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[Silence] [Silence] Happy are those whose lives are faultless, who live according to the law of the Lord. [Audience]

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We bow our heads for the invocation by Deacon Smith. Good morning, O God, our Heavenly Father. We come asking a special blessing upon those of us assembled here. We ask that you would send your Holy Spirit to give us guidance and witness to our worshiping

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of thee. Give us strength and give us courage that we may be able to better serve thee. We ask, O Lord, that you would show a special blessing to this church, to its leaders, to the leaders of our state, leaders of our country, and our nation. Oh God we make a

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special prayer for those who would like to be here whose condition is of such that they cannot. We ask that you would be with them and send your spirit to witness with them these blessings we asked in their son's name. Amen. Turn to hymn number 218, "Think of His Goodness to You." Let our voices ring out in praise to God as we sing

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reading him 218, think of his goodness to you. [Music] [Music] [Music]

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Raise the whole place and sing over the song, Let the light of Jesus appear, Let the light of Jesus, His grace on the plain, Just take all His goodness to you,

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Just take all His goodness to you, Just take all His goodness to you, ♪ What love of His is, is ain't of no big ♪ ♪ Oh, think of His goodness to you ♪

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♪ The world in your sight you will go to Him ♪ ♪ Trust, make room to be open of truth ♪ ♪ Let one who can trust you will be through the year ♪ ♪ Just think of His goodness to you ♪

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♪ I speak of his goodness to you ♪ ♪ Yes, we know his goodness to you ♪ ♪ Oh, my heart is shaking ♪ ♪ It's a young man's ♪

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♪ Oh, I speak of his goodness to you ♪ ♪ Let's watch him start a fire ♪ ♪ And we'll all watch away ♪ ♪ This time you'll be safe with him ♪

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♪ A safe, loving heart is your true love there ♪ ♪ Just because there's goodness to you ♪ ♪ Just because there's goodness to you ♪ ♪ Just because there's goodness to you ♪

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♪ Close your heart and say ♪ ♪ There's a hope in me ♪ ♪ Oh, because there's goodness to you ♪ ♪ When you walk the path of hope without you fear ♪

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♪ The love of God's blessings are true ♪ ♪ The light of the Savior watches you and me ♪ ♪ And beyond this darkness there is hope ♪ ♪ Trusting God is what makes you free ♪

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♪ And beyond this darkness there is hope ♪ ♪ The song of the day ♪ ♪ Is the answer here ♪ ♪ All the earth is heard it's true ♪

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- Our scripture this morning comes from Luke the 12th chapter, the 16th, through the 21st verses and reads as follows. And he spake a parable unto them saying,

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the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

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And he said, "This will I do. "I will pull down my bonds and build greater. "And there will I bestow all my fruits and all my goods. "And I will say to my soul,

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"'Soul, thou has much goods laid up for many years. "'Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, "Thy fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall these things be which thou hast provided?

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So is he that laith up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God." Thus endeth the reading of the scripture. As we come to our time of prayer, we call upon you to come to the altar as we assemble as God's family here at Ebenezer to express our thanks to the Heavenly Father for the

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multitude of his mercies. to confess our sins, to make our petitions to Him, pouring out the desires of our hearts, making intercession for others. Oh, what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.

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Take your burden to the Lord and leave them there. For if you trust and never doubt, he will surely bring you out. your burdens to the Lord, leave them there. Let us pray. O gracious God, our Heavenly Father, in whom we move and have being, by thy light we come to this hour,

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By thy grace we are sustained, we are kept from day to day. And so as your children we come together and pause here in this holy place to say thank you. Thank you for all that you've done for us, for having kept us through dangers seen and

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unseen, for having raised us up when we have fallen, for having strengthened us when we are weak. We confess our sins. We know we are not what we ought to be.

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We know we've done things that you've told us not to do, and we know that we have left undone things that you have assigned to our hands. Lord, forgive us, we pray. And then we pray not only for our forgiveness, but we would pray for the guidance of your

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spirit in our lives. We don't know which way to go. We need your help. We need the light of truth from you to shine upon our pathway and to dwell in our midst.

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We pray that you would help us for the perplexing situations that we face and we pray not only for ourselves and our personal problems but we would pray for our families. We would pray for our sisters and brothers, those who are in the hospitals. Some right now are in intensive care.

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Others are in the midst of a rather critical experience, and we ask that you would remember them in a special way. up the broken hearts and comfort those who are bereaved, we ask. We pray for the leaders of your church everywhere, for ministers and missionaries and for workers

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who carry on in your name, for the leaders of government, for all your people and for this whole world, we pray. And we offer ourselves to you to work with you toward the coming of the day when your kingdom shall reign on earth as it is in heaven.

