WEBVTT
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This program is made
possible by the giving
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of the God called partners
of Renner Ministries.
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Get ready for a teaching
that feeds your spirit
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and your mind where the
word is the anchor in
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uncertain times.
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And doctrine doesn't bend to culture.
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We keep it simple,
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but dive deep revealing a
truth that strengthens us,
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a love that emboldens,
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and a mission that touches the world.
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Let's join Rick Renner.
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Welcome to today's program.
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My name is Rick Renner, and guess what?
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Today, Denise is with me.
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And Denise, I'm so glad you're with me.
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Thanks, Rick. I'm really glad
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to be a part of your program.
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And Denise, today we're
doing a brand new series.
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Okay, you ready for this?
We've never taught this ever
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before, but hey,
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we believe we're supposed to bring you teaching
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you can trust and we teach everything.
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So today and this week, we're doing a series. Are You Ready?
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It's called, Prejudiced - Me?
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Overcoming Prejudice in the
Church and in Your Life.
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This week is just going to be great.
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Don't miss one of the programs this week,
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but this comes with a study guide.
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And we're also offering you right now my two daily
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devotionals: Sparkling Gems from the Greek No.1
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and Sparkling Gems from the Greek,
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No.2. If you don't read them,
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you can lift weights with them.
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But these are really
wonderful daily devotionals
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and they will just open
the word of God to you.
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And if you don't have these, why not?
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You need to have a copy of
Sparkling Gems from the Greek,
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either Vol.I or Vol.II.
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And it doesn't matter
which one you begin with;
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you can start with either one of them,
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but they'll really take you
deeply into the wonderful
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word of God.
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But hey, we wanna pray for you.
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So if you've got a prayer indeed,
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just call the number on the
screen or send us an email.
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And the moment we hear from you,
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we're gonna really begin to pray.
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Denise can tell you, our
whole team can tell you
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that when we say we pray,
we really pray for people
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that reach out to us
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and we count it as one
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of the most important
parts of our ministry.
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So please call that number
or send us an email.
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And before we get into
today's teaching, I want
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to share two brief testimonies with you.
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Listen to this. One woman called to say how blessed she is
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by this ministry and how thankful she is for each one of us.
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She said, this ministry is priceless.
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She just read The Gift of Forgiveness by Denise,
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and she was so blessed by
it that she re-gifted it
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to a friend of hers,
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and now her friend is soaking
up every single thing from the
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book, and they're able
to have some discussions
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with each other about it,
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and soon they will share
it with more friends.
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Well, that is wonderful. And Denise,
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that really is an amazing book,
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Rick.
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It is, and it helps a lot of people.
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It really has. But hey I want to share one more testimony
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so listen to this one.
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One person called to say
thank you so much for you
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and your team and Pastor Rick and Denise.
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I ordered the RIV and it's so powerful
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and anointed that I can't put it down.
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And I just had to call
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and tell you. Thank you so much
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for letting us know the ministry is a blessing to you.
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And if you have a testimony,
we would love to hear it.
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So send us your testimony. It
will encourage me and Denise.
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But Denise, today we're gonna
dive into a pretty hot topic,
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the series called, Prejudiced - Me?
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And we need to reach for our bibles
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because we always use the
Bible in this program.
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I've got my Bible, I'm
calling today's teaching -
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So you think you are not Prejudiced.
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You know, when I was growing up,
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I didn't think I'd had
prejudiced bone in my body
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because we never had any
conversations in our home
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that would reflect any
degree of prejudice.
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But as I got older, I began
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to discover there were some
things in me that needed
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to be corrected by the Holy Spirit.
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But we're going to begin today
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and every day this week with James 2:1,
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where James says, My brethren have not the faith
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of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory with respect
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of persons.
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But here's the RIV of this verse. The RIV of James 2:
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1 says, My dearest brothers and comrades whom I cherish
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and treasure, you must not
be a respecter of persons.
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That is, you must not have, hold,
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and possess the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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the Lord of glory,
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and at the same time, judge others
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or base your acceptance of them by
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what you see in their external appearance.
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That's a really good interpretation
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of James 2:1.
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But this week we're
talking about prejudice
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so we have to begin with the meaning of the word prejudice.
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And Denise, the word, prejudice, means to pre-judge,
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to pre-judge.
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Though you've never met that person
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or you have no experience
with that group of people,
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you have a pre-judgment about them.
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That is what a prejudice is.
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It is an unreasonable
dislike of a particular group
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of people or things.
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It is an adverse opinion
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or leaning that is formed
usually without just grounds.
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It's a preconceived judgment
or preconceived opinion.
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And prejudices can strongly
influence how people behave
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and interact with others.
