Latest / REZ CHURCH Podcast / You Don't Need a Priest Anymore - March 8, 2026

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You Don't Need a Priest Anymore - March 8, 2026 · REZ CHURCH Podcast

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In our I'm in a mentorship group on a Friday mornings with a
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group of men and over the past couple of sessions we've been in
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a book that has sparked some conversation.
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And we've been talking a lot about the type of conversations.
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That that we have with our wives and and beginning.
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To kind of think through how when we're not careful.
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A. Huge percentage, maybe almost
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all of the conversations that we're having with our wives are
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logistical do. You know what I mean by that?
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Like who's got the kids? What's for lunch?
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What's the calendar? Look like, did we forget soccer?
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Who? It's just, it's just, it's just
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stuff that we got to do and more stuff and more stuff.
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And the next thing you know? That that relationship has kind
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of. Devolved.
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And you're not having. Deep and meaningful.
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Conversations with them Hardly at all.
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Anymore and feel disconnected to someone that you're sitting
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right next to. And so we've been asking that
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question. How often?
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Are your. Conversations deep and
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meaningful. You know right now.
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We. There's studies that say that we
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as a culture are losing our ability to have.
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Deep and meaningful conversations with one another.
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Face to face, which is actually impacting our entire society's
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ability to build. Deep, intimate human
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relationships. We're actually losing one of the
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most. Important parts of being a human
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connecting at a deep level and this is.
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Not the first time. That.
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Something like this has happened if you turn to the the very
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beginning of the Bible, the very first story, humanity, the first
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humans, Adam and Eve, they got to.
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Walk and talk with Jesus in the garden and have these.
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Face to face. Conversations until they
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rebelled and in disobeying God they.
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Fractured that relationship. And it.
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Created a rift, it created a barrier between a sinful,
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rebellious people and a holy perfect God and all of the Old
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Testament. There are 39 books in the Old
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Testament and all of the Old Testament, you see, God has to
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rebuild kind of a A. Formal legal framework.
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As sort of an imperfect way to give a, a messy, sinful humanity
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a partial access to God. And then so you hear about all
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these kind of strange things. If you're new to the Bible,
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they're very strange. You hear about a thing called a
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temple, and you hear about this thing called sacrifices, and you
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hear all Levitical priests. What are all these things?
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They're. Mechanisms by which God was
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having to restore relationship imperfectly, waiting for a
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perfect restoration. So here's what we're going to
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do. We're going to jump in our text
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today and what Jesus is going to remind you in week 6 of this.
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Jesus is sitting at a dinner table.
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It's the Last Supper. He's sitting with his 12 closest
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disciples, and he's preparing them for the fact that in just a
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few hours, he's going to go to the.
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Garden of Gethsemane. He's going to be arrested, he's
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going to be tried, he's going to be beaten and then he's going to
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be. Crucified.
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He's. Leaving them and so he wants to
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to finish preparing. Them for the.
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Fact that he's going to be gone and what we're going to look at
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today in this text I want you to see.
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I want you to. I really want you to take away
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this concept. That's this that's nested in
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this this section of Scripture and it is this.
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God is calling us to draw near and be known, to draw near and
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be known. Let's start reading John chapter
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16. We're going to.
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Read verse 16. We're going to skip down to
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22/23/24. Here we go.
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This is Jesus speaking to his. Disciples at the Last Supper, a
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little while. And you will see me no longer.
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And again a little while and you.
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Will see me so he's he's going to go to the cross and then he's
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going to come back. And they kind of argue we don't
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know what this means, you know, and you get down to 22 after
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they argue about it for. A little while and he says
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you're going to be sad, and then he says so.
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You also will have sorrow now. But I will see you again.
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That's verse 22 and your. Hearts will rejoice and no one
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will take your joy from you, because in that day he's talking
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about, once he resurrects, in that day, you will ask.
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Nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you,
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whatever you ask of the Father. In my name he will give to you
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until. Now you have asked.
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Nothing in my name. Ask and you will.
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Receive that your joy. May be full.
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Now I want to submit to you that what just what he just said in
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verses 23 and 24 is actually one of the most.
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Profound moments in. All of the Bible because what
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Jesus has actually just said to them.
