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Not everything bad that happens to you is God trying to form himself inside of you.

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Too many Christians, they're actually just reaping the harvest off of their own bad decisions.

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No, a lot of stuff that happens to people is not at all from God.

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It's a consequence of their own decisions or it's a demonic attack and that should be withstood.

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Not tools that God uses to perfect you.

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Heaven is not so bankrupt that it must rely on the tools and resources of hell to perfect the saints.

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Welcome to the City Light Church podcast.

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Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us.

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If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com

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that's citylightnyc.com.

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Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds.

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As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God,

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that you are surrounded by His grace and that He has a real hope and a future for you.

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I want to just pray for what's happening in Iran because it's the Christian thing to do.

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It's what we're commanded to do in the Bible and so we're to pray.

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What does the Bible say to pray for kings, for rulers, for all who are in authority and there's

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a reason why we're supposed to pray? The Bible says that we could live a peace of a life,

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go about in godliness, and most importantly that the word of God would have free course.

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Hallelujah. But I just got to say that I don't love that we're there.

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It's why do you have to say that? I hear this. You'd be surprised how much gets back to me.

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Why doesn't passage just preach the gospel? That's what he's supposed to do.

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Because it's all intertwined. You don't want to hear what I have to say,

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but you listen to every meme that algo feeds you? You develop your worldview from a bunch of memes,

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and that's how you form your opinion on what's happening. Some of you don't even have an opinion

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until you're told what your opinion should be. Look what happened. We're bombing Iran.

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Quick, let me see how I should feel about this. What does my tribe say I ought to feel about?

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Come on, you know it's true. And if we're to go to war, I think it's a fair question to ask,

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how does this benefit me? How does this benefit the average? I mean, if we're going to war,

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of course it's not called a formal war, but you know what I mean? We've had many wars,

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there weren't called wars, with no formal declaration of war. But how does this benefit the average

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citizen? It doesn't. And then of course you should not like being lied to. And so one of the

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main reasons we were told we're doing this in Iran is because of an imminent nuclear threat,

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right? That wasn't just me who saw that. It was repeated over and over again.

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Yet it wasn't even that long ago in the summertime. Remember when we sent that bunker buster?

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And the next day all the news and government officials were reporting that we sent their nuclear

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program back decades. But then six months later it's an imminent threat.

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God, you see, you're wondering what I'm saying or a lot of people want to go to war here.

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Hallelujah. But what we want to pray is that in the midst of a great mess,

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God would still bless that he would get in there and somehow behind the scenes work it out

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for his glory. Amen. Hallelujah. But we shouldn't get excited. I mean we're not defending anything.

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We're not being invaded.

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And lives are being lost.

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So what's our responsibility? Our responsibility is to pray. Hallelujah.

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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, you are infinitely wise. You are all together mighty

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and we pray that your plans and your purposes would be wrought forth, that you would arrange it

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and change it and organize it so that this is good for the kingdom and this is good for the

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propagation of the gospel and this is good for the king's reign and for righteousness.

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Father, we pray that you would move upon governmental leaders here and abroad

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that they would be swayed and moved by the Holy Spirit and we believe the blood of Jesus.

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Father, that we would have a peace of life, that we would be able to walk with you in

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godliness and that the word of God would have free course. In Jesus name, amen. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. I mean on the bright side, if you were looking for maybe a little pieter,

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one bedroom condo in Dubai, now is the time. Now I've had my eye on one for a while and I hear

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it's up to 70% off right now. So last week during that terrible, terrible blizzard,

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I was so proud of you. This place was packed second service last week. You all said,

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blizzard, smizzard, I'm going to church. You know, I was saying I'm preparing a message

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on the sons of Ishikar who had an understanding and discernment of the times and the seasons

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that they lived in and I'd like to announce to you this morning that I'm still preparing it.

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And when I finally do preach it one day and I pray that day would be next Sunday,

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you'll understand why because it will challenge all of us

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and my goal is for us to be an awakened and alert people and to know what's happening in this

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world around us, to know what forces are pushing us and manipulating us and the sad realities is

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that not too many people are awakened and they're not alert. You know, media is lying on stop so

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where do you get your news information from? Well, it's a lot harder. You've got to get it from

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all different sources. You have to know the overarching agenda and then you got to take it by

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piecemeal and figure it out yourself. But most people are too passive and lazy, frankly, to do that.

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So they just go feed me and tell me what I should know and how I should feel about it.

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And then they wonder why their life is stuck and why it seems like they're constantly in a swirl

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and they can't figure out what's happening. Then they just get angry. It's for us to know and to have

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an understanding of the times and the seasons that we're with and once again, too many people,

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they get their entire global ends, their entire world view, they may not even be aware of it

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from a collection of memes. You know why memes are so powerful? That always was powerful. If you go

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back hundreds of years, I mean, this country used memes but just not digital ones. It was sad

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tire cartoons to rebel to form this nation and to rebel against Britain. That war was one

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through memes. Amen. So you can look them up. You can see the little sad tire cartoons,

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those illustrators back then. So that's my long wife saying I won't be preaching what I promised

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I'd be preaching. But the good news is I have a message for you. And I was wrestling this week.

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Oh, what should I do? And then finally the Lord spoke through my wife. He did. And she said,

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you know, people are really hurting. And I'm very aware of that. And I want to minister to those

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who are in a place of pain. Maybe you're hurting so much. You're like, I don't want to have an

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understanding of the times and the seasons and just I'm in the pit and I want some hope that I'm

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going to get out of the pit. Good news. You came to the right Sunday service because I'm preaching on

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how to get through a hard time. And that's just like my PG version of the title. I mean,

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really what I should call it is how to overcome a crisis that feels like it's going to kill you.