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We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. [ Background Sounds ] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[MUSIC PLAYING] (piano music) [Music] [ Music ]

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[MUSIC] [Music] I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love.

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I face the journey by for Jesus' love is mine. I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. Walking, walking, walking in the light of Jesus' love. ♪ I'm facing the burning fire ♪

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♪ For Jesus was my Lord ♪ ♪ I'll give you my life, oh, Jesus ♪ ♪ He's the Savior, Jesus leads me ♪ ♪ And my strength, he does restore ♪

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♪ He gives me life, I'm in repentance ♪ ♪ When my life's been turned to water or stone ♪ I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love.

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I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. Walk with me, walk with me. Walking in the light of Jesus' love.

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I face the cloudy sky, my Jesus love is blind, I'm walking in the light of his love. I know his goodness, I desire his peace, To show my every step of faith.

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On the mountain, on the valley, I'm walking with my very strength, I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love. I'm walking in the light of Jesus' love.

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I'm Jesus, glorified. I'm Jesus, God is mine. I'm walking in the light of his love. Walking, walking, walking in the light of Jesus' love.

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I'm Jesus, glorified. I'm Jesus, God is mine. ♪ For walking in the light of His love ♪ ♪ Walking, walking ♪

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♪ Walking in the light of Jesus' love ♪ ♪ I praise the Lord, oh God ♪ ♪ For Jesus Christ, oh God ♪ ♪ For walking in the light of His love ♪

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- Amen. This is our time of worship in giving. We are asking that every person would make the tithe his or her minimum contribution during the month of November this is prove the tithe month and

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We urge every person to respond favorably to that request Let us give according to how the Lord has blessed us Bless us, O Lord, as we worship you in the sharing of gifts. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above.

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You cause the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. So help us to exercise the grace of giving in our living. In Jesus' name, amen. certainly want to salute you for the work that you do and the development of wholesome

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persons both with youth and adults because I think you make a significant contribution in helping to make our society and our world better. Thank you so much. Let's all say amen.

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>> Amen. >> All right, good. While they're singing, before they sing that number, let me make one announcement that I forgot to make, and that's Brother Otis Hodges.

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That's misspelled in the bulletin. It's H-A-R-G-I-S, is in Seton Hospital. Let's remember him as he goes through this critical experience. He was there for some examinations and whole family is here.

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I met with him the other day and that family, let's pray for them. Let's remember also brother Lewis Barrow. I was with him yesterday.

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He's in intensive care, but he seems to be in good spirits. So let's remember them along with others who are reported as sick and shut in. Sister Norma Dotson I noticed

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is in Bracken Ridge Hospital also. (gentle music) [ Music ] Jordan's on the wing, like a river,

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tears the dark water out of. The American must surrender, ♪ There's no trust in heart, we know ♪ ♪ Blessed quietness ♪

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♪ Holy quietness ♪ ♪ God of children ♪ ♪ In my soul ♪ ♪ The world's on its feet ♪

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♪ Hear it speak to me ♪ ♪ And the billows seem to roll ♪ ♪ Raving lions ♪ ♪ Wail the dragons ♪

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♪ All around this land we yell ♪ ♪ British colony ♪ ♪ We have landed ♪ ♪ Change your weariness to rest ♪

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♪ Blessed mindness ♪ ♪ Holy kindness ♪ ♪ God has healed us ♪ ♪ In my soul ♪

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♪ From the starless deep ♪ ♪ Deep and speechless deep ♪ ♪ And the billboards seem to roll ♪ ♪ What a wonder ♪

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♪ Oh, Dalmatia ♪ ♪ Where we always sing his praise ♪ ♪ What a perfect ♪ ♪ Galatasia ♪

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♪ What a quiet, resting place ♪ ♪ Blessed by His holy kindness ♪ ♪ What a sure path in my soul ♪ ♪ O'er the sky-sphere, Jesus speaks to me ♪

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♪ And the billboards seem to go on ♪ ♪ Blessed by His holy kindness ♪ ♪ Worship Him as Lord ♪ ♪ O'er the sky we see ♪

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♪ Jesus speaks to thee ♪ ♪ And the field of sin to roam ♪ - And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully

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And he thought within himself saying, "What shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits." And he said, "This will I do. I will pull down my bonds and build greater. There will I bestow all my fruits and my goods and I will say to my soul, soul thou has much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said

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unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou has provided so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God the subject of the message trying to make life secure, trying to make life secure.

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Life is filled with new situations and strange temptations. Life is filled with challenges and opportunities. To live is to adjust oneself to changing conditions. One definition of life is that it is a series of adjustments. The parable here of the rich farmer was told by Jesus when he was asked to solve a difficult

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family situation. A man came to Jesus and said, "Lord, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. Jesus said to him, "Who made me a judge or divider over you?" This is not to say that Jesus ignores his claim, but that this This was a matter that judges and dividers should handle.

