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Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

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sake.

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What did we say righteousness is?

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Everything that is of good origin.

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What does this verse mean?

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Let us say it in a simple term.

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You're working in this company and you're doing

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your job to the best of your ability.

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You are a very loyal, faithful employee to

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your employer, to that company.

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You do your job wholeheartedly.

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There is no corruption.

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There is no under the table.

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Everything is in the light.

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You're doing everything according to the rule book

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of that company and with faithfulness and loyalty.

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The other colleagues are not as loyal as

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you are.

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They want to make extra money.

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They want to twist a few things, falsify

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a few things and shove and push few

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things under the carpet.

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You cannot accept such behavior.

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So what is happening now?

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You are becoming a thorn in their side.

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You're becoming a stumbling stone for them.

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You are suffocating them.

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You're not letting them do as they please

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because every time they want to do something

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wrong, you are the spotlight shining on that

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wrongdoings.

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So what will happen?

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Satan will come and say to those colleagues,

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get up and give him hell or give

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her hell.

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Have you ever worked somewhere and you really

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had it tough with the colleagues around you?

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Yes.

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Some of you maybe were forced to leave

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their job, resigned from their jobs because they

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were persecuted so badly in their jobs.

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They could not last any longer.

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They ran away because they complained.

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They went to their bosses.

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Everyone is corrupt.

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So when they went to their bosses complaining

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and whinging, come to my rescue, they realized

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that the boss is more corrupt than the

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other colleagues.

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What do you do?

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You can't stay there because you are persecuted.

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You either be like them or they will

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kick you out.

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When you are being persecuted for being a

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faithful person wherever you are at home, at

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school, at work, wherever you are being persecuted

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for the job you're doing faithfully and loyally,

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the Lord is saying, blessed are you for

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the kingdom of heaven is yours.

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What does it mean the kingdom of heaven

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is yours?

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Meaning the invitation is still open for you

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to be in the kingdom of heaven.

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The door is not shut because wherever you

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were, you did it from the heart faithfully

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and loyally.

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God will reward you and will say the

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door to the kingdom of my heaven is

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still open for you if you are faithful.

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But verse 11, blessed are you when they

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revile and persecute you and say all kinds

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of evil against you falsely for my sake

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I Jesus Christ rejoice and be exceedingly glad

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for great is your reward in heaven.

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There are two kinds of persecutions.

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One you are persecuted for the sake of

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doing a job faithfully and loyally.

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This for this you are rewarded the kingdom

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of heaven is still yours i.e the

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invitation is still open and you will have

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the chance the opportunity to enter the kingdom

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of heaven and remain in it.

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But if you are persecuted for the sake

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of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rejoice and be

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exceedingly glad for your reward is great in

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heaven not in the kingdom of heaven.

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In heaven when you are persecuted for the

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sake of the Lord Jesus, the Lord says

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be exceedingly glad and rejoice for your reward

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is great in heaven not in the kingdom

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of heaven.

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To understand the difference between heaven and the

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kingdom of heaven we go to 1st Peter

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chapter 3 verse 14 and then 1st Peter

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chapter 4 verse 14.

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Do we have it on the screen?

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Can we have those verses on the screen

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please?

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Yep.

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So let's look at 1st Peter 3 14.

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What does Saint Peter say in 1st Peter

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3 14?

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But even if you should suffer for righteousness

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sake you are blessed.

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So if you suffer for righteousness sake, what

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is righteousness sake?

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If you're doing your job to the fullest,

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being faithful, being honest, then if you're doing

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that you're blessed the kingdom of heaven is

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yours.

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And let's look at 1st Peter 4 14.

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Look what Saint Peter is saying here.

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But even if you should suffer for, sorry,

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if you are reproached for the name of

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Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of

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glory and of God rests upon you.

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When you are persecuted for Christ's sake, the

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heaven, your reward is great in heaven.

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Who is heaven?

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God.

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So when you're persecuted for doing a good

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deed, the kingdom of heaven is yours.

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But when you're persecuted for the sake of

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Christ, God is yours, not the kingdom of

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heaven.

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God himself will be your portion.

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My goodness.

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When we read in the gospel according to

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Saint John chapter 11, we see this man

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being born blind.

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He was born from his mother's womb blind.