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How to get through a hard time. Amen. Number one. And I got 10 of these with 10 corresponding

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scriptures. Number one, here's a starting point, except in your heart that it's part of your

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calling. Amen. It's part of the call. First Peter 412. We got to stop being shocked by difficulty.

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Amen. Fire is not foreign to faith. Fire is formative to faith. And first Peter, I mean,

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Peter wrote in first Peter, not knowing that there would be a second Peter, but he wrote,

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beloved, do not think it's strange. Now, wonder why he said that. He said that because many of us

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think it's strange. Whenever it's not easy street, whenever we don't feel like we're on vacation,

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when it's difficult, we go, wow, I wonder why. You know, and that's right then where you go on

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social media and everybody's throwing their top picks, you're going, man, everybody's got it's

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so easy. And nobody's hurting. And nobody's suffering. By me, I can barely get up out of the

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morning. And what's wrong? Don't think it's strange. And don't believe the hype you see on social

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media. All that glitters is not gold. In fact, the more positive someone's social media is,

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the more I get concerned, right? Past your mouth. Because it's usually the couple that's

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incestantly posting, oh, we're here. Oh, now we're here. Look at us. We're just having them.

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And then we got a call. We're getting divorced. What?

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Amen. But anyway, keep your eyes off of others.

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Someone's like, Pastor, your social media is pretty positive. I know. I'm crying out for help.

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Somebody come and minister to me. You don't know what we're going through.

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Beloved. Do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as those

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some strange thing happened to you. Now, very important to distinguish. Most suffering is not

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from God. Not everything bad that happens to you is God trying to form himself inside of you.

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That's reality. And too many Christians, they're actually just reaping the harvest off of their

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own bad decisions. And then ago, God is pushing me through the fire to get me refined as gold.

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No. A lot of stuff that happens to people is not at all from God. It's the consequence of their

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own decisions or it's a demonic attack. And that should be withstood. Amen. Sickness disease,

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not tools that God uses. Freak accidents, devastation, not tools that God uses to perfect you.

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Amen. Heaven is not so bankrupt that it must rely on the tools and resources of hell to

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perfect the saints. But there are trials. There are tribulations. There are difficult times.

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Jesus said, in this world, you will have tribulations. But fear not for I have overcome the world.

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So at times, we will feel like we're getting squeezed. At times, we will feel like it's just

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difficult to put one foot in front of the other. And when that happens, number one, don't think it's

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strange. Don't think that you're weird. What did you do to deserve this? But understand that there

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is a formation from the Lord. And you really will come out better once you get through it.

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Probably the most difficult season of my life. At least top three was the first five to seven

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years of city life church. So we're going over 24 years ago. Actually, it'll only be 24. I keep

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rounding up to 25 because quarter of a century has a nice ring to it. But I've been in full-time

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ministry nearly 26 years, 25 years presently. But city life will be 24. March the 17th.

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We'll be 24. That means like in human terms, we just came out of college and are wondering like how

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to make sense of this world. Amen. Just trying to get our bearings at 24. But that was a difficult

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season. You say, how did you feel? This is what I tell people. I felt all the time like my

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intestines were coming out of my nostrils. That's how I felt. I felt like I was pressed on every

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side. And did I still find pleasure in something? Yeah, I had those times. But my default state was,

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God, help me. Because I feel like I'm perishing. Very uncomfortable. But now,

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now I've learned so much through that agonizing season. And I've allowed him through that

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season to do a spiritual formation in me that now certain things that would normally bother me,

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don't bother me at all. And he uses these seasons to get you to a place where you can actually

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grow and withstand the magnitude of the blessing that he wants to put on you. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. You know his way is glory to glory. His way is promotion to promotion.

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God, can you can we just agree on that? There's a lot of people who think that God is just like

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he's content to put a seedling in the ground and then just watch it stand still. That's not how

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we built this earth. That's not how we built this universe. That seedling will grow and grow. And out

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of an acorn will become a mighty oak tree. Amen. His way is progress. His way is growth. His way is

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abundance and prosperity. He wants you growing. He wants you expanding. There's just one problem.

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And a wise philosopher, ancient man by the name of Biggie Smalls. He really hit the bullseye when

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he said, mo money, mo problems. And I found that to be true. Mo fame, mo problems,

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mo influence, mo problems, mo of anything, mo problems. So what, what is a Christian to do?

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When you embrace the process, it won't be mo problems. He will work himself out in you so that

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you can withstand and carry the magnitude of the blessing he wants to bring your way. Hallelujah.

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How many of you, you know what I'm talking about? And look back on the past trial now you're

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through. And if I asked you, hey, if you could hit a button and make that trial, never to have

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happened, would you hit that button? Say louder. You wouldn't hit that button because you know

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you're better having come through. Your capacity is larger. Capacity is an important thing.

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Solomon is, I don't preach about Solomon as enough. Solomon is awesome. Solomon did great things

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for the Lord. But before he did any of those things, the Bible says that God gave him

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largeness of heart. What is that? His internal capacity. You know, some people don't have a big

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capacity. They're content to just go sit in a cubicle and say, don't overwhelm me with anything

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more. But God wants to stretch your capacity so he can give you more and do more through you.

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And so before Solomon went on and became king and built a temple and his empire was vast,

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God gave him largeness of heart. He stretched out his inward capacity. You look at maybe you have

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heroes who are entrepreneurs and billionaires and you know, they're not chilling out playing

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Xbox all day. They're like living the life of eight people in one life. They have a huge inward

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capacity and you're not going to get that from a book. You're going to get it from the Lord.

