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what drew my attention the most is that
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Paul was talking about the same concepts
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in three different texts in Romans 8 in
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Ephesians 1 and in Galatians chapter 4
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when I was preparing the sermon first I
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chose the text and then I thought no no
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no no this other one is good and then
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the other one is good and I was
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struggling with which one I should
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choose and finally I decided to choose
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Galatians 4 you can see the same
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concepts of how God has redeemed us from
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sin how he has adopted us as children
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not a slaves how we should not be afraid
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how we have a great inheritance and all
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these concepts are so important for you
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and I to know we find them in these
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three scriptures when he talks about
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being sons say with me I am a daughter
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or a son and I have many rights and you
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need to know them because throughout
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your life everything you are the way you
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think about yourself the way you feel
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about yourself the way you think about
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God the way you manage yourself and move
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and relate to other people the way you
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go to work the way you daydream the way
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you see life everything is being based
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of what you think regarding who God is
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and who you are and that's why the
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biggest temptations that the devil will
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put in front of you are going to be in
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these two areas they are the most
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important the image you have of God and
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the image you have of yourself the worst
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enemy is not the devil the worst enemy
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is yourself because the devil cannot
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force you but he can convince you you
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have to know who God is who he is for
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you and who you are for God you must
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know who you are because of all your
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life all your life is going to be
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dependent in that image you must live
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with your head
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do you know that when Arabian horses
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when they're born they stand up when
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they are born you know that the the
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horses stand up right away right people
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buy Arabian horses as an investment
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because they're worth a lot of money
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it's like people who buy art many buy
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Arabian horses Arabian horses cost a lot
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of money and it seems like when they're
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born when those coats
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stand up they lift their heads up as if
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they know that everybody needs to know
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that they are very expensive they have
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that in their DNA and that's so
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important because when you know that
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you're a child of God if you know all
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the rights Jesus has already gotten for
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you and you live with them your life is
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going to be very different your life is
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not going to be all poor little me no
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your life is going to be how great he is
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your life is going to be how great your
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dad is and because he is great and he's
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inside of you who can be against you he
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deserves an applause don't you think and
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that's why it's so important according
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to your faith you're going to experience
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it Jesus always said according to your
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faith let it be done the difference
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between the person next to you and you
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and the level you live in experiencing
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God in the riches of the abundant life
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this church is called abundant life
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because Jesus has come to bring life and
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life abundant that level of abundance of
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richness between you and the person next
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to you is found between your two ears
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right here what do we think what you
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think is what you will believe and what
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you believe is what you're going to
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experience so everything is according to
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your faith according to your faith let
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it be done and that's why it's so
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important that we know the word I'm
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happy that this weekend is dedicated to
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adoption you are an adopted son or
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daughter of God I would like to explain
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something I know the other speakers and
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I are talking about the same thing but
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it's so important that you listen
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to each message because each message is
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a piece of the puzzle that you have to
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put together to know who God is and who
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you are you are for God and what God is
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for you amen everything is based on that
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look what it says in Galatians let's
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read from chapter 4 verse 4 it says but
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when the fullness of the time came God
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sent forth his son born of a woman born
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under the law he came as a man so that
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he may redeem those who were under the
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law that we may receive the adoption as
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sons because you are sons and God has
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sent forth the spirit of his son into
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your hearts crying Abba Father therefore
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you are no longer a slave but a son and
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if a son then an heir through Christ
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let's dig a little deeper let's take
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this piece by piece because I found like
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in Romans 8 is very ample in explaining
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this concept and also a fish is one we
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see here that Paul placed it all
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together so let's hash this out a bit
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let's take it a bit by bit it says when
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the fullness of the time came Jesus came
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in the flesh and have you read in
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Hebrews 2 verse 10 through 17 and the
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rest of the chapter you will see all the
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explanations about the importance of
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Jesus coming into the flesh he died for
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us to bring many sons to glory the goal
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for Jesus coming to earth as a man is
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that he could bring many children to
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glory because in God's heart you were
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there always in God's heart the Bible
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says God calls your life your life
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that's all of us his inheritance what
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God desires the most is that we are his
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he desires us to be his people what
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motivated God he is complete and
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depended he doesn't need anybody God
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doesn't need you to worship Him he
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doesn't need anything
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you praise him because you stand in all
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of his kindness and his love it's your
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natural response to his greatness his
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mercy and His grace in your life but he
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doesn't need you to praise him he
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doesn't need the Angels to worship Him
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that doesn't have any complexes
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he's self-sufficient but he wanted to
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create someone you to have relationship
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with when you see all of his creation
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and you might see movies or
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documentaries where you see the
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greatness of the earth the great variety
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that there is so many things
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the colors flowers nature countries
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cultures all of that all that variety
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with everything God made it says that
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mankind was placed there as the glory of
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his creation he clothed him with honor
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and glory everything you see around you
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all the beauty you see with your eyes he
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made everything so that you would be
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happy so that you would be blessed so
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that you would have a nice place to live
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everything is for you because he doesn't
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need anything he doesn't need the ocean
