WEBVTT

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This one comes from Vlad.

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That sounds Russian or Romanian.

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"If I have sinned,

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and sin brings death (James 1:15),

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how can I have life

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and fellowship with God again?

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I've committed a sin

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and realize I no longer have the same

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relationship I had.

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Although I was pressed by God to repent,

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and did so.

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Can you say something about 1 John 5:16,

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"God will give him life,"

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because that is what I'm looking for.

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I have read somewhere

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that the relationship is not broken,

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but fellowship can be broken.

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Is it biblical to say so?"

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Ok. Somebody read James 1:15.

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Let's get a feel for 
where he's struggling.

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Somebody read James 1:15.

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"And desire when it has conceived

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gives birth to sin,

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and sin, when it is fully grown,

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brings forth death."

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Ok, so he sees desire, sin, death.

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But it doesn't just say if there's desire

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and it results in a sin,

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that there's death.

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It says sin does something.

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What does it say happens to sin?

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When sin what?

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Is fully grown.

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Now that's not to say that the wage

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of a single sin isn't death.

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But when he talks about sin fully grown,

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it's like there's this growth.

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Now he's describing desire.

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What's behind sin?

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There's desire that fuels our sin.

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And then sin, when it's full grown,

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then there's death.

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More like a picture of the 
life of the unbeliever.

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You have this desire that percolates

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and results in sin, and the sin grows,

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kind of like the sin of the Amorites.

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It's not yet full.

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It grows.

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Our sin grows. It multiplies.

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And you get to this place

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where you're like 
Christian in Pilgrim's Progress

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where you've got this 
huge pack on your back.

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It's like God lets it 
grow to a certain place

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and then it just explodes in death.

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But the very fact that James walks us

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all the way through;

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there's no life - it just goes to death.

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That would seem to indicate the growth

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of lust and sin resulting in death

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in the life of an unbeliever.

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It's basically just lost man.

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Now he also mentions 1 John.

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Let's go over there. 1 John 5:16

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Somebody read 1 John 5:16.

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Brethren, I'll tell you this,

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sometimes the most difficult verses

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to understand can really be helpful

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in shedding light on some things

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when properly understood.

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Sometimes difficult verses can be

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the foundation for horrible error.

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Sometimes they can be really helpful

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in helping us to see things

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the way they really are.

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Somebody read 1 John 5:16.

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"If anyone sees his 
brother committing a sin

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not leading to death,

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he shall ask and God will give him life -

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to those who commit sins 
that do not lead to death,

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There is sin that leads to death.

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I do not say that one 
should pray for that."

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Read it again:

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"If anyone sees his brother committing..."

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Ok, stop.

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Who's he writing to?

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Who is 1 John written to?

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Who said believers?

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Prove it.

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Prove it's written to believers.

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(from the room)

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"My little children..."

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My little children - where 
does it say that?

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(from the room)

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1 John 2:1

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Quote 1 John 5:13

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"I write these things to you who

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believe in the name of the Son of God."

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I write these things to you who believe.

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Ok, go back to 5:16.

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"If anyone sees his 
brother committing a sin..."

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Ok, who is he speaking to now?

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He's speaking to those who believe.

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And if they see who?

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His brother.

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What's the implication there?

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Is he speaking about seeing a lost man?

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Now, see, I would say

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James was speaking about a lost man.

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Now, he may be speaking about

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what would happen to any one of us

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if we weren't plucked from that.

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But basically, the end is death.

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The end for the Christian isn't death.

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The end for the Christian is life.

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But if we go here,

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the idea is that if anybody sees a brother

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who's sinning a sin 
that is not unto death.

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Well, if they're truly a brother,

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if they're truly a brother...

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now I recognize sometimes Scripture

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speaks about what people claim to be,

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not what they really are.

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And Scripture is charitable

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and will regard people according to

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what they claim to be.

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Scripture can speak about

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the righteous.

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Jesus talked about He didn't come

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to call the righteous.

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Scripture calls them 
what they claim to be,

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not what they really are.

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But here, a brother.

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You see a brother who commits a sin

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not unto death.

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Well, anybody that's truly a brother,

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truly a Christian, can only

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commit sins that aren't unto death.

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But in light of the context of 1 John,

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what would be a sin that leads unto death?

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The feel is - what he's talking about

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is you've got these antichrists.

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They went out from us, because 
they weren't of us.

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See, they continue in sin.

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They practice sin.

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And the idea is,

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if you go out after having had this light,

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and you go on practicing sin,

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that's a sin unto death.

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You see, the idea here is,

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he's talking to them about something

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he expects them to recognize

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from his epistle

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what he's talking about,

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when he talks about a sin

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that leads unto death,

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when he talks about a sin
that doesn't lead unto death.

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If you go through the whole letter,

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he's talking about Christians...

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"I write to you, little 
children, that you don't sin.

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But if you do sin, we have an Advocate

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with the Father - 
Jesus Christ the Righteous."

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You know that is a sin that 
doesn't lead unto death.

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Why? Because, 
"my little children."

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And we have an Advocate.

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So that doesn't lead to death.

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Whereas those who 
professed to be Christians

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at one point, but denied Jesus Christ -

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to deny Jesus Christ doesn't mean

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you say Jesus doesn't exist.

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It means you deny something about Him.

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They continued in this sin.

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They went out from among the Christians

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because they weren't 
really of the Christians.

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They continued in unrighteousness.

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He's saying, look, I say to you,

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you pray for those brothers -

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those who are faithful,

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those who have stuck by the Christians,

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those who show that they 
have a love for the brethren;

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those who keep the 
commandments of Jesus Christ

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as a rule;

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those who are following Him.

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Those who are not given to worldliness.

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Those who have not gone out from us,

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because they are of us.

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When they sin,

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you pray for it.

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You pray for that kind of sin,

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because that's a sin that

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doesn't lead to death.

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Whereas these people 
that continue in sin,

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these people that deny Jesus Christ -

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you deny the Son, you deny the Father.

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Those people that deny.

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Those heretics.

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Those people that are redesigning

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and redefining Jesus Christ.

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I'm not saying to pray for them.

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But here's what he's asking about,

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and here's what's really interesting.

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If you pray for a brother who has

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committed a sin not unto death.

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What happens?

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God will give him life.

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What happened?

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Did he lose life?

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Did he lose his life when he sinned?

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What do you mean 
God will give him life?

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I thought when we 
first believed upon

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the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we have eternal life.

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I thought that Jesus said that

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him who comes to Me, I will not cast out.

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Has he been cast out?

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Didn't Jesus say eternal life?

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No one will pluck them.

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Isn't that what we're told?

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Can it be eternal life if

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a brother who commits a sin

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that's not unto death...?

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Well, wait. He's a brother and

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he commits a sin that's not unto death.

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Where does life even come in?

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Life.

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Doesn't he already have life?

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Did it get taken away?

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Did he lose his life?

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You know, I think what it helps us to do

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is really think about the nature of life.

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We are so, I would say, earthly minded

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when it comes to life and death.

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Because we tend to see people

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who are moving, living...

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In our eyes, even though 
we don't regard things

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according to the flesh any longer,

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yet we do see through physical eyes.

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We've been to funerals.

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We look in the casket.

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We see death.

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Oh, that's death.

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They're dead.

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There's no pulse.

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Well, they're dead.

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And I recognize when we come to Scripture,

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we can talk more about spiritual life

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and spiritual death.

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But, do you remember 
how John defines life?

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Anybody remember how he defines it?

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John 17:3

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What is it to have life?

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(from the room)

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"This is eternal life, 
that they may know Thee,

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the one true God and Jesus Christ

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whom Thou hast sent."

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It's to know God.

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That's the issue.

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It's to know God.

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Life is to know God.

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It's to know Christ.

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Now look, knowing 
in Scripture is intimate.

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It isn't just knowing facts.

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To know.

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The word is used in 
really interesting ways.

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When Mary gave birth to Jesus,

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Joseph had not yet known her.

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There's sexual intimacy 
actually behind that word.

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To know.

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Life - you have to understand

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what Jesus is saying when He says

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that they will have life more abundantly.

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It's like we heard on Sunday.

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It's to embrace the glory of God.

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It's to see the face of God.

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To know God is to have intimacy with Him.

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It's to embrace Him.

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Yes, there's a knowledge 
that has to do with it.

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But when we talk life, when we talk death.

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At the deepest level, that's 
what we're talking about.

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Now think about this.

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If I am supposed to pray for a brother

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who commits a sin that's not unto death,

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which means he has life,

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and he's never going to see death.

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He's not going to go to hell.

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He's not going to perish.

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What do you mean I pray for him

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and God's going to give him life?

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He already has life.

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Yeah, but remember this.

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He's committed a sin.

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No, the sin doesn't lead to death.

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But what does that seem to communicate

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that if I pray for a brother or sister

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who sinned,

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what does that seem to communicate?

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That God will give them life?

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When you think about 
life as John defines it.

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What does it seem to mean?

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I don't think John 
wants us to think

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oh, they lost their life - 
now they get it back.

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They're in - they're out.
They're in - they're out.

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If you sin, you're out.

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If you get somebody to pray for you,

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you're back in again.

00:15:57.147 --> 00:15:58.964
In and out; in and out;
in and out...

00:15:58.964 --> 00:16:00.182
That's not eternal life.

00:16:00.182 --> 00:16:02.325
Because that's not eternal.

00:16:02.325 --> 00:16:03.742
That's temporary life.

00:16:03.742 --> 00:16:06.176
That's back and forth life.

00:16:06.176 --> 00:16:08.535
That's I'm alive, I'm dead, 
I'm alive, I'm dead.

00:16:08.535 --> 00:16:13.453
That's not eternal life.

00:16:13.453 --> 00:16:16.352
For one thing, I think this.

00:16:16.352 --> 00:16:21.574
The Bible uses "life" in different ways

00:16:21.574 --> 00:16:24.892
in different places.

00:16:24.892 --> 00:16:27.933
And I don't think we want 
to take it here to mean

00:16:27.933 --> 00:16:31.493
obviously, it doesn't mean physical life.

00:16:31.493 --> 00:16:32.885
It doesn't mean if you sin,

00:16:32.885 --> 00:16:34.718
you die physically.

00:16:34.718 --> 00:16:36.553
And then God will raise you back up.

00:16:36.553 --> 00:16:40.862
Certainly it doesn't mean that.

00:16:40.862 --> 00:16:43.588
And it doesn't mean being saved
all over again,

00:16:43.588 --> 00:16:48.821
because the guy's already a brother.

00:16:48.821 --> 00:16:53.894
It seems to indicate, like he says,

00:16:53.894 --> 00:16:58.373
it seems to indicate fellowship.

00:16:58.373 --> 00:16:59.909
Now you think with me here.

00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:02.780
Go back to 1 John 1.

00:17:02.780 --> 00:17:07.591
Somebody just begin reading 1 John 1:1.

00:17:07.591 --> 00:17:11.337
Just read until we get tired.

00:17:11.337 --> 00:17:13.092
"That which was from the beginning,

00:17:13.092 --> 00:17:14.138
which we have heard,

00:17:14.138 --> 00:17:16.029
which we have seen with our eyes,

00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:17.271
which we have looked upon

00:17:17.271 --> 00:17:19.003
and we have touched with our hands

00:17:19.003 --> 00:17:20.478
concerning the Word of Life.

00:17:20.478 --> 00:17:21.823
The life was made manifest

00:17:21.823 --> 00:17:23.753
and we have seen it and testify to it

00:17:23.753 --> 00:17:26.298
and proclaim to you the eternal life,

00:17:26.298 --> 00:17:27.604
which was with the Father

00:17:27.604 --> 00:17:29.511
and was made manifest to us.

00:17:29.511 --> 00:17:31.412
That which we have seen and heard,

00:17:31.412 --> 00:17:33.382
we proclaim also to you,

00:17:33.382 --> 00:17:35.819
so that you too may 
have fellowship with us.

00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:38.124
And indeed our fellowship 
is with the Father

00:17:38.124 --> 00:17:40.473
and with His Son Jesus Christ.

00:17:40.473 --> 00:17:42.746
And we are writing these 
things so that our joy

00:17:42.746 --> 00:17:44.234
may be complete."

00:17:44.234 --> 00:17:46.140
Right. Fellowship.

00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:49.887
Our fellowship.

00:17:49.887 --> 00:17:54.904
Brethren, I'm going to 
take my best stab at this.

00:17:54.904 --> 00:18:00.714
But I think what John means

00:18:00.714 --> 00:18:06.947
is that sin interrupts

00:18:06.947 --> 00:18:11.778
not life altogether,

00:18:11.778 --> 00:18:14.985
but if life is knowing God...

00:18:14.985 --> 00:18:16.991
Listen, Scripture's serious when it says

00:18:16.991 --> 00:18:21.328
don't grieve the Holy Spirit.

00:18:21.328 --> 00:18:26.336
Sin interrupts your life.

00:18:26.336 --> 00:18:33.168
Sin interrupts your knowing God.

00:18:33.168 --> 00:18:38.292
Just even at that level,

00:18:38.292 --> 00:18:44.296
Adam knew Eve and she conceived.

00:18:44.296 --> 00:18:50.826
At that level, if I sin against my wife,

00:18:50.826 --> 00:18:57.272
it interrupts that life on that level.

00:18:57.272 --> 00:19:05.667
If life is to know God and to know Christ,

00:19:05.667 --> 00:19:08.424
sin interrupts.

00:19:08.424 --> 00:19:16.370
It seems like the issue here is this:

00:19:16.370 --> 00:19:21.886
that if we pray for one another -

00:19:21.886 --> 00:19:24.033
brethren, I'll tell you this is big.

00:19:24.033 --> 00:19:25.785
I really think this is big.

00:19:25.785 --> 00:19:29.899
For one thing, it really helps us feel

00:19:29.899 --> 00:19:33.930
the reality of what life is all about.

00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:37.636
It really helps us feel the reality

00:19:37.636 --> 00:19:41.020
of how sin interrupts life.

00:19:41.020 --> 00:19:45.946
It really helps us feel 
how important it is

00:19:45.946 --> 00:19:50.681
to pray for other Christians that you see

00:19:50.681 --> 00:19:55.982
falling into sin.

00:19:55.982 --> 00:19:58.243
Because you think about the promise here.

00:19:58.243 --> 00:20:01.139
Life will be restored to them.

00:20:01.139 --> 00:20:03.139
The fellowship will be brought back.

00:20:03.139 --> 00:20:05.017
The sweetness will be brought back.

00:20:05.017 --> 00:20:07.199
The intimacy, the closeness.

00:20:07.199 --> 00:20:12.330
Sin interrupts our fellowship with God.

00:20:12.330 --> 00:20:13.795
We lose something.

00:20:13.795 --> 00:20:16.181
We lose a sight of the glory.

00:20:16.181 --> 00:20:18.779
We lose the face of God.

00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:21.106
He hides.

00:20:21.106 --> 00:20:22.760
That's a reality.

00:20:22.760 --> 00:20:26.074
And that's one of the 
greatest pains of sin.

00:20:26.074 --> 00:20:29.246
Look, for the Christian, it's 
not just the consequences

00:20:29.246 --> 00:20:32.956
of getting caught in my sin.

00:20:32.956 --> 00:20:34.507
A lot of times, brethren,

00:20:34.507 --> 00:20:36.458
the grief of the Christian behind sin

00:20:36.458 --> 00:20:38.601
is how it's going to affect

00:20:38.601 --> 00:20:43.204
my fellowship with the Lord.

00:20:43.204 --> 00:20:47.618
That's the heart of the true Christian.

00:20:47.618 --> 00:20:50.449
Brethren, a text like this,

00:20:50.449 --> 00:20:52.910
just think about what it says about

00:20:52.910 --> 00:20:56.500
how terrible sin is.

00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:59.821
How awful.

00:20:59.821 --> 00:21:05.419
It brings a death of sorts.

00:21:05.419 --> 00:21:07.145
Because what?

00:21:07.145 --> 00:21:09.254
It removes the smile of God.

00:21:09.254 --> 00:21:10.803
Brethren, I'll tell you this,

00:21:10.803 --> 00:21:15.388
when you read in 
Scripture about eternal death,

00:21:15.388 --> 00:21:20.440
you need to recognize 
what we're talking about.

00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:25.779
What makes death death is not the fire

00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:28.414
or the worm that never dies,

00:21:28.414 --> 00:21:32.038
or the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

00:21:32.038 --> 00:21:34.974
It is that you are so 
separated from God -

00:21:34.974 --> 00:21:37.481
that's what outer darkness means.

00:21:37.481 --> 00:21:39.485
God is light.

00:21:39.485 --> 00:21:42.949
To be in the outer darkness means

00:21:42.949 --> 00:21:46.145
you are away from His smile.

00:21:46.145 --> 00:21:48.487
Oh, you're in the presence of the Lamb

00:21:48.487 --> 00:21:50.960
and of His angels - no question.

00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:54.562
Scripture says that.

00:21:54.562 --> 00:21:59.378
You are horrifyingly in 
the presence of the Lamb.

00:21:59.378 --> 00:22:01.343
But there's no smile.

00:22:01.343 --> 00:22:03.341
There's no intimacy.

00:22:03.341 --> 00:22:05.251
There's no fellowship.

00:22:05.251 --> 00:22:08.569
That's death.

00:22:08.569 --> 00:22:13.491
That's what this says to us.

00:22:13.491 --> 00:22:16.876
And so I would say yes to Vlad,

00:22:16.876 --> 00:22:19.060
that that is right.

00:22:19.060 --> 00:22:21.134
That this has to do with relationship.

00:22:21.134 --> 00:22:23.378
This has to do with fellowship

00:22:23.378 --> 00:22:27.584
as stated in 1 John 5:16.

