Title: If You Could Live Again, What Would You Change?
Meta:For the sake of those who are younger. Would you live it just the same? Are there some areas that you would definitely want to change? 
Tags: Christian, death, life, Bible

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Amaziah did was that which was right

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in the sight of God.

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Yet not with all his heart.

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Wow!

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Lord!

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Don't let me have that on my tombstone.

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Don't let that be my biography.

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I did right in the sight of God,

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but not with all my heart?

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Help us! (P)

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Tim: Well, I want to ask 
you this question.

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For the sake of those who are younger.

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But you mentioned, you can remember

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exactly the place, the time,

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you, the 25 year old gravel truck driver,

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with this 75 year old.

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If right now,

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I could put Bob Jennings 
back in that seat,

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you know everything you know right now.

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I take that mind and I put it back

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in that 25 year old,

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and right now, all of a sudden,

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you're not in that chair anymore.

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You're in that truck and you realize

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you've just gone back in time.

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And there you are,

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and you have your life to live over again.

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Would you live it just the same?

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Are there some areas that

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you would definitely want to change?

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If you had it to do over,

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would you make some radical re-maneuvers? (P)

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Bob:

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Well, it's like a yes and no answer.

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The "no" is - we can say

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we did the best we could at the time

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with the faith we had,

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with the knowledge we had,

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with the truth we had,

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knowing God,

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but looking back now,

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yeah, I suppose there's a "yes" side

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to that answer.

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You realize any tolerance of sin

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is just ridiculous.

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It's uncalled for.

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It's unnecessary.

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It's insanity.

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And you know,

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I think I feel right now

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since this cancer's come up

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and possibly the end of my life,

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you do feel more of a hatred for sin.

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And why? Why tolerate it at all?

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In any way?

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In any place?

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In any degree?

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But, it's just...

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Mere Christianity is walking in the light

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and keeping a clear conscience.

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And so, that is what a Christian does.

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He walks with a clear conscience.

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You know,

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there's decisions that I made

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about going here and there

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at the time,

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I did it in good faith,

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but you know, looking back

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you think,

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boy, I'd never do that again.

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That was a dumb move.

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So there's things like that.

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But overall, I think,

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if I were back there in that same seat

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in that same place

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at age 25,

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it's nothing new.

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It's what every preacher says,

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what every Christian feels

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looking back on his life:

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More love to Thee, O Christ,

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more love to Thee.

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More.

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More. Everything.

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My utmost for His high and holy name.

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I have told my sons

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if I had it to do over again,

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I think I might consider more

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being a foreign missionary.

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There was a time where I thought,

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I thought God's will for me

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was to never be married

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and to be a foreign missionary.

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And I can say I tried both of them.

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But God made it very clear to me

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that He wanted me to marry.

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And that if I insisted on being single,

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that would be second best for me,

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to never get married.

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He wanted to give me a wife.

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And I needed to ask in good faith

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for a wife, and I did.

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I tried to be a foreign missionary,

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and God shut the door.

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But, looking back over the

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almost 40 years now that

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I've been a Christian,

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I think one of the biggest trials

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in staying in America is that

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there is so much Christendom around.

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I mean, so much complacency.

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And you just feel like Paul said,

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"Lo, I turn to the Gentiles,"

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since you judge yourself unworthy

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of eternal life.

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I turn to the Gentiles.

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I'm looking for people that

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have not got a Bible.

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They don't have a Bible.

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They haven't heard a radio broadcast.

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They don't have all these commentaries.

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They don't have churches available.

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Let's go to them.

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People that will hold out their hand

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and gladly receive 
a piece of literature.

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Gladly receive a Bible.

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That want to hear;

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that have never heard.

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I mean just in general

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I feel some of that. (P)

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Tim:

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Well, you just mentioned living life

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with a clear conscience.

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And I've heard you say that before.

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You've mentioned to me

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that you have tried to make it a habit

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during your life of 
not entering the pulpit

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except you have a clear conscience.

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And I would just ask you about that.

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How did you do that?

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What does that look like?

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And how important is that

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in the Christian life? (P)

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Bob:

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Well, the Lord has wired us up

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such that we know when something's wrong.

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And so what are we going to do about it?

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Are we going to cover it up?

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Are we going to sweep it under the rug?

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Act like it never happened?

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David's heart smote him.

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So we feel that.

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We recognize that.

