WEBVTT

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Grace, mercy, and peace

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be unto you from God, our Father and from our Lord, and Savior Jesus

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Christ.

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Amen.

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The text is the gospel

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read to you just a few moments ago from Luke chapter 18,

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Brothers and sisters

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if you are on social media at all, you've likely seen the clips. A

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woman with a problem and a attitude.

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She's convinced that she's been wronged and she's demanding to see the

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manager or in our case, she's demanding to see the pastor.

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She's not going to take no for an answer.

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She is persistent.

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She wants Justice.

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She wants things to be the way they were supposed to be to be set,

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right?

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Often, it's over something trivial or minor but she's turned it into a

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big deal.

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She won't let it go.

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On the internet, they have a name for her.

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They call her Karen.

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In today's text, it would seem that Jesus posted a clip like that.

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Showing us a Karen to teach us how we're supposed to pray and not lose

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heart.

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And at first glance, that's how St.

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Luke seems to be interpreting the parable.

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Remember a parable is a simple story with a much deeper spiritual

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meaning behind it.

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It seems to be saying that if we are persistent enough,

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and if we can gather enough of our friends together in our prayer

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chain,

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and join us in praying.

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We can nag God until we wear him down and got

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I will do for us whatever we want him to do.

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But that would be a misinterpretation of the parable.

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And clearly a misunderstanding of Prayer.

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And a misunderstanding of our good and gracious, God.

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That would make it all about you and about me.

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And as every Karen needs to hear at some point or another, it ain't

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about you.

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We need to see this parable however and interpret it in the context of

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the Gospel of St.

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Luke.

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Jesus had already foretold two times that they were on their way to

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Jerusalem, that his passion was drawing near the triumphal

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entry was maybe just days ahead.

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In chapter 17

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they had asked him about the coming of the kingdom of God.

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And so he began to teach his disciples about what they might expect

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during those difficult

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days, that were soon to come, but also about the ominous days would

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come in the time in between his Ascension and his return in glory,

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In the midst of that, then he tells this parable.

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And at the end of today's lesson, he asked some very pointed

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questions, he returns once again to the coming of the Son of Man.

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And so with these brackets around the text, we need to interpret it

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eschatologically.

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We need to seek that deeper meaning.

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And so there was a judge.

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Who neither feared God nor respected, man.

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He was what we call an unjust judge.

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He didn't really care about God's will.

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He didn't care about his neighbors.

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He didn't care about the poor and oppressed people in his community.

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It seems, he really didn't care about Justice.

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He didn't seem to care about what other people thought of him.

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In this story, he had all of the power. The power to make a decision.

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The power to do the right thing. The power to render Justice.

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But he was a jerk.

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And then there was this Widow.

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Who kept coming to him, saying, give me Justice against my adversary.

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Now a widow, typically in those days was very vulnerable, she was

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powerless.

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And it would seem that someone had wronged her treated her badly,

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abused her, taking advantage of her.

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And all she wanted was Justice.

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All she wanted was somebody to be on her side to make things right

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again.

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So, she went to the judge.

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She went to the judge repeatedly,

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persistently, she didn't give up.

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She just kept coming to him.

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And at first, the judge refused, he just blew her off.

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Remember he was an unjust judge, so maybe he was just waiting for a

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bribe.

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Clearly, he didn't understand or care about this Widow.

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And yet in the end of the story, he relented,

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he caved.

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He thought to himself though

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I neither fear God nor respect man yet because this woman is

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bothering me.

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I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by your

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continual coming.

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It wasn't that he suddenly turned into some kind of a good guy and

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showed any compassion for this Widow.

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He just got tired of her nagging.

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He was

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afraid, she was going to beat him up.

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Literally give them a black eye.

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Wreck his reputation, embarrass him.

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And so he gave her what she wanted.

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Just to shut her up.

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And then Jesus, made this application.

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Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will

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not God, give Justice to the elect who cry to him day and night.

