John E. Lawrence - "Christian Boldness: A Needed Commodity" (July 12, 1970) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

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Beloved, the Scriptures teach us that all have sinned

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and come short of the glory of God.

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We, therefore, stand in need of the acknowledgement

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of our sinful condition,

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of repenting of our sins

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and asking for the forgiveness of Almighty God.

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So let us pray our prayer of confession.

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Almighty God, our heavenly Father,

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we are contrite in heart

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as we make our confessions before thee.

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Thou knowest our hearts better than we know them.

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And still, we need to express our sins

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in thy presence and before one another.

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So we acknowledge that we have not beaten our swords

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into plowshares, nor our spears into pruning hooks.

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Nations still lifts up sword against nation,

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and mankind still learns to make war.

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We who call ourselves by thy name

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do not act as though we love our neighbors as ourselves.

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We are more careful to protect our pride

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than we are to protect our character, as thou does know.

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Oh God, we often expect the impossible.

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We have not been poor in Spirit,

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and yet we assume that we shall enter the kingdom of heaven.

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We have not been very meek,

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and yet we act as though we should inherit the earth.

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We have not been merciful,

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but here we are now bold enough to ask for mercy.

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We have not been pure in heart;

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still, we wonder why we do not see God.

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And we blame thee oh Father for being so hard to find,

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sometimes even say that thou are dead.

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We often are unwilling to endure persecution

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for righteousness sake, yet we claim the kingdom of heaven.

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Oh God, we are indeed sinners.

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We have failed at so many points.

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Man look upon women as being primarily sex targets

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rather than persons.

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Women look upon men as being primarily sources of paychecks

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and status rather than persons.

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Employers look upon employees as being primarily cogs

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in a monetary machine rather than persons

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whom thou doest love.

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And employee's care not what happens to the employer

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so long as he pays them their salary.

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Many students look upon professors as grade givers

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rather than as teachers.

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And many professors look upon students

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as a necessary evil to professional advancement.

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Oh God, we are sinners.

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Save us by thy power.

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Forgive us, especially for having too little faith.

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Forgive us for believing that the triumph of righteousness

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and justice and fairness is too good to be true.

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Forgive us for believing

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that the assassins of the world will have the last word,

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that the rioters and looters

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are to be the leaders of tomorrow.

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Forgive us for not in faith,

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claiming Jesus Christ as our leader,

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as our Lord and as our Savior.

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And forgive us all these sins through Christ our Lord.

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We make our prayer in His name, amen.

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Beloved, it is a part of the Christian affirmation

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that God is more interested in forgiving us

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than we are in being forgiven.

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But he cannot forgive us

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until we are from the heart sincerely,

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fully contrite and repentant,

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and completely dedicated to living above and beyond sin

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by his help.

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When we are thus repentant and ask His forgiveness,

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He does forgive us.

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Therefore, if our repentance is profound and sincere,

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we are forgiven.

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For the Scriptures say to us,

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"If we confess our sins,

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"He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins

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"and will cleanse us from all uncleanness."

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This being the case,

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we should be people filled with thanksgiving

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that we worship and love such a God.

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So let us join together our hearts and our voices

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in a unison prayer of thanksgiving

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adapted from the book of Jonah.

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Let us pray.

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We call to you, Lord, out of our distress.

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And you answered us.

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You heard our voices.

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We said we are cast out from your presence,

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how shall we again look upon your holy temple?

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The waters closed in over us.

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The deep was round about us.

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Yet you brought up our life from the pit, oh Lord our God.

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When our souls faded within us,

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we remembered the Lord,

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and our prayers came to you into your holy temple.

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With the voice of thanksgiving, we will sacrifice to you.

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Deliverance belongs to the Lord, amen.

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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Let us now hear the reading of the Word of God

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from the book of Acts, chapter four,

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beginning with verse five.

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On the morrow,

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their rulers and elders and scribes

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were gathered together in Jerusalem,

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with Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John,

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and Alexander, and all who were on the high priestly family.

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And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,

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"By what power or by what name did you do this?"

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Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

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"Rulers of the people, and elders,

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"if we are being examined today concerning a good deed,

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"done to a crippled

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"by what means this man has been healed

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"be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel,

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"that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

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"whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,

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"by Him, this man is standing before you, well.

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"This is the stone which was rejected by you builders,

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"but which has become the head of the corner,

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"and there is salvation in no one else,

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"for there is no other name under heaven,

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"given among men, by which we must be saved."

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The Lord be with you.

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And also with you.

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Let us pray.

