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And that's

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one of the reasons why our Lord Jesus

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sent his disciples to preach the gospel.

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Let's turn to Matthew in chapter 10.

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For here you've got our Lord with the

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closest of his colleagues, the twelve disciples around

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him.

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And he's given them instructions that later on,

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with maybe some qualification, I'm not sure, he

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will give to the whole church.

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That is, all those who were gathered together

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on the day of Pentecost and who were

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there on the Mount of Ascension when he

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was taken back to be with the Father.

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We're glad to have you here this evening

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at the Tab, and if you're a Christian

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person then this reading has direct relevance to

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you, and if you're not then I want

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to pick out some of the implications in

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a little while as we come around the

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Word and as it's enforced as we come

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around the table.

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So Matthew in chapter 10, the Lord Jesus

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called his twelve disciples to him and gave

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them authority to drive out evil spirits and

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to heal every disease and sickness.

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These are the names of the twelve apostles,

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first Simon, who is called Peter, and his

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brother Andrew, James son of Zebedee and his

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brother John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew

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the tax collector, James son of Alphaeus and

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Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who

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betrayed him.

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These twelve Jesus sent out with the following

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instructions, do not go among the Gentiles or

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enter any town of the Samaritans.

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Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

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As you go, preach this message.

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The kingdom of heaven is near.

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Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those

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who have leprosy, drive out demons, freely you

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have received, freely give.

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Do not take along any gold or silver

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or copper in your belts.

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Take no bag for the journey or extra

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tunic or sandals or a staff, for the

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worker is worth his keep.

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Whatever town or village you enter, search for

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some worthy person there and stay at his

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house until you leave.

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As you enter the home, give it your

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greeting.

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If the home is deserving, let your peace

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rest on it.

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If it is not, let your peace return

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to you.

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If anyone will not welcome you or listen

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to your words, shake the dust off your

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feet when you leave that home or town.

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I tell you the truth, it will be

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more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the

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day of judgment than for that town.

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I am sending you out like sheep among

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wolves, therefore be as shrewd as snakes and

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as innocent as doves.

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Be on your guard against men.

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Let me introduce you to a most surprising

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trinity.

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Here is our Lord, and He has given

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instructions to His disciples, and therefore He is

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giving good advice to those of us who

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are in direct spiritual descent from His followers.

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The sixteenth verse of Matthew 10, I am

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sending you out like sheep among wolves, therefore

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be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent

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as doves.

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Sheep, snakes, doves.

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If you would have selected three animals that

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our Lord might have brought together to use

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in metaphorical sense to instruct you and me,

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I very much doubt whether if we had

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passed a sheet of blank paper around the

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tabernacle evening congregation, anyone would have elected these

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three as coming together.

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This little evening's series, which I am bringing

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to conclusion, somewhat hasty conclusion this evening to

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prepare the way for a new series on

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parables, is one which we entitle The Lord

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in His World.

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Now, the Lord Jesus does have every right

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to do in this world what He wishes

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to do.

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It belongs to Him.

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But there are those in our world who

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have done things which are displeasing to the

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Savior.

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The devils come in, and with squatter's rights

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He's set up His kingdom.

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And so you've got this tension between the

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world as it should be, the world as

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the Lord Jesus wants it to be, and

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the world as it is now.

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And the way in which the world is

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going to move to be the place that

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the Lord Jesus wants it to be is

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as He uses men and women to the

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proclamation of the gospel up to that point

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when He shall return to this world and

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cleanse it from every vestige of sin.

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So here is our Savior talking to His

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disciples and telling them how to act in

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His world.

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And you can learn from what He has

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to say about these animals.

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I think one of the most bestial incidents

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I've ever heard—and goodness knows in my lifetime

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I can think of quite a lot—but one

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of the most reprehensible ones occurred last week

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when French farmers threw live sheep onto

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fires and had them burned.

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Now, don't get too proud of your patriotism

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that you are not French, you are British.

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What we do to sheep in shipping them

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to Spain as live cargo, and what Commonwealth

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countries in Australasia do to sheep in shipping

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them as live cargo to the Middle East,

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these animals accustomed to the green of the

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grass and the wind of the plain, they

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panic when they sense the smell of salt

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and the lack of stability on the ocean.

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We need to hang our heads in shame

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in the way that we treat the animals

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that God has placed in His world.

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Spurgeon said you can tell a man a

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lot about a man by the way that

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he treats his animals.

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And therefore, there are some awful commentaries available

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as evidence on the twentieth century and the

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way that we behave to the animal charges

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in our trust.

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Well here is our Lord Jesus, and I

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believe that He was kindly disposed towards animals

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as He was kindly disposed towards men and

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women.

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And He is speaking to His disciples, and

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He is telling them how they are to

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behave from the dominant characteristic in certain animals

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as they move into Israel and as they

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commence the first evangelistic thrust of His gospel

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from the lips of other people apart from

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Himself.

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And He talks about them being sheep.

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And the teaching is, be different at any

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cost.

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Be as sheep sent out amongst wolves.

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And I'm suggesting that says, be different at

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any cost.

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He didn't say go out into the world

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as sheep amongst goats.

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There is a correspondence between sheep and goats

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which when I've been in Turkana, northern Kenya,

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is so close that from the air I

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can't tell the difference.

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But there is all the difference in the

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world, obvious to someone whose life is not

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amongst animals between sheep and wolves.

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And our Lord Jesus is telling us that

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as His disciples we go into the world

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and He thrusts us forth to bear the

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dangers that are attendant upon any sheep as

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they have dealings with, rub shoulders with, wolves.

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When our Lord earlier on in this gospel,

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the ninth chapter, makes reference to ordinary men

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and people, He says in the thirty-sixth

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verse, He saw the crowds and had compassion

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on them because they were harassed and helpless

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like sheep without a shepherd.

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And here He is sending His disciples into

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the world as sheep amongst wolves, not sheep

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amongst goats.

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What do sheep do when they move amongst

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wolves?

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Well in the context in which our Lord

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is teaching, it's pretty obvious they will still

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remain as sheep.

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I know we have an expression about being

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a wolf in sheep's clothing, but there will

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never be for the disciples as they move

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around Palestine the possibility of them identifying with

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those who are opposed to the teaching of

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the Lord Jesus.

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They won't be as Pharisees.

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They won't be as Sadducees.

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They will go out into the world as

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sheep amongst wolves.

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And therefore they will recognize the danger.

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Sheep don't fight, do they?

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Sheep when confronted with danger, they are not

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aggressive.

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And when Jesus sends people out into the

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world, He reminds us through His servant Paul

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that they go into the world not with

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carnal weapons, but only with spiritual weapons.

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When the church gets politically involved, then the

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church betrays its message, its reason for being.

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The church is to go into society to

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act as sheep amongst wolves, to remain sheep,

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recognizing the danger and realizing that it is

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none but the shepherd who has directed them

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to engage in this hazardous enterprise of being

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amongst wolves.

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Now Jesus will never tell disciples to do

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in His day nor today what He hasn't

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been prepared to do Himself, will He?

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The Bible tells us, speaking of our Savior

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as a sheep, He was led as a

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lamb to the slaughter.

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He never became a wolf.

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He never in any way compromised upon His

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message.

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He recognized all the dangers, and ultimately He

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is put on the cross.

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But when John in his revelation, the last

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book of the Bible, speaks of our Lord

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Jesus, he speaks of Him in terms of

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the lamb that was slain.

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And he draws the conclusion that because of

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the bravery of our Lord Jesus coming into

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the hostile world that was His in His

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day and is still hostile to the gospel

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today, He nonetheless was able to triumph over

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the power of sin and hell.

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He says to the disciples, be sheep, be

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different at any cost.

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But then He goes on and He says,

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identifying the serpent, be intelligent in every situation.

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I'm sending you out like sheep amongst wolves,

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therefore be as shrewd as snakes.

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There are certain characteristics about sheep which are

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helpful for us to understand the way that

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we are to conduct our Christian lives –

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frailty and need for direction and for provision

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and so forth.

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And the sheep is really a sacrificial animal,

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giving wool and ultimately giving His life unwillingly

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for meat.

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But there is that about the sheep that

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you can't transfer and say that should be

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part of Christian discipleship.

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Jesus does not call dumb people.

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Dullness, stupidity has no virtue in the Christian

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community.

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So when our Lord speaks of animals and

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the way that we can learn from animals,

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He not only singles out the sheep, but

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surprise, surprise, He puts the spotlight on the

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snake, the serpent.

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And He tells us, in effect, be intelligent

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in every situation.

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Those of you who are knowledgeable about the

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Bible will recall that in the third chapter

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of the book of Genesis, we are told

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that the serpent was the craftiest of all

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the creatures.

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Now instead of craftiness, let's read wisdom.

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Instead of intrigue, let's move into what is

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nearly a synonym, insight.

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Be like the serpent in the wisdom that

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he has, in the insight which is part

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of his nature.

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Christians don't have to be dumb, they can

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be intelligent.

