Week 56 - Gospel of Luke 23:50-53 | Pastor Harley Doneburg | December 12th, 2024

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For us there's a cost. For them there was a cost. Joseph would be excommunicated no longer,

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losing his position, his wealth, his influence, everything that he had. It would be a loss. And

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for the early church, if you read the book of Acts, Israel disregarded the fact that they could not

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commit inflict capital punishment. That's why they couldn't kill Jesus. But you read the book of Acts,

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you see they didn't care, they stoned Stephen. Paul was getting permission, Saul of Tarsus,

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to bring people to prison, to kill them. He was getting his own personal permission. There was

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great persecution of the church. In fact, and as bad as that was, we don't experience it in this

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country. In other countries they do. In the last hundred years, and I've said this before,

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Fox's book of martyrs, which you can read starting with the Apostles all the way through,

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all the martyrs in the past, different people that it cost them their life to follow Jesus Christ.

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You add up 1900 years, put them together, it doesn't equal the last 100 years of persecution

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that's gone on in the world. They're updating that book because of the intense persecution that's

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going on across the globe. In America, we don't experience it. We pray for other countries,

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but other countries are praying for us for lethargy because this country is falling asleep.

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There's a different persecution. There's a different battle, right? This country,

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all these churches that were alive and they taught the Bible and people loved Jesus Christ,

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they're not doing that anymore. But there was a cost and they knew it. These guys knew it.

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Jesus said this, you can't serve two masters. It's impossible. And Nicodemus and Joseph both

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experienced that. I can't be a part of this anedrine and follow Jesus Christ. I can't live in this world

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and in the next. I can't, the worst place to be for a Christian is to try to ride this fence of

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having a foot in the world and a foot in the kingdom. It's terrible. And they knew it. They

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experienced it and they made a stand. Jesus said you can't serve two masters. Why? Because you'll

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love one and you'll hate the other. You can pretend to love both, but you can't. Jesus said

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if you're gonna be a disciple, you need to take up your cross. What does that mean? That means to

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lay down your will for the sake of someone else's. And when Jesus took up his cross,

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his prayer was, you know, Father remove this cup from me. Nevertheless not my will, but your will

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be done. That's the whole idea. When you take up your cross, you're saying, alright Lord, here we go.

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I'm gonna follow you and there's gonna be a cost, a price to pay. It's gonna affect my family, my job,

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my, I don't know what it's gonna affect, the people that it's gonna affect or impact. But here we go.

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Because I trust you more than I trust in myself. I'm gonna follow you and not my own path, my own

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direction. There's a line in the sand. And Jesus said you have to, you cannot be, he doesn't say

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you might be able to be my disciple. He said you can't. You can't be my disciple unless you take up

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your cross and follow me. And there's a cost to that. Turn to Matthew chapter 10. We're gonna look

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at just a few verses.

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Jesus warns he's sending the Apostles out. He's instructing them, commissioning them. He has a lot

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to say. We don't have time to, you can mark this chapter if you want. But basically Jesus in verse

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16 says, behold as I'm sending you out, I'm sending you a sheep among wolves. That can be a scary

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place if you're a sheep. Therefore be wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove. And then he says,

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beware of men. They'll deliver you up to councils. That's the very thing that Jesus was delivered up

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to. They'll deliver you up to councils and they'll scourge you in their synagogues. Exactly what

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happened to Jesus. You'll be brought before governors and kings for my name's sake. Exactly

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what happened to Jesus. Jesus will say a servant isn't above his master. If they did this to me,

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they're gonna do this to you. And when they deliver you up, don't worry about how or what you should

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speak. It will be given you in that hour what you should speak. For it's not you who speak, but the

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spirit of your father who speaks in you. And brother, listen, brother will deliver up brother.

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That's the scary thing to death. A father, his child, and children will rise up against parents

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and cause them to be put to death. You'll be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to

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the end will be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly I say

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to you, you'll not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. And then he

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says, a disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. They've done this to me.

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They'll do this to you. Listen, there was a cost. Jesus made the disciples aware of the cost and

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the price that it's not gonna be easy. It's not an easy thing to follow Jesus Christ. In this country,

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it's a little bit different battle. You're not worried if you go to work that somebody's gonna

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take you out and stone you or, oh you're a Christian. Are you the one that put the track on the

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lunch table? Get them. You're not worried about that. In other countries they are. In other

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countries they have to meet privately, secretly. And if soldiers come to the door, you could be

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killed. It's going on today. We pray for people like that all the time. And you read the book of

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Acts, it happens. Turn to Luke chapter 12 for a second. We looked at this months ago.