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Which I think they missed at them at that time.
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What he actually just told them is that all of the ways that God
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has. Interacted with humanity for.
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Thousands of years up until that point.
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Is about to completely change. Like everything about how they.
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They interacted is about to change and.
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And and I think. It would have been easy for them
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to miss in this moment, at this dinner.
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He's saying lots. Of profound things and they
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don't really understand. Him and I think they missed it
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in this moment. But but, but, he says whatever
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you ask. In my father's name.
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He will give you now. Now why would that change
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everything? Well, I think what what you and
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I maybe would struggle to understand is that the way that
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they interacted with God was very different than how we
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interact with God. And we don't live in that.
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And so I wanted to, I want to kind of walk through that a
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little bit, see if you were living in that moment.
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They had been born into this idea that God was far away
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because God was holy and perfect and people are mired.
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In sin and a. Holy God can't be around a
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sinful people if sinful people want to live, and So what God
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had. Done and established.
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That they were born. Into in that time.
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Was he had established A dwelling place where he would be
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and it was called. The temple.
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And his presence stayed. In this thing called the ark of
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the. Covenant.
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It was in the middle. Of the Temple in a place called
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the Holy of Holies. And that.
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Place was separated from everything else with a four inch
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thick. Curtain from the.
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Ceiling to the floor, separate, and one day per year one man,
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the high priest, if he did everything right, was allowed to
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go in past that. Curtain and be in the presence.
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Of God on behalf. Of the.
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People now if you're listening to this and maybe you're.
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Maybe you're new to Christianity.
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Maybe you came today and you would.
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Actually, not even label yourself a Christian.
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You you would say. I'm a skeptic.
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Or I maybe I'm. Spiritual, but I'm not.
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Christian and you're listening. To some of this, first of all,
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I'm. Glad you're here today.
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Welcome. But secondly.
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Give me a few minutes to explain.
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What what they had to go through.
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And then you'll understand. Why it was so?
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Revolutionary what? Jesus was about to.
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Do and say OK because to be. Even in the presence of God or
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near the presence of God, you would have had to travel.
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To Jerusalem. Physically to the temple and I
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don't know if you know this or not, but they did not have Uber.
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It was a long. Trip for many people.
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See if you needed something from God, if you had a major.
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Anyone ever had a major request of God?
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I'm tired. Like you had a, you had a.
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You had a sick child, someone on their.
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Deathbed, you're a. Farmer and your your.
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Crops weren't even. Producing you were.
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Going to start, you had a, you had a major request.
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You would have to take your petition physically to God.
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So you would have to go on what was called a pilgrimage to
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Jerusalem. And most of that was by foot in
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sandals, unless you were wealthy enough to have a donkey.
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And then when you would get to the temple, what you need to
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know about the temple is it wasn't equal access.
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You couldn't just walk in and talk to.
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God. It was completely divided.
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There were these spaces in the temple.
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These kind of concentric. Circles called courts.
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And they were. All divided.
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There were barriers there, and they were divided by.
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Gender and ethnicity and purity status and and each of these
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sections. Was more restrictive than the
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last. Let me show you a picture of the
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temple. If you were, If you were a.
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Gentile meaning a non. Jewish person, You couldn't even
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go past those walls. It was called the Court of
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Gentiles. You were on the very outside,
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and it was as close as you could get to the presence of God, and
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you had to stand on the. Outside, and that was.
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As far as you could go and if you were lucky enough to be born
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as a Jewish. Woman you could go into.
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That very next court, it's called the Court of Women's,
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where? The Treasury was, but that was.
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As far as you were allowed to go and listen you on the walls, how
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restrictive it was on the walls in three different languages.
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It said enter on penalty of death.
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Serious. It's like my wife's closet.
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This. Is going to get me for that
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later. And if you, if you were a Jewish
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man, you could go one step further.
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It was called the court of Israel.
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But even here you couldn't go to the presence of the fact.
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You couldn't even go to the altar.
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Only Levitical priests who had been born into a certain tribe
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and set apart since birth could go to the altar, and they
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couldn't go to the Holy of Holies into the presence of God
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except for one. Of them once a year.
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Barriers, limitations, and and even even the even the.
