number one, two, three --
jot them down. Gift number one,
00:37:03.79\00:37:07.12
here we go. Three infinitely
priceless gifts for the endgame
church. Gift number one -- "I
00:37:07.12\00:37:13.23
counsel you to buy from me
gold." Write that word in --
"gold." Because you know what?
00:37:13.23\00:37:17.97
Laodicea knows all about gold.
In fact, they have a reputation
in the empire for having the
00:37:17.97\00:37:21.87
largest of hoard of gold
available. They have this
00:37:21.87\00:37:26.91
massive banking exchange. They
are so proud of their wealth.
00:37:26.91\00:37:30.18
Jesus looks down at them, and He
says, "Hey, guys, the gold you
have -- let me just let you in.
00:37:30.18\00:37:34.55
The gold you have, it's fool's
gold. It'll not buy you a thing.
00:37:34.55\00:37:38.39
I have the real deal. Come to
me, and, for free, buy my gold."
00:37:38.39\00:37:43.63
What's the
gold, what's the gold?
00:37:43.79\00:37:45.33
1 Peter 1:7 on the
screen -- jot it down.
00:37:45.33\00:37:47.73
"...that the genuineness of
your faith --" write in the word
00:37:47.73\00:37:51.00
"faith" -- "being much
more precious than gold that
00:37:51.00\00:37:53.87
perishes, though it is tested
by fire, may be found to praise,
00:37:53.87\00:37:57.24
honor, and glory at the
revelation and return of
00:37:57.24\00:38:00.04
Jesus Christ."
00:38:00.04\00:38:01.44
The pure gold of a humble faith
in Christ. In fact, it turns out
00:38:01.61\00:38:10.59
that the faith to have is not my
faith -- it's His faith. You
remember Hebrews 2:13?
00:38:10.59\00:38:15.89
Couple falls ago, you and I
spent a whole season just
thinking about, "Wow, Jesus'
00:38:15.89\00:38:20.16
seven-word credo." Let's
put Hebrews 2:13 on the screen.
00:38:20.16\00:38:23.23
Let's do this out loud together.
These are the seven words Jesus
00:38:23.23\00:38:27.94
lived by... That's it. Jesus
lived by that -- radical faith.
00:38:34.01\00:38:38.98
"I will put my trust in Him,"
His own seven-word credo, the
gold of His faith in the Father.
00:38:38.98\00:38:47.72
And guess what. If He had faith
in the Father that was perfect
00:38:47.72\00:38:52.09
from stem to stern, what the
gold is, we got to get His
faith. It's not my faith that
00:38:52.09\00:38:56.70
counts. If I can just get His
faith, I got it. And that's the
00:38:56.70\00:39:00.87
point of the endgame Laodicean
church. Look at them described
in Revelation 14:12...
00:39:00.87\00:39:05.21
There's no missing verb there.
There's not intended to be a
00:39:10.45\00:39:14.18
verb there. It really reads,
"Here are they who keep the
commandments of God and --" keep
00:39:14.18\00:39:19.05
the faith, baby -- they "keep
the faith of Jesus." Whose faith
is it, Church? Whose faith is
00:39:19.05\00:39:24.79
it? Come on, Church, tell
me, whose faith is it? >> Jesus.
00:39:24.79\00:39:27.86
>> It's Jesus' faith. It's not
my faith. It's not your faith.
00:39:27.86\00:39:30.93
We're not saved by our faith
-- we're saved by His faith.
00:39:30.93\00:39:34.30
We got this whole thing wrong.
We've made us the center of the
00:39:34.47\00:39:38.17
universe and the sun revolves
around us, like Galileo finally
00:39:38.17\00:39:41.81
discovered is wrong.
The Earth is in the middle,
00:39:41.81\00:39:46.21
everybody believed back then,
and the sun revolves around the
00:39:46.21\00:39:48.48
Earth. Wrong!
00:39:48.48\00:39:49.32
The truth is the sun is in the
middle, and the Earth revolves
00:39:49.32\00:39:52.29
around the sun. It's
His faith, not mine, that
00:39:52.29\00:39:55.96
saves me. You understand that?
00:39:55.96\00:39:58.16
It's His faith. That's why it's
gold. You can't come up with it.