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Amen. You can you can pray that per Lord what you did in Solomon doing me. Give me largeness

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of heart. Hallelujah. Number two, you got to fix your eyes. You can't fix your circumstances.

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You got to fix your eyes. Hebrews 12 12. Hebrews 12 12 12 12 to excuse me looking unto Jesus the

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author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was said before him endured the cross

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despisingly shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The key part of that

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verse in this context is looking unto Jesus because what you behold you will become.

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And I've been around the world now over 50 nations and I've heard this when I was in

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Bible school and I thought I wonder if that's true and I found it to be true that people groups

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like we were just up in the Mayan Mountains, not normal Guatemala, Indigenous, direct descendants of

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the Mayans, Yisheel people, they have a different physiognomy. They look different. I heard it said

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that people who worship idols who worship false gods over time they begin to actually look and

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resemble like the idols that they worship. And if you look at mine idols they look a lot square

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heads short and stature. I just say things like it's 1982 I don't care but it'll help you.

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You become like what you behold. And so Satan's job is to get you to look at the circumstances.

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When Jesus was walking on the water, Peter, he was the only one so bold. He said, I want to walk

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on water. Master, tell me to, Peter was smart. He knew that if you got the word of the Lord he could

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stand on the word of the Lord. He said, bid me to come. And Jesus, he just gave him one word, come.

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And Peter leaps out of the boat. I know in the paintings they showed like a little canoe,

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all 12 of them. It wasn't a canoe on that giant lake which is really a sea. It was a large boat,

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it was high. Peter could have jumped anywhere from 10 to 15 feet off to land on the water.

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And he didn't sink. He stood. What was he standing on? Not really the water. He was standing on

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Jesus' word, come. And whenever you do something, whenever you're standing supernaturally you'll

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be standing on the word of the Lord for your life. That's why the word of the Lord is key.

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That's why we got scriptures for every single point or that's why we had managed you to

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know the word, be biblically literate because the word is what upholds you and sustains you, amen.

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Nothing to really do with this sermon, but it's a good thing to interject anytime.

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But Peter is now standing, right? There's a storm. Peter standing on the word, Jesus come.

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So he's walking on water. And then the Bible says something interesting. It says, when he saw

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the wind, boisterous. So he pictured Jesus and Peter, and Peter is walking toward Jesus.

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And as long as he's looking at Jesus, walking towards him, he's walking supernaturally on water.

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But then the wind started to whip past his head. It started to howl and he saw the height of the waves.

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And he took his eyes off of Jesus and he saw the wind boisterous. And instantly he began to sink

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because he took his eyes off of Jesus. And Jesus being Jesus, of course, so loving, grabbed his arm,

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hoisted him back up. But the lesson in there is to look at Jesus.

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And the devil will try to get you to look at the problem. Look at the problem. What is anxiety?

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It is a constant meditation on the problem. But look at Jesus. So how do you do that?

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You got to figure out for yourself how that works for you. I can share what works for me.

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There's several things that work for me. One thing that I found is when I'm going through it,

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we're not talking about your normal walk with the Lord. We're not talking about when you feel

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like your back is against the wall. I will come and I will just be before the Lord for five,

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ten minutes. If you can go longer, congratulations, I can go longer. I'm just saying five to ten

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minutes, you can do many of those sets. You know, you can do one a day, ten sets of ten.

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You go to pray and you just behold him. Just behold him. Just look at him. Now when I say,

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look at him, I'm not imagining, I'm not picturing Catholic Jesus. I'm not imagining a white man

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with a brown beard, long flowing hair. Who are you imagining? I don't know. I don't know what he

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looked like. But you know what I'm talking about if you've done it. You're still beholding him.

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You're beholding his beauty. You're beholding his history with you. His nature has revealed in

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the scriptures. His character has revealed in the scriptures. You just go to pray and you're thinking

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you're thinking to him. You're meditating. I didn't even go, you're the one who saved me.

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You're the one who came from heaven to earth. You're the one who bled for me. You're the one who made

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all these promises in the Old Testament and then fulfilled every single one. Not one of your words

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has fallen to the ground. You're faithful and you'll be faithful to me. Yes, you're that one. You're

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the one who knows the end from the beginning. You're the one who holds the universe in your hand

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and you hold me in your hand. Oh, I behold you. I look at you. I behold you. I'm looking onto

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Jesus, the author and the finisher of my faith. Can you do that? Yes, you can. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Beholding him. Glance at your problems. Stir at him. Hallelujah.

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Number three, this is important. Guard your mind ruthlessly. Your mind is where the battle is.

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Consequently, your mind has to become like a steel trap.

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Have you ever seen a bear trap? You know the word for anyway, I won't get it today.

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It's another sermon. You see a bear trap? That's how your mind has to be.

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Like a steel trap because truly the battle is in the mind. Isaiah 26, 3,

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the peace is not random. It is guarded, focused.

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Your mind cannot be parked on fear all week and expect peace on Sunday.

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So you've got to discipline your thoughts or they will dominate you. The Bible says you will keep

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him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.

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So it was exactly two years ago, two years ago in a month ago, it was January going into early

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February, before Guatemala, but all the January of 2024. And I've shared this before and I just,

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I'm amazed at how much I share and people keep coming and the church keeps growing.

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And I just, like I shared, and isn't that amazing? And they still care about what I have to

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preach. It's amazing. But I shared two years ago, I started getting hit in my mind and in my

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emotions. And I don't mean a little. I mean a lot. How many of you remember where for the whole

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month of January in Nathaniel, three weeks, three Sundays in a row, Nathaniel was preaching here?

