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We're not to be passive.
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Jesus says you are to cut your hand off.
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Listen, it is by the Spirit that we
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put to death the deeds of the body.
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But you're not to be passive.
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Jesus is saying you've got to do it.
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He's not saying God will do it for you.
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He's not saying expect the
church to do it for you.
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You know what?
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We have had people leave this church
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who have gone out
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either through discipline
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or they've just packed up and left
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and walked away immersed in sin
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who have blamed the elders.
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I have not been given the knife
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to cut your hand off.
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Yes, there's a place for teaching.
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There's a place for counsel.
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You have that responsibility.
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If you don't take your hand off,
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it is not my fault.
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It is not James' fault.
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And it is not somebody else's fault
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down the aisle from you.
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You have a responsibility to amputate.
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And if you don't, you go to hell.
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That's what it says.
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We have a personal responsibility here
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not to be passive.
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You must be proactive.
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You must be intentional.
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You must face your life with purpose.
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You must attack with purpose.
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You must be deliberate.
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You must identify the
causes of sin in your life,
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and cut them off
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and throw them away from you.
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And God doesn't make deals.
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I want to tell you this too.
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God doesn't tell you that it's okay
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to pluck out your right eye
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when it's your right hand that offends.
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You get what I'm saying here?
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Have you ever noticed,
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sometimes we have a tendency to do that?
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We feel like in our conscience,
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God is telling me that
this thing over here
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is what really needs to be cut off.
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And we start cutting off over here.
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You know what we're wanting to do?
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Well, Lord, will this appease You?
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He knows where our real idols are.
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He knows the things that have roots
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that go down deepest into our heart,
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and He'll push that aside and say,
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"I want that thing right there."