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Almighty God, we come before thee with our intercessions

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for others and for ourselves, for we all need thee equally.

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We come praying for those

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who are in distress of one sort or another:

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those who are unemployed, those who are underemployed.

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We pray for those who have skills to offer

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but cannot find opportunity to apply their skills

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to the native society.

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We intercede for those who find themselves overworked,

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those who have more responsibility placed on their shoulders

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than can be discharged,

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but who nevertheless are expected to fulfill

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those responsibilities regardless.

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Give them grace, to endure,

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give them strength to do the best they can

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and tranquility of mind.

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We pray, oh God,

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for those who are pushed aside because they are poor,

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whose ideas are not listened to,

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because their financial weight is not impressive,

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whose personalities are blinded

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because they are regarded as inferior

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on account of their poverty, their lack of success.

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But oh God, we pray also for those

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who are discriminated against because they are successful,

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whose dedicated labor, whose sacrificial devotion,

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whose great achievements are seldom appreciated

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because of our blind prejudice against anybody

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who has achieved more than we have.

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So grant them grace to forgive the rest of us,

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patients to continue their dedicated labors

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and strength to achieve even better.

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Oh God, it seems that all of us

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need to be less critical of others

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more critical of ourselves.

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Less prone to generalize, more inclined to be helpful.

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Today, our Father, we lift our prayers for thy church,

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our church, which has been given to us

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by our Lord Jesus Christ.

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We ask thee to deliver it

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from the personal ambitions of its leaders,

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from the apathy and selfishness of its members.

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Deliver its bishops from arrogance and pompousness.

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Deliver its scholars from sophistry trivialities,

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deliver its pastors from a selfish

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and possessive attitude toward their members

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and deliver the members from inaction and indifference.

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May thy church be united in Spirit and in truth,

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and may it escape the corrosion of sin that is in us all.

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God of the nations,

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we also offer our intercessions

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for the stricken people of Peru.

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We pray that they may receive help in time

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to avert further disaster.

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We pray for our own Duke students and ministers who,

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even today, are helping them.

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Give them strength and wisdom

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and the resources needed to minister to those people.

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We pray for the people of Nigeria who still suffer,

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for the people of the Middle East and of Indochina

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and of all the world.

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We pray that love and food and medicine

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and all the necessities that sustain life

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and give meaning to life may come to them.

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And that most of all,

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they may find Jesus Christ as the source of meaning

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and as the way to their salvation.

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Oh God, thou who art the author of life

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and the conqueror of death,

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we are solemn in thy presence

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as we remember the death of thy servant,

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our trusty George Allen.

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We give thee thanks for his tireless

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and intelligent labors for our nation.

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For his unceasing and fruitful devotion to our university,

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for his love of his church and his family.

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We ask thy by comforting presence

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to be with the members of his family

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and his sisters and brothers, and all of his loved ones.

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Grant, oh God, that the good things

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which were going forward in his life

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may continue to go forward

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in the lives of those of us who survive.

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Our Father, we pray that thou which teach us the Spirit

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of the prayer which thy Son our Lord,

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Jesus Christ has taught us all to pray, saying,

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our Father who art in heaven,

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hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,

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thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us this day our daily bread,

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and forgive us our trespasses,

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as we forgive those who trespass against us.

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And lead us not into temptation,

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but deliver us from evil,

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for thine is the kingdom and the power

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and the glory forever, amen.

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In the beginning of this morning,

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I'd like to read one additional verse of Scripture.

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Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John

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and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,

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they marveled, and they took knowledge of them

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that they had been with Jesus.

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May we bow in prayer.

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Come Holy Spirit of God, come.

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Come as a fire and burn,

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come as a wind and cleanse,

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come as a light and reveal thy truth unto our waiting heart.

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Come Holy Spirit of God, come,

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convict, convert, consecrate.

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Come, Holy Spirit, come.

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In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray.

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Amen.

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In the year 250 AD,

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had you been present in the city of Rome,

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you would have been amazed at the activity

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that was prevalent there.

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On every hand,

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you would have seen evidence of tremendous prosperity,

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you would have seen evidence of might, armed might,

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or as the Roman legions marched up and down the street,

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you would have been prone to have said,

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is it possible that the Roman Empire

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should ever know defeat?

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And yet, at the very moment,

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that Rome was at seemingly the height of her power,

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already, the Empire was crumbling at her extremities.

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Dr. Elton Trueblood,

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in commenting upon this fact of history,

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has observed that Rome

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and the church present an amazing parallel.