00:39:58.33\00:40:02.53
You got a few pennies, but not
enough. Gold -- "I counsel you,
00:40:02.53\00:40:07.17
buy of me gold," faith. Oh, he's
got three gifts. Gift number two
00:40:07.17\00:40:15.94
-- "I counsel you to buy of me
white robes." Oh, brilliant,
Jesus. You really got Laodicea
00:40:15.94\00:40:20.78
now, because you know what the
Laodiceans were proud of? They
had a textile that they
00:40:20.78\00:40:25.72
didn't have in the rest of the
empire. They had sheep that fed
00:40:25.72\00:40:31.23
on the grass around Laodicea,
and those sheep had black wool,
and when the black wool was
00:40:31.23\00:40:37.90
woven, it was woven into a
beautiful -- with a violet sheen
on it -- black textile.
00:40:37.90\00:40:42.97
And the Laodiceans, as a sign of
their wealth, proudly put on
black, and they said, "Black is
00:40:42.97\00:40:49.94
the color of elegance and
wealth." And Jesus said, "Hey,
00:40:49.94\00:40:55.15
hey, hey, hey, hey, time-out,
time-out. I'm gonna give you
white robes. White robes."
00:40:55.15\00:41:04.13
So when He says "white robes,"
they get it. What are the white
00:41:04.13\00:41:10.97
robes? The Bible's
absolutely clear. Jot it down.
00:41:10.97\00:41:13.84
On the screen for
you -- Isaiah 61:10...
00:41:14.00\00:41:17.41
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
The faith belongs to Jesus, and
now I'm finding out the
00:41:29.35\00:41:32.85
righteousness belongs to Jesus.
The robe is His. Salvation is
00:41:32.85\00:41:43.23
His. Jesus says, "Hey, Dwight,
I'm looking at your messed-up
life. I got a deal for you.
00:41:43.23\00:41:51.64
I came down to this planet, and
I lived a perfect life, and I
00:41:51.64\00:41:56.95
did it for you. How about we
exchange, huh? How about you let
me have your filthy rags, and
00:41:56.95\00:42:03.69
let me give you my white robe
-- pure, spotless." "God doesn't
00:42:03.69\00:42:08.92
say anything about Dwight's
rags looking like that." Are you
00:42:08.92\00:42:11.19
kidding? Isaiah 64:6
-- put it on the screen...
00:42:11.19\00:42:13.90
"Dwight, your messed-up life,
I'm willing every day to
exchange the previous 24 hours
00:42:22.07\00:42:28.64
with my spotless robe. Is
that a deal?" Are you serious?
00:42:28.64\00:42:34.38
"I give you my gold. I
give you my robe." Wow.
00:42:34.38\00:42:39.92
Reminds me of this often-quoted,
popular line from "Desire of
00:42:39.92\00:42:43.69
Ages." On the screen...
00:42:43.69\00:42:45.09
The robe's not
mine -- it's Yours.
00:42:55.90\00:42:57.87
"I'll give you a robe." Wow.
Are you serious? Read it again,
00:43:03.78\00:43:14.16
verse 18... Gift number three
-- jot that down, please...
00:43:28.60\00:43:31.41
Now, don't forget, if we miss
this, we miss the connect that
00:43:35.41\00:43:41.02
Jesus has. The Laodiceans are
rather proud that they've come
up with an eye cure in their
00:43:41.02\00:43:47.72
very famous, premier medical
school known throughout the
empire. They've come up with an
00:43:47.72\00:43:52.16
eye cure through the creation of
a medicine called "collyrium."
It was made from the ancient
00:43:52.16\00:43:58.33
Phrygian stone which was
embedded in one of the temples
in Laodicea, and so they
00:43:58.33\00:44:02.94
powdered it up and they called
it "Phrygian powder," and they
put that powder in their eyes,
00:44:02.94\00:44:07.61
and it had the reputation of
healing eye disease. Jesus comes
00:44:07.61\00:44:11.78
along to them and says, "Your
eye salve is worthless. You're
as blind as the three
00:44:11.78\00:44:16.79
blind mice. Buy from me eye
salve, and you will begin to see
00:44:16.79\00:44:24.39
again." [ Exhales sharply ]
Ranko Stefanovich -- and I
believe he's right -- describes
00:44:24.39\00:44:29.80
this as the gift that Laodicea
needs the most -- eyes to open,
eyes healed to see.
