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We're going to camp out in the book

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of Amos today, friends.

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I like reading about Amos and I'm enthralled

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by his powerful ministry.

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Amos was a country preacher.

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I believe country preachers are some of the

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best preachers you can find because when you

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hear one of them, you're going to hear

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something good because of their connection to nature.

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They have their feet on solid ground.

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They don't run from a fight because they're

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not scared of anybody.

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Maybe it's because country folk know how to

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handle themselves better than some city slickers.

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They can run a trout line and fire

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a gun and aren't afraid of defending what

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is right.

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Well, Amos was a country boy who became

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a fiery preacher.

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He was a sheep herder by trade and

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Amos began his public ministry on the heels

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of an earthquake and it's fitting to him

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for his ministry was a shaking ministry.

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He came and looked at the status quo

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of Israel's religion and he shook it up.

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He called out their sins.

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He listed God's grievances against them.

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He issued a warning that Israel can't escape

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the Lord.

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The title of my message today, friends, is

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You Can't Outrun God and Get By.

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My text can be found in the book

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of Amos in chapter 9.

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You can turn in your Bibles there now,

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friends.

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People fall into several categories in life.

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Some folks are rich.

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Others are poor.

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Some are in between.

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Some folks are ambitious and seek recognition.

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Others shy away from the public eye.

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Some are intelligent intellectuals and others are not

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so bright.

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Some folks don't believe in God.

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Others do.

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Some folks have a religion but they don't

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have God.

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Some people are powerful and have made a

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name for themselves in the world.

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Others are just plain nobodies.

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But when the rubber hits the road, there

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are only two real categories of people in

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the world, friends.

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The saved and the lost.

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Those who have found Christ and rest securely

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beneath his blood.

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And those who are outside of Christ who

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one day he'll be their judge.

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But no matter what, friend, the truth of

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the matter is you can't outrun God and

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get by.

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I'm going to prove that point to you

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today, friends, because I'm going to be honest

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with you today because I care about your

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soul.

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I'm going to speak plainly today like a

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country preacher.

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As we say in the South, I'm going

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to give you the oil straight from the

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can.

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So I say you can't outrun God and

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get by.

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You can put that down, big, plain and

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straight, friend.

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If you try to outrun God, he will

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catch up to you.

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God will catch up with you because number

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one, God has a long reach.

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It says so in Amos 9.2. Though

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they dig into hell, then shall my hand

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take them.

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Though they climb up to heaven, thence I

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will bring them down.

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Yes, sir, God has a long reach.

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You just going to try to climb up

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to heaven, friend, on a rope of sand

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of an empty religious profession, and he will

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yank you down before you get there.

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Secondly, God has excellent eyesight.

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It says so in verse 8.

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Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are

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upon the sinful kingdom.

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You can't hide from God, friend.

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You may go in your room and lock

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the door and do your evil, and he

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is watching you all the time.

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The eyes of the Lord God are upon

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the sinful kingdom, and that means his eyes

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are on you, friend.

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He is staring you down at all times.

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Whether you realize it or not, he's got

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his eye on you.

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Your sins are exposed before him.

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God has excellent eyesight.

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Number three, God has detailed records.

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It says so in verse 9.

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For lo, I will command, and I will

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sift the house of Israel among all nations

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like as corn is sifted in a sieve,

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yet shall not the least grain fall to

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the ground.

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Amos is a country preacher, and he uses

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agricultural parables to get his point across.

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Amos here is using the illustration of a

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sieve to show how God would sift out

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every evil thing and every little detail of

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sin that has been committed because he keeps

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detailed records on every one of us, and

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that means me, and that means you, friend.

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Not one deed will pass through the sifting,

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for all falls under his intense scrutiny.

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Yet shall not the least grain fall upon

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the earth, so says the word of God,

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meaning no sin of yours will slip by

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unnoticed.

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There's a day of sifting coming, friend, and

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it's fast approaching.

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You can't outrun God and get by, Hebrews

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declares, and as he disappointed unto men, wants

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to die, but after this the judgment.

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If you've not trusted Jesus Christ as your

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savior, friend, do so before it's too late.

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Soon he will come in judgment on this

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world, when his anger shall burn as an

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oven, and then you shall meet him as

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your judge, and shall not the judge of

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all the earth do right.