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You see the ranks thin as you follow the Gospels. People that are following Jesus,

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these this multitude that's so excited to watch Jesus perform miracles, listen to him teach. You

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see the more Jesus speaks, the more he does. The crowds don't keep growing. It lessens. It gets

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smaller. Why? Because what Jesus says is very challenging. And some people depart. In chapter

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12 here we read this in verse 1. In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had

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gathered together so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples. So

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there's this this massive amount of people couldn't number them and they're trampling. It's like a

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concert. They're trampling on each other or a soccer game in Europe. They're trampling on each

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other and with no regard for each other in some ways, pushing each other. You've been there. You've

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been to a Bill's game somewhere. He says this. Here's the warning. He says, watch out for the

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leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, pretending. He says the Pharisees aren't who

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you think they are. There's leaven and always negative, very often negatively connotation.

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It's a reference to sin so many times. He says, watch out for hypocrisy. People that are pretending

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at that time, Joseph and Nicodemus are pretending to a degree. He says, there'll be nothing covered

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that will not be revealed nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in

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the dark will be heard in the light and what you've spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be

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proclaimed in the housetops. I say to you, my friends, don't be afraid of those who killed the

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body. That was a real thing. Don't be afraid of those who killed the body and after that have no

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more that they can do to you. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him who after He has

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killed has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say fear Him. And then he talks about his care over

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people's lives. If you wonder if someone cares about what you're going through or what you're

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doing, he says this because he's talking about death and people following him and how that will

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affect their life. And he says, look at this in verse six, are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins and

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not one of them is forgotten before God? But every hair of your head, they're all numbered. Don't fear

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therefore. You're of more value than many sparrows. Jesus said, listen, your life is of value. What you go

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through is of value. The things you lose, your sacrifice, maybe even your life, don't think, oh,

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well, it's too bad. Sorry. No, God knows. And it may come to that. You may lose a lot. This country is

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not immune to that potential at some point. And then he says this in verse eight, I say to you,

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whoever will confess me before man, the Son of Man will confess before the angels of God,

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but he who denies me before man will be denied before the angels of God. And anyone who speaks

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a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But to him who blasphemes against the Holy

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Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. What does that mean? Every sin is forgiven except for one.

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Anything that you've ever done would be forgiven except for one. And you can imagine, Paul the

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Apostle was a murderer. There's people who have done horrific things. There's testimonies. I love

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to hear testimonies. I love people's testimony of who they were. And God reaches into their life and

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who they become, the change. But one sin won't be forgiven. You'll stand before the Lord one day and

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there's one sin that won't be forgiven. That's the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And what is that?

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Is that a swear word? No, it's rejection of the Holy Spirit. And what's the Holy Spirit's job is

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to lead people to Jesus Christ. He will lead you. He'll convict the world of sin, righteousness,

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and judgment. The Holy Spirit comes alongside you and says, you need Jesus. You need a Savior. You

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need your sins forgiven. You're not going to heaven. And he'll remind you and he'll send people

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into your life. And if you continue to close that off and shut your ears to that fact and move on

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and one day you're gonna stand before the Lord, that's the one sin, the ultimate sin. You won't

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be forgiven because you've rejected Calvary. Everything that you've done, every sin that

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you've committed, you've rejected the payment for that as Jesus Christ. And they'll bring you to

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synagogues, verse 11, and magistrates and authorities. Don't worry about how or what you

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should answer or what you should say. The Holy Spirit will teach you that very hour what you

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should say. Turn to Luke 14 with me for a second. Verse 25, Jesus says this, there's less people

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there. Verse 25, it says, now great multitudes went with him. It's not an innumerable multitude,

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it's just great multitudes, which is still a lot of people, but it's less. And he turned to them

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and said, now Jesus isn't saying, all right, how do I get the crowds back? I gotta get that

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innumerable multitude back. No, he doesn't say that. Less people are there. Jesus says this,

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if you come to me and don't hate your father and your mother and your wife and your children,

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your brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life, you can't be my disciple. Wait a second,

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that is not gonna increase the crowds here. You gotta hate everybody? No, Jesus isn't teaching

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people to hate. Jesus is comparing your love for him, his love for you, compared to everyone

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else's love and how you care about somebody else. He says, listen, if you're putting that

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person ahead of me, you don't really love me. If you're putting yourself ahead of me,

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not taking up your crowd, you don't really love me. Jesus would say, I came to bring a sword,

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not peace. Division, it's gonna be hard, right? Because people are gonna have to make a choice,

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and some people in the very same family, in the very same home, maybe your spouse,

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you make a choice to follow Christ and they make a choice to follow themselves, their flesh,

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their sinful appetite, whatever they wanna call it. And then there's a division. It can be

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very hard in a home when the Bible would maybe call it, you're unequally yoked. That you wake

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up Sunday morning, I wanna go to church, I wanna hear a Bible study, I wanna listen to this podcast,

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whatever it is. And your spouse wants nothing to do with it, doesn't wanna know about the Lord,