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That today at a time

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when it would seem that the church

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is at the height of her glory that even at this very moment,

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the church is crumbling at her extremity.

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Dr. Trueblood indicates several areas

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in which this is true of the church.

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First of all, he points out

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that we are losing so many in the realm of higher education.

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He makes the observation

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that less than 2% of the student bodies of our universities

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and colleges are actively involved

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and engaged in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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He then makes the observation

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that we are losing our young people in general.

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We have the very old,

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and we have the very young,

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but in between, there is a conspicuous void.

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And the result is not good.

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He goes on to observe

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that we are also losing the laboring man.

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We have the white-collar worker to some degree.

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But we are losing the blue-collar worker in large measure.

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I would like to add another area

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in which there is evident deterioration

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within the church.

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I am gravely concerned as a pastor

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regarding the large number of those

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who seemingly though they give lip service to the Lord,

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are actually more concerned about their secular pursuits

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than they are about their spiritual enrichment.

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The church today,

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because of all of these evidences of deterioration

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that are taking place, is amazingly silent

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when confronted about the problem of our work.

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Being weak within,

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she does not give strong voice concerning the problems

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that are without.

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An eminent minister was in a railroad station

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in the City of London.

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His train was late.

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So he went out in the plaza to see

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what was taking place in the buildings there above.

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And across the plaza,

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he saw a magnificent cathedral

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that had been built in the time of the Battle of Waterloo.

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He walked toward the cathedral.

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And as he approached it,

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he saw a large crowd made up mostly of the young

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there in front of that magnificent edifice.

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He came closer and closer for he was intrigued.

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He looked up at the cathedral first.

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The windows were darkened, the doors were closed,

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there was no evidence of life within the church itself.

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But here, in front of the church,

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there was a man on a soapbox

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preaching the various philosophies of Marxism.

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In and out among the crowd there were teenagers,

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who were distributing pamphlets

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telling of the glories of communists.

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The minister made the observation,

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"Is not what I see symbolic of what is taking place

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"in the world today?

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"At a time when the world is on fire, literally,

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"at a time when there is war and strife

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"and division and prejudice.

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"At a time when it seems

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"that the world is literally going to pieces,

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"the church is silent.

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"The church's voice is muted.

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"Whereas the voice of communism is strider."

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Know, my friends, this is too true.

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At a time when you and I should be speaking with boldness,

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we are a part of the silent majority within the church.

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At a time when we should be sharing our witness gladly,

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somehow, our lips are sealed.

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There is a missing node in modern Christianity.

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And I dare say that if I were to ask you

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what that mission node actually is

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that I would receive a variety of answers.

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Some would say, Mr. Lawrence, in my opinion,

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the missing node is a lack of relevance.

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And you would be right.

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That is a missing node.

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Another might say the missing node

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is the fact that the church is too much confined

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within the walls of the church,

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too much within the stained glass windows.

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And the church has not scattered

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and become involved in meeting the crying needs of a sick

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and suffering world.

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And you would be right.

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This is a need in our day.

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But I would say that right now,

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the need of the church

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is for those who call themselves Christians

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to be bold in their proclamation of the gospel,

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to be bold in living the Christian life

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in a secular and a hostile world.

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We see something of this is a passage of Scripture,

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which I read a moment ago,

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Peter and John, who only a short time before,

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had been cringing before the Sanhedrin

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were now standing stalwartly

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and courageously proclaiming the gospel of the risen Lord,

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even though they had been admonished

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that they were not to do this.

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Nevertheless, they did it

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because they possessed a boldness

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that they had never possessed before.

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In the passage we read,

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when they perceived that Peter and John were unlearned,

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that is to say,

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they had not been educated in the school of the Sanhedrin.

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And that they were ignorant man,

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that is to say, they were just ordinary laymen,

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they were not free.

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When they observed these things about them, they marveled,

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they marveled at boldness of these men

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and took knowledge of the fact

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that they had been with Jesus.

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Now, what was the secret of the boldness of these men?

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We find this also in the passage of Scripture,

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which was read in the eighth verse.

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Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak.

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And the Greek word that is translated filled

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literally means crammed full,

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filled to the overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

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His life under the control of the Spirit,

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his life under the complete domination of the Lord.

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My dear friend,

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when any of us permit ourselves

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to be the resident of the Holy Spirit

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when any of us permit Him to take over control of our life,

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then we have a boldness that is otherwise impossible.

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This boldness was not confined just to Peter, and to John,

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and to the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Holy Spirit was given to the church.

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Let me read another passage of Scripture

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still in the fourth chapter of the book of Acts.