00:44:29.80\00:44:38.17
"What are you talking
about, Dwight? Eye salve?"
00:44:38.17\00:44:40.98
Oh, put it on the
screen -- Ephesians 1:18.
00:44:41.14\00:44:44.01
"I pray that the eyes of your
heart --" fill that in -- "the
00:44:44.01\00:44:48.15
eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you
00:44:48.15\00:44:50.62
may know the hope to
which He has called you."
00:44:50.62\00:44:52.75
Come on, put one more up
there. 2 Corinthians 4:6.
00:44:52.75\00:44:57.36
Paul writing, "The god of this
age has blinded --" Ooh! There's
somebody going around
00:44:57.53\00:45:02.00
here putting everybody's eyes
out. "Hey, yo, yo, come over
00:45:02.00\00:45:05.13
here. [ Exhales sharply ] Can't
see now, can you? Hey, girl,
00:45:05.13\00:45:07.97
come over here. [ Exhales
sharply ] Can't see now, can
00:45:07.97\00:45:10.21
you?" "The god of this
age has blinded the minds of
00:45:10.37\00:45:15.54
unbelievers... but --" keep
reading -- "God made His light
00:45:15.54\00:45:18.85
shine in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of
00:45:18.85\00:45:22.32
God's glory displayed
in the face of Christ."
00:45:22.32\00:45:25.39
"Hey, Laodicea, time-out,
time-out, time-out. Do you
00:45:25.55\00:45:31.69
understand? You have nothing.
I give you my gold. Buy from me.
00:45:31.69\00:45:37.63
I give it to you, the gold of
my faith. Come here, come here,
00:45:37.63\00:45:43.97
come here. I take these rags. I
take these rags, and I cover you
with my spotless robe.
00:45:43.97\00:45:49.48
Buy from me for free. Come here.
Hey, look, look, you can't find
00:45:49.48\00:45:54.12
me, can you? Come to where you
hear my voice. You can't see,
00:45:54.12\00:45:57.52
but come right here. Let me
touch your eyes. You will see
00:45:57.52\00:46:03.99
again." Everything we need is
from Him, right? It's all from
00:46:03.99\00:46:14.54
Him. "Buy from me eye salve to
heal your blind following after
the god of this age and the
00:46:14.54\00:46:21.48
fallen culture of this world.
Boy, do you know where that path
is headed that you're whistlin'
00:46:21.48\00:46:26.15
down? Do you know where the Pied
Piper is taking you, girl, where
00:46:26.15\00:46:29.82
you're just a-skippin' down
the trail? He's blinded you.
00:46:29.82\00:46:36.59
Let me open, let me heal your
eyes." Can I be honest with you?
00:46:36.59\00:46:41.53
It's right here that I fear for
my Church, the Laodicea of
today, so deadly has become our
00:46:41.53\00:46:50.51
blindness. Now, I'm gonna
talk heart-to-heart here, and it
00:46:50.51\00:46:53.01
might feel a bit -- a bit
critical. But I guess that's the
00:46:53.01\00:47:02.58
whole point. Jesus is trying
to break [Snaps fingers] our
00:47:02.58\00:47:10.43
delusion. Let me talk to you
about the Church. I love this
00:47:10.43\00:47:16.43
Church. But the truth of the
matter is third-millennial
Adventism is pretty much dead in
00:47:16.43\00:47:22.10
the water. You can tell me
otherwise. We have become a
movement that is no longer
00:47:22.10\00:47:30.91
moving -- at least here in the
West. We have fine -- oh, my --
please don't misunderstand me,
00:47:30.91\00:47:37.85
by the way. We have fine,
beautiful church edifices.
00:47:37.85\00:47:40.62
"Whoa! Look at this." [ Exhales
sharply ] We have sprawling,
00:47:40.62\00:47:44.99
well-heeled university and
hospital campuses. [ Laughing ]
00:47:44.99\00:47:48.66
Wow! We have church headquarters
bustling with state-of-the-art
00:47:48.66\00:47:52.53
-- all the state-of-the-art we
need, but have you noticed we're
00:47:52.53\00:47:56.50
missing something? And it's
becoming more painfully obvious
by the day. Thomas Aquinas, the
00:47:56.50\00:48:03.78
great mind of the Middle Ages,
was once being given a personal
tour by Pope Innocent II through
00:48:03.78\00:48:09.55
the Vatican, and the Pope led
him down one corridor, and they
noticed a table covered with
00:48:09.55\00:48:15.22
gold bullion -- gold. [ Chuckles
] And the Pope stopped, and he
00:48:15.22\00:48:21.56
said, "Thomas, you must see that
the Church can no longer say,
'Silver and gold have we not.'"
00:48:21.56\00:48:27.17
To which that bright mind
replied, "Oh, yes, Holy Father,
but neither can she say, in the
00:48:27.17\00:48:33.38
name of Jesus of Nazareth, 'Get
up and walk.'" Has it happened
00:48:33.38\00:48:43.08
to us? Is church, for
contemporary Adventism, a
glorious facade? There's nothing
00:48:43.08\00:48:50.66
behind it -- no miracles, no
power, no transformation, just a
church with a fake front.
00:48:50.66\00:49:01.87
"Silver and gold we have, but we
cannot say, in the name of Jesus
of Nazareth, 'Get up and walk.'"
00:49:01.87\00:49:13.78
I love this Church. I've given
my life to this Church, a Church
00:49:13.78\00:49:22.19
now that is arguing -- ad
nauseam, by the way -- something
called "compliance" and who has
00:49:22.19\00:49:29.56
the power to do what with that
power and who gets the last word
and who takes the last vote and
00:49:29.56\00:49:36.44
which gender is the ruling
gender and which race is the
00:49:36.44\00:49:40.44
ruling race. And, by the way,
we're very -- we've got this
passive-aggressive silence going
00:49:40.44\00:49:44.95
on about race right now in the
Adventist Church --
passive-aggressive.
00:49:44.95\00:49:51.45
We're scared to touch it because
we're already indicted and we
00:49:51.45\00:49:59.59
know it. What's happened to
Adventism in America -- what
Jonathan Walton calls in his
00:49:59.59\00:50:06.23
book, "Twelve Lies That Hold
America Captive" -- what
Jonathan Walton calls "white
00:50:06.23\00:50:14.14
American folk religion," where
the white male has ascended to
his dominance. Interesting.
00:50:14.14\00:50:24.25
Because the truth is -- come on
-- the truth is Adventism was
birthed in this nation.
00:50:28.32\00:50:35.53
We cannot help it, but America
is in the DNA of Adventism. We
can deny it, and we say, "No,
00:50:35.53\00:50:42.84
we're a global Church." [
Chuckles ] We're a global church
00:50:42.84\00:50:46.51
with American DNA, and America
is hopelessly embroiled in
racial fracture today.
00:50:46.51\00:50:58.79
And the Church cannot break out
of the same. Silver and gold we
00:50:58.79\00:51:08.00
have, but, in the name of Jesus
of Nazareth, we can't do a
bloomin' thing! What's happened
00:51:08.00\00:51:17.97
to the Church? Blinded eyes to
the deeper systemic breakdown
that being birthed when we were,
00:51:17.97\00:51:25.85
where we were... Blinded eyes
that our debates can muffle but
00:51:25.85\00:51:34.36
our debates cannot mask. And so,
all the while, while we play our
little fiddles and our
00:51:34.36\00:51:44.27
silly games, Rome burns and the
world is dying. And we're not
00:51:44.27\00:51:52.34
through yet, because we have one
more meeting. We're gonna deal
00:51:52.34\00:51:56.04
with it. How many meetings does
it take? The world is dying, do
you understand that?
00:51:56.04\00:52:05.75
Oh, Laodicea, Laodicea. [
Clicking tongue ] "How often I
would have gathered
00:52:05.75\00:52:12.79
you to me, but you would not."
Silver and gold we have plenty,
but, in the name of
00:52:12.79\00:52:18.33
Jesus of Nazareth, we say so
little. So, what's gonna save
00:52:18.33\00:52:28.48
Laodicea? At the risk of
sounding terribly simplistic,
there is only one hope for
00:52:28.48\00:52:41.32
Laodicea -- J-E-S-U-S. That's
it. Without the gold of His
faith, without the robe of His
00:52:41.32\00:52:51.37
righteousness, without the
healing of His eye salve, we are
toast, we are dead, it is finis.
