Faith on the Go: "Approving of Evil: The Danger of Complacency in Sin"

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Hello and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman.

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I'm your host Connie Morris and today we're continuing our Faith on the Go series

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with a powerful but necessary discussion titled Approving of Evil,

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the Danger of Complacency in Sin.

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In this episode we'll be diving into Romans 1.32 and exploring what it means

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to stand firm in righteousness rather than fall into the trap of approving sinful behavior.

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We're wrapping up these episodes of Downward Spiral.

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And did we know that God looks at us with the same eye as those who do sin,

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with the same eye of those who approve sinful behavior? Let's look at Romans

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132 and let's see what it reads.

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This is coming from the New King James Version.

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It reads, who knowing the righteousness judgment of God,

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that those who practice such things are deserving of death, but not only do

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the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Let's read that again.

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Who knowing the righteousness judgment of God, that those who practice such

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things are deserving of death, but not only do the same, but also approve of

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those who practice them.

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Not only that God looks at the same as those practice evil, but the same who approve of them.

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So let's pause and reflect on this sobering truth.

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We're reminded here that it's not just committing sin that draws judgment,

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but also the approval of sin, whether by silence, indifference,

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even silence, indifference.

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I lost my place here. Silence or indifference or even encouragement.

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So we see here that God says whether you silence, indifference, or even encouragement.

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There's two points I want to cover here. The knowledge of God's righteous judgment.

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So God says, you know what I like.

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You know it. So Paul doesn't pull any punches in this verse.

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He says that humanity is aware of God's righteous standards.

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But instead of turning away from sin, some persist.

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They know the consequences yet continue in sinful ways. Think about that for a moment.

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God's word is clear about what is right and wrong, but how often do we find

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ourselves excusing behavior that contradicts it.

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Maybe it's for the sake of being accepted by others or being because it's easier

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to go with the flow than to resist it.

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But remember, we put ourselves under the judgment of God when we don't resist

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it, when we just go with the flow.

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We just read that humanity is aware of God's righteous standard.

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We know what's right and wrong.

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It's been birthed inside of us.

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And so instead of just turning away from sin, we just kind of go with the flow.

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It's not just being sinful, like doing the sin. It's approving of the sin.

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The reflection question is, Are there areas in your life where you become numb

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to sin or ignored God's warnings?

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Something to think about. Is there something, are you, have you become numb to God's warning?

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As God, you know, people say, you know, give you that, that,

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that side eye. Is God giving you the side eye?

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Are you getting these kinds of warnings? Like, come on now, girlfriend,

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come on now, boyfriend, let's, let's, let's, let's get out of this.

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You know that this is wrong.

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You even know that when you approve of it, that is wrong, but he's still warning you.

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And maybe this podcast is still like the other layer of warning.

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And so the question is, are there areas in your life where you've become numb

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to sin or ignored God's warning?

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Number two, the danger of approving sin in others.

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You know, I want to just pause here because we never know how many times God

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has already warned that person.

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You know, we don't know if that's the 12th time or is that the first time.

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And so that danger of approving sin in others.

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The scripture also warns against approving sinful behavior in others.

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Whether we recognize it or not,

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our silence or indifference can send the message that sin is acceptable.

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Now, I'm not telling you go be the sin police, right?

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But I'm telling you like you are the Christian in the group.

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You can say, hey, look at this scripture, Romans 1, 32.

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Look at, read the whole chapter of Romans 1. Is there something in this Bible

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that you should not be doing?

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You want to hold yourself accountable. You want to hold your friend accountable, right?

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You know, in today's culture, it's easy to become desensitized.

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We just kind of brush things off. You know, we may laugh at things that God

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consider offensive or justify actions that go against his truth.

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But as believers, we are called to a higher standard.

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Go with me to 1 Peter 5, 8, New King James Version I'm reading from.

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The Bible reads here, it says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary,

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the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

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Resist him, stand fast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced

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by your brotherhood in the world.

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It says, stay sober, be vigilant.

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Your adversary walks about and says, like a, some translation says, as a.

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So he's faking and shaking and he's getting you to start faking and shaking it too.

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And so, but he says, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your

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brotherhood in the world.

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The enemy thrives on our complacency. When we approve of sin,

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even passively, we open the door for him to sow destruction in our lives and in the lives of others.

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A lot of times when we address sin with our friends, and we can have a way of

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doing it without being the super sin police.

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We can just, out of the heart of love, they already know what's wrong.

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So us approving of it because we don't want them to be angry with us is not a good thing.

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They're going to be upset with you for a season because if you come at them

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at the wrong way, but there will be a point where they're going to need your help.

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That sin is going to get them into a lot of trouble.

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You're going to see their life become just kind of like we spoke about in the

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last couple of weeks or so in this downward spiral.

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And they're going to reach out their hand for your help. And will you be able

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to grab their hand and snatch them out of that danger and begin to minister to them as a friend?

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Because you're bold, right? That you won't be...

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Approving of it, you're going to be bold about it and then breaking them out of that sin.