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The early Christians were probably in the upper room

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in which Jesus had met with the disciples

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for that last supper.

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They were being persecuted.

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They were being scattered.

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Now listen to their prayer.

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And now Lord, behold, they're threatening,

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and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness,

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they may speak the Word.

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And when they had prayed, the place was shaken,

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where they were assembled together,

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and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.

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And they spoke the Word of God with boldness.

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Has anybody ever marveled at your bold?

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Has anybody ever looked at you

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and seen that there was something different about you?

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That you were a human being with a (indistinct)?

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That you were a Christian that really meant business

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with the Lord?

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Has anybody ever marveled at your boldness in Christ?

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And if not, could it be that you lack the Holy Spirit?

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You lack the empowering that the Holy Spirit

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will give to any who asks of him?

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Now in preparing this message,

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I looked in my (indistinct) for the areas

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in which the Bible tells us

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that there is a need for boldness,

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and I found three distinct areas

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that I would like to share with you.

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First of all,

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the Bible tells us that we need boldness

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in approaching the throne of God in prayer.

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In Hebrews, the fourth chapter and the 16th verse,

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the author writes,

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"Let us, therefore, come boldly, unto the throne of grace,

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"that we may obtain mercy,

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"and find grace to help in time of need."

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In other words, the author,

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inspired as he was by the Holy Spirit,

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is saying that as Christians,

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we should not be timid in our life of prayer.

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But we should approach the throne of grace, boldly,

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boldly, laying hold of those wonderful prayer promises

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that Jesus Christ gave to His disciples.

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It disturbs me that Christians are so weak

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in their life of prayer.

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As a result, we panic because we do not pray.

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We bother because our weak faith

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has not forced us to confront the bother.

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We run with the crowd

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because we have not first run to Jesus Christ in prayer.

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You know, my friend,

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all of us could know power in the Lord

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if we really wanted to.

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Jesus said, concerning the gift of the Spirit,

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he said, "If you, as earthly fathers,

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"know how to give good gifts unto your children,

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"how much more will your heavenly Father

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"give the Holy Spirit?"

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And the implication is that this is the best gift.

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"How much more will He give the Holy Spirit

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"to them that ask him?"

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And James said, "You have not because you ask not."

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Oh, my dear friends, we could be powerful in the Lord.

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We could be doing things

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that the world really needs having done.

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We could have wisdom in regard to the problems

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that confront us in the world today.

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If we were but seek that wisdom

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through prayer in the Holy Spirit.

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But there is a second area

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in which the Bible tells us

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that we are to manifest boldness.

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It says that we are to manifest boldness

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in the living of the Christian life.

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Philippians 1:20, the apostle Paul writes,

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with all boldness, Christ shall be magnified in my body,

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both in life and in death.

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Now, where was Paul at this time?

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He was in a Roman prison.

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He was chained to a Roman soldier.

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In his prayer,

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he did not ask that he be delivered from prison.

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He did not ask the chains

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that bound him to the soldier be broken.

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He did not ask that he be delivered from a martyr's death.

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He only asked in his prayer

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that Christ might be magnified in his body,

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both in life and in death.

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In other words,

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that no matter what his circumstances might be,

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that he might so glorify Jesus

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that the world around him

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might see the living Christ in him.

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You know, my friends, that's what our world needs today.

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Our world needs to see Christianity manifested

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in everyday living.

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In the words of Edgar Guest in a poem that all of you know,

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"I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one any day.

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"I'd rather one would walk with me

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"than just to show the way.

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"The best of all, the Christians are the ones

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"who live their creeds.

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"To see good put in action is what everybody needs."

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I saw Christ in a human being a few years ago.

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As I went through this little country of Paraguay

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in South America on a preaching mission.

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The person of whom I'm speaking is a surgeon,

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a very excellent surgeon,

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who, if he were in the United States,

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would be having an income

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I'm sure in excess of 50 to $75,000 a year.

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Dawn, who is a dedicated Christian,

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went first to Paraguay as an emissary of the government

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to try to help the hospitals in that area.

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He gives this testimony,

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"My wife and I hated every moment that we were there.

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"There was so much poverty,

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"there was so much dirt and disease."

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He said, "I could see the distended stomachs

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"of the naked little boys,

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"stomachs distended because of a lack of proper diet.

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"I could see all of this and I wanted to get away from it."

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He said, "When the end of the two years came, we were glad.

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"We returned to the United States with rejoicing."

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But then he said, "Somehow,

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"I could not forget get those staring eyes,

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"I could not forget those hands outstretched

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"for a morsel of food.