00:52:51.37\00:52:59.91
That's why this letter is
so strong. It's trying to get
00:52:59.91\00:53:04.75
somebody's attention while
there's still time left. [ Sighs
] You know what we need?
00:53:04.75\00:53:14.16
Who am I? Just a little guy in
a big, big Church, but what we
00:53:14.16\00:53:21.16
need is a moratorium on
debate. Just cut it out. Stop.
00:53:21.16\00:53:30.44
We need a season where Jesus
becomes the sole focus of our
corporate talking and our
00:53:30.44\00:53:36.41
private praying. Let our
leaders, let our leaders --
they're my leaders,
00:53:36.41\00:53:44.19
as well. Let our
leaders lead us for a season.
00:53:44.19\00:53:48.29
And I'm not talking about a
day of prayer. A day is nothing.
00:53:48.29\00:53:55.00
Lead us in a season of days,
lead us in a season of months,
lead us in a season of weeks.
00:53:55.00\00:54:02.87
Take charge of the conversation,
recalibrate the blogs. Reverse
00:54:02.87\00:54:14.82
the fracture. Do something,
but point us, please, to Jesus.
00:54:14.82\00:54:19.29
We need a season where our
collective worship, our
administrative communiqués, and
00:54:24.33\00:54:30.43
our church journals collaborate
to focus on the charms of Jesus
and His righteousness.
00:54:30.43\00:54:37.24
Make that the talk. Make
that the talk and the prayer.
00:54:37.24\00:54:42.88
"Behold, Laodicea, I stand
at the door. I'm beginning to
00:54:42.88\00:54:48.92
pound. Do you not
hear me in there?!
00:54:48.92\00:54:52.05
Or has your raucous debate
drowned my voice, blinding your
00:54:52.22\00:54:59.39
eyes, and killing
your Church?" [ Sighs ]
00:54:59.39\00:55:11.27
For a season, in this season
of the latter rain, what if we
00:55:11.27\00:55:18.68
pause to ask, for a season,
to ask for the downpour of Jesus
00:55:18.68\00:55:25.62
upon God's people?
00:55:25.62\00:55:28.32
We have nothing else, folks. We
have nothing else. I don't care
00:55:28.49\00:55:35.13
where the meetings take place. I
don't care who the meetings are
00:55:35.13\00:55:38.97
led by. I don't care what the
agenda for the meetings is. We
have no hope outside of
00:55:38.97\00:55:46.21
Jesus. He's the only solution
left. When are we gonna try Him?
00:55:46.21\00:55:53.72
That's the letter to Laodicea.
"I'm your friend. Wretched,
00:55:53.72\00:56:03.49
miserable, poor, blind, and
naked, that was me. I was that
on the Cross for you. All that
00:56:03.49\00:56:10.90
you are I became so that all
that I have you might have. Buy
it from me for free.
00:56:10.90\00:56:16.94
Come to me. Buy it
from me. Let me in.
00:56:16.94\00:56:21.91
Let me in, I beg
of you. Let me in."
00:56:21.91\00:56:26.98
[ Sighs ] So that's it. That's
my little heart-to-heart with
00:56:32.02\00:56:38.06
you. If we don't do something
soon... [ Rapping pulpit ]
...the last one out, turn out
00:56:38.06\00:56:47.60
the lights. No power. No power.
00:56:47.60\00:56:56.95
Just the game of church.
00:56:56.95\00:57:00.58
>> We've been really blessed by
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from our viewers, and we've
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00:57:08.22\00:57:11.56
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The fact is, as everyone in the
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needing to make constant
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So if God has blessed you and
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of this ministry, we
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00:57:25.54\00:57:28.54
Every bit of your gift goes
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You can donate on our website,
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Or call the number.
00:57:35.05\00:57:38.15
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00:57:38.15\00:57:40.59
Again, that number is 877
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00:57:40.59\00:57:44.93
And may the God who has blessed
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life the gifts of
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00:57:47.50\00:57:50.57
Thank you. And
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00:57:50.57\00:57:52.73
seeing you, right
here, again, next time.
00:57:52.73\00:57:55.74
¤¤ ¤¤
00:57:59.77\00:58:19.86
¤¤
00:58:19.86\00:58:26.40