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So in chapter 11, the Lord Jesus is

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walking with his 12 apostles.

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The 12 apostles stop once they saw that

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blind man sitting on the wayside begging.

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They said, Lord, whose fault, whose sin was

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it for this man to be born blind?

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Was it his sin or his parents?

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Which one?

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He said, neither his nor his parents, but

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this man has been placed here for the

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glory of God.

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The Lord Jesus spits onto the ground and

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makes mud with that spit and then applies

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it on the blind man's eyes.

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And he says to him, go and wash

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in that pond.

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Shiloha.

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Shiloha in the proper pronunciation.

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Shiloha or Shiloha means the messenger.

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It was called the messenger pond.

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So when he went and washed his face,

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he regained his eyesight.

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When he regained his eyesight, what did the

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people of his own country, of his own

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town, his own people, what did they do

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to him?

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They cast him out.

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They persecuted him.

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Why?

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Because he said, this man called Jesus of

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Nazareth opened my eyes.

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They said, this man is a sinner.

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He breaks the law of God.

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He breaks Sabbath.

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He works on Sabbath.

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This man is a blasphemer.

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How can this sinner open the eyes of

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a blind person born blind?

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He said, well, I don't know.

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You go and ask him.

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But I know one thing.

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God does not hear the voice of a

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sinner.

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And yet you call this man a sinner.

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Well, this man opened my eyes.

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I don't know.

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You go and ask him.

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So what did they do?

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They told him off and they grabbed him,

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threw him outside the town.

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When they persecuted him, reviled him and kicked

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him out, who found him first?

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God.

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His own parents disowned him.

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When the Pharisees and the scribes came to

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his parents, they said, isn't this your son?

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Yes.

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Wasn't he born blind?

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Yes.

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Who opened his eyes?

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They were afraid to say Jesus, lest they

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be persecuted as well.

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They were afraid.

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They said, we don't know.

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He is a mature adult man.

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Ask him why you're asking us.

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Well, you see, some people, when it comes

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to persecution, they back off.

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Prior to that, they are warriors.

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Prior to 2020, all church leaders were warriors.

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After 2020, not many, not many.

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It's easy to shout and yell and speak

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so strongly when you are free.

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But I just wonder, can you do the

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same when you are being choked by lockdowns

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and police come and knocking at your door?

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Oh, it's scary now.

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The cop is here.

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Bing, bing, bing, bing.

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What happened?

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Let me tell you this.

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I'll say one thing about the Lord, and

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the Lord forgive me.

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We can say till kingdom comes, Lord, I

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love you, or Lord, we love you.

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The Lord will look and will say, yeah,

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okay, no problem.

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Let me see if you truly love me.

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He will pick you up and put you

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in a hard, difficult situation.

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He's going to say, let me see if

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you're still going to love me or not.

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Talk is cheap.

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The Lord says you can talk for as

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long as you want.

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It's cheap.

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I want to see action.

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I want to see these words into action,

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into play.

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Stop saying I love you.

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Show me you love me.

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Stop saying it.

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Show it.

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Stop saying it.

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Show it.

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That's why only a few get to know

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the Lord, not many.

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I really feel sorry for some Christians where

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they speak with confidence about the Lord, yet

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they are little kids, absolutely little kids.

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And believe you me, I'm saying it with

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love and humility, because I just wonder what

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they will do under pressure.

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Not big pressure, a little tiny one.

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What will they do?

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Are they going to be those warriors?

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Are they going to just go back and

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be quiet?

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When this man was persecuted and he was

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cast out, the first one that met him

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and embraced him was the Lord God.

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When you are persecuted for my sake, I

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Jesus Christ of Nazareth, blessed are you.

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You need to rejoice and be glad because

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your reward is great in heaven and heaven

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is God himself.

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The Lord says when you accept persecution for

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my sake, I will give you not only

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heaven, the kingdom of heaven, I'll give you

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myself.

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I'll give you myself.

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I will come with my own feet all

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the way to where you are and I

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will carry you and put you in the

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core of my heart.

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Then I'll show you wonders of this God

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no one had ever seen before, because you

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accepted that persecution for my sake.

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I Jesus, I am a fair master.

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I am a fair God.

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I will never ever forget all the hardships

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you endured for my sake.

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I never forget.

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I reward you.