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Prejudice is often
subconscious. That's a fact.
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And it can affect people's
behavior without them even
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realizing it.
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Features of prejudice
include negative feelings
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and stereotyped beliefs about
members of a particular group.
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And when people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others
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of a certain group, they tend to view everyone in that group
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as being the same.
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And if prejudice gets out
of control, it can lead
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to discrimination:
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discrimination. Now I want us to go back
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to James 2:1.
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And Denise, I'm gonna read from the
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RIV. Are you ready for this?
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I'm ready.
James 2:1.
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While this is so powerful
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and my friends, I want
you to really hear this,
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and in James 2:1,
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the King James version says, My brethren, have not the faith
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of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory
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with respect of persons.
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But the RIV says; My dearest brothers
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and comrades whom I cherish
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and treasure, you must not
be a respecter of persons.
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That is, you must not have hold
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and possess the faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
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the Lord of glory
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and at the same time, judge others
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or base your acceptance of them by
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what you see in their external appearance.
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And I wanna read to you footnote No.232,
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which says the words, "Judge others
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or base your acceptance of them by
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what you see in their external appearance" are interpreted
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from a Greek word, which literally means looking at one's
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face or looking at one's external appearance.
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The Greek word is a compound of prosopan,
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which means peering directly
into the face of another.
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And the word, lambano, which
more often than not means
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to receive or to take.
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But when you compound these
two words together, it means
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to take your opinion
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or your judgment about somebody according to their face
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or according to their external appearance.
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And the Bible says this is evil.
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In fact, you're gonna see in the next programs,
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it is really evil when we judge people by their exterior.
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Isn't that amazing, Denise?
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It is amazing,
But let's continue.
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Judging others by outward
appearance is wrong.
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In fact, it is so wrong that in 1 Samuel 16:7,
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God stated very plainly,
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he does not look at man's outward appearance,
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but God looks at the heart.
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Well, if God looks at the heart,
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then we ought to look at the heart.
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And I want to say that being
prejudice is not the same
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as having a preference.
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For example, I have a preference for certain times of food.
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I really don't care for fish. It's just not my preference.
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But that is not being prejudiced, that's just a preference.
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But there are common ways
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that people develop judgmental
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or prejudicial attitudes about others.
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And I want to give you several examples.
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All right, Denise, are you ready?
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I'm ready.
When we were growing up,
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it was very prevalent for people to have black prejudice.
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Now, praise God today
that's beginning to go away.
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But when we were kids
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and when many of you were younger,
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you remember there was a time when there were separate
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schools for blacks
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and for whites. There were separate restaurants.
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And in fact, if you were in a regular restaurant
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and a white person walked in, it was so unusual
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that people would really take note of that.
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It was really a time when there was a lot
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of prejudice toward black people.
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Now maybe you were not
really aware of that.
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Just talk to a black person.
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They'll tell you that this is the truth.
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There was separate churches; black people
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and white people didn't go to the same church.
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There were separate drinking fountains.
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I can remember the white drinking fountain
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and the black drinking fountain.
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There were separate toilets;
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there was separate seating
in the movie theaters.
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I remember as a child
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that the white people
sat on the first floor
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and the black people sat in the balcony.
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There was separate seating
on public transportation.
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And there were even separate neighborhoods.
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You know, I grew up in a very small town outside of Tulsa,
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and we had one part of our town, which was called Blacktown,
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I'd never been there - I'd never been there.
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And one day when I was in high school, I drove one
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of my friends, who was black, home.
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And when I got to his neighborhood,
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I could not believe the conditions of that neighborhood
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and where we had relegated the black people
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to live in our little town.
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It was just horrible.
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And my friends, this is
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because prejudice still had a role in society
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in our town at that time. There were sundown towns.
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You say, what's a sundown town?
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A sundown town is a town where
black people were not allowed
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after sundown.
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Now here's Denise.
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Denise does not have a
prejudiced bone in her body,
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but she grew up in a little
town in northeastern Oklahoma
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that was a sundown town.
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And there was actually a sign outside
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that town which said - black people were not allowed
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after sundown. Isn't that amazing?
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It's terrible.
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In fact, one day I said to Denise,
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did you have any prejudice toward black
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people when you were growing up?
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And she said, no, I'd never met one.
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They weren't allowed in our town.
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Didn't have any prejudice toward them.
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I just had no experience with them. That is unthinkable.
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It is just terrible. And praise God, times are changing.
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Denise was trained operatically by an opera singer.
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He and his wife were black.
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They were fabulous opera singers. They were famous.
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His wife, who was one of
the premier opera singers
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of her age was not allowed
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to perform on stage in New York City
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because her skin was black.