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They were in business to adjudicate such matters. And then Jesus goes on to warn the listeners to beware of covetousness. And then he tells this story concerning a rich man whose land yields heavy crops. This story is to serve as a warning for those persons who may be inclined to lose much over

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little. The farmer here in the story is rich. He's a rich person. He's not an indolent individual.

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He's one who plows, plants, and harvests his crops. He's expecting great things because he has attempted great things. He spends many laborious hours in happy anticipation of harvest time.

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And by and by, the time of reaping comes, and as is expected, he is blessed, but even beyond his expectations, he is bountifully blessed. He has a bumper crop, the ground brought forth plentifully. He had far in excess of what he needed for his own welfare. Now when a person is rich it means that a person has more than he needs for his own comforts

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and conveniences for his own subsistence. He has enough for himself and then he has excess is more than he needs. That is a situation that is experienced by the rich and this man was rich he was rich already but now that his fields produced for him above a crop, he has a super abundance of the things of this world.

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He has far, far more than he needs to get along in this world. But he is thinking about how secure he can make his future. That is one thing that encourages us to struggle and to work and to try to prepare for the future.

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And every one of us should do that. This man here is not to be condemned for his desire to make adequate provisions for the future. We ought to commend him for being industrious, for working hard, for planting and plowing

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and for harvesting. We should commend him for that. But now that he has a bumper crop, what does he do? He carries on a monologue.

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He engages in a conversation with himself. He doesn't include anyone else. He has no thoughts about anybody. He's only concerned about himself.

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wrapped up in himself. It's like the words I gave a little tea party this afternoon at three. It was very small, three guests in all, I, myself, and me. Myself ate all the cookies while I drank all the tea. It was also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me. That was his situation. He was only concerned about me,

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myself, and I. What shall I do? I have so much. I don't really know what to do with it. And he thought within himself. He didn't ask anybody else. What shall I do? do and then finally he says oh I know what I will do I will build bigger barns because I don't have enough place space now to bestow my fruits so he engages in

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building bigger barns well should we condemn him for that you know a farmer needs to have a good barn. And here he's produced a great crop and he needs bigger barns.

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And there's a message in that for us. Because much of the difficulty that we face comes from having old barns that do not care for the new crops.

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And when we have bigger and better crops produced, we need to tear down the old barns and build bigger barns. And in a sense, life is an adventure of building bigger barns for the person who moves ahead

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in life is one who's not satisfied with small barns. We have to build a bigger barn when we move from one grade level to the next grade level in school. From elementary to junior high, and from junior high to senior high, and from senior high

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to college, and on and on. It's an experience of building bigger barns. You need bigger barns that our minds may be emancipated from narrow thoughts. It's easy for us to be satisfied with barns that are too small.

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But his thinking only involved himself and it only involved conserving for himself and And he only saw the future in the light of trying to store up fruits and just keep them there without sharing with anybody else. What do we do when we have a surplus of something?

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What does the nation do? I can remember a number of years ago when we had a surplus of potatoes and there was a picture in one newspaper with almost a mountain of potatoes that were being burned. They were being thrown away because we wanted to keep the

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price of potatoes high and rather than to give them to the hungry we were gonna throw them away. Some time ago we had a surplus of cheese and we had more cheese and what we knew what to do with we stored the cheese and we finally discovered that we were paying a great deal of money more to store the cheese

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and then it was worth and then we decided to give it away. And so often we discard things rather than to see to it that somebody who really needs it receives it. What do we do when we have a surplus of things? But when we really look at it this man is storing up material things when we look at the

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heart of this story, he's looking out for the future and he's storing up material things because he said now when I get everything stored away I'll be able to say to my soul, soul, soul, take it easy. Fellow you are really fixed up. You've got everything in place, you don't have to

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worry about your retirement, you don't have to worry about retirement benefits, fringe benefits, in the future you've got it all made. It's stored up for many years. You can take it easy. You can rest in the future on what you've done in the past. Everything is arranged. And you see really what he's doing at the grain

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that he has harvested is somehow in his own mind. He feels that that can take care of the needs of his soul. The grain. And so often we feel that the things that are material can make us secure for the future. The material things, they are essential. God knows that we have need of them.

