Welcome back... before the break
we were looking at the Menorah,
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the Candlesticks that
were burning in the sanctuary
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and we said that this
had a two-fold significance
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first of all, referred to Christ
who is the Light of the world
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and secondly, it
refers to the church
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who also is to be a light...
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a reflection of
Christ to the world
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and we said that one of
the reasons why God calls us
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to be a witness for Him
is because of the joy...
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because of the experience
and the... the satisfaction
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that you get from
sharing your faith with others.
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Another reason is found in the
book, "Desire of Ages" page 142,
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"God could have reached
His object in saving sinners
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without our aid,
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but in order for us to develop
a character like Christ's,
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we must share in His work. "
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In other words,
there can be this tendency
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if you're just reading the Bible
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and you're just praying
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and you're just staying
in your own little community
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where everyone believes
the same way that you do,
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to become introspective
and to become self-focused,
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and to become this
stagnant experience
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where all you are doing
is focusing on your own needs
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and God knew in
His infinite wisdom
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that the only way to
develop a character like Jesus,
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is not a self-focus
but a Christ-centered focus
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that is focused
on serving others.
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In other words, it is through
unselfish ministry for others
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that we become like Jesus,
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and God in His infinite wisdom
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knew that if we're
just receiving all the time
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and never giving, it
becomes a spiritual swamp.
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There is one body of
water in the Middle East
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that's always receiving and
receiving and receiving water
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from the Jordan
River but has no outlet.
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It's called the Dead Sea
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and if we were just
receiving sermons and messages
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and we're just
breathing and praying,
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but we are not an outlet for God
to give His light to the world,
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we become "dead"
in our experience.
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God wants us to share.
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God calls us to share
the light with the world.
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An interesting idea...
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notion that came forth
from the Rabbinical literature,
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the wicks were made from
the linen robes of the priest...
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the robes represent the
righteousness of Christ,
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and the righteousness of Christ
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is what makes
our witness possible.
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The wicks on the Menorah,
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according to
Rabbinical literature,
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were made from the
linen robes of the priest.
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This has special significance
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and we know that the
robes that the priests wore
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represent the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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In other words, the reason
our witness is made possible
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is not because
of our own merits,
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and not because of
our own righteousness,
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but rather, it's because of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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You can never come
to the place and say,
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"You know, I'm such
a wonderful person...
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I'm such a wonderful being...
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that's why the witness
for Christ is possible,
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no, our witness
is only made possible
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because of the
righteousness of Christ...
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because we have the robes
of Christ's righteousness.
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The fire for lighting the
lamps was not a common fire
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but was from the brazen altar
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according to Exodus
chapter 30:7 through 9.
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Our motivation to witness
is Christ's sacrifice and love.
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They were not just to
come into the sanctuary
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and use any old
lighter to light the lamps,
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no, the light for the lamps
came from the brazen altar.
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Now, what happened on the
brazen altar in the Courtyard?
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The brazen altar was the place
where the Lamb of God died.
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The Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world
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died on the brazen altar
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and it was from
that brazen altar
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that the fire was taken
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and it was taken to the Menorah
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to light the Menorah.
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Now, think about the
significance of this.
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In other words, the fire...
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the motivation
for being a witness
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does not come because I have to.
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You know,
sometimes as a Minister,
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you feel like
getting up front and saying,
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"Oh, you need to witness... "
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no, that's not the
proper motivation at all,
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we don't go out
there and share literature
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because it's a duty...
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because it's
something that I have to do
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to get my
literature out for the day...
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my ten pieces
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to get my merits
to work my way to God,
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that's not our
motivation at all,
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the fire comes...
the motivation comes
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because we are so touched
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by the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on Calvary
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and when we are
touched by the love of God,
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that motivation
burns in our hearts
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like a fire in our bones
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and like the book of Acts says,
"We cannot help but share. "
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In other words,
witnessing is not a delight...
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is not a duty, I should
say, rather, it is a delight.
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You love to share because
of what God has done for us.
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Going back to our screen here,
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we're told that we
need a daily filling,
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the lampstand was
filled with oil daily...
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morning and evening.
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Our power to witness is from the
daily filling of the Holy Spirit
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according to Scripture.
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Now, an important part of the
responsibilities of the priest
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in regards to the
Menorah... the Lampstands was...
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it was not "once
filled... always filled"
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the lights never
went out in the sanctuary
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which meant that the daily
responsibility of the priest,
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morning and evening... was
to take oil into the sanctuary
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and fill the lamps with oil.
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Now, who did the
priest represent?
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Jesus Christ.
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What did the oil represent?
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The Holy Spirit...
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and we represent the light
to the world... God's church
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and so, here is
the significance,
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the only way
that we can continue
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to be a light to our
community and to our world
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is not a
dependency upon ourselves
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but a dependency
upon the Spirit of God.
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In other words, we need a daily
filling of the Holy Spirit.
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It's not, "Once
filled... always filled. "
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It's not as though you
say, "Lord, on January 1,
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I want to be
filled for the whole year
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and that's it...
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no... we are porous vessels,
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we need a daily, continual
filling of the Holy Spirit
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in order to burn for Him.
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Important application
of this daily filling.
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This is from the
evangelist, D.L. Moody,
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"Many think that
because they were filled once,
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that they are filled forever.
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Oh my friend, we
are porous vessels.
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it is necessary for us
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to constantly
remain under the fountain
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in order to be full. "
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In other words, in
order to be a witness...
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in order to be effective
in being a light to the world
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and to the Community,
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we cannot burn
without the Holy Spirit
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and we cannot be filled
with the Holy Spirit once...