258
00:11:29.670 --> 00:11:33.540
Now, praise God, most of that
today is beginning to go away,
259
00:11:33.540 --> 00:11:36.300
and we need to pray that
it entirely goes away.
260
00:11:36.300 --> 00:11:38.340
But there really was a
time when there was a lot
261
00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:40.500
of prejudice toward black people.
262
00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:43.140
But there are other kinds
of prejudice as well.
263
00:11:43.140 --> 00:11:45.630
There's prejudice toward white people.
264
00:11:45.630 --> 00:11:49.050
There is prejudice
toward Native Americans.
265
00:11:49.050 --> 00:11:51.390
There's prejudice toward Asians,
266
00:11:51.390 --> 00:11:54.040
there's prejudice towards Jews.
267
00:11:54.040 --> 00:11:56.230
People lump them all together, say they're all the same
268
00:11:56.230 --> 00:11:58.540
and have a particular idea about Jews.
269
00:11:58.540 --> 00:12:01.930
There's prejudice towards Germans, particularly
270
00:12:01.930 --> 00:12:03.700
after World War II.
271
00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:06.040
In fact, there was such
prejudice against Germans
272
00:12:06.040 --> 00:12:07.330
after World War II that one
273
00:12:07.330 --> 00:12:10.810
of my own relatives whose last name was Renner,
274
00:12:10.810 --> 00:12:14.170
changed his name to another name, a form of Renner
275
00:12:14.170 --> 00:12:16.450
but a little bit different
because he wanted people
276
00:12:16.450 --> 00:12:17.770
to think that he was French.
277
00:12:17.770 --> 00:12:19.870
He didn't want anybody to
think that he was a German
278
00:12:19.870 --> 00:12:22.120
because there was such prejudice against
279
00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:23.560
Germans at that time.
280
00:12:23.560 --> 00:12:27.190
There's Mexican prejudice, there's Chinese prejudice.
281
00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:31.000
Are you ready for this? There's slanted eyes, prejudice.
282
00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:34.870
And I'm gonna tell you something that really shocked me.
283
00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:38.140
When we moved to the Republic of Latvia
284
00:12:38.140 --> 00:12:41.560
more than three decades ago, everyone was white
285
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:45.610
and there was so much prejudice
286
00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:48.700
between the Latvians and the Russians.
287
00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:50.350
And I remember looking at them thinking they
288
00:12:50.350 --> 00:12:52.120
all look the same.
289
00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.490
They pretty much sound the same.
290
00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:58.600
So prejudice is not entirely
based on skin color.
291
00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:01.900
Prejudice can arise from all kinds of conflicts
292
00:13:01.900 --> 00:13:03.880
and past bitter experiences.
293
00:13:03.880 --> 00:13:07.240
And the Latvians and Russians,
ay, yay, the prejudice was
294
00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:09.430
so thick and they were all the same color,
295
00:13:09.430 --> 00:13:11.890
you could have nearly cut
it with a knife. Denise,
296
00:13:11.890 --> 00:13:15.400
Rick, I remember when
I was, you know, a child,
297
00:13:15.400 --> 00:13:17.620
and of course I didn't know
anything about prejudice.
298
00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:20.740
And then I found out
that there was prejudice
299
00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:22.630
between blacks and whites.
300
00:13:22.630 --> 00:13:26.170
Well, so I thought, oh, well
that means that you have
301
00:13:26.170 --> 00:13:27.370
to be a different color.
302
00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:29.620
That's why you're prejudice.
303
00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:34.090
And then I started
understanding people were
304
00:13:34.090 --> 00:13:36.820
prejudice against Indians.
305
00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:40.780
And I thought, I thought,
well, wait a minute,
306
00:13:40.780 --> 00:13:42.220
we're all the same color.
307
00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:43.570
And that's what I understood.
308
00:13:43.570 --> 00:13:47.080
It wasn't a prejudice, you
had to be a different color.
309
00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:49.870
It was something that
had to do with the heart.
310
00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:51.520
Well, even when you go to Europe,
311
00:13:51.520 --> 00:13:53.710
Europe is generally white,
312
00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:55.690
but there is prejudice that exists
313
00:13:55.690 --> 00:13:58.390
between the British and the French.
314
00:13:58.390 --> 00:14:00.010
The French and the Germans.
315
00:14:00.010 --> 00:14:01.420
The Germans and the Italians
316
00:14:01.420 --> 00:14:05.020
and the Polish, they're all
basically look the same.
317
00:14:05.020 --> 00:14:07.150
But there is real thick prejudice
318
00:14:07.150 --> 00:14:09.430
between these different people groups.
319
00:14:09.430 --> 00:14:13.000
And Asians can have prejudice against each other,
320
00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:14.620
though they're all Asian.