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Even the high priest, once per year, would have to go through
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all this ritual ceremony to purify himself.
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And if he did anything wrong, went.
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In with the wrong. Heart did the wrong things and
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went into the. Presence of God.
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He would die. Why all this separation?
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To communicate. To all of the people.
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That God is holy and we are not, and there is a gap between US
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and. God and it required.
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Special mediation so. If you had a request of God and
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you want to be close to the presence of God, you had to
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travel all the way to the temple.
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And not just travel to the temple, you had to bring him a
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gift. It's called a free will
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offering. You couldn't simply go to the
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temple and the priest empty handed.
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With your request. You had to bring an offering
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for. Significant.
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Petitions A free will offering called.
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Anetiva was brought voluntarily to demonstrate sincerity,
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gratitude, reverence, and so you.
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Need to bring an animal without defect or blemish.
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The best of the best, in fact, the cost was.
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Part of it. It needed to be worth something,
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and so so. If you're on your pilgrimage,
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you've carted that all the way in this multi day trip, all the
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way to Jerusalem carrying this this.
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Perfect animal and then you're standing in.
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Line waiting with your. Sacrifice and your petition and
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the. Priests are doing all.
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Kinds of offerings all day long. Offerings of worship.
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Daily burnt offerings and then. Even if you could get all the
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way here with your with your perfect gift and your long trip,
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you you actually couldn't take. It to God.
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You had to hand it off to a priest.
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And stand on the outside and watch someone that was set apart
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from birth had to go and take that offering to God for you.
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Now imagine that you have this this multi day journey just.
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To talk to God. And you had to bring a gift.
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And then even when you. Get there.
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You have to. Hand your prayer request off to
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a stranger. You don't get to ask.
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God, someone else has to do it. That's the system the disciples
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were living under at this moment when they're sitting around the
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dinner table and Jesus says this, this is what they've been
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born into and all they've ever known.
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And so Jesus says. Everything is about to change
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whatever you ask the. Father in my name my Father will
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give you. And they didn't understand what
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was about to happen because of what?
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Jesus. Was about to do the presence of
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God was no. Longer going to be in a temple.
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Jesus had already been foreshadowing.
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That this was coming in. John chapter 4 he.
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Meets a Samaritan woman at the well.
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And he? Tells her that they're kind of
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arguing and and and and and, he says.
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Listen, the hour's coming when you're not going to go to
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Jerusalem to worship. The Father is looking for
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worshippers who will. Worship in spirit and in truth,
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because the very Holy Spirit will live inside of us.
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Later, in a book called First Corinthians, a different
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disciple of Jesus, the Apostle Paul, will explain it this way
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in verse. 19 of. Chapter 6 he says or do you not
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know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
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whom you have from God you? Are not your own for you were
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bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
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You don't go to the temple. You are the temple and you don't
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bring a sacrifice anymore, a free will offering.
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Jesus says whatever you ask. In my name.
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In my name. Now listen, this has been
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misinterpreted. At times people think like if I
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just say Jesus name, it's like a magic formula.
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It's like magic words. It's like a Harry Potter spell
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or Hogwarts, right? Wingardium Leviosa, There's
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nothing. Magical about it.
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There's something covenantal about it.
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When Jesus says in my name, he's saying you are referring to the
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covenant, the promise that I am fulfilling with my.
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Very life and death. So when we pray in Jesus.
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Name. We're referencing his work and
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and and. Not only is it.
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Was it hard for them to understand in that moment?
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They would continue to struggle with it.
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The book of Hebrews is written. To a group of.
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Jewish Christians that are. Struggling understanding that
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the old system of. Priesthood had.
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Changed. Listen to Hebrews chapter 10 as
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the author. Tries to explain to these people
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how everything has changed. About the system he says this.
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And by that will we have been sanctified.
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Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.
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Once for all, and then he refers to the old system.
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And every priest stands daily at his service.
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He's talking about the old temple where they had all the
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sacrifices, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can
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never. Take away sins.
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But when Christ had offered for. All time a single sacrifice for
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sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that
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time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
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For by a single. Offering.
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He has perfected for all time. Those who are being sanctified.
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So why would you bring a bull or a goat or a?