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I got to say this with love. He did that not because I love to hear and preach three Sundays

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in a row. He did that because in my brain it was jambalaya soup because all I heard like an

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incessant broken record on repeat was you're going to fail, you're going to fail. And what was

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happening was you guys know this investment that I had gotten heavily in. I was down 50 percent on

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it. And all I kept hearing in my head was you are going to wreck your whole family financially.

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So it was so incessant that as Nathaniel was preaching and I told him this, as soon as he was on

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I said, this is what I was thinking about the whole time. I'm trying to get it out of my head.

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All I was doing was math in my head. Literally, you know how the movies they show the genius,

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except I'm not a genius. And I was doing that. And I was going, okay, I can make it to March.

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And then April and then by May, all right, that's when it's going to get ugly. And then I started

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thinking I'll have to give up the house in Long Island. So we'll go to the cabin in the woods

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that we have in the Poconos. And then half an hour away from there in the town of Honestale is

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a super Walmart. And I'll work in the Walmart. I'm so glad you're laughing. So that was Satan's idea,

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right? And it's hilarious, but for me it was a good idea. Come on, anybody can't really,

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for me it was a good idea at the time. Like I thought I actually was thinking that.

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By the way, two months after that, I wasn't down minus 50 percent. It had gone into the multiple

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seven figures. God completely, completely redeemed it. But, amen. But I was going for, we would go on

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many walks. That was what, because I can't sit still, right? If you sit still, if you're not,

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you got to move when the enemy's attacking your mind. You don't want to be ruminating. You don't

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want, you know what a ruminating thought is? It's a thought that just goes around and around in a

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circle and comes back. You doesn't go anywhere. So I had to keep moving and thank God my wife was

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always game. Babe, can you go for a walk? It's the 17th walk today. Sure. Just go walk and pray.

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Lord, thank you that you're with me. Lord, thank you. I won't fail. Lord, you're going to see

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this however they're good. But as I'm walking, I'm picturing myself with the vest.

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You know the yellow vest and Walmart vest? Because I'm thinking, and I'm thinking of myself,

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I'm not, you know, I'm getting up in years. I'm not going to be a stock guy. I'm a pastor,

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but I can be the greeter. I'll be pastor Walmart and I'll be extra like kind and I'll just wish

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everybody a happy Tuesday and maybe I'll get in with some. I could share the gospel, but I'm going

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to give it my all and that's just the final season. That's what God had in mind when He created me.

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It sounds ridiculous, but in that moment, that was my reality. What did I have to do? I had to

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train my mind, focus my mind. How do you stop these negative thoughts? Why did I go for walks?

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You cannot stop a negative thought with a positive thought. Impossible. If I can get one thing

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concerning guarding your mind, knowing the battlefield is in the mind, if I can get one truth to you,

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it's that. So many people think, if I have a negative thought, I'll have a 180 of that positive

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thought you're losing, aren't you? It's impossible. What works? I'll show you what works. Count to 10

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in your head starting now. Go. Now say your name out loud. What's your name? What happened to your

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account? It got messed up. You cannot stop negative thoughts with positive thoughts. You can only

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stop negative thoughts with the words that come out of your mouth. You have to start speaking.

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You have to start speaking God's truth because the negative thought is actually Satan's lie. How do

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you combat Satan's lie with God's truth? Satan came lying to Jesus. Jesus's response was,

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it is written. It is written. It is written. Hallelujah. And your life will go in the direction of

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your most dominant thought. I'll say it again. Your life, even where you are right now, is pretty much

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going in direction with your most dominant thought. And so your mind has to become like a steel trap

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and you've got to be speaking. Hallelujah. Four. I kind of went into my fourth point early.

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Speak before fear finishes its sentence. Psalm 107, too. The Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord.

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All right, one more time. Let the redeemed of the Lord. Yeah, that's the exhortation. Say

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something. That's why we sing that song. Let the poor say. Amen. Let the weak say. Let the ugly say.

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He shouted, I look like Pastor Moe. That's actually, I don't know if you got that by the gift of

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the Spirit, but that is my confession in the mornings when I will look more like Pastor Moe. I will

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look. Hallelujah. Sometimes I repeat some things so much in my mind, I think, or people must be

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tired of hearing this. But then, then I talk to you guys and I realize you haven't really heard

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me. So I should keep repeating myself. And Paul said to repeat myself is not burdensome, but for

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you it is necessary. And this is the thing that I've repeated so many times with illustrations,

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with this is the thing. It's this crazy glue demon. The gorilla glue, crazy glue, super glue,

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whatever kind of glue you use at home. The one that really works. There is a demon with that kind

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of glue and you'll notice whenever you get hit, whenever you're going through a hard time,

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he likes to put that on your lips. And why? Because the power is in your mouth and on your tongue.

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The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it will lead the

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fruit of it. Your very salvation is voice activated. It's half in your heart, half in your mouth.

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Even the prescription for how to receive salvation, it's that if you believe in your heart and confess

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with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, you will be saved. So you have to be speaking. But when people are

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going through it, what's the first thing you notice? They're downcast, they're morose. Hey, what's

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wrong? Well, how do you feel? They're not saying anything. And if you're not saying, you're not

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creating because you're not agreeing with the Word of God. You have to start speaking. You have to,

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you'll feel like you're crazy. The enemy will tell you you're being silly and crazy. But you're

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going to do it and you're going to make it through. The good news is you live in New York City,

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so if you're muttering on the subway, there's enough crazy people. They'll just think you're

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part of NYC. Amen. No one's going to look at you strangely. You might have half the carol to

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yourself. There's benefits to talking to yourself. But when I'm going through it, I am not quiet.

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And you know what a secret is is that when you're not going through, it still don't be quiet.

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But now you're not defensive. Now you're actually offensive and you're speaking and actually

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making a headway. But you got to be like David who encouraged himself in the Lord when they were

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about to stone him. Now this is something, I got to, this is something that practically I don't

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see too many Christians doing. But you got to be one of those that does. You got to be a speaking

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spirit. Hallelujah. You know why I said specifically speaking spirit because when you look into the

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Hebrew of when God made Adam and the Bible says he made him a living soul. In the Hebrew, there's

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a connotation speaking spirit because God is a speaking spirit. And he created the entire universe

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with God said God said God said he created with his words. And then he didn't do with this with any

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of the animals or the angels, but he made man a speaking spirit with the divine image on him

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and the divine ability to co-create with him with the words of his mouth. So don't start, don't stop

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speaking. Number five, refuse isolation. Ecclesiastes chapter four verse nine through ten.

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And I think it doesn't matter whether you're an introvert or an extrovert when the going really

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gets stuff people like to isolate. Like a fox or a cat. There's other animals but I know a fox

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or a cat in particular. When they're wounded, when they're hurting, they just move away, they

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isolate, they go into a bush, lie down, either heal up or pass. And people are a lot of times like

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that. You know, you guys, those of you who aren't actually Christians and involved in other Christian's

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lives. And you'll notice when somebody starts going through it all of a sudden, we're so and so,

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I don't know. Well, they missed the Sunday. It could be nothing. And they missed two Sundays. And

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they come to life group? No. What's going on? And then and then it's always the weirdest answer,

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the same answer. So I was like, well, I was really going through it. So I just wanted to be alone.

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Well, how did that work out for you? Well, not so good. That's why I'm back telling you about the

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decision of how it doesn't work. I'm an only child that would explain a lot of my personality.

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You're like, I knew there was something there. Now I know. So I'm used to going out of the

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loan. Not only I'm an only child, but raising four stills queens. And by second grade, I was a

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latchkey kid with my own keys that come in. I was, I was alone before my parents came. So I'm used

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to being alone. I have no problem being alone. Then I became a Christian. And when I would go

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through it, I would try to do it alone. Secretly, there was pride there. Because I, you know,

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my teenage mind, I kind of saw myself probably with this pride like, I'm like a mother, another Moses.

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I'm going to ascend the mountain of the Lord by myself. And when I come off that mountain,

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of course, God, you'll get all the glory, but I'm going to get some too.

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It'll be me and you. I helped you out with me. Never worked. Every single one of my, I came through

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with stories. There's a whole cast of characters, whether you hear about a whole cast of characters

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that helped me get through it. Do not isolate yourself. We saw what isolation does back in 2020

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when people became very mentally and emotionally unhealthy when they were isolating during COVID.

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And I say that that's my pastoral polite way. They became emotionally and mentally unhealthy.

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What really happened is they'd done lost their minds.

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Do not disappear when you're bleeding. A lot of times people disappear because they feel

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unlovedly. Just get around people. The right kind of people though. Not the unsaved people.

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The Bible says that you won't prosper. You won't be blessed when you're in the counsel of the

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ungodly. But get around people who believe that Jesus is Lord. People who've given their lives to

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him. You're not going to find, quote unquote, perfect people, but they're people who name the name

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of Christ. Get around them. Just being around them. It'll strengthen you. That's why we have these

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home groups, these life groups that have just begun. If you're not a part of a life group,

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you have to make it be a part of one. Hallelujah.

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I learned to love people. We all have different personalities.

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And we all know, this is okay to say. We all know some questions are weird.

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Church is a hospital, all right? And so you can't get upset. Hey, there's some patients in the hospital.

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There's some people who still seem like they're working progress in the hospital. Yeah.

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So not only, but listen to this though, not only are we church of weirdos,

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but we've got over 50 nations represented at City Light Church. So we got people from different

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cultures, different countries, different jobs. So you're not going to instantly be besties with

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every single person in your life group is what I'm saying. That shouldn't matter. Will there be

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some weird people? It wouldn't be a life group if there yeah. No, but I'm saying this because

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that used to bother me, right? I used to be like, how are we going to grow? When in this life group,

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they're so and so in that life group, they're going to like everybody that I pray for days for

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you to bring to us five new people and they run them out faster than you're bringing them in.

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Lord, heal that person, please or I will.

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The Lord had to say, I got, I got, don't worry about the cosmetics. Don't worry about how you

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appear and you just love people. You love them where they're at and actually accept people.

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So you're not going to get perfection anywhere you go, but what you're going to get at least nine out

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of 10 times is a Christian. Because not everybody who comes to City Light by the way is a Christian.

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Who would be terrible if everybody was how we get everybody saved or anybody saved. A healthy

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church has people who are looking who are lost who are trying to figure it out. They'll be at life

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group two. You're welcome to come. You should come. But be around believers. They will strengthen

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you. Don't do it alone. Amen. Number six, surrender control completely. This is a big step.

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Proverbs 16-9. Stop focusing on just the outcome. You're not responsible for the outcome. You're

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responsible to be obedient. Not the outcome. Part of the reason why you may be exhausted is that

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control is very exhausting. If you're fatigued, can I do a little confession here as is my

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custom? Because it seems like the more I say things that are embarrassing to me, the better the

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church does. So I am naturally prone to control because I wasn't only child. I watch how my kids

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are growing up. You know what I used to do? You used to have Star Wars figures. I like Star Wars.

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I.G.I. Joe figures. I don't like them as much, but Star Wars. Transformers later Legos.

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And when I would play with them, you know, I'd create a story in my head. My parents still

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remind me of this and tease me about it. I'd create, you know, a story. And then I would leave

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00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:04.560
them, let's say I'm being called for lunch. I would leave them and go for hours and come back and

374
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then continue the story. Like there was a commercial break. Sometimes I would leave them for days and

375
00:40:12.080 --> 00:40:16.960
come back. And they were just, but what I'm saying is the figures were just how I left them.

376
00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:20.960
You know why? Because I didn't have a brother or sister to come and go,

377
00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:29.200
or just start playing and I continue my story. And I look at my kids, even though they're four

378
00:40:29.200 --> 00:40:33.920
years apart, one's a boy, one's a girl. There's no way they're doing that. And I didn't even have my

379
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own, I didn't have my own room till the fifth grade. Slipped on the floor on the mattress next to my

380
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:43.360
parents. But I still had that. I'd find a corner in the house. They have their own rooms. Doesn't

381
00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:46.560
matter. Hey kids, you got to respect each other. Doesn't matter. One is playing. They don't want to go

382
00:40:46.560 --> 00:40:54.560
there. And they will mess up the story. So because of that, because I had this control over my

383
00:40:54.560 --> 00:41:04.880
environment, I've been told by some that I could, I could tend, tend to be a little controlling.

384
00:41:05.680 --> 00:41:11.760
You know, I'm just, I like, I like my teeth. Not just crossed, but crossed how I like to cross them.

385
00:41:12.640 --> 00:41:18.160
And early on, you know, the Lord came to me and said, you can, you can have a church where you have

386
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total control. It'll be very, very small and you'll have total control. Or you can have a large

387
00:41:22.640 --> 00:41:32.720
growing church and be out of control pick. And I went, ah, okay. But it's this way, it's this way

388
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in life that has to be a part where you give up control. You start small, you got to start small

389
00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:43.200
because you don't trust them enough to do it all at once. But as you see that he's trustworthy,

390
00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:53.200
you will then give more and more control over to him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he

391
00:41:53.200 --> 00:41:57.040
did this work. That's why when we went through COVID, I was able to make it through COVID with a smile.

392
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Because if you were like bent on controlling everything, you ended up in a mental asylum during

393
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COVID. Because you had no control. Especially speaking specifically in New York City.

394
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I could elaborate more on that, but let's not go there again. Control is exhausting, but trust

395
00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:25.520
is stabilizing. And when you release the focus on the outcome, that anxiety it loses its oxygen.

396
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Number seven, this is important. Remember who you are.

397
00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:43.040
Second Corinthians 416. In 2009, November of 2009, I went through one of the most difficult seasons

398
00:42:43.040 --> 00:42:50.160
of my life. My former pastor, Pastor Tom Hollahan, the pastor I had while I was in college in Long

399
00:42:50.160 --> 00:42:56.320
Island, he came and lived with me for a month. It was very, very difficult. I could not preach.

400
00:42:57.120 --> 00:43:01.280
You say, it seems like you always like take off when you're having a difficult time. You have no

401
00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:07.360
idea how many times I've preached during difficult times. Hey man, but I mean I could not preach,

402
00:43:07.360 --> 00:43:14.800
I could not eat. I could not anything. I was flat lining. And he spent, he loved me enough

403
00:43:15.200 --> 00:43:21.280
to live with me during the saddest, sorry estate of my life. And he's just like a natural

404
00:43:21.280 --> 00:43:27.920
encourager. And on the 30th day when he had to go back to Florida, he said, he called me brosky.

405
00:43:27.920 --> 00:43:35.120
That's why now I just thought it was like, you know, I'm like in my early 30s, he's in his mid 50s,

406
00:43:35.120 --> 00:43:38.800
and he's from Long Island, right? And he calls me brosky. I thought it was the weirdest,

407
00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:44.000
most antiquated thing to call someone. So now if I ever call you brosky, it's because I really like

408
00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:49.680
you because I think it's such a hilarious term. And he puts his hand on my shoes as listen brosky.

409
00:43:52.160 --> 00:43:57.920
You're forgetting who you are. Don't forget who you are. And it's true because I could just see

410
00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:04.960
myself in light of my failure. I could just see myself in light of my present situation. And he's

411
00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:11.840
saw it. He would pump me up all the time. I thought, you know, it'd be like you're anointed,

412
00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:16.640
you got a gift to preach, you got, you know, God has done a deep work in you. I thought, you

413
00:44:16.640 --> 00:44:21.440
know how when you have kids, and sometimes, you know, you give them a compliment, but you know,

414
00:44:21.440 --> 00:44:25.840
you're hamming it up a little bit. Are we allowed to say that? We should be allowed. You know,

415
00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:30.400
like they draw something and it's a good drawing, but you act like it's a Rembrandt. Oh,

416
00:44:31.280 --> 00:44:37.120
this is, this is going right on my refrigerator forever. I thought he was doing that to me.

417
00:44:37.120 --> 00:44:43.200
But he was actually now in retrospect. He was serious, but I couldn't see it. I could just see

418
00:44:43.200 --> 00:44:47.920
myself in light of my situation. And then when he left, that's what echoed in my head. Don't

419
00:44:47.920 --> 00:44:52.720
forget who you are. What did he mean by that? I know who I am. I didn't forget who I am, but I did.

420
00:44:53.680 --> 00:45:00.080
I did. Not even my accomplishments. That's nothing. But who we are, something we all share in

421
00:45:00.080 --> 00:45:05.600
common, when you're going through it, you tend to see yourself in light of your situation,

422
00:45:05.600 --> 00:45:10.880
in light of the crisis. Your crisis, your situation, your hard time does not define you.

423
00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:17.520
It is not who you are. You are a child of God, first and foremost. You are beloved of the Father.