321
00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:18.220
And we have in our church in Moscow, a lot of Africans,
322
00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:22.030
and I'm gonna tell you the Africans may all be African,
323
00:14:22.030 --> 00:14:23.500
but they're from different nations
324
00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:26.980
and they have a lot of strong
feelings about each other.
325
00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:31.270
But, it's not all about skin color and nationality.
326
00:14:31.270 --> 00:14:32.740
There's other kinds of prejudice.
327
00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:36.220
For example, there's age prejudice
328
00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:39.100
where young people deem the old people
329
00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:41.530
as being old, useless.
330
00:14:41.530 --> 00:14:43.690
You just gotta take care of them.
331
00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:45.880
And there is young people prejudice,
332
00:14:45.880 --> 00:14:48.340
where older people look
at the younger people
333
00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:49.810
and have a prejudice against them.
334
00:14:49.810 --> 00:14:52.760
They're just young, they're inexperienced, they're selfish.
335
00:14:52.760 --> 00:14:54.710
All they do is live on their mobile devices
336
00:14:54.710 --> 00:14:56.270
and just judge them all.
337
00:14:56.270 --> 00:15:00.320
That's a form of a prejudice.
Or how about class prejudice?
338
00:15:01.250 --> 00:15:04.220
The rich have a prejudice
against the poor.
339
00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:07.400
The poor thing that the rich
are all wicked and evil.
340
00:15:07.400 --> 00:15:08.870
But you know, there's even prejudice
341
00:15:08.870 --> 00:15:12.110
between the poor. One poor class thinks they're better than
342
00:15:12.110 --> 00:15:13.610
another poor class.
343
00:15:13.610 --> 00:15:17.150
There is unmarried prejudice
344
00:15:17.150 --> 00:15:19.250
that if you hit a certain age
345
00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:20.630
and you're not married, then there's
346
00:15:20.630 --> 00:15:21.770
something wrong with you.
347
00:15:21.770 --> 00:15:24.050
There's something wrong with that person.
348
00:15:24.050 --> 00:15:26.090
That's a kind of a prejudice.
349
00:15:26.090 --> 00:15:30.200
There's educated, uneducated, prejudice. Educated people
350
00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.540
look down on those that are uneducated
351
00:15:32.540 --> 00:15:35.690
and the uneducated look down
on those that are educated
352
00:15:35.690 --> 00:15:36.950
and thinks that they're just snooty.
353
00:15:36.950 --> 00:15:39.830
I grew up in a neighborhood
where we didn't have a lot
354
00:15:39.830 --> 00:15:41.420
of real educated people,
355
00:15:41.420 --> 00:15:45.050
but when somebody became really educated, ah ya ya, we kind
356
00:15:45.050 --> 00:15:46.730
of had an opinion about them.
357
00:15:46.730 --> 00:15:49.700
They were now snooty because
they were so educated.
358
00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:51.890
This is a form of prejudice.
359
00:15:51.890 --> 00:15:54.320
There is disability prejudice
360
00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.630
where people have a
wrong opinion about those
361
00:15:56.630 --> 00:15:58.310
that have disabilities.
362
00:15:58.310 --> 00:16:01.640
There is a physical anomaly, prejudice
363
00:16:01.640 --> 00:16:03.020
where somebody is disfigured
364
00:16:03.020 --> 00:16:04.310
or they've got something wrong with them.
365
00:16:04.310 --> 00:16:07.580
People judge them, they have
a prejudice against them.
366
00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.100
There is a voice prejudice.
367
00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:12.890
I think about our precious
friend, Terry Foy.
368
00:16:12.890 --> 00:16:14.750
She's such a fabulous speaker.
369
00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:16.910
She's got a really unique voice,
370
00:16:16.910 --> 00:16:18.740
really gives her a distinction.
371
00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:21.680
But sometimes she's been prejudged by people
372
00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:23.450
because of her voice.
373
00:16:23.450 --> 00:16:25.730
People like people with lower voices.
374
00:16:25.730 --> 00:16:28.070
They usually don't care for
people with higher voices.
375
00:16:28.070 --> 00:16:30.560
It's a kind of a vocal prejudice.
376
00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.690
Or how about orphan prejudice?
377
00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:35.870
Oh, you know, these orphans
can't trust these orphans.
378
00:16:35.870 --> 00:16:38.840
They're all thieves. They're rejects.
379
00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:42.890
Or how about homeless person prejudice?
380
00:16:42.890 --> 00:16:44.540
This is really bad
381
00:16:44.540 --> 00:16:47.690
because people generally
tend to have a prejudice
382
00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:49.370
that homeless people are people
383
00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:51.560
that just were not serious about life.
384
00:16:51.560 --> 00:16:53.990
They're drug addicts, they're alcoholics.
385
00:16:53.990 --> 00:16:56.450
But you know what solved this for me?
386
00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:57.710
In our church in Moscow,
387
00:16:57.710 --> 00:17:00.500
we have a huge outreach to the homeless.
388
00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:01.910
And I came to understand most
389
00:17:01.910 --> 00:17:04.670
of them are extremely educated people
390
00:17:04.670 --> 00:17:07.850
who at one time were tremendously successful
391
00:17:07.850 --> 00:17:10.160
and they hit hard times in their life.
392
00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:13.460
I had had a wrong attitude
about homeless people,
393
00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:17.060
but many people have a
prejudice toward the homeless.
394
00:17:17.060 --> 00:17:19.190
Or how about sex prejudice?
395
00:17:20.090 --> 00:17:22.040
People that have a prejudice against men
396
00:17:22.040 --> 00:17:24.230
or they have a prejudice against women,
397
00:17:24.230 --> 00:17:26.990
or how about a prejudice
against women bosses?
398
00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:28.310
Or how about this?
399
00:17:28.310 --> 00:17:33.260
The kids in the house, people
have a preconceived opinion
400
00:17:33.260 --> 00:17:36.950
that the oldest child is
always the overachiever
401
00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:40.040
who got everything at the
very beginning of everything.
402
00:17:40.040 --> 00:17:42.620
The middle child is always the neutral
403
00:17:42.620 --> 00:17:44.270
child in the negotiator.
404
00:17:44.270 --> 00:17:46.520
They have a prejudice or
a preconceived opinion
405
00:17:46.520 --> 00:17:50.310
that the youngest child often
is treated better than anybody
406
00:17:50.310 --> 00:17:52.230
else and they're the most spoiled.
407
00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:55.860
These are all preconceived
judgmental attitudes.
408
00:17:55.860 --> 00:17:58.380
Or how about hair color, prejudice:
409
00:17:59.310 --> 00:18:01.230
blondes, redheads.
410
00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:03.480
You know those redheads, they're all hotheads.
411
00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:05.880
That's a kind of a prejudice.
412
00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:07.860
Well, and they had those blonde jokes.
413
00:18:07.860 --> 00:18:09.930
Oh,
That they're all stupid.
414
00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.480
Or how about tattoo prejudice?
415
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:13.800
You see somebody with a tattoo,
416
00:18:13.800 --> 00:18:16.110
you immediately have a judgment of them.
417
00:18:16.110 --> 00:18:19.470
That's a kind of a prejudice.
Or how about bodybuilders?
418
00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:22.380
They're all muscles and no brains.
419
00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:24.960
Or how about people with beards?
420
00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.810
Some people have a beard prejudice. They're okay
421
00:18:27.810 --> 00:18:31.080
with some beards, but they're
not okay with other beards.
422
00:18:31.080 --> 00:18:33.510
They've kind of got a
prejudice about beards
423
00:18:33.510 --> 00:18:35.130
and different kinds of beards.
424
00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:36.360
Or how about this?
425
00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:40.200
Families with no children prejudice.
426
00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:43.380
That couple has no children.
427
00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:45.600
They're just selfish
and living for themself.
428
00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:48.150
You don't know that; that's a prejudice,
429
00:18:48.150 --> 00:18:51.030
a preconceived judgment that is not right.
430
00:18:51.030 --> 00:18:52.350
Or how about families
431
00:18:52.350 --> 00:18:55.650
with a lot of children prejudice. Today, there's a lot
432
00:18:55.650 --> 00:18:58.830
of prejudice toward families with multiple children;
433
00:18:58.830 --> 00:19:00.630
oh they're just uneducated;
434
00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:03.390
they're irresponsible just having child after child.
435
00:19:03.390 --> 00:19:04.980
What in the world are they doing?
436
00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:08.220
That's a kind of a prejudice. Or how about mother-in-law
437
00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:12.030
prejudice? How about name prejudice?
438
00:19:12.030 --> 00:19:14.520
Somebody said to me one
time, I would never work
439
00:19:14.520 --> 00:19:16.980
with anybody whose name was Wolf.
440
00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:19.290
He had prejudged somebody named Wolf just
441
00:19:19.290 --> 00:19:21.390
because that was their name.
442
00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:23.490
How about prisoner prejudice
443
00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:25.890
or how about medication prejudice?
444
00:19:25.890 --> 00:19:27.810
Or you're just over-medicated;
445
00:19:27.810 --> 00:19:29.310
you just don't know how to handle your life.
446
00:19:29.310 --> 00:19:31.950
There's like a prejudged opinion about them
447
00:19:31.950 --> 00:19:33.660
because they're on medication.
448
00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:37.920
Or how about former drug addict prejudice?
449
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:41.010
One, a drug addict, always a drug addict, my friend,
450
00:19:41.010 --> 00:19:42.720
that is not the truth.
451
00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:45.720
That is a predetermined
judgment that is wrong.
452
00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.950
Or how about weight prejudice?
Oh, that person's overweight.
453
00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:53.910
They're just undisciplined.
You don't know that.
454
00:19:53.910 --> 00:19:57.600
And there is a prejudice
against skinny people.
455
00:19:57.600 --> 00:20:00.960
They just don't seem to be so
substantial. You can't win.
456
00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:02.280
You're either too heavy
457
00:20:02.280 --> 00:20:04.320
or you're not heavy enough
that there's all kinds
458
00:20:04.320 --> 00:20:06.570
of prejudice about weight.
459
00:20:06.570 --> 00:20:10.980
Or how about foreigner prejudice or immigrant prejudice?
460
00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:13.860
My friends, the list goes on and on and on.
461
00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:18.860
There's even city prejudice.
Denise, I live in Moscow.
462
00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.000
Moscow thinks it's wonderful.
463
00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.550
In fact, it thinks it's better than St. Petersburg and St.
464
00:20:23.550 --> 00:20:26.970
Petersburg People think they're better than Moscowits.
465
00:20:26.970 --> 00:20:29.070
You see, there's all kinds of prejudice.
466
00:20:29.070 --> 00:20:32.190
Or how about this accent prejudice?
467
00:20:32.190 --> 00:20:34.020
Have you ever thought about it?
468
00:20:34.020 --> 00:20:37.080
Some people have a prejudice
against Northerners
469
00:20:37.080 --> 00:20:39.360
because of their accent.
470
00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:42.720
And the Northerners have a
prejudice against southerners
471
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.700
who have a draw and speak slowly
472
00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:46.230
and kinda deem them to be slow
473
00:20:46.230 --> 00:20:48.490
and maybe unintellectual; my friends,
474
00:20:48.490 --> 00:20:52.720
there's all kinds of prejudice in the world, including
475
00:20:53.770 --> 00:20:58.390
musical prejudice, artistic
prejudice, worship, prejudice,
476
00:20:58.390 --> 00:21:00.310
denominational prejudice.
477
00:21:00.310 --> 00:21:04.420
Ah, ya, yi: prejudice is not normal.
478
00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:07.990
No one is born with prejudice.
479
00:21:07.990 --> 00:21:11.050
It's given to you by your environment
480
00:21:11.050 --> 00:21:13.900
or by the people that you
know or you've developed it
481
00:21:13.900 --> 00:21:15.880
because of a bad experience.
482
00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:18.880
But my friends prejudice is not natural.
483
00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.040
No one is born with prejudice.
484
00:21:21.040 --> 00:21:24.100
It is acquired from an outside source.
485
00:21:24.100 --> 00:21:28.390
It's taught by people who transfer their bad experiences
486
00:21:28.390 --> 00:21:30.880
to you or to someone else.
487
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.480
And my friends. It is
ungodly and it is wicked.
488
00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:38.470
And there is no room for prejudice in your life
489
00:21:38.470 --> 00:21:41.080
or in the house of God.
490
00:21:41.080 --> 00:21:45.040
Now today we have just laid out a lot about different kinds
491
00:21:45.040 --> 00:21:47.980
of prejudice, and I want
you to think about it.
492
00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:50.410
Do you have any form of
prejudice in your life?
493
00:21:50.410 --> 00:21:53.890
And if it is in your life,
you need to identify it
494
00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:55.420
and repent of it
495
00:21:55.420 --> 00:22:00.420
and not judge people by
their external appearance.
496
00:22:00.820 --> 00:22:02.365
Denise has been a good start.
497
00:22:02.365 --> 00:22:05.290
Really good start.
Hey, we've got more to say to you
498
00:22:05.290 --> 00:22:06.670
and we'll be back in just a moment.
499
00:22:14.830 --> 00:22:17.140
This is Rick Renner and someone has asked the question -
500
00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:21.190
Why do Christians sometimes suffer really hard times?
501
00:22:21.190 --> 00:22:24.460
Well, my friend, there's an enemy out there called the devil
502
00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:27.310
that doesn't want you to be victorious,
503
00:22:27.310 --> 00:22:30.940
but you have everything you need to overcome the devil
504
00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:32.470
and everything that is in the world.
505
00:22:32.470 --> 00:22:36.430
But in 1 Thessalonians 2:18,
506
00:22:36.430 --> 00:22:37.570
the apostle Paul said
507
00:22:37.570 --> 00:22:42.010
that even himself experienced
times when Satan hindered him.
