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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're so glad

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Speaker 1: to have you listening. I'm Lynette Kittle, and today's topic

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Speaker 1: is keep keeping your Eyes on Jesus. We'll be right

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Speaker 1: back after a brief message from our sponsor. Keep keeping

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Speaker 1: your Eyes on Jesus written and read by Lynette Kittle.

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Speaker 1: Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of

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Speaker 1: faith for the joy set before him. He endured the cross,

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Speaker 1: scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand

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Speaker 1: of the throne of God Hebrews twelve. Two recent and

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Speaker 1: ongoing scandals with pastors, churches, and ministries failing and falling

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Speaker 1: short to their service and devotion to God have been

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Speaker 1: devastating for many believers in Jesus Christ, especially for those

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Speaker 1: who followed them and hung onto their every word, listening, following,

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Speaker 1: and taking at times what they were saying as more

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Speaker 1: important and valuable than the Word of God itself. Exposure

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Speaker 1: of immorality and misconduct, dishonesty, and deception all take a

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Speaker 1: terrible toll on those who had unwavering faith in these

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Speaker 1: men and women who made themselves spokespersons for God. When

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Speaker 1: these leaders sinful activities are uncovered and revealed, it rattles

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Speaker 1: some followers to their spiritual chres, causing their faith to stumble,

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Speaker 1: having believed more in men than in God, revealing how

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Speaker 1: rather than their faith being focused on God, their eyes, ears,

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Speaker 1: and attention were centered on the leaders they were following. Still,

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Speaker 1: none of those leaders suffered and endured the cross and

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Speaker 1: separation from God for us. When tempted. They weren't even

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Speaker 1: willing to lay down their human desires and lust, much

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Speaker 1: less their lives for us. God didn't ever intend for

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Speaker 1: us to be followers of men fishermen, yes, but not

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Speaker 1: followers that hang on their every word. As Matthew four

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Speaker 1: nineteen stated, come follow me, Jesus said, and I will

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Speaker 1: send you out to fish for people. He calls us

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Speaker 1: to follow him and to put his word in our hearts.

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Speaker 1: When we do, it protects our hearts and minds from

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Speaker 1: failing too to help God and prevent us from falling

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Speaker 1: into unbelief because of another sin. As Psalm one nineteen

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Speaker 1: eleven directs, reading, studying, and keeping God's word in our

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Speaker 1: hearts helps to guard us from sinning, saying, I have

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Speaker 1: hidden your word in my heart that I might not

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Speaker 1: sin against you. The apostle Paul explains in Second Corinthians

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Speaker 1: three three, how when we allow him to God writes

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Speaker 1: his word on our hearts. You show that you are

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Speaker 1: a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written

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Speaker 1: not with ink, but with the spirit of the Living God,

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Speaker 1: not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

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Speaker 1: When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we don't stumble

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Speaker 1: and fall like a domino train when trust did spiritual

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Speaker 1: leaders fail. Even if our hearts weep over others failures,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't shake our faith, as Hebrews twelve twenty eight describes,

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Speaker 1: when focused on God, we stand on an unshakable foundation. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

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Speaker 1: let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably, with

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Speaker 1: reverence and awe. Jesus warns us in Matthew seven fifteen

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Speaker 1: to beware and on the lookout for spiritual leaders who

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Speaker 1: are not what they say or appear as they really are,

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Speaker 1: cautioning watch out for false prophets. They come to you

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Speaker 1: in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves as well.

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Speaker 1: If we look closely Jesus assures us that we will

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Speaker 1: be able to tell the difference between true followers of

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Speaker 1: Him and those who are deceivers, as he explains to

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Speaker 1: us in Matthew seven sixteen through twenty, by their fruit,

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Speaker 1: you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn

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Speaker 1: bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears

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Speaker 1: good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A

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Speaker 1: good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree

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Speaker 1: cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear

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Speaker 1: good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus,

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Speaker 1: by their fruit, you will recognize them. Intersecting faith in life,

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Speaker 1: have you been devastated by spiritual leader sin? Has your

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Speaker 1: faith been shaken by their failings? If so, ask God

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Speaker 1: to redirect your focus on Him and fix your eyes

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Speaker 1: on Jesus. Further reading, Fix your eyes on Jesus. The

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Speaker 1: Crosswalk Devotional is a production of Life Audio and Salem Media.

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Speaker 1: If you liked what you heard today, please take a

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Speaker 1: the show. For more faith filled inspirational podcasts, visit us

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Speaker 1: at lifeaudio dot com.