424
00:45:18.240 --> 00:45:24.560
You are holy and accepted in the beloved. You have been made perfect in him. You are a saint of

425
00:45:24.560 --> 00:45:31.680
God. You have an inheritance with God. Remind yourself who you are and don't forget who you are.

426
00:45:31.680 --> 00:45:36.880
It's the same way when you fall in sin. Oh, I lied. The devil says you're a liar. No,

427
00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:44.640
I'm not a liar. I'm a Christian who lied. You can apply that with any sin. You are not,

428
00:45:44.640 --> 00:45:48.560
don't make your identity around the sin. Don't make your identity around the crisis.

429
00:45:50.160 --> 00:45:56.000
Hallelujah. Therefore, we do not lose heart even though our outward man is perishing yet the inward

430
00:45:56.000 --> 00:46:02.960
man is being renewed day by day. So hard seasons will attack your identity, but you are not your

431
00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:10.880
fatigue. You are not your setback. You are not your current weakness. The inward man can still thrive

432
00:46:10.880 --> 00:46:18.240
and be strong while the outward situation shakes. Can you say amen? Amen. Number eight.

433
00:46:19.120 --> 00:46:29.120
The point is James found in James 1 verses 2 through 3. Let me just say this and confess to you

434
00:46:29.120 --> 00:46:33.520
that of all the encouraging things that Christians tell you when you're really going through it and

435
00:46:33.520 --> 00:46:37.760
suffering, this one was my least favorite. In fact, this one would make me angry.

436
00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:45.680
Because it starts off good, right? My brethren counted all joy when you fall into various trials.

437
00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:52.480
Do you know what I care? Yeah? What good thing am I going to get out of this dump truck

438
00:46:52.480 --> 00:46:59.200
fest of excrement that I'm going through right now? Count it all, Joe. Really? What do I get out of it?

439
00:46:59.200 --> 00:47:08.080
Show me. What's in verse 3? Knowing that the testing of your faith produces what?

440
00:47:08.080 --> 00:47:16.800
Patience. That never got me excited. If you got you excited, congratulations. You're very holy,

441
00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:26.320
very, very just eternity-minded individual. But when you feel like your intestines are coming

442
00:47:26.320 --> 00:47:31.040
out of your nostrils and the promises, hey, you'll have more patience afterwards. That was never

443
00:47:31.120 --> 00:47:37.200
that exciting for me. But that's because I didn't understand what biblical patience is.

444
00:47:38.080 --> 00:47:42.080
Because my only introduction to the word patience was like, I'm like, mom, are the cookies ready?

445
00:47:42.080 --> 00:47:49.120
Patience. Are the cookies ready? Patience. Patience. Biblical patience is not the ability to wait.

446
00:47:49.760 --> 00:48:01.440
Hallelujah. Patience equals a steady, immovable endurance under pressure. Patience is the spirit,

447
00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:10.720
the Holy Spirit formed ability to remain steady, faithful and unshaken, under prolonged pressure

448
00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:19.440
without quitting, collapsing or compromising. So why does one need the supernatural ability to not

449
00:48:19.440 --> 00:48:25.760
compromise that cave in? Because what God wants to get to you will require broad shoulders.

450
00:48:26.480 --> 00:48:34.160
Hallelujah. I feel city light is alive. I feel the learning right now. I see him moving in our

451
00:48:34.160 --> 00:48:42.240
church. I know he has plans for us. What's he waiting on for something else to be formed in us?

452
00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:46.880
Our job is not to be like, okay, we're waiting on you, Lord. No, he's waiting on us to get

453
00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:52.160
with the program. And as we give way to his molding and shaping, we're going to enter more and more

454
00:48:52.160 --> 00:48:56.480
into our destiny. But I've never been as convinced as I am right now that we are in the perfect

455
00:48:56.480 --> 00:49:00.800
center of his perfect will. And there's going to be some things that he does that's really

456
00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:07.040
surprises, but we're right on schedule. Amen. That's not really how I say schedule. I felt extra

457
00:49:07.040 --> 00:49:27.920
fancy. Hallelujah. So embrace the trial. And embrace what he's forming in you.

458
00:49:30.800 --> 00:49:33.600
If you're going through it right now, you probably want to throw your shoe at me.

459
00:49:34.080 --> 00:49:42.080
You're half encouraged and half angry at this point. But you'll know what I mean once you're out.

460
00:49:42.080 --> 00:49:49.440
Amen. Number nine, this is a very important point. I say that like the other aid weren't really.

461
00:49:50.400 --> 00:50:01.760
Number nine is found in Ephesians 6, verse 13. Here's the number nine.

462
00:50:03.200 --> 00:50:10.720
Just stand. Yes, God is a God of movement. God is a God of promotion. God is a God of increase.

463
00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:16.080
That's what he wants to do in your life. But there are seasons when you're under the gun,

464
00:50:16.080 --> 00:50:20.560
when you're suffering, where you're not going to make any progress. So what's the victory?

465
00:50:20.560 --> 00:50:26.560
The victory in those times is just to not regress, not to retreat, not to go backwards.

466
00:50:26.560 --> 00:50:32.560
Just stand. Hallelujah. So if you're going through it and you're like, I don't feel like anything's

467
00:50:32.560 --> 00:50:37.600
happening. My question is, are you standing? Yes, you're winning. You're winning and that you're not

468
00:50:37.600 --> 00:50:42.800
retreating. Just stand. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to

469
00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:50.880
withstand an evil day and having done all. Just stand. Amen. Sometimes victory's not advancing.