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Will he delay long over them?

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I tell, you no, He will give them Justice speedily.

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Now is the point of this 

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Parable to compare our good and gracious God to this unrighteous

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judge.

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Well, that can't be right the to have absolutely nothing in common.

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I believe that this is one of those hyperboles that

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Jesus often used to talk about how much more.

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For example, you remember the time when Jesus was talking about the

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Lilies of the Field,

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and the birds of the air. And he said how much more will your heavenly

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Father provide for you

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oh you of little faith?

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Another time he was teaching about prayer and he said if you then who

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are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more

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will your heavenly Father give to those give the Holy Spirit to those

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who ask him?

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How much more?

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That's what Jesus was doing here, if an unjust judge would help a

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persistent Widow.

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How much more will God our gracious

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Heavenly Father, help us when we cry out to him in persistent prayer.

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Jesus said he will indeed, give us Justice and he will do so speedily.

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And so Luke rightly concluded, we ought always to pray and never to

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lose heart.

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But again, this simple story has a much deeper meaning.

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And again we need to read it in its context and again we need to look

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at it eschatologically and listen to the questions that Jesus asked

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after the parable.

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He said, will not God, give Justice to his elect who cry to him day

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and night.

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Will he delay long over them?

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I tell you he will give them Justice speedily when the Son of Man

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comes.

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Will he find faith on Earth?

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Those aren't just rhetorical questions.

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Jesus is absolutely serious.

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This is a parable about persistent prayer but it has a special focus.

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Jesus was teaching about the coming of the kingdom of God.

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And so, he was warning and preparing them for the days that were soon

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to come.

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He was now on his way to Jerusalem.

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And there he would soon incur

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all kinds of Injustice.

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In order to secure God's justice for them, and for us.

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It was there in Jerusalem, that Jesus took the verdict of an unjust

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judge.

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He bore your sin and the punishment for your sin on a cross.

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They are Jesus defeated

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all of your adversaries,

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sin, death and Hell.

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And once they've been defeated life is yours,

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and forgiveness is yours.

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And God's mercy and grace are yours.

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But Jesus was also preparing them and us for these days in between.

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These times in between his Ascension and his return.

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He would send those disciples out into a hostile world.

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And there they would incur all kinds of injustices,

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sufferings, persecution.

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Out in that world they would be vulnerable.

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They would long for Jesus to come once again and to set things right.

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In those days they would cry out for justice O Lord how long

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and then they would cry Maranatha.

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O, Lord, come.

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That's been the persistent prayer of the church throughout the ages.

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We're waiting for our Lord's return.

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And in these days, we find ourselves in the same kind of situation a

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hostile world.

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A post-christian anti-christian world.

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A world that's filled with all kinds of jerks.

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Who just don't care about God's will.

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Who don't care about the injustices that they inflict upon other

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people, or the injustices that they inflict upon us.

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In those times, we too are tempted to lose heart.

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To look to heaven and to raise a fist and say, God, this just isn't

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fair, this isn't right, make things right, once again.

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Give us Justice.

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But here, once again today, the promise that Jesus made

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will not God, give Justice to his elect who cry out to him day and

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night.

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Will he delay long over them?

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I tell you he will give Justice to them and he will give it speedily.

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Jesus promised that he is coming again

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in power and great glory to be our judge.

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And when he comes all things will be set, right.

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Justice will be given.

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Creation will be restored. Our bodies will be raised glorious

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transformed, no longer subject to pain or suffering

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or the ills of this world

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or even death.

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We will be at home with him in his kingdom.

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This is what we Christians have to look forward to.

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This is what we hope for.

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This is what we long for this is, what keeps us in the faith.

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This gives us the boldness and the confidence that we need to pray to

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our dear Father in Heaven as dear children, ask their fathers.

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This is what gives us the courage to pray persistently.

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Maranatha O, Lord come.

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In the name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding

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keep your hearts and minds in Christ

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Jesus.

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Amen.