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God somehow gives us the energy, he gives us the ingenuity to acquire them, but he wants us to use them in such a way that they will be a blessing to us. blessing that whatever I have in the way that God has put here and whatever you have God has put here for us to use it and to enjoy it and if somehow we get

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far far more than we need we ought to remember to share that's a part of learning to live. Learning to live to the fullest is really sharing, sharing. One man said to another, he said, "You know my wife is always asking for money. Today she asked me for $100, yesterday she asked me for $80, and tomorrow she'll be asking

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me for $200. And so the man said, "What does your wife do with all of that money?" He said, "Well, I don't know because I don't give it to her." So many times we're not even disposed to share. We are disposed to somehow let ourselves grow. This man somehow is a dwarf in spirit because he only is concerned about himself. And

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whenever a person is just concerned about self and shuts others out, he shuts out more than he shuts in. There's a story of a man who saved seven people in the Jamestown flood. Everywhere he went he was telling people you know I'm the man that saved seven people in the Jamestown flood and as the story goes he he went

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on through life telling that everywhere he would go he would buttonhole someone telling them I'm the man who saved seven people in the Jamestown flood and finally he was able to go on up to heaven and he was still going around saying that and he finally came up on one of the tall tall angels and he was

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telling him that he said well now just who might you be and he said I'm Noah yeah I'm the man who saved the world and made possible the future population of eternity but he wasn't saying anything about it. How do we secure the future? How do we make ourselves secure in the future? In other words Jesus says that

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now life does not consist in the abundance of the things of this life, it doesn't. Oh I know some of us may have two, three, or four bedrooms but we can just sleep in one bed at a time, just one, that's all. And many of us may accumulate more and more and more and sometimes the person just likes to look

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at it and to say that it's there but even though we may have a great deal in the deep freeze and we may purchase a great deal of groceries at the marketplace but your stomach can only hold so much and if we put too much in it then we find out that we're destroying ourselves by it. So a man's life, a man's life does not

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really consist in the abundance of the things of this world. Houses, land, cattle, man's life does not consist in the abundance of things of this life. And what God says to this man is "Thou fool, thou fool, thou fool, this night thy soul is required of thee, thou fool, thou fool. In other words he is a fool because he does

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not in the present make adequate provisions for the future. Anyone who doesn't do that is a fool. But right now that somehow in the now we ought to make preparation for the future right now and how secure is the future for which we are preparing how secure many of us prepare for the future we have we have

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certain arrangements that we we are making and many of us are making those arrangements and and we're looking to enjoy them he said this night thy soul is required of me. Had a friend who had made all the arrangements he said I've been working a long time and I've been going to work every day and now he said

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I'm gonna retire I'm gonna retire this year I've got adequate pensions I've got adequate Social Security and I've made some investments I'm going to retire and just a month or two before his retirement he died. What about a secure future? The real future is not just in the abundance of things of this life. We

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are to use them, we need them, and God has provided them that they may enrich our lives, not dwarf us, but expand our spirits so that we can use them to the glory of God. Trying to secure the future. How secure is my future? How secure is it? Some say, well, to make it secure you ought to have a good insurance policy and

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You ought to take out good insurances and provide for the future in that way. But you see, insurance companies have been known to go broke and to refuse to pay the claims. So that isn't really the most secure future.

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Some of us may say, "Well, consider Wall Street and invest in the stock market." But you see the stock market fluctuates from day to day by the course of human events and it has been known to crash. So that's not really making a secure future.

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Others may say well to have the best investment invest in government securities. Well the government securities are just as secure as the government but many times the government isn't very secure. I had some friends who put money in the bank in in in Mexico the banks in Mexico were paying 25 cents on a dollar interest of

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25 percent but many people who put that money in they're expecting to have a great profit now have discovered that they have lost tremendous sums and they're having difficulty getting their money out of the country because you can't really depend upon the government's. Governments rise and fall, kingdoms are shaken,

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look Babylon, Greece, Assyria, Rome, they're all gone. That isn't the most secure future. Some say well get money and really save your money but that's not the most secure future because you know how the dollar evaluates or how the dollar fluctuates as far as its value is concerned it's devalued and and then it's victimized so to speak by

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inflation and deflation and the dollar today is shrinking more and more by as far less today than it did a few years ago so we really can't depend on any of these things and so Jesus says be sure, be sure that you are rich toward God. He's the one that in all of your achievement, in all of your preparation

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for your provisions that you have in trying to secure the future, be sure that you are rich toward God. Be sure that you have made adequate arrangements to stand before the great judge of all the earth. For this night your soul may be required of you. Be sure that you are rich toward God. Be sure, be very sure. Look, look, look,

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look at Jacob. Jacob is one who is known to go about trying to take advantage of of his brother. He's always trying to take advantage of people. He robs Esau of his birthright, he takes advantage of his father-in-law, he's scheming, he's always trying to get ahead by deception and fraud, but when he really meets God he

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says, "Now here is something I can be sure of. Surely the Lord is in this place." And I didn't know it. This made a difference in his life. And look at David. David somehow was having his ups and downs during the time of Saul and even when he became king of Israel he had his ups and downs. He had wars to fight.

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