#57. Deuteronomy 26-28 | No Good Apart From You

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This is the Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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as we continue reading through

scripture chronologically, we've

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come to Deuteronomy 26 through 28.

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Often it seems Christianity is a

balance of contradictions and that

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without the Holy Spirit, we can't

possibly live within the tension.

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As much as I want us to embrace that he

is a God that longs to dwell with us,

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we must never forget that he's a holy God.

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That must be revered and honored.

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In job.

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I said, often things happen to us

that aren't the result of our own sin.

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But as we read today, it is

certainly a biblical principle

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that we reap what we sow.

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The warnings in Deuteronomy are terrifying

for those who turn away from God.

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But if you can see these warnings coming

from the love of a God jealous for his

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bride, you'll understand how deeply loves

you, and if you turn away from him, the

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best thing he can do is to thwart all your

plans and purposes so that you come to

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the end of yourself and run back to him.

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Have you ever seen that pattern in

your life that when you try to rebel

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or go your own way, that the Lord

allowed you to see consequences or

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make you realize that there is no

lasting happiness apart from him.

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It entirely reveals the goodness and

love of his character to lay out exactly

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what a life apart from him entails.

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In chapter 26, Moses prescribes that

when they come into the land, they're to

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bring the first fruits of their harvest

in a basket and dedicate it to the Lord.

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God's blessings toward his people

are repeated and his love for

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them is declared in Chapter 27.

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Half of the tribes stand on Mount

Garrison to call out the blessings

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of the Lord, and half of the tribes

stand on Mount Eal for the curses.

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It doesn't seem there's any

reason or distinction why the

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tribes are divided as they are.

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Except the tribes represented on

Mount Garrison to bless other tribes

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that descended from the sons of

Leah and Rachel, and then the tribes

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in Mount Ial descended from the

hand maintenance Bil ha and Ilpa

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with the exception of Reuben and Debon.

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And they call out particular sins that

would bring a curse upon the nation.

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Many of these are specific applications

of the 10 Commandments, god is honest

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and reminds us once again, there is

no joy or blessing apart from him,

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and he's not leaving it up to chance.

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He wants them to know exactly what

they're choosing, if they forget

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him once they enter all of the

blessings in the Promised land.

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But the blessings that they

call out aren't recorded.

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This might be to emphasize that

the Israelites weren't going

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to be faithful in the covenant.

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Ouch.

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To all the curses they responded.

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Amen.

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In Hebrew, this means so be it.

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They're acknowledging their understanding.

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We've talked about chiasm before.

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It's a literary device

that structures the text.

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The beginning mirrors the end.

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And the main point is in the

middle, in Deuteronomy 11 through

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28, there's a CTIC structure that

begins and ends with the reality that

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blessings or curses are a choice.

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Then moving inward on either side,

we have the promised blessings

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going into the command to obey.

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Then in the center are chapters

12 through 26, which are the

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commands to be obeyed in 26 15.

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Heaven is mentioned for the

first time to be God's specific

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dwelling place or habitation.

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Up until this point, it's always been

said that he dwells with his people.

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In 28, beautiful promises precede

powerful warnings against disobedience.

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It begins.

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And if you faithfully obey the voice of

the Lord, your God, being careful to do

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all his commandments that I command you

today, the Lord your God will set you

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high above all the nations of the earth.

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And all these blessings shall come

upon you and overtake you if you

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obey the voice of the Lord your God.

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Blessed shall you be in the city and

blessed shall you be in the field.

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Blessed shall be the fruit of your

womb and the fruit of your ground,

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and the fruit of your cattle,

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the increase of your herds

and the young of your flock.

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Blessed shall be your basket

and your kneading bowl.

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Blessed shall you be when you come in

and blessed shall you be when you go out.

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The Lord will cause your enemies who rise

against you to be defeated before you.

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They shall come out against you

one way and flee before you.

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Seven ways.

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The Lord will command a blessing

on you, in your barns and

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in all that you undertake.

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And he will bless you in the land

that the Lord your God is giving you.

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The Lord will establish you as the people

holy to himself as he has sworn to you.

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If you keep the commandments of the

Lord your God and walk in his ways.

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And all the peoples of the earth shall

see that you are called by the name of

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the Lord and they shall be afraid of you.

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And the Lord will make you abound in

prosperity, in the fruit of your womb

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and in the fruit of your livestock,

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and in the fruit of the ground

within the land that the Lord

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swore to your fathers to give you.

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The Lord will open to you his good

treasury, the heavens, to give the

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reign to your land in its season and

to bless all the work of your hands.

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And you shall lend to many

nations, but you shall not borrow.

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The Lord will make you the head and not

the tail, and you shall only go up and

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not down if you obey the commandments

of the Lord your God, which I command

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you today, being careful to do them.

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And if you do not turn aside from any

of the words that I command you today

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to the right hand or to the left to

go after other gods to serve them.