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Have you ever found yourself going along with what's popular or convenient instead

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of standing for righteousness?

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I think we all have. I think we all have. We don't want to be the one that's rocking the boat.

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But what happens if something serious happens to that friend and they don't

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get a chance to make the decision for Christ and you allow them to go forth

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in that sin right to the pit of hell.

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Because we as Christians know that there is a place that they go, right?

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So we want to make sure that we at least say something.

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Rather than go to be upset with us and make a decision for Christ or,

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right, or just, you know, suffer in silence.

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So let's be that friend and let's say something, right?

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Point three, a call to stand firm in righteousness.

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Paul's words are a call to courage.

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I think I like that because when you are bold and courageous.

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We don't care what people think.

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We don't pull you out of that dump.

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And you might be angry with me right now, but like I always say, life goes full circle.

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Maybe tomorrow you'll thank me. Maybe in heaven you'll thank me.

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But right now I can handle you being upset with me because I'm not going to

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be accountable for your sin.

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It takes strength to resist cultural pressures and to stand firm in the faith.

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But 1 Peter 5.9 reminds us that we're not alone in this battle.

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Believers all around the world are facing the same struggles,

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and God equips us to remain steadfast.

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Standing firm doesn't mean being confrontational.

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I mean, you're not saying I'm better than you because we all have our issues

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and our challenges, but it means uncompromising in living out God's truth. We can do this together.

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You have your issue. I got my issue. You hold me accountable.

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I'll hold you accountable.

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It means speaking up when silence, when silence will imply approval, right?

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Other times it means living by example, showing what it looks like to walk in obedience.

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Sometimes you don't have to say anything. You can just be the best Christian you are, Right.

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And then they'll and something about being the best Christians bring in the

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presence of God into those situations where they no longer you're not no longer

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asking you're they're like, can you help me?

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Can you help me? Or you make decisions. You know, I used to hang with you,

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go to this particular place, but I no longer do that.

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I can go with you to the park. We can go bike riding, but I won't be able to

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go with you to the bar or to the club or to the places, you know,

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where sin is running rampant.

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But we can still, you know, go to a bike ride.

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You know, pretty soon you stop hanging with them because not because you didn't

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like them as a friend, they just not doing the things that are helping you grow as a Christian, right?

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They're going on a downward spiral and you're deciding, I don't want to get

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caught up in that downward spiral.

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And you slowly begin to separate and they begin to notice.

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And they might ask you, what's going on?

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Well, you know, some things you're doing, you know, I've been reading my Bible

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lately and those things are not even fun anymore.

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And then you'll find out and they'll say, you know, they haven't been fun with, anymore with me either.

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Then they'll ask you, what do you do for fun now? And then you'll say,

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well, I do this, I do that. And there's some things happening at the church I get involved in.

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And then boom, who knows what happens next?

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Either A, they want to hang out with you going in your direction,

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or they go, girl, that's way too much.

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I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.

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And you meet them up on another day.

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So standing firm doesn't mean being confrontational, It just means being uncompromising

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and living out God's truth.

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Sometimes it means speaking up when silence would imply approval.

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Other times it means living by example alone.

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And what it looks like to walk in obedience, right? Some practical steps to resist complacency.

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Because complacency can come on you really quick. When you stop going forward

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with Jesus, you will slowly do the backslide.

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You know, what you call that Michael Jackson walk back thing, right?

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So there's three things to keep you accountable so that you can resist complacency.

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Number one, you want to stay in the word of God. The more we immerse ourselves

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in God's truth, the less susceptible we are to cultural lies.

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Number two, pray for strength. Ask God for courage to stand firm,

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even when it's uncomfortable.

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You'll be surprised how God will anoint you for a task.

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Lord, I need help. I want to talk to my friend about this. And he will give

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you that wisdom, maybe even a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge.

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So you can talk to that person at a more deeper level to help pull them out

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of that trap that Satan has them in.

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And number three, surround yourself with accountability. Fellowship with others

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who will encourage you to stay rooted in righteousness.

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So you want to stay in the word, pray for strength, and surround yourself with accountability.

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Don't be the lone wolf.

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Don't try to say, hey, I don't need any friends. You need some friends that

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pray for you. You need some friends to hold you accountable.

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So don't go into the devil's trap thinking you're gonna pull somebody out because

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you might get sucked in yourself, okay?

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So some things you can do as a call to action.

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So as we close, I want you to challenge, I wanna challenge you to examine your heart and actions.

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Are there areas where you've been complacent or approving of sins?

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This week, take time to confess those areas to God and ask him for strength

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to resist the pull of complacency, okay?

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And then remember, being vigilant means more than just avoiding sin.

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It's about actively standing for righteousness.

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When we refuse to approve of sin, we align ourselves with God's will and his truth.

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Next week, we'll continue with the final episode of the series.

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It's called Hope in the Mist of judgment, God's call to repentance.

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You don't want to miss it. So thank you again for joining me on Diary of a Black Woman.

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Stay blessed, stay vigilant, and continue to stand firm in your faith.

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I'm your host Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode.