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We are in the Preaching Institute on Going

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Deeper with God, and I want to start,

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friends, by sharing a story with you.

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This saintly F.B. Meyer was sharing a

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room with a young C.T. Studd as

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they were ministering in a conference together in

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America.

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They each had their morning devotional time together,

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and one facet of C.T. Studd's Bible

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study sparked curiosity from F.B. Meyer.

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One morning, F.B. Meyer asked Charlie Studd

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a question concerning his daily quiet time.

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He asked, Oh, why don't you read other

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passages of Scripture?

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It seems like you just get stuck on

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one verse.

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You keep staring at it.

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Are you hung up on it, or are

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you trying to memorize it?

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C.T. Studd cleared up the mystery by

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explaining, No, I choose a particular verse or

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passage from God's Word, and then I go

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to prayer, and I pray over that verse,

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and I ask God by His Spirit to

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make that part of His Word a living

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reality in my daily living.

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Now, that, friends, is a kind of Bible

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study that isn't just going through God's Word.

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It's having God's Word go through us.

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One year, I longed to go deeper with

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God, and I was getting serious with Him

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after the tragedy of my wife's death, and

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my walk with God was deepened during this

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time.

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Our walk with God can be deepened if

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we want to go further with God in

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a closer walk with Him, and I'll give

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you this personal example, friends.

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Years ago, after my wife died tragically, I

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entered a season in my life where I

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wanted to go deeper with God in a

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life of faith, and He gave me what

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I call four days on the mountain, and

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I want to share that with you now.

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During this time of my seeking God more

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earnestly, He revealed four truths out of His

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Word to me from Colossians 1.10, which

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reads, that ye might walk worthy of the

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Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every

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good work, and increasing in the knowledge of

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God.

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And I wrote in the margin of my

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Bible what I thought those verses meant to

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me, but God was not interested in my

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perspective of His Word.

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He was going to teach me His Word

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from His perspective, and this made all the

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difference in the world.

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Yes, He broke that verse down into four

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sections of truth for me over the next

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four days, and that literally felt like I

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was walking on a mountaintop with God those

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four days, four days, friends, for the next

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four days.

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I met with God from 4 30 a

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.m. to 6 a.m. in a pursuit

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of going deeper with Him, what cost counts,

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and what counts costs.

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And I give you my notes from my

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Bible that I wrote in my margins, August

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15, 2013, 4 30 a.m. to 6

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a.m. The first sentence of Colossians 1

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.10 is, that ye might walk worthy of

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the Lord.

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Well, God would always give me a companion

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verse to go along with my truth for

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that day from Colossians.

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And that truth for that day was that

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ye might walk worthy of the Lord.

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And that day's companion verse was from Philippians

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3.10, that I may know Him in

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the power of His resurrection, in the fellowship

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of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His

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death.

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And God said that my companion verse was

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to be from His perspective, and I was

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to walk worthy in the fellowship of my

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sufferings.

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Well, little did I realize at the time

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the trials and afflictions I would pass through

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over the next 10 years, and this would

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be the reality of the truth God wanted

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me to gain from my first day on

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the mountaintop with Him.

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For me to live out Colossians 1.10,

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to walk worthy of the Lord, I would

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have to experience the fellowship of His sufferings

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from Philippians 3.10. Well, day number two,

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day two on the mountain, August 16, 2013,

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4.30 a.m. to 6.00 a

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.m., the next section of Colossians 1.10

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was unto all pleasing.

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And this particular morning, friends, in my quiet

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time with God, He gave me my companion

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verse from His perspective to match Colossians 1

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.10 unto all pleasing.

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And it was found in Hebrews 11.6,

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which reads, But without faith it is impossible

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to please Him.

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And God said the truth for me that

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morning regarding my faith walk was that He

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would develop a faith life in me that

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was deep and real.

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And God would give me plenty of opportunities

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over the next years to develop this life

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of faith, to be more in step with

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Him for His glory.

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For Hebrews 11.6 declares, He is a

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rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

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God was gradually demonstrating to me that if

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I was going to diligently seek Him, that

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if we get serious with God, He will

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get serious with us for a deeper spiritual

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life.

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Well, that brings me to day number three,

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friends, on my mountaintop with God, day three

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on the mountain, August 17, 2013, 4.30

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a.m. to 6.00 a.m. My

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section of Colossians 1.10 for that particular

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morning was being fruitful in every good work.

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And the companion verse God gave me from

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His perspective to come alongside that was found

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in Zechariah 4.6, which states, This is

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the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,

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Not by might nor by power, but by

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my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

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And God's teaching for me that morning was

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this instruction.

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My spirit must be in control at all

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times through your surrendered life.

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God wanted me to be a clear channel

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through which He could flow through by His

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power, by His spirit, as a means of

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blessing to others.

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And through my yieldedness to God, He would

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move through me.

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He had me read and contemplate John chapter

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15 over and over again about Jesus as

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the vine and me as the branch.

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And the result of abiding in the vine

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was fruit.

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It was fruit, more fruit and much fruit.

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And He wanted to bring me much fruit.

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And His teaching to me from that regarding

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John 15 was that He never meant for

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us to be fruit producers, but fruit bearers,

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where what fruit He produces through our yielded

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life to Him will remain now and for

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eternity.

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But what we produce in the flesh will

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just dissipate and fall to the wayside.

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But now, friends, this brings us to day

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four on the mountain, day four on the

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mountain, August 18th, 2013, 430 a.m. to

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6 a.m. The last section of Colossians

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110 is an increasing in the knowledge of

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God.

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In the companion verse, God gave me that

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day from His perspective was some Jeremiah.

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It was Jeremiah 33, 3, which declares, Call

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unto me and I will answer thee and

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show thee great and mighty things which thou

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knowest not.

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And God said, you will experience more of

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me through the fulfilled promises I have revealed

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to thee.

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Then God gave me 18 promises from Isaiah,

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each beginning with verse 18 of each given

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passage of scripture that God would apply to

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me.

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The reason I share all this with you

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friends is that the church is in dire

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need of preachers today.

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We need men full of the Holy Ghost

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who will take the and preach the Word

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of God with the anointing of the Spirit

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of God.

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And it's because we have many teachers today,

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but few preachers.

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Like my friend Richard Owen Roberts used to

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say, teaching informs, but preaching transforms.

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And we've got too many teachers today.

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And many of just are like entertainers to

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their congregation.

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They feel they need to warm up their

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crowd like a nightclub comedian.

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So they begin their message with some jokes

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or some amusing stories.

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But men of former days were much wiser

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than us today.

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Solomon Stoddard, the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards, saw

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four seasons of revival in his church in

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Northampton, Massachusetts.

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And Solomon Stoddard said this, this is the

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advice he had to preachers.

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And I quote, we are not sent into

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the pulpit to show our wit and eloquence,

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but to set the consciousness of men on

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fire.

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I'll repeat that.

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We are not sent into the pulpit to

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show our wit and eloquence, but to set

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the consciousness of men on fire.

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If you want to be a better preacher,

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brother, then get to know your God better.

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And this all starts with a desire for

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more of God.

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Moses begged to see more of God.

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And we see that in Exodus 33, 18,

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where he boldly pleads.

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And he said, I beseech thee, show me

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that glory.

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And God honored their request in a big

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way for reading Exodus 33, 19.

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And he said, I will make all my

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goodness pass before thee.

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And I will proclaim the name of the

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Lord before thee.

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And we'll be gracious to whom I will

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be gracious.

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And we'll show mercy on whom I will

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show mercy.

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When we get to the place, friends, where

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we desire more of God and want to

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go deeper with him.

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If we are earnest, if we are sincere,

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God will honor that request.

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I believe God gets serious with those who

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get serious with him.

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And I leave you with this last personal

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story.

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I was sitting with my pastor, Adrian Rogers,

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in his study at church one day.

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And I asked him a question.

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I asked Dr. Rogers, at what point in

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your life do you believe God touched you

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with a special anointing?

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And he got a faraway look in his

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eye.

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Even sadness was there.

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And he looked at me and he said

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to me, it was after my baby son

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had died.

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It was during that time of terrible grief

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that I began to seek more of God.

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Well, how about you, friend?

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Are you ready to go deeper with God?

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Let us pray.