508
00:22:42.010 --> 00:22:44.920
And that word hindered means
to throw up our roadblock
509
00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.100
to stop you from getting
where you need to go.
510
00:22:48.100 --> 00:22:51.400
And my friends, the devil
is terrified of you.
511
00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:54.280
He's terrified of the
power that lives in you and
512
00:22:54.280 --> 00:22:57.880
therefore, sometimes he tries to hinder us.
513
00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:02.110
I write in our story called Unlikely about all the times the
514
00:23:02.110 --> 00:23:03.310
devil tried to hinder us.
515
00:23:03.310 --> 00:23:06.160
But guess what? If you'll keep walking with God,
516
00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:08.920
if you'll use the promises of God's word and the armor
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00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:12.280
which God has given in the power of the Spirit, you can push
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00:23:12.280 --> 00:23:16.450
through any moment when you
feel you are being hindered.
519
00:23:17.350 --> 00:23:19.600
We are to be imitators of Christ.
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00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:22.330
Following closely in his footsteps,
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00:23:22.330 --> 00:23:24.160
Jesus walked in unconditional
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00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.320
and unbiased love for others.
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00:23:26.320 --> 00:23:29.230
As believers, we should do the same.
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00:23:29.230 --> 00:23:31.480
Joined by his wife, Denise, Rick Renner
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00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:34.120
address the hindrance a prejudiced heart can bring
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00:23:34.120 --> 00:23:38.020
to the church and why it has no place in the body of Christ.
527
00:23:38.020 --> 00:23:41.290
The Lord has crafted each and
every one of us in his image.
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00:23:41.290 --> 00:23:44.560
In this 5-part series, Prejudiced - Me? Rick
529
00:23:44.560 --> 00:23:47.840
and Denise cover: what it means to be prejudiced, the cause
530
00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:50.660
and effect of prejudice in scripture, our oneness
531
00:23:50.660 --> 00:23:53.660
with the Lord as believers, how to change the posture
532
00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:55.610
of your heart - available in digital
533
00:23:55.610 --> 00:23:58.640
or physical formats, starting at just $11.
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00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.460
Overcome the negative connotations you may have placed on
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00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:04.910
others and lead a life of love pleasing to the Lord.
536
00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:06.830
In addition to this teaching series,
537
00:24:06.830 --> 00:24:09.380
we are also offering you the guided devotionals,
538
00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:11.420
Sparkling Gems I and II.
539
00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:14.690
Rick Renner offers a masterful
blend of personal memories,
540
00:24:14.690 --> 00:24:16.730
intriguing historical perspective,
541
00:24:16.730 --> 00:24:19.730
and valuable insights into
the believer's role in this
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00:24:19.730 --> 00:24:23.360
present hour. With more than 1000 in-depth, Greek word
543
00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:27.860
studies, crafted into 365 daily devotions that are sure
544
00:24:27.860 --> 00:24:30.740
to inspire and provoke you to
plunge deeper into your own
545
00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:33.440
search for more hidden treasures from God's Word.
546
00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:37.370
Order Sparkling Gems I & II for just $45 each.
547
00:24:37.370 --> 00:24:40.730
Don't miss this special offer of the bundle: Prejudiced-Me?
548
00:24:40.730 --> 00:24:42.890
and Sparkling Gems I & II.
549
00:24:42.890 --> 00:24:44.810
Call the number on your screen now
550
00:24:44.810 --> 00:24:46.940
or go to runner.org to order.
551
00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:48.590
Call or go online now.
552
00:24:53.150 --> 00:24:56.150
Hey friends, this is Rick Renner and guess where I am.
553
00:24:56.150 --> 00:25:00.200
I'm seated in the foyer of the
Tulsa Ministry headquarters
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00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:01.850
and I love this foyer.
555
00:25:01.850 --> 00:25:04.250
First of all, when you come
in here immediately you
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00:25:04.250 --> 00:25:05.840
feel excellence.
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00:25:05.840 --> 00:25:07.100
We wanted it to be beautiful,
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00:25:07.100 --> 00:25:08.720
but we didn't spend a lot of money to do it
559
00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:11.780
because we're very careful with the funds that we receive.
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00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:14.360
But the reason I love this foyer is
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00:25:14.360 --> 00:25:16.670
because of what's on the walls
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00:25:16.670 --> 00:25:18.680
and on the wall behind the camera
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00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:21.230
and right over here, there are big displays
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00:25:21.230 --> 00:25:24.350
of letters which we received
from Russian viewers in the
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00:25:24.350 --> 00:25:28.700
early years when we were
getting so much mail,
566
00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:31.880
we stopped counting the mail by the pieces
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00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:34.910
and started counting the mail by the tons.