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to swim in he doesn't need the Sun to be
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warm he doesn't need anything do you
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know why he created them it is for you
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so that you could enjoy it because even
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before he created all things he said he
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wanted to create people for himself for
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himself because of love for love God did
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it for love come to Ephesians 1 verse 4
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and 5
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where's for the Sweden just as he chose
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us in him before the foundation of the
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world that we may be holy and blameless
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before him in love verse five in love he
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predestined us to adoption as sons
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through Jesus Christ to himself
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according to the kind intention of his
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will
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even before the foundation of the world
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he wanted you he wanted your love and
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that's why he created you with a will to
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choose for you well God created you with
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a free will why because he didn't wants
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you to be a robot he wanted you to
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choose to be his beloved because love is
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voluntary love gives freedom and because
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you have that freedom you choose to love
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him freely we got things about you he
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thinks about all the love he has for you
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so much that He gave His only Son for
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you so that he could facilitate all your
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needs this is where Paul uses the word
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Redemption
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in Galatians 4 for him to redeem
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release in Romans 6 the concept Paul
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uses is when all the prisoners they are
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kept by a guard and someone comes to buy
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them to make them theirs I was in
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Memphis and I learned a lot about the
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African Americans I learned a lot
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because now I understand their culture
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more because I could see where there was
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so much slavery I saw the huge stones
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where they would stand up they would
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stand them up for sale and people even
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looked at their teeth they would look at
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everything as if they were animals but
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they were human beings and that's why
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there have been so many consequences as
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much suffering for African American
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people because of the history of slavery
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in the United States it's important here
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to understand this concept because it
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says
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that Jesus came to set us free from the
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power of sin look what it says in Romans
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8:1 it says therefore there is now no
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condemnation for those who are in Christ
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Jesus say with me no condemnation for
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those who walk not according to the
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flesh but according to the spirit for
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the law of the spirit of life in Christ
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Jesus has set you free from the law of
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sin and death
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for what the law could not do weak as it
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was through the flesh God did sending
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his own son in the likeness of sinful
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flesh and as an our sin he condemned sin
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in the flesh Jesus came in the flesh he
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became a man to redeem us as a son of
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God so that you could be free free from
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what the power of sin because you were a
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slave of sin John 8:36 says that he who
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sins is a slave to sin and Jesus came to
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deliver us from the power of sin Jesus
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came and paid a price so you could be
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free from the power of sin because you
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couldn't have done it yourself but Jesus
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came so you could be free if you wanted
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to be free and choose the love of God
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because of sin you were separated from
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God and a slave to sin but Jesus came to
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redeem to buy to pay a price he didn't
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pay with gold or silver but his own
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blood why why did he have to suffer all
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of that for you for you like it says in
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Galatians 4 let's continue to be adopted
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as sons adopted because you couldn't be
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a son but God wanted you to be one so he
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sent his son to be the first of many
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sons to be in glory when they had
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accepted Jesus as Savior and that's why
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you can be a son because you are adopted
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now in the world
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use this term well in the Greek world
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children were adopted only for legal
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issues when a man couldn't have any
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children what he did was take a son of a
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slave and adopted him so that he could
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leave him a legacy and family but in the
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Jewish mind the concept of adopting a
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son was different it was not only to
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have a legacy the next generations who
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had the name of the family not only for
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that and to leave descendants from the
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father of the house but there was also
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something else an inheritance that
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belonged to the son I'm going to talk
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about the inheritance tomorrow I'm going
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to talk about more about that it's very
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important because from the moment that
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the son was recognized by the father as
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a son even if he was the son of a slave
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from the moment the master of the house
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received that son and that son who had
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been a slave from that moment he was
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adopted was treated as a natural son of
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the men totally natural with all the
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rights the other slaves couldn't say
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this is the son of so-and-so no he was
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the son of the master of the house and
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he was treated as such
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honored as such and he was served as
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such and the master of the house elected
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the Lord has elected you our Heavenly
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Father has chosen you to be adopted you
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are adopted it doesn't matter what kind
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of background you have or where you come
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from adoption was not earned by works it
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was by grace because of the kindness of
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the master of the house because he
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wanted him to be his son how many of you
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have seen the movie The Prince of Persia
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the movie have you seen it yes what
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happened to the little boy dastan
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the boy in the little movie that's what
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it was all about the boy who was on the
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streets he was a nobody he was received
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by the king and then treated at his son
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and at the end he inherits the kingdom
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remember Moses how many know Moses Moses
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was a son of slave right and what
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happened with him when he was received
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in Pharaoh's home and was treated as his
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son with all the teachings with all the
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servants with everything while the
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people of Israel were living in slavery
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he lived as the son of Pharaoh in the
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palace so what does this tell us in the
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streets there are a lot of unsaved
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people and they live under that slavery
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and they live serving sin but when
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you're a child of God you are welcomed
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in his home when you're a slave the
-
measure of who you are depends on your
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works the relationship between the
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master of the house and the slave is
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only based on works that person is not
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free to go and to talk to the master he
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cannot go and have intimacy with
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confidence to go to the master of the
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house because the slave is to work in
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period you are there and I'm here but we
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have not been called to be slaves
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you