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you can't talk to him or her, discuss the things of God. Jesus would go on and say,

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whoever doesn't bear his cross and come after me, you can't be my disciple. Which of you intending,

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and this is where he talks about a cost, which of you intending to build a tower doesn't sit down

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first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it. Lest after he's laid the foundation,

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he starts, man, we're gonna get this thing going, gets everything working, gets the basement dug,

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gets the walls up. And then you're like, dude, I can't finish this thing. I don't have any money

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for it. I'll just, and you leave it. If you've ever been on a mission trip to a third world country,

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a lot of times you see buildings that start and they never finish. Like it looks like,

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are they working on that? Then you go back a couple years later, that's the same scaffolding

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that was there three years ago. Is anybody working on this? And they're not working on it. As they

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get money, they might do something, but, and they leave it because there's a cost to following

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Christ. There's a cost for your life. If you're really following Christ, does it mean, I'm gonna

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go home and hate my spouse. No, you love your spouse. You love your kids. You love people.

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There's, Jesus taught us to do that, to love our enemies. When he's talking about following

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him and him being first, so important. We won't turn there, but if you read Acts chapter 19,

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as Paul's ministering in Ephesus, you see that they're worshiping this goddess, Diana,

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sensual goddess, very lucrative. People were making idols and doing all these things and people were

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getting saved and it was freaking out the people who were making those idols because they were

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losing money. People weren't buying them. They weren't going to these things that they were doing.

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This great temple was there. People weren't going to the temple and it freaked people out,

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but in that moment, it says that people began to go out and they burned all their stuff.

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They're books and different things that were associated with that worship of Diana. They

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burned their stuff and maybe you've experienced that as you've started to follow Jesus. I remember

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when I did, I remember burning CDs, burning DVDs like Chuck and I can't listen to that anymore.

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I'm gonna listen. There's about $2,000 worth of stuff right there that you've purchased that

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now it's like, I can't listen to this. What is this garbage? It's like, and there's things that

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cost you in this life. It might cost you friends. I remember when I first got saved, man, I cared

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about my friends. I wanted to get in their life, share the gospel, tell them and I did and I did

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and then pretty soon as I'm doing it, I thought I was being effective. Then all of a sudden I got

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sucked back into the world. Proverbs warns of that. When sinners entice you, it says if sinners entice

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you, I always tell the kids when I tell them that, scratch that out and put in there when they do

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because you know if you're hanging out, Paul says, told the Corinthians that evil company corrupts

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good morals and it's not if you're gonna get enticed, it's when. You hang out with the wrong

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people hoping to influence their life and you can and you can and you can but there might be a time

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where they begin to influence your life and I walked back and I've shared this before, I walked

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back in the world for six or eight months. The worst time of my life because I didn't count the

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cost, I just walked back in the world and did those things that I did that I was redeemed from. I was

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in the garbage. You think those CDs are still here? I still play them a little bit. They're not that bad.

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Right? There's a cost and these guys, Joseph, Nicodemus, they made a stand. It cost them. You can

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look up their history, what happened in their life. It says that Joseph, that his daughter,

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this prominent young woman, was beautiful and they were wealthy, was trying to find grain in a

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horse barn, unused grain because they were put out and lost all their wealth. They lost everything

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to follow Christ. It's not in the Bible. It's history. You can search it. Look it up. It's gonna

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cost you, but it's okay. What you gain is far more valuable in Christ, the future, eternally.

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So next week, read ahead, Luke chapter 24, we're gonna talk about lost hope and regained hope.

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We're gonna talk about the ladies and Peter and the disciples, how they're looking for a dead Jesus.

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We're gonna talk about the guys on the road to Emmaus who had lost hope and what does Jesus do?

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He doesn't show them his scars or perform a miracle or produce bread or walk on water. He

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opens the Scriptures. How important the Word of God is. We're gonna look at that next week. How

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important the Bible is. He opens the Word of God. Exactly. These unnamed, these guys you don't even

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know. Cleopas and the other guys not even named, just regular people who lose hope. We're gonna

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look at that next week. So Lord, we thank you God for your love, for the value of your life, Lord.

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The cost that you paid and the very little, especially in this country that we pay, Lord,

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to be your disciples, God. We want to follow you, Lord. We want our lives to count, to matter. We

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want to one day stand before you and hear, well done, good, and faithful servant. We want to be

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servants, Lord. We want to serve you, love you, follow you, and see our lives make a difference.

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So challenge us. Thank you for the challenge in your word, Lord, but challenge us personally, God.

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You oftentimes pose questions to people that you know the answer, but it causes us to think, Lord.

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I pray we'd all think back of what it's really cost us to follow you. And are we at a turning

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point in our life, something that we're being challenged, or we have to make a decision, get

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both feet on one side or the other, Lord of defense. So we give you our lives, Lord. We love you, Jesus, in your name.