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[ Silence ] [MUSIC] on the battlefield and I'm fighting, yes. ♪ Fighting for the Lord ♪

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♪ I promised him I would serve him 'til I die ♪ ♪ And I'm fighting ♪ ♪ Fighting for the Lord ♪ ♪ Yes ♪

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♪ I'm a soldier on the battlefield ♪ ♪ And I'm fighting, yes I am ♪ ♪ Fighting for the Lord ♪ I did. I promised him I would serve him until I die. And I'm fighting. Fighting for the Lord. On this Christian journey I had heartaches and pain, sunshine and rain. But I'm fighting. Fighting for the Lord. Sometimes I've been up, I've been down. But I'll never turn around.

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because I'm fighting yes. Oh I'm a soldier on the battlefield and I'm fighting yes. Oh I'm a soldier on the battlefield and I'm fighting yes. Sometime I've been buked, I've been scorned, but I'm still marching on, yes I'm fighting, yes. Fighting for the Lord.

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Oh, I've got my sword and my shield, and I've got to do God's will, 'cause I'm fighting, yes. Fighting for the Lord. Oh, if I hold out, hold out, hold out, hold out, then I know (Fighting for the Lord)

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Oh, I'm a soldier on the battlefield and I'm fighting (Fighting for the Lord) I promise him, I promise him that I will save him till I die. Yes, I'm fighting, yes.

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Fighting for the Lord. Oh, I've been up, I've been down, but I'll never turn around because I'm fighting. Fighting for the Lord. Yes, if I hold out, hold out, hold out, help me say hold out, help me say hold out,

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you got to hold out to the sunshine and rain, to the sickness and pain, You got to hold out, you need to hold out. Oh, then I know I'm on the battlefield. Yes I am. I'm on the battlefield. Help me say I'm on, I'm on. I'm on I'm on I'm on I'm on

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I've got to hold on I'm out there on God's word I believe he'll help me fight my battle Some of you have bathed us here this morning

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The Lord will help you fight your battle The Lord will help you fight your battle That's why I'm on I'm on I'm on I'm on Yes I am

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Oh, I'm a soldier And I promise him that I that I will serve Him till I die. And I'm fighting, yes. Yes, I am. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Our Scripture is found in the Gospel according to St. John. the 16th chapter, the 12th through the 15th verses.

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I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it when he the spirit of truth is come

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he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak

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and he will show you things to come. He will glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show it

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unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine therefore said I that he shall take of mine

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and shall show it unto you. The subject of the message, a work in progress. A work in progress. Austin is at work remodeling roads, expanding and seeking to increase or to contribute more to the beauty of this city. So as one moves about, one encounters signs indicating that men are at work, and these are reminders that we have not reached the end. We are still seeking to grow and we still have more miles to go. We are a work in progress.

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This is a season for graduates, persons who have completed one level of education and look forward to another. We aspire to more levels of success. We recognize that we have not reached the end of the way, that we are struggling to reach our goals. We are a work in progress So near the end of his ministry

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According to the Gospel of John Jesus delivers Extended farewell discourse During which he promises to send the paraclete

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the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who will declare all things which are to come. It is near the time of his departure so the master tells

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his disciples that there are things about him they do not know there are things about him they do not understand

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we like to think that Jesus during his three years of public ministry fully prepared them for life without him

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instead of saying to them I have prepared you for the future you're now on your own Jesus says to his disciples I have yet many things

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to say to you but you cannot bear them now. The disciples may well wonder why hasn't he told them. He has had time, but possibly they are not fully prepared to receive what he has to say or what he could say at this time.

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So anxious graduates may say in their hearts, "Whatever you have to say, say it now." I've had the privilege of having some five or more graduate experiences of receiving certificates and degrees, but I cannot remember anything any of those speakers said at the graduation. And I think that's true of most graduates today.

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When the spirit of truth is come Jesus says to his disciples he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak

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of himself but whatever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come. None of us here has reached the end of the road. We are not at the point where we can say this is the end. We are not at the point where we are to sit down

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and rest on our laurels. Life is an ongoing experience. We are a work in progress and it's not over until it's over. We are a work in progress. There is more work to be done, there are higher levels to be achieved, more battles to be fought, more victories to be won. Jesus promises his disciples saying I will not leave you comfortless,

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I will send the Spirit of Truth. He will guide you. He will show you things to come. He will guide you in the future.

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So graduation does not mean that it's over. When I was much younger, I remember a popular slogan that was used for graduates during this time that had to do with these words, "finish to begin."

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Finish to begin. So we have reached this point to make a new beginning, but this is not something for graduates alone. This is something for every person

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because some people, when they reach retirement age, they feel that they don't have anything more to do but eat and sleep. but life doesn't end. Life doesn't end at 62 or 65. In fact, the indications are that

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we're going to live far beyond that in the future. In some places in the world, I was reading where they were living to be almost 120 years of age. So we are a work in progress. of us who've thrown up our hands at 62 may have just reached about half of our life. So we are a work in progress. We are to keep on learning. We call what we call now lifelong

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Learning, lifelong learning. Continuing education, after you've got all of the degrees, you continue. PhD, that's that, one of my professors used to say that many people thought that was the end of the line. And he said it was final damnation and he spelled it P-H-I-N-A-L, final damnation. But this is just an indication that we are on our way, we are going from one level to another, we are a work in progress. Paul is saying that in a different way when he says I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth to those things which are before I press

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toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ. So during the last days Jesus is preparing his disciples for what will happen when his bodily presence is removed. Can you imagine a parent preparing a child for life when that parent's presence is removed? That's what Jesus is doing. Because when he was there, he could just give a look. And maybe Simon Peter would know that he's saying something he shouldn't say or doing something he shouldn't do.

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He may just give a frown but that presence isn't there. He's being removed, he's taking leave of them and he's preparing them for life without his bodily presence. The disciples are to continue to make progress. You know some people have to have someone there looking at them. Their eye pleases.

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But what Jesus is talking about is that the disciples are to move forward and continue to reach new levels of success even though his bodily presence will not be with them. So people never measure up to their potential when they are doing something just because someone is looking at them. They fail to develop, they fail to become the person that they are designated to be. So Jesus has given them to start up. Now he's leaving and there is still more work for them to do.

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The Spirit will guide them, guide them. Guide them, yes, in paths of righteousness. The teachings of the master will continue to bear fruit even though his bodily presence is to be removed. Spirit will guide them in paths of righteousness. They will progress from being hearers to being doers of the word.

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they will move forward and others will be impressed and influenced by the work that they do. So it does not yet appear what we shall be, every one of us is a work in progress. Many have been exposed to the word but they have not been baptized by the Spirit of the Word. They could memorize many of the lessons

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Jesus taught but still like we are today still they didn't have the Spirit that is involved in the Word and that's that's that's that's very important. Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn that. I remember once I was I was demoted on the job and I went to the lady and I asked her why did I receive

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this demotion. She said I think it might help your spirit. I hadn't said anything that was disobedient or disrespectful but I just exemplified the kind of spirit and so I changed my way and when the time came around for the promotions the next time I was promoted back to where I was. My spirit had changed. So a great deal

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will depend upon the spirit that we and and we should continue to progress to move forward. I was in training union we'd sing I shall not I shall not be moved I shall not I shall not be moved then we go to another stand to say the Church of God is marching I shall not be moved I shall not be moved and some of

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was saying it I shall not be removed. And many people today who accepted Jesus Christ are still standing where they stood when they accepted him. They have not grown. We are a work in progress. Some people come to church and in a spiritual way they stop in the foyer. never make it into the sanctuary. They just stop in the foyer. And we miss the beauty of the music, we miss the profound messages that are in God's Word. We miss it because we're engaging in chitchat in the foyer. We are a work in progress.

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Some people give the preacher their hand, but they haven't even changed their language. When they get upset, they're still using the words they used before they accepted Christ. And they say, "Pardon my French, Reverend, pardon my French." Somewhere along the line, we should recognize that we are a work in progress,

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and it does not yet appear what we shall be. God and I'm glad he's not he's not through with us yet. God is not through with us yet. So the words that Jesus gave to his disciples, are words that should be the guide for his followers today. God wants us to be a work in progress. As early Christians moved from the baptism

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of John, those who were before in the early development of the Christian faith I want to say, they came having been exposed to the baptism of John and they they were asked the question, "Have you received the Holy Spirit?" They said, "We haven't even heard of the Holy Spirit." And we're to make progress not only with

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they to make progress from John to Jesus but now Jesus is saying there comes one after me who will teach you all things who will guide you in the spirit who will govern you your way of living who will protect you who will be your guard your guide, your governor, and your guard. So the spirit will guide and will help

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the disciples to recognize the presence of the eternal because the eternal is our companion. In other words, we may not have a bodily presence many times but if we have the awareness of the presence of the spirit, that is enough.

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- Yes Lord. - And we cannot implement the words of Jesus apart from the spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit. That's the only way we can really implement

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the words of Jesus. Blessed are the meek. And people today in our world say that's nonsense to be meek.

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You know, when war's being meek, they look upon that as being nonsense. But with Jesus, that's the more excellent way, the way of love, the way of peace, and the way of justice.

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So he says to us, follow me. Oh, we're going to a point where I will go back to the father and you will carry on, but follow me. Follow me.

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Paul has this word to say concerning being a work in progress. when I was a child, I thought as a child, I understood as a child.

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But beloved, now are we the children of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be. We are a work in progress. So my beloved, I say to you, keep on.

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Keep on walking, traveling the upward way. Keep on, keep on until, Until the righteousness grows forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a life left that burneth. Keep on! Until! Keep on! Until life shall end in this world. Keep on until Gabriel blows his horn.

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It is then that the Lord will say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. now make you ruler over many. We come now to the invitation, the invitation to Christian discipleship, the invitation to accept this Jesus who has promised to be with us through his spirit as Lord of your life. Come, this is an open door that

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he sets before us. [Music] [MUSIC] (music)

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♪ More of Jesus would I know ♪ ♪ More does grace through all the show ♪ ♪ More this lament, more this pain ♪ ♪ More this love, more life for me ♪

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♪ More, more of Jesus ♪ ♪ More, more of Jesus ♪ All this faith in foolishness, or of this love who died for me For thou, Jesus, let me learn, or of this holy will discern

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Spare not my teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus, More of His saving, more of His saving, More of His love who died for me. More about Jesus in His Passion, Holy Communion, live my Lord.

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♪ Here in this monastery, every night ♪ ♪ We hear these faithful saying, I ♪ ♪ More, more of Jesus ♪ ♪ More, more of Jesus ♪

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♪ More of His grace in fullness be ♪ ♪ More of His love to die for me ♪ ♪ Lord our Jesus, on His throne ♪ ♪ In great glory all is well ♪

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♪ For His kingdom's sure increase ♪ ♪ For His blood and bread's now pleased ♪ ♪ All for our Jesus ♪ ♪ All for our Jesus ♪

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♪ Born this way, born this day ♪ ♪ Born is God, who died for me ♪ for me. [BLANK_AUDIO]