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Be as sheep, be different at any cost,

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never like wolves.

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Be as serpents, intelligent in every situation.

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The serpent glides along quietly.

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As believers are to glide through life quietly,

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not bringing attention to themselves, not engaged in

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seeking for personal publicity, but being the quiet

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disciples of our Lord Jesus, directing all praise

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and all attention to Him.

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Serpents are wary of man.

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They move out of the way of human

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beings, generally so, in case such a person

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should take a stick and smite the serpent

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on his head.

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And there is a sense in which our

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Lord Jesus identifies this aspect of the serpent

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and applies it to the disciples.

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Verse seventeen, be on your guard against men,

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ungodly men, who might in some way cause

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you to compromise on the gospel.

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Be careful as to the close friendships that

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you have, as to the way in which

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you spend your time.

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Be as wise as serpents, gliding quietly, wary

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of men.

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And doing another thing that a serpent, a

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snake, can do so brilliantly, getting into places

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that few other animals can get into.

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As the snake slides through the hole and

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into the cave as it widens out in

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the bowels of the hillside.

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So the Christian will want to be able

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to move where no other has ever been

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able to penetrate, in winning the confidence and

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the respect of those who are outside the

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gospel, who need to hear it.

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Slide through Galilee and Palestine, through the whole

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of the promised land.

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This is what our Lord is telling His

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disciples.

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Be as serpents.

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Penetrate areas which we have not as yet

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touched with the gospel.

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Squeeze through, bringing attention not to yourself, but

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to the Lord God and the gospel that

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I am teaching you from Him.

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Be as sheep, be different.

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Be as serpents, be intelligent.

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But not just the sheep or the serpent,

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but also the dove.

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As shrewd as snakes, as innocent as doves.

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Be innocent at all times.

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The dove is a lovely bird.

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Moves into prominence in Scripture through Noah, not

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so?

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The faithful bird who flies out across where

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the waters have been and brings back a

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twig in its beak and hands it over

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to Noah, so that Noah is aware that

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there will be life after the flood on

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earth.

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It will still be a habitat for man.

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There is no horn on a dove.

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There is no cloven foot.

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He can damage nothing.

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When our Lord Jesus uses the word innocent,

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it actually means unmixed, transparent, pure.

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That's how the disciples are to move into

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the world, don't you see?

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That's how you and I are to move

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into this world that belongs to the Lord.

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As sheep, never confused with wolves.

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As serpents, showing intelligence.

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As doves, being innocent.

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Now Jesus never gives instructions without those instructions

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have been somehow illustrated by himself.

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So this unusual trinity from the animal world,

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when you think it through, is fleshed out

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by way of illustration through the Saviour.

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He came into the world as a sheep

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and there on the cross he died with

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the ferocity of the wolves yapping by his

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heels even before his life had been delivered.

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Here is our Saviour and he moves around

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the villages of his native Galilee and down

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through Samaria into Judea and wherever he goes

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there is that same accolade, no man ever

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taught like this man.

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He stands in front of Aaron and he

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comes before Pontius Pilate and he does battle

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with the priests and it's his acumen, it's

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his intelligence, it's the way that he can

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control every situation that stands out and makes

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you realize that this is no ordinary man.

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He is as a serpent with all wisdom.

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And as for the holy dove, who convicts

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me of sin?

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Look into the secret areas of my life

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where no one has ever been.

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See if you can find any inconsistency there

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at all.

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Which one of you can find anything, any

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mud that will stick on me?

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To the extent that a coarse Roman soldier,

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so impressed with our Lord Jesus in the

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last moments of his agony and as much

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as his mouth utters no obscenity and there

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is no lack of composure says of him,

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surely this was the righteous man.

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He teaches from the animal world and he

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directs his message to you.

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Like a sheep, be different, no compromise.

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Like a snake, be intelligent, not dumb.

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Like a dove, live holy, a life that

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illustrates the fact your sins have been forgiven

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and you've been filled with his spirit.

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Brothers and sisters, tonight we worship this Lord

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Jesus who illustrates the truth of his teaching.

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Let's sing about him.

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Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name on earth, how

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can I, a sinner, come to know its

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worth?

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I have seen the glory of his tender

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face.

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I have felt with wonder thrills of holy

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grace.

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Wonderful compassion reaching even me, bows my humble

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spirit in captivity.

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Number 60.

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Jesus,

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Jesus

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Christ, Jesus Christ, Still

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living, I exalt you, Jesus, my

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sacrifice.

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I exalt you, my Redeemer and my Lord.

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I exalt you, worthy

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Lamb of

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the Father.