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we need a daily
filling of the Holy Spirit
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so, each and every
day, in our prayer life,
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we should say, "Lord, I want to
ask for the Holy Spirit today,
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I want to be filled
with the Holy Spirit... "
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and in the book of Luke, it
says that God is more willing
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to give the Holy Spirit
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than parents to give
good gifts to their children.
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Now, think about that...
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and the Holy Spirit brings all
other blessings in His train,
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in other words, if
you have the Holy Spirit,
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you have the greatest gift
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that heaven wants
to bestow upon men,
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we should ask
for the Holy Spirit,
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heaven longs to
give the Holy Spirit
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and the Holy Spirit is essential
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for us to be a light to
the community and to the world.
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Acts of the Apostles, page 50,
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"For the daily
baptism of the Spirit
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every worker should
offer his petition to God. "
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One of my favorite
stories in the gospel
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is the story of these four men
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that are carrying
this paralytic to Jesus.
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In the gospels, it
talks about how this man
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was physically paralyzed.
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Now, we don't know
if he was a quadriplegic
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or paraplegic,
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but he was
physically immobilized.
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He could not come
to Jesus on his own.
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His only way to Jesus
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was through his friends.
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Now, think about the
implications of this.
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Here is Jesus...
here is this man...
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and the only connection
between this man and Jesus
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are his friends.
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They are the link.
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He is physically incapable
of coming to Jesus on his own
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and so, the story goes that
Jesus is preaching in this house
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the house is full
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and these men are trying
to bring their friend to Jesus
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but they can't.
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They run into an obstacle.
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It's not easy to
bring a friend to Jesus
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and so, they
went to this obstacle
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and they could have stopped
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but they thought in
their own hearts and minds,
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they said, "If we don't
bring this man to Jesus today,
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we might not have
another opportunity. "
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And so they go to the roof
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and you can imagine as
Jesus is preaching in this place
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suddenly there's a skylight
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and the skylight
starts getting bigger
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and suddenly dust
starts falling from the ceiling
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and the people look up
and these four friends...
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have you ever
been in a situation
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where you're doing something...
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you're a little bit
embarrassed, I don't know,
00:10:09.84\00:10:11.17
it might have been
a little bit awkward
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and these friends are boldly
bringing their friend to Jesus..
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lower him down
in front of Jesus.
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There is an
important part of this story
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that I want to reflect upon...
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a lesson...
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the only connection
between this man and Jesus
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was his friends.
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In other words, there
may be people in the world
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that may not be
physically paralyzed
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but they are
spiritually paralyzed
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and the only connection...
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the only Jesus they may
ever see and know is you
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and you are their connection
to bring them to Jesus...
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but it's not easy.
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There may be obstacles
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and it takes boldness to
bring your friend to Jesus
00:10:59.42\00:11:02.06
and notice what the gospel says,
00:11:02.09\00:11:03.63
the gospel says... when
Jesus saw their faith...
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plural...
00:11:07.83\00:11:09.63
it didn't say,
"When Jesus saw his faith"
00:11:09.66\00:11:12.73
it says, "When
Jesus saw their faith"
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in other words,
00:11:15.84\00:11:17.17
it was the faith of
the collective group...
00:11:17.21\00:11:19.74
it was the faith of the friends
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that made an impact and
brought this man to Jesus
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that brought
healing and restoration
00:11:26.31\00:11:28.45
spiritually and physically
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and my question to you today is
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to ask God to allow you to
be a light to the community
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and to the world.
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What are you willing to do
to bring your friend to Jesus.
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What are you willing to do
to bring your friend to Him?
00:11:47.37\00:11:50.04
You may be the only
Jesus that person may ever know
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and you have the
unique opportunity
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to be a light... to shine...
to bring that friend to Jesus
00:11:56.48\00:12:01.82
and in our prayer
life, we can intercede
00:12:01.85\00:12:04.72
and ask God to intervene
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above what He
would normally be able
00:12:06.79\00:12:09.26
to bring our friend to Jesus.
00:12:09.29\00:12:11.79
This is something that we
can pray in our daily lives
00:12:11.83\00:12:14.30
and I pray that
you pray it with me,
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"Lord, give me the opportunity
to share You today. "
00:12:16.53\00:12:23.47
Do you know that all
of heaven is invested
00:12:23.51\00:12:29.51
in the plan of salvation.
00:12:29.54\00:12:31.45
All the resources...
00:12:31.48\00:12:33.82
all of the activity is
centered on saving you and me
00:12:33.85\00:12:40.92
and when you pray
this prayer and say,
00:12:40.96\00:12:42.89
"Lord, give me the
opportunity to share You today"
00:12:42.92\00:12:45.53
the angels are
like, "Praise God,
00:12:45.56\00:12:47.76
we have a partner,
00:12:47.80\00:12:49.13
we have someone that's
going to cooperate with us... "
00:12:49.16\00:12:51.50
and throughout your day,
00:12:51.53\00:12:52.87
you will see God moving
circumstances and events...
00:12:52.90\00:12:56.30
"This person is searching... "
00:12:56.34\00:12:58.27
they'll move David over here,
00:12:58.31\00:12:59.84
"Let's connect
him in a conversation
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because David is
open to our leading
00:13:01.94\00:13:03.91
to be a light to the
community and to the world... "
00:13:03.95\00:13:07.12
we can partner with God
in the salvation of souls...
00:13:07.15\00:13:10.52
partner with the Holy
Spirit to bring others to Him
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to be a light to the
community and to the world.
00:13:14.62\00:13:18.63
Won't you pray with me today
00:13:18.69\00:13:20.43
to ask God for us to
be a light to the world?
00:13:20.50\00:13:23.37
Continue to join
us and study with us,
00:13:23.40\00:13:26.17
as we study the sanctuary,
salvation and our Savior.
00:13:26.20\00:13:31.04