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"I could not forget the disease that I had seen.

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"And I felt somehow that God wanted me

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"to do something about it."

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So he said, "We applied to our foreign mission (indistinct)

40:54

"we went back to Paraguay."

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And I know that since he's been there, he has known trouble.

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His little girl was drowned.

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Another child fell from a horse, his arm was broken,

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and his bones became diseased,

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and the arm had to be amputated.

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But always, there was a radiance.

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Always, there was a joy about God.

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I was privileged to see him operate on one occasion.

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And after the operation was over, I said,

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"Dawn, how much would you receive for that operation

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"were you in the States?"

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He said, "Oh, I would presume about $500."

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I said, "How much will you get for it here?"

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He smiled flimsily.

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And he said, "John, I'll get only this man's gratitude

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"and the knowledge that I am doing what God wants me to do,

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"in the service of humanity, among a needful people."

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Yes, I saw Christ living in this man.

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And I've seen Christ living in other men.

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But the need of this hour

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is for more of us to live with boldness, the Christian life,

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and we are not doing it.

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God help us to repent

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and to do all that Jesus Christ would have us do

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in a hostile world such as this.

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And then finally,

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we are told in the Scriptures

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that we need the boldness

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that will motivate us to fearlessly speak forth the Word.

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In Ephesians, the sixth chapter, the 19th and 20th verses,

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the apostle Paul is praying once again.

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And this is his prayer,

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"That utterance may be given unto me,

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"that I may open my mouth boldly,

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"to make known the mystery of the gospel,

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"for which I am an ambassador in bonds,

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"that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

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Here again, though, he's in prison, an ambassador in bonds,

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he does not pray for deliverance.

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He does not pray for freedom.

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He only prays that he might be able

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and motivated to speak boldly,

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a witness concerning Jesus Christ.

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Thou how successful he was in this,

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how his prayer was answered.

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While in the not too distant future,

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after praying this prayer,

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we are told that there are Christians

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in the household of Caesar.

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And I'm sure that they were they are partially

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because the Apostle Paul had spoken boldly

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a testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Oh, dear friends, this also is needed today.

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How we need to leave our silent pasture.

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How we need to take the seals from off our lips

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and share with those around us

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something of the joy and the peace

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and the fulfillment that we know in Jesus Christ.

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Two months ago,

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I had the privilege of speaking in a church

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in West Berlin, Germany.

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It was an English speaking church,

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made up mostly of servicemen.

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I lived in the home of a man who originally was born

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and reared in Lillington, North Carolina.

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Just a simple man,

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a man who had been converted only about two years before,

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but he was literally on fire for the Lord.

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He was living a different kind of life,

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a life of goodness and righteousness.

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And the thing that he wanted to do most of all

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was to share with his buddies, to share with his neighbors,

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a word about the joy that he was experiencing

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in Jesus Christ.

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And he was effective

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because he was the instrument

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by which many were led unto the Lord.

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My dear people,

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the commodity that is needed most

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as I see it in the church today is for the members,

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for those who call themselves Christians,

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to first seek the Holy Spirit,

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the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

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And this is accomplished by their giving over

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the control of their lives to Him.

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And then being filled with the Holy Spirit,

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the need is to go out and to live with boldness

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and to proclaim with boldness the unsearchable riches

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of our Lord and Savior.

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God grant that you and I may become bold in Him.

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Let's pray.

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Our Father and our God,

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we thank thee for the presence of thy Spirit

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among us this morning.

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We pray, oh, God,

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that many here might let thy Spirit

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take over control of their life

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till the end, that in the years ahead,

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they may live with boldness and speak with boldness

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of the unsearchable riches of thy truth.

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In the name of Jesus our Lord.

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We pray to you, amen.

46:58

(upbeat instrumental music)

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(indistinct singing)

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(soft instrumental music)

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(indistinct singing)

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(upbeat instrumental music)

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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(indistinct singing)

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

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♪ Hallelujah ♪

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(upbeat instrumental music)

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Oh God, in presenting this money and ourselves at thy alter,

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we come now to the end of this service of worship,

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and to the beginning of our service of witness

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in the world.

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As we go forth to that new service,

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grant us thy peace and thy power

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through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with us all.

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♪ Amen ♪

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♪ Amen ♪

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♪ Amen, amen ♪

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♪ Amen ♪

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♪ Amen ♪

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(bells chiming softly)

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(soft instrumental music)

58:42

John E. Lawrence - "Christian Boldness: A Needed Commodity" (July 12, 1970)

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