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Lamb, when the perfect Son of God has paid it all so you don't
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have to physically go anywhere and you don't have to.
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Bring anything with. You and then lastly you don't
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need a. Priest, you are a.
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Priest. That's what the Bible.
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Says when Christ saves you and he.
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Puts his holy. Spirit inside of you.
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You. Are now chosen and set apart.
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The apostle Peter will tell the church this later in first Peter
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two. He says it this way.
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But you say me are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
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nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
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proclaim the excellencies of him who?
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Called you out of. Darkness and into his marvelous
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light. You don't need a tribe of
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priests. You are a priest.
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You don't need to be born into a specific ethnicity.
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You. Are a holy nation.
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You have greater access to God. Right now than any high.
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Priest in history ever had You don't have to wait once a year
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to go be in the presence of God. You can go whenever you want.
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And the priest, he had the tiptoe in, He had to do all the
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stuff and all the purification rights and hope he got it all
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right and go in like, man, I hope I don't die.
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You don't have. To do that now, the Bible says
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you're a son. And daughter of the King.
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You get to go into the throne room like it's Dad.
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That's what Hebrews 416 says. Let us then, with confidence,
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draw near. To the throne of.
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Grace that. We may receive mercy.
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And find grace to help in time of need.
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That word? Confidence.
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That's the word. Parisia and Parisia.
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Literally. Means the way a.
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Son or a daughter would go to their dad.
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You all ever met Dave Camelli son Kevin?
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Confidence, that's how we're. Supposed to go to God.
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Boldness. Because he loves us in my early
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Christian life, I think. For most of it.
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I lived like God was far off, like I'll go see him on Sunday.
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He must live at the church. I'll go see him.
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He must live with the pastor. How silly of me, just just
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missing, missing it, missing all that Jesus had done so.
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That I had access. To God in just a few hours from
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this dinner, as Jesus is telling the disciples this as he's
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foreshadowing what's about to come, he's going to make that
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sacrifice. In Matthew 27, as Jesus is on
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the cross, it says this. Now from the 6th hour there was
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darkness all over the land until the 9th hour, and about the 9th
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hour Jesus cried. Out with a loud.
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Voice saying Eli, Eli Lemma Subhakhtani, that is my God, my
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God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus cried out again with a
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loud voice, and yielded up his Spirit, and behold.
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Here it is, the curtain. Of the temple, 4 inches thick,
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torn in. Two from top to.
19:03
Bottom The separation between US and God and the Earth.
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Shook. And the rocks were split, and
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the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the Saints who had
19:16
fallen asleep were raised and coming.
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Out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the
19:19
Holy city and appeared to many. And when the centurion?
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And those. Who are with him, keeping watch
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over Jesus? Saw the earthquake.
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And what took place, they were filled with awe and said truly,
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this is the Son of God. Jesus is not far off anymore.
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He is near, and Jesus is not asking you to bring things.
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He gives to us. And Jesus is not blocked by
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intermediaries. He's face to face.
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You don't need a temple because you are the temple.
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You don't need an offering because Jesus was the ultimate
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offering. And you don't need a priest
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because you are the royal priesthood, a son or daughter of
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the King. All of the limits are gone.
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He is calling you to draw near and be known, and he finishes
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with even more good news that they don't understand.
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He says ask and you will receive that.
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Why would you do this that? Your joy may be full.
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I'm going to remove all of the obstacles and all the
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limitations that separated us from God.
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That's Jesus. Blood shed on the cross does
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this. So that we can have genuine
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intimacy with God, we can experience joy.
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To. Know and be known.
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Sin broke this in the garden. Jesus restores this the moment
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sin entered. The first action.
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From face to face with Jesus to. Hiding so that.
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He can't see me. It is both.
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I believe the greatest, deepest. Human desire and our greatest
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fear. To be fully known and loved is
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our greatest need, or to be fully known and rejected is our
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greatest fear. When I was, I think I was. 16
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I'm getting old so now I can't remember the exact time but.
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When I was 16, I went on my first kind.
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Of formal date A. Girl at work asked me out.
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And I was going to go. Pick her up and take her to the.