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But if you will not obey the voice of the

Lord your God, or be careful to do all

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his commandments and his statutes that I

command you today, then all these curses

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shall come upon you and overtake you.

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Cursed shall you be in the city and

cursed shall you be in the field.

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Cursed shall be your basket

and your kneading bowl.

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Cursed shall be the fruit of your

womb and the fruit of your ground.

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The increase of your herds and the

young of your flock cursed shall

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you be when you come in and cursed

shall you be when you go out.

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The Lord will send on you curses

confusion and frustration and

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all that you undertake to do.

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Until you are destroyed and perished

quickly on account of the evil of

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your deeds, because you have forsaken

me, the Lord will make the pestilence

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stick to you until he has consumed

you off the land that you are

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entering to take possession of it.

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The Lord will strike you with wasting

disease and with fever, inflammation,

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and fiery heat, and with drought, and

with blight, and with mildew, they

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shall pursue you until you perish.

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And the heavens over your

head shall be bronze and the

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earth under you shall be iron.

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The Lord will make the rain of

your land powder from heaven.

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Dust shall come down on you

until you are destroyed.

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The Lord will cause you to be

defeated before your enemies.

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You shall go out one way against

them and flee seven ways before

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them, and you shall be a horror

to all the kingdoms of the earth.

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And your dead body shall be food

for all birds of the air and

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for the beasts of the earth.

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And there shall be no one

to frighten them away.

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The Lord will strike you with the boils

of Egypt and with tumors and scabs and

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itch of which you cannot be healed.

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The Lord will strike you with madness

and blindness and confusion of mind,

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and you shall grope at noonday as

the blind grope in darkness, and

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you shall not prosper in your ways.

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And you shall be only oppressed

and robbed continually, and

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there shall be no one to help you.

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You shall be trow the wife,

but another man shall rish her.

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You shall build a house, but

you shall not dwell on it.

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You shall plant a vineyard, but

you shall not enjoy its fruit.

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Your ox shall be slaughtered before your

eyes, but you shall not eat any of it.

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Your donkey shall be

seized before your face.

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But shall not be restored to you.

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Your sheep shall be given to your enemies,

but there shall be no one to help you.

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Your sons and your daughters shall

be given to another people while

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your eyes look on and fail with

longing for them all day long.

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But you shall be

helpless and in verse 45,

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Because you did not obey the voice of the

Lord your God, to keep his commandments

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and his statutes that he commanded you.

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They shall be a sign and a wonder against

you and your offspring forever because

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you did not serve the Lord your God,

with joyfulness and gladness of heart.

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Because of the abundance of all things.

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Therefore, you shall serve your

enemies, whom the Lord will send

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against you in hunger and thirst,

in nakedness and lacking everything.

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And he will put a yoke of iron on

your neck until he has destroyed you.

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The Lord will bring a nation against

you from far away from the end of the

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earth, swooping down like the eagle.

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A nation whose language you do

not understand, a hard faced

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nation who shall not respect the

old or show mercy to the young.

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I

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end in 58.

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If you are not careful to do all the

words of this law that are written in

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this book, that you may fear the glorious

and awesome name, the Lord your God,

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then the Lord will bring on you and your

offspring, extraordinary afflictions,

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affliction, severe and lasting, and

sicknesses, grievous and lasting.

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And he will bring upon you again, all

the diseases of Egypt, of which you were

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afraid, and they shall cling to you.

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Every sickness also and every affliction

that is not recorded in the book

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of this law, the Lord will bring

upon you until you are destroyed.

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Whereas you were as numerous as the

stars of heaven, you shall be left few

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in number because you did not obey

the voice of the Lord your God, and as

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the Lord took delight in doing you good

and multiplying you, so the Lord will

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take delight in bringing ruin upon you.

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And destroying you,

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and you shall be plucked off the land that

you are entering to take possession of it

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Let's pray that we would heed

this warning in our own hearts.

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Lord, we thank you that

you are a jealous God.

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with the Psalmist we say we

have no good apart from you.

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We know our hearts are prone to wander,

particularly when we're in seasons of

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comfort or blessing, keep us close.

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Help us to diligently pursue you

knowing that no earthly blessing.

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No relationship or no endeavor

can compare with the joy of

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knowing and walking with you.

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We know we are promised difficulties

on this earth, but we humbly recognize

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that many are the result of our own sin.

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So enlarge our hearts for your

ways, Lord, that we could run in

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the path of your commandments.

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And we pray for our children that

you would teach them to not be

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complacent, but give them a supernatural

comprehension that you are the only

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source of joy and satisfaction.

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May they have a healthy reverence

of you and flee for temptation.

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That they would not require the

consequences of rebellion before

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they humble their hearts before you.

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And for those in seasons of walking

away from you, Lord, we pray that

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you would draw them back to yourself.

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Thank you Jesus for how much you gave

for your bride, and we thank you for

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the jealousy with which you love us.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.