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You can't run away from God, friend.

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You can't get away from him.

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You cannot hide, it says so in Amos

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9.3, and though they hide themselves in

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the top of Carmel, I will search and

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take them out thence, and though they behead

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from my sight in the bottom of the

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sea, thence will I command the serpent, and

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he shall bite them.

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No, sir, you cannot run God and get

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by.

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In Numbers 32.23, it declares, behold, you've

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sinned against the Lord, and be sure your

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sin will find you out.

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Yes, sir, God keeps detailed books.

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If you don't believe me, friend, turn in

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your Bibles now over to the book of

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Revelation.

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Go ahead, friend, turn over to chapter 20,

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and take a look what God has to

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say there about keeping detailed records, beginning in

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verse 11 and following.

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And I saw a great white throne, and

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him that sat on it, from whose face

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the earth and the heaven fled away, and

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there was found no place for them.

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And I saw the dead, small and great,

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stand before God, and the books were opened,

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and another book was opened, which is the

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book of life.

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And the dead were judged out of those

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things which were written in the books according

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to their works.

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And the sea gave up the dead which

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were in it, and death and hell delivered

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up the dead which were in them, and

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they were judged, every man, according to their

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works.

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And whosoever was not found written in the

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book of life was cast into the lake

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of fire.

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Picture that fantastic scene in your mind, friend.

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Think of it now.

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You have tried to outrun God, but to

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no avail.

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There you will stand before him at a

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future judgment, where he will sift you like

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a sieve.

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Picture that heavenly courtroom scene.

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There you have God's throne, pure and white,

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God's majesty, terrible to behold.

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Even the earth and the heaven flee from

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his face, and you have God as a

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judge, sitting over man's accountability to him.

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Did sinful man break his unbending law?

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Sure he did, for all have sinned and

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come short of the glory of God.

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This is a universal judgment that every mother's

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son will face, because you can't outrun God

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and get by.

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No, sir.

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Picture that courtroom scene in your mind now,

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friend, where God is the judge, and if

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I may so speak, the angels are the

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bailiffs, the devil is the prosecuting attorney, and

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he points his bony finger at you and

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accuses you of sin.

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Prove you broke God's law, for all sin

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is transgression of the law, and the sentencing

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of the law must be carried out upon

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all guilty lawbreakers.

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There I stand.

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The books are opened.

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Cases are reviewed.

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Evidence is presented, and the verdict comes in.

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Guilty, guilty, guilty.

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The angels come with their chains to bind

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me, hand and foot, so I'll be cast

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into that burning lake of fire.

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I can even smell the sulfur from it.

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I can hear the crackle of its swirling

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flames.

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But just then, a figure appears in the

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back of the courtroom.

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It is my defense attorney, my advocate, Jesus

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Christ.

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He rushes up the aisle and stands right

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beside me and throws his arm around me

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and announces to the judge and to everyone

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there, set him free.

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He's with me.

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Christ suffered and died on Calvary, and he

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was buried, but he rose again and ascended

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back into heaven, where he now sits at

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the right hand of the Father, and he

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earned that right by way of a bloody

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cross.

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My only hope is when Christ's life is

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laid down and applied to me.

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The remedy for sin must be applied.

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I must get to Christ and find refuge

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beneath his redeeming blood.

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The lesson of this message today, friends, is

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you can't outrun God and get by, don't

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ever forget it, but you can get to

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Jesus for forgiveness of sin.

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He is the pearl of great price.

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We're selling off for and losing off for,

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so he may be gained.

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Come to him now, friend, in repentance, confessing

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you are a sinner and own him as

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your Savior and Lord.

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Come to that bloodstained Savior from sin and

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surrender all you are to all he is,

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and he is Lord.

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Well, I'm going to sing a hymn now,

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friend, and if God's been dealing with you

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through this message, don't delay.

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You come, you come and surrender you're all

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to this Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I heard an old, old story, how a

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Savior came from glory, how he gave his

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life on Calvary to save a wretch like

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me.

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I heard about his groaning, of his precious

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blood's atoning, then I repented of my sins

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and won the victory.

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Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.

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He sought me and bought me with his

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redeeming blood.

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He loved me ere I knew him, and

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all my love is due him.

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He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing

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flood.