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Movies and so I. I put on my nicest clothes,
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which we were very poor so they were not actually very nice, but
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I was trying. And.
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I was. As a kid, I was.
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By 16 I was very self-conscious of being poor.
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I was at the age. Where you know that it's
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different and. We had one family car.
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Anyone. Ever.
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Grew up in a family that only had one car.
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OK, we. Have one family car and.
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I don't want to. Brag, but it.
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Was a 1989 Toyota minivan. I know.
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You're getting a little jealous. Calm down ladies.
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And we bought it used. And then we had driven cross
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country to Georgia. It was the commuter, all the all
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the soccer and football and sports and maybe we had to run.
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This thing in the ground, this is the.
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One car we had, so you know, I did my best to, to, to clean it
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and, and stuff and I, I drove to her house and I parked at the
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curb and I went to her door. And I met her.
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Dad and we walked across the yard and I unlocked the door.
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Yes, we had a key. That's before the anyways, and I
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opened the door and as. She stepped to get.
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In she. Looked at at legitimately a a a
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cloth. Seat that was threadbare and I.
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Mean. Probably had pizza stains and
23:21
and no matter how much she cleaned it was was was going to
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it was showing its age and she paused and her face changed and
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she looked at me and went is it clean?
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I was so embarrassed. The date did not go well and we
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didn't never talk again. It was.
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About a year later, might have been a little less and.
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I had a crush. On the.
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Hottest girl in school. A lot of us did and.
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I had. I was.
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Lucky enough that she was in my math class.
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And so I finagled my way. Into a math.
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Study session for the math final at a friend's house.
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That she was. Going to be at men take note
24:31
you're just getting where you fit in OK and she needed a ride
24:38
home and so I. Offered her a ride home.
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And she said. Yes, and I was ecstatic until I
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was halfway across the yard. Walking toward the same bin and
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I realized I've. I've seen this movie before and
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I was like, Oh no, and it's too late.
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She's right behind me. And I opened the door, and I and
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I. I was already.
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I was already ashamed and ready. I'm trying to come up with I've
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I've got to have some excuse and I turned to say something and
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she walked right by me and she jumped in the.
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Car. And she smiled.
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At me and she said this is so cool, she had grown up poor too
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and when I closed. The door.
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I said to myself I'm going to marry this girl.
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I'm 17 and an idiot, OK? But Friday we celebrated our
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22nd anniversary. You see, our greatest need in
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this world is for someone to look at us deeply.
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To see all the things we wish we were.
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To see all the things we want to be, but also to see all of the
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ugly things, all of the hidden things, all of the threadbare
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pizza stain things of our soul. And when they see it, to turn to
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us and smile and say, that's so cool, I love you anyway.
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To be known and loved. This is the greatest human need.
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God has always known everything about you.
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But when Jesus removed the barriers so that we can draw
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near to God face to face, we can see.
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We can know that He sees everything and loves us anyway.
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And that's what it means to have a joy that can be full.
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That's what it means to be known and loved by the Father.
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So don't waste it. Don't waste this.
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Don't live like the barriers still exist.
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That means that I I take my anxiety and I don't hide it as
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if God doesn't. Know about it I.
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Go to God and I give. It to him, and I say in.
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Jesus. Name I need help with this.
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I, I take my pride that that kills my relationships and I
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don't pretend I don't have it. I I I go to God in desperation
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and I say in. Jesus name I need.
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Victory over this. It means I.
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Could take my hopelessness in those dark nights when it feels
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like life is so overwhelming and hopeless.
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That the, that the, the the. Waves are coming over the boat.
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And I can look at him in the face and in Jesus name I can ask
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him to do the things I can't do. That's joy.
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And because of Jesus, we can do this without the.
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Need to travel to a temple or a church or or give God some gift?
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You don't need a priest or a preacher.
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Monday morning when you get up. He's.
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Just as close as he was today in the.
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Middle of the night when you wake up with.
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Terror, he is waiting for you to draw near.
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Hopefully you have a handout. Take your hand.
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Out, out. There's a little section in the
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back. Just take it out.
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This is class participation time.
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Come on. And I want you to write down.
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It's for you. It's not for anybody else.
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I just want you to write down those constant struggles.