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And the conscience is 
not a perfect witness,

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but it can be a very strong witness.

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And when we feel that guilt,

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when we feel that broken fellowship.

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Like the old timers say,

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keep short accounts with God.

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And take care of it.

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Humble yourself before God.

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Humble yourself before 
whoever you offended.

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Things like that.

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Get it right.

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And don't go to bed that way.

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Get it right.

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Get it taken care of.

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Restore your clear conscience before God.

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And we don't want to presume.

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You sweep it under the rug,

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and you might wake up tomorrow,

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and you don't feel it as strongly

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and you get decieved.

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Deception can set in in some way

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and so it's just a matter of keeping

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short accounts with God.

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Honesty.

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Psalm 51

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The Lord desires truth 
in the innermost being.

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Just being honest before God

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regardless the cost. (P)

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Tim:

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Well, I've heard you pray

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that God might give you 12 more years.

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I want to ask you,

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if God gave you 12 more years,

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what would you do with those years?

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If somehow you were made aware

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that indeed, just like it was to Hezekiah,

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that your prayer had been granted,

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would anything major change?

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Would there be any great alterations?

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Would you seek to serve the Lord

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in a different way 
or a different capacity?

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Would you just seek to run even faster?

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Or would you basically seek to continue

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to serve Him just the same way?

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Just 12 more years? (P)

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Bob:

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It's not easy to answer that.

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It's like there's been times

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I remember I've where tried to

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turn the volume up.

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For example,

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invited to speak at a 
conference somewhere,

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and here you've got 
three months to prepare.

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And I'm going to turn the volume up.

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I'm going to pray more.

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I'm going to read the Bible more.

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And it's amazing how hard it is to do it.

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You know, you're just ultimately

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shut up to the grace of God

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for help.

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So you know, if God graciously

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granted me 12 more years,

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you feel it,

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you feel like, Lord, how 
precious that would be.

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And I would want to walk worthy of that.

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But it is not easy to turn the volume up.

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But I think that 8 years ago,

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we bought this property

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and began this produce farming,

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and it was primarily 
for the children's sake.

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And now that that chapter is closing,

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Terri and I both talked and agree

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that we would like

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to just simplify our 
lives as much as possible.

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And concentrate as much as possible

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on serving the Lord and the ministry,

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and seeking the souls of men

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as much as possible.

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And really concentrate.

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I think that one thing that I would

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so like to do

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is read the Bible more.

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Just conquer the Bible.

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And seek to be more 
useful as a soul winner.

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There's not much of that going on.

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There's a lot of evangelism going on,

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but it's just such a privilege

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and a rare thing to be used of God

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in winning souls.

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In Paul's terminology: in saving them.

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And so, that is so desirable.

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Let me say this,

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one thing on what I said here

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about conquering the Bible.

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You know Colossians 3 says

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"Let the Word of Christ

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dwell richly in you."

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And I think Christians starve their soul.

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In the physical, it's the same.

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As it is in the physical,

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it's the same in the spiritual.

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You're going to be lean

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by not feeding your body properly

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or enough.

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And it's just that way 
in the spiritual realm.

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Christians just get distracted.

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There are so many distractions.

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And that is one 
thing that makes you

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slap your knee,

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is these distractions

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keeping us away from the good part.

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From choosing the good part

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and having the Word of Christ

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dwell richly in us.

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And here I've been a Christian

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40 years almost,

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and I feel like I should know

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the Bible better.

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Here God has given us 
just this one book.

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It's not terribly little,

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but it's not terribly big.

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And we ought, after 40 years,

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I feel like I ought to have 
conquered the Bible better.

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I ought to know the Bible better.

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And just be able to identify things;

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this is in this chapter;

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this is in this chapter.

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And it was Eleazar

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that picked up the sword,

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and it clung to his hand.

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And know these heroes

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and know the chapters

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in the Bible. (P)

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Tim: You went and looked that up, huh? (P)

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Bob: Yeah.

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And Proverbs 7,

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it says that we ought to

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look at the commandments

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as our intimate friends.

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And coming perhaps to the end of my life,

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that is the way you feel.

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You feel these verses,

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these Scriptures that God has

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just made intimate, made important to you.

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You just feel them 
as your intimate friend.

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You want to lay your hand

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and your heart on them.

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Here, remember Your Word to Your servant

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upon which You've caused me to hope.

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So, I'm saying the 
importance of having the Bible

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so intimate to you.