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The title of my message today friends is

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running from God and I suggest to you

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that there are several ways a person can

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run from God.

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The first is in salvation, the second is

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in service, and the third is in self

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-preservation.

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Let's look at the first of these as

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seen in the story of the prodigal son

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from Luke's Gospel in chapter 15.

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Here is a young man full of life

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and he wants to go out and enjoy

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life, experience it on every level like some

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of you friends.

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He wants to indulge every lust, taste every

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pleasure, so he tells his father to give

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him his and then he takes off into

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the world and this man is running from

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God.

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He runs away from his father's house to

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go to a far country where he can

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send all he wants to.

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That's what some of your college kids do

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today.

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You'll get out from under your parents house,

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go away to school to get out from

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being under their eyes so you can go

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do what you want to and that's what

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this man did.

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He went to a far country so he

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wouldn't be under his father's eye so he

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could go do what he wanted to do.

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And we read in verse 14, and when

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he had spent all there rose a mighty

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famine in that land and he began to

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be in want.

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This young man was running away from God

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in a mad pursuit of this world and

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its pleasures.

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People do that today.

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They chase this world and try to grab

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as much of it as they can with

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no thought to eternity and they chase the

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wind until it runs out.

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That's what this young man did but God

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had to bring him to the end of

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himself.

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Maybe God has been dealing with you friend

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and bringing you to the end of yourself.

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Well God ended up saving that young man

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because he repented.

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He returned to his father's house and he

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was restored to fellowship.

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He was given a robe.

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When you get saved you get a robe

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of righteousness.

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Next we see a man running from God

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in service.

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All you have to do friends is to

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open your Bible to the book of Jonah

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to see this very fact play out.

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Here was a prophet of God who is

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running away from God in his call to

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service.

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God told him to go do a thing,

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to go cry against Nineveh, but he wouldn't

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do it.

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We see in verse 3 of Jonah, but

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Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from

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the presence of the Lord.

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This man's running from God.

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Maybe it's your story friend.

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Perhaps God has given you a call to

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service and you packed your bags and went

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the other direction on your run from God's

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call on your life.

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Perhaps he called you to be a pastor

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but you don't want to be poor so

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you ran from that call.

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Maybe he called you to the mission field

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but you know the sacrifice and demands of

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that and you were on the run from

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him.

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Jonah was like that but God had to

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put him in the midst of a storm

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and almost drown him.

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God had to conquer him to get him

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in obedience to him.

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Maybe God will have to conquer you as

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well friend.

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Then lastly we see a man running from

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God in self-preservation.

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But first he's running toward God.

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In Mark's gospel we see a rich man

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tested who ran up to Jesus in his

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emotions and said, good master what shall I

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do that I may inherit eternal life?

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And Jesus told him what he had to

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do but he wouldn't do it.

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The gospel has rights and claims on a

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follower of Christ Jesus.

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That young ruler turned his back on God

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and walked away.

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I don't believe friends that that rich young

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ruler ever got saved.

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I believe when God's Spirit stops arresting, convicting,

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troubling, awakening and calling then the door is

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shut on that person and they become reprobate

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silver.

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You hear me now.

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God deals with the hearts of men according

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to his sovereignty.

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But I believe God's Spirit will only strive

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so long with a person.

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I believe that's scriptural.

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God says so in Genesis 6 3 where

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he says, and the Lord said, my spirit

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shall not always strive with man.

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These three individuals did three things and God

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did three things.

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I want you to take note of that

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friends of how a holy and sovereign God

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deals with the souls of men.

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The first individual on the run from God

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came to the end of himself and he

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saw his need and repented and God saved

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him.

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The second individual on the run from God

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had to be conquered by God to be

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brought back into obedience to God.

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The third individual walked away from God and

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God left him alone.

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I was playing golf with a giant of

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a man years ago.

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He stood six foot six and weighed over

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300 pounds.

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He had a lot of money and he

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also had one of the filthiest mouths I

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ever heard on a man.

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Every time he missed a golf shot he

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cussed God and took Christ's name in vain.

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God will hold a man accountable for taking

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his name in vain.

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You don't cuss and curse the very God

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who created you but this man did.

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Finally I had enough of his filthy mouth

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and as we were standing on a tee

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box I asked him, I said, can I

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ask you a question, friend?

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He said, shoot.

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I said, how was your relationship with God?

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He smiled a big grin and answered, fine,

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I have a great relationship with God.

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I leave him alone and he leaves me

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alone.

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That's what the old boy said but there

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will come a day in his life where

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his money won't help him when it comes

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time for him to die and he stands

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on the brink of eternity and he dies

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and his soul leaves this world for another

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world he is quite unprepared for because God

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left him alone.

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There are two verses of Scripture that trouble

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me when I read them.

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One is Proverbs 29.1. Proverbs 29.1

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states he that being often reproved hardeneth his

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neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without

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remedy that speaks of God striving with a

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person only for so long then it's hell

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to pay because if you die without the

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remedy for sin in the person of Jesus

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Christ then it is hell to pay.

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The second verse that bothers me is Isaiah

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55.6 which states seek ye the Lord

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while he may be found.

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Call ye upon him while he is near.

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That verse disturbs me because I've been in

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meetings where God was dealing with men and

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it was obvious he was near but they

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were unwilling to do what God required of

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them as seen in the following verse of

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Isaiah.

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Let the wicked forsake his way and the

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unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return

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on to the Lord.

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I pretty much think friends that sums up

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the rich young ruler who had the Lord

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of glory staring him in the face telling

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him what he needed to do to gain

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heaven and eternal life and he wouldn't do

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it.

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Jesus crossed him at his point of rebellion

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put his finger on the sore spot in

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his life in which in his case was

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his money but he was running from God

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in self-preservation and with tears in his

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eyes Jesus watched him walk away and he

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left him alone from that point on.

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Hell is full of people like that whom

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God at one time strived with dealt with

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and wooed by his spirit for there was

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a time in their life when he was

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near but they weren't ready nor were they

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willing to comply with the terms of salvation.

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Listen to me friends you better put aside

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this cotton candy carnival gospel they hand out

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in our churches today that smells sweet and

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looks good and sticks to your hands a

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little until it washes off.

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I'll end this message friends with the following

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story a Baptist Church one time gave me

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a coffee mug when I joined their church

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and on that mug were two things the

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name of that Baptist Church was on the

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side of the mug and on the bottom

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of the mug it said made in China

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that mug lasted about eight months because it

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was made in China meaning it was made

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cheaply and one day after about eight months

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when I reached for it one morning the

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handle broke off and the mug came crashing

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down the gospel that Baptist Church handed out

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wasn't much better than that mug it did

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the job for a little while but fell

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apart in the end.

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If you are pastor or an evangelist friend

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you better be dead certain you are true

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to the souls of man because many only

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have so many opportunities to come to Christ

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like we saw in our message today and

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if they are thirsty and God is near

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and you hand them a deficient mug of

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a gospel there'll be hell to pay.

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Listen to me friend if God's been dealing

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with you then you better get serious with

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him and seek him while he is near

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until you find him a saved person has

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found Christ let us pray