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Jesus actually already knows what they are, by the way.
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He's waiting for you to bring them to him.
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Stop waiting for a new church service or or some prayer night
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or some religious. Moment in Jesus name.
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Walk straight into the throne room of the Father.
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With boldness and give them to him and make it a daily habit.
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If practically you're going, I don't know.
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What that looks like. Let me give.
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You an example not even from from.
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From anything religious. Let me give you an example of
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phone calls that I've had multiple of these, but here's 1.
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Specifically, a couple years ago I had AI.
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Owned a business and I called a. A guy who's a.
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Vendor of ours, his name was Nabi.
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And I called Nabi actually, because I needed a favor and I'm
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talking to him and he's talking to me really quietly on the
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phone. And I'm finally, I was like,
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dude, why are you whispering weird?
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And he's like, oh, I'm in the hospital waiting room.
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My wife just got. Wheeled in for surgery.
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I was like, what? I was like, dude.
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Let's pray. Let's pray for her.
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He wasn't a believer, but he's like, oh.
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OK, see Don't ask. Permission.
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Just pray for people. And I was like.
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Hey, wait, let me just pray for you.
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And he's like. Oh yeah, and I.
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Let me just tell you I I said something like this and I only
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know this. Because he told me later, I said
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something like this. I'd forgotten.
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Said something like this, Father we lift all.
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Of this before you we ask that you guide the surgeon's hands,
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We ask that you give them wisdom and clarity, We ask that your.
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Spirit fills the room. We ask that you heal in ways
31:06
that are so supernatural that no one even understands them.
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We ask that you. Heal her completely and I ask
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you, give Nabi peace as he waits in this room for his wife.
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And we ask you to do all of these things because you love us
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and you told us to come ask in Jesus name, Amen. 30 seconds.
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You know I did that like. This is like four or five years
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ago. Nabi still calls me and talks to
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me about that prayer. Take it to God, draw near and be
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known. You know what's funny is I was
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thinking back. Because I don't exactly.
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Remember the date? I'm like, I don't even remember.
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Like if I was a pastor. At the moment that.
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I prayed that prayer. But I was a royal priest, and
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you are too. He's waiting for you to draw
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near and be known if you're here today.
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Or or you're. Watching online and you've never
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given your life to Jesus. You can draw near today, right
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now. Jesus came for you.
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He died for you, and he rose again so that you could be known
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by the Father, and I want to give you that chance right now.
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We all please bow your heads to. Close your eyes as we finish
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this service. If you don't know.
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Jesus as your Lord. If you've never given your life.
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To Him I beg you to come to the Father and taste and see that He
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is good. So I'm going to lead you in a
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prayer of surrender and if you're.
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Ready to follow Christ as King I.
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Simply want you to repeat this after me quietly.
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Jesus, I know I am lost and I can't save myself.
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I want you to save me. I want to be known, so I
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surrender everything to you. Be my Lord.
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Please Jesus, if you prayed to surrender your life to Jesus for
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the first time right now, would you be brave and raise your hand
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for me to see? Thank you.
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Put your hands down in Jesus name, Amen.
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Real quickly as we close. Jesus loves you way more than
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you can imagine. And if you just gave your life
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to Christ. Welcome to the family.
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Just a moment. We're going to stand and when we
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do there are tables in the back that say I raised my hand above
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them. If you have made a commitment to
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follow Christ now or or recently and you haven't told anyone
34:38
about it yet, we want you to just.
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Go back there, tell someone about it.
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We have a gift for you. We want to celebrate with you.
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We want to talk about what it looks like.
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To follow. Christ, we stand.
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We're going to do something different today.
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Normally we close with a song and our prayer team comes up
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here, but I. Want to do something?
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Just a little different. Here's what I want you to do
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today. Want to put this into practice
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so as Katie. Sings a song.
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I want you to turn to someone next to you, and I want you to
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ask them for one thing you can pray about and.
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Right here while she. Sings, I want you to pray for
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them now. Introverts be brave.
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You may not know the person next to you, but as a royal priest
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you have access to God, and I want you to use it right now.
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She's going to sing. You're going to turn and you're
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going to pray. We'll love you, Church.
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You move as the Lord leads you.