568
00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.660
I am not exaggerating when
I tell you that we received
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00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:42.620
between 80 and 100 tons
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00:25:42.620 --> 00:25:46.550
of mail from people that
were reaching out to us,
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00:25:46.550 --> 00:25:48.775
and we answered every single letter.
572
00:25:48.775 --> 00:25:50.420
And you know, to answer
every letter, you gotta pay
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00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:53.360
for stationary, you
gotta pay for envelopes,
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00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:54.440
you gotta pay for stamps.
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00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:56.840
People don't think about
what it costs to answer
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00:25:56.840 --> 00:25:58.190
that kind of mail.
577
00:25:58.190 --> 00:26:00.710
But my friends, it was a
massive amount of money just
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00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:02.210
to respond to that mail.
579
00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:05.180
But we did it because of our partners.
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00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:07.220
And now from this facility,
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00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:09.110
we've taken ministry to the next level.
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00:26:09.110 --> 00:26:11.750
We're not just reaching Russia, we're reaching
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00:26:11.750 --> 00:26:16.040
around the planet with television and all kinds of media.
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00:26:16.040 --> 00:26:19.490
And this office in
Tulsa responds to people
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00:26:19.490 --> 00:26:22.760
that are reaching out to
us from around the world.
586
00:26:22.760 --> 00:26:25.040
And because we have this
facility, we're able
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00:26:25.040 --> 00:26:28.640
to do this professionally and excellently.
588
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:31.370
And I want to say thank you for helping us
589
00:26:31.370 --> 00:26:33.410
to purchase this facility.
590
00:26:33.410 --> 00:26:35.570
And if you're not already a
member of our giving team,
591
00:26:35.570 --> 00:26:38.000
please pray about being a part
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00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:39.980
of the Ministry Expansion Project.
593
00:26:42.770 --> 00:26:44.550
Hey, thanks for being with us today.
594
00:26:44.550 --> 00:26:47.820
We're teaching the new series called, Prejudiced-Me?
595
00:26:48.750 --> 00:26:52.140
Overcoming Prejudice in the Church and in Your Life.
596
00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:54.180
It comes with a great study guide,
597
00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:57.060
and right now we're offering you my two daily devotionals
598
00:26:57.060 --> 00:26:59.820
called Sparkling Gems from the Greek, No.1
599
00:26:59.820 --> 00:27:01.350
and No.2.
600
00:27:01.350 --> 00:27:04.260
You can order all these
things by going online
601
00:27:04.260 --> 00:27:05.370
or by giving us a call.
602
00:27:05.370 --> 00:27:08.910
And please, please, please
let us know how to pray
603
00:27:08.910 --> 00:27:11.880
for you when you reach out to us.
604
00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.700
In fact, Denise and I wanna
pray for you right now.
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00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:16.590
So put your hand on your heart.
606
00:27:16.590 --> 00:27:19.560
Father, we thank you that you
are transforming us into the
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00:27:19.560 --> 00:27:21.060
image of Jesus
608
00:27:21.060 --> 00:27:24.180
and Lord, we want you to
remove from us any form
609
00:27:24.180 --> 00:27:26.580
of prejudice we have in our life
610
00:27:26.580 --> 00:27:31.140
because you say clearly in James 2:1, it is not right
611
00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:34.590
to judge people on the basis of their external appearance.
612
00:27:34.590 --> 00:27:39.510
So liberate us from this, in Jesus' name, Amen - Amen.
613
00:27:39.510 --> 00:27:40.950
We'll Be back tomorrow,
614
00:27:40.950 --> 00:27:44.005
but until then, remember Ecclesiastes 8:4 says,
615
00:27:44.005 --> 00:27:47.220
"Where the word of a king is, there is power."
616
00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:50.460
If you've never received Jesus as your Savior
617
00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:54.840
and Lord, now is the time for
you to experience a new life
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00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:56.970
Jesus has to give you.
619
00:27:56.970 --> 00:28:01.050
Pray this prayer with me right now; Lord,
620
00:28:01.050 --> 00:28:05.100
I repent of my sin and receive you as my Savior
621
00:28:05.100 --> 00:28:08.070
and Lord. Wash away my sin
622
00:28:08.070 --> 00:28:11.070
and make me completely new.
623
00:28:11.070 --> 00:28:14.880
I thank you that my sin is removed
624
00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:19.880
and Satan no longer has any
right to lay claim on me.
625
00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:24.390
I faithfully promise that I will serve you as my Lord
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00:28:24.390 --> 00:28:26.100
for the rest of my life.
627
00:28:26.970 --> 00:28:27.803
Amen.