00:22:27.584 --> 00:22:29.776
That seems to be the only thing

00:22:29.776 --> 00:22:34.588
that you can possibly 
make sense out of this text

00:22:34.588 --> 00:22:36.620
as far as its meaning,

00:22:36.620 --> 00:22:39.535
and in the context of 1 John, I think,

00:22:39.535 --> 00:22:41.822
that it makes sense.

00:22:41.822 --> 00:22:44.530
It seems to be consistent 
with that context.

00:22:44.530 --> 00:22:46.499
Otherwise, I'm afraid you end up

00:22:46.499 --> 00:22:49.781
with some sort of doctrine

00:22:49.781 --> 00:22:56.938
you don't want to end up with.

00:22:56.938 --> 00:22:59.394
Anybody else have any comments about that

00:22:59.394 --> 00:23:05.017
or observations?

00:23:05.023 --> 00:23:06.530
But like I said before,

00:23:06.530 --> 00:23:09.532
undoubtedly a hard to understand text

00:23:09.532 --> 00:23:13.292
can result in all manner of error.

00:23:13.292 --> 00:23:16.517
But sometimes, the hard 
to understand verses

00:23:16.517 --> 00:23:20.863
can really be useful in helping us

00:23:20.863 --> 00:23:22.263
to understand...

00:23:22.263 --> 00:23:28.031
brethren, the horrible, 
foul, ugly thing that sin is

00:23:28.031 --> 00:23:32.965
and what it does to the 
smile of God in your life.

00:23:32.965 --> 00:23:38.783
What the real idea 
behind death is all about.

00:23:38.783 --> 00:23:42.285
And how critical that 
we pray for one another

00:23:42.285 --> 00:23:48.086
when we see other 
Christians falling into sin.

00:23:48.086 --> 00:23:50.854
Brethren, you see anything about me

00:23:50.854 --> 00:23:53.105
that seems less than Christlike,

00:23:53.105 --> 00:23:54.888
please pray for me.

00:23:54.888 --> 00:23:58.531
And I'm serious, because 
I know you do see that.

00:23:58.531 --> 00:24:00.740
We see those things in one another.

00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:03.310
I beg you, pray for me when you see them.

00:24:03.310 --> 00:24:06.070
(from the room)
Can we rebuke you?

00:24:06.070 --> 00:24:09.096
You can rebuke me too, but if 
you're going to rebuke me,

00:24:09.096 --> 00:24:10.643
promise to pray for me.

00:24:10.643 --> 00:24:14.109
I'll let you rebuke me, 
if you pray for me.

00:24:14.109 --> 00:24:23.381
I'll let you rebuke me otherwise...

00:24:23.381 --> 00:24:28.299
Ok, brethren, let's pray.

00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:36.607
Father, we thank You for Your Word.

00:24:36.607 --> 00:24:39.164
Lord, we want our fellowship with You

00:24:39.164 --> 00:24:43.989
to be unhindered, unclouded;

00:24:43.989 --> 00:24:46.962
Oh, we want the smile 
of God upon our life.

00:24:46.962 --> 00:24:48.848
Lord, drive sin away from us.

00:24:48.848 --> 00:24:53.197
Lord, put a hatred within 
each one of us for it.

00:24:53.197 --> 00:24:56.965
May we detest it as

00:24:56.965 --> 00:24:59.843
the most detestable thing imaginable.

00:24:59.843 --> 00:25:01.443
Anything that would bring a cloud

00:25:01.443 --> 00:25:03.294
between You and us,

00:25:03.294 --> 00:25:05.831
Oh, what fools we are!

00:25:05.831 --> 00:25:09.035
To choose sin over You.

00:25:09.035 --> 00:25:10.930
Foolish.

00:25:10.930 --> 00:25:12.346
Deceived.

00:25:12.346 --> 00:25:16.271
Blind when we do that.

00:25:16.271 --> 00:25:18.325
How wretched that we would ever

00:25:18.325 --> 00:25:22.403
choose that which would mar

00:25:22.403 --> 00:25:26.236
our fellowship with You.

00:25:26.236 --> 00:25:28.381
Oh, Lord, we want to be wise.

00:25:28.381 --> 00:25:31.530
We want life more abundantly.

00:25:31.530 --> 00:25:33.704
Lord, give us the fullness of that life.

00:25:33.704 --> 00:25:35.707
Burden us, Lord, to pray for one another

00:25:35.707 --> 00:25:37.264
all the more.

00:25:37.264 --> 00:25:38.414
We pray in Jesus' name,

00:25:38.414 --> 00:25:40.125
Amen.