470
00:50:50.880 --> 00:50:58.480
It's just not moving backward. Hallelujah. And number 10. And we're going to be closing up and

471
00:50:58.480 --> 00:51:07.200
receiving communion shortly after this. Number 10 is believe that glory is on the other side.

472
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:16.000
Romans 8, 18. Here's what the Apostle Paul says, where I consider that the sufferings of this present time

473
00:51:17.200 --> 00:51:25.360
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. We also read in Hebrews,

474
00:51:25.360 --> 00:51:31.840
we just read that as point number one, that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before

475
00:51:31.840 --> 00:51:37.840
Him. What was the pain of the cross? Have you ever read one of those medical accounts of crucifixion?

476
00:51:37.840 --> 00:51:44.800
You should. I read those, you know, when you were a teenager in the faith in the 90s, at some

477
00:51:44.800 --> 00:51:48.640
point in youth group, some youth pastor was going to go through the whole crucifixion from a physical

478
00:51:48.640 --> 00:51:56.720
perspective. And from a physical perspective, it's one of the most gruesome. All right, guys,

479
00:51:57.120 --> 00:52:03.440
when I said that, I didn't mean like, you're scary me. I feel like the end time soldiers are going,

480
00:52:03.440 --> 00:52:10.880
oh, I appreciate the militancy. Man, you guys are good and efficient. Just hang on. Communion was ready.

481
00:52:14.960 --> 00:52:19.760
I wasn't even prepping you. I was just letting the people know. There's going to be communion.

482
00:52:19.760 --> 00:52:35.520
Thank you, Jesus. Where was the crucifixion? The crucifixion. The physical pain is immense.

483
00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:43.600
Jesus was never, I believe, concerned about the physical pain when he actually, the moment had

484
00:52:43.600 --> 00:52:49.920
anxiety about, when he cried out, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Because the spiritual

485
00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:57.120
pain was way greater than the physical pain. You say, what spiritual pain that he would for the first

486
00:52:57.120 --> 00:53:02.880
time in history be separated from God the Father. You say, he was separated from God the Father. Yes,

487
00:53:02.880 --> 00:53:11.920
he who knew no sin was made sin for us. God the Son, Jesus Christ was made into sin. He took

488
00:53:11.920 --> 00:53:17.680
on the nature of Satan. He took on the nature of sin. He became a cursed thing. You know, I've

489
00:53:17.680 --> 00:53:24.080
had people go, how could you call my Lord? Really? Lord and Savior, cursed it. I'm not calling him,

490
00:53:24.080 --> 00:53:29.360
that the Bible says, cursed it is anyone who hangs on a tree. He became a curse so you could

491
00:53:29.360 --> 00:53:34.960
be blessed. Some people, they view everything through emotions. That makes me feel uncomfortable.

492
00:53:36.320 --> 00:53:40.960
I'm so glad the Bible really doesn't care how you feel. The Bible cares about what's true.

493
00:53:41.920 --> 00:53:46.320
This emotional present, how could you call my Lord and say, hey, if you're a curse? I'm not saying

494
00:53:46.320 --> 00:53:53.440
present day. He became that. He became a curse. And he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

495
00:53:55.280 --> 00:54:03.200
He's not forsaken now, but in that moment as he became sin, what was previously consistent fellowship,

496
00:54:03.200 --> 00:54:09.680
consistent connection to the Father was severed so that your connection to the Father would never

497
00:54:09.680 --> 00:54:14.800
be severed. He became cursed so you could be blessed. He became sin so you could be the righteousness

498
00:54:14.800 --> 00:54:21.840
of God. Hallelujah. But that's what the pain was. That's what he dreaded in that moment in the

499
00:54:21.840 --> 00:54:28.160
garden. But the Bible says, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. So he saw, you know what

500
00:54:28.160 --> 00:54:35.040
he saw? He saw you. He saw your face. He knew that you would come to the faith, that you would

501
00:54:35.040 --> 00:54:41.840
be born again, that you would join him in heaven. And for the joy of the family of God being drawn

502
00:54:41.840 --> 00:54:48.640
from all four corners of the earth, he gave his life a ransom for many. Hallelujah. So know that what

503
00:54:48.640 --> 00:54:58.240
you're going through, there actually is a prize at the end. Amen. There is. Hallelujah.

504
00:55:05.520 --> 00:55:10.560
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And you must know that it's not a freight train.

505
00:55:12.640 --> 00:55:27.280
It's sunshine. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

506
00:55:28.080 --> 00:55:35.200
I just like every head bowed, every eye closed. I want you to know that present pain,

507
00:55:36.080 --> 00:55:39.360
what you're going through, we may not feel like it's temporary, but it's temporary.

508
00:55:40.800 --> 00:55:47.680
And your future, a sure glory is permanent. This hard time is just a chapter in your book,

509
00:55:47.680 --> 00:55:55.040
but victory is your destiny. But right now with every head bowed, every eye closed, I want to give

510
00:55:55.040 --> 00:56:01.440
everyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I want to ask you a question.

511
00:56:01.440 --> 00:56:06.480
If you were to die today, God forbid, but if you were to die, do you know for certain, be on a

512
00:56:06.480 --> 00:56:12.960
shadow of a doubt that you would go to heaven? The Bible says you can know. I want to lead you in a

513
00:56:12.960 --> 00:56:18.880
prayer where you make Jesus your Lord and Savior, you trust in Him for His righteousness, and you

514
00:56:18.880 --> 00:56:22.800
ask Him to forgive your sins. The Bible says you will be born again and you will be saved.

515
00:56:23.520 --> 00:56:30.400
If you can't answer with a resounding confident yes, I want you to lift your hand up at the count of

516
00:56:30.400 --> 00:56:35.040
three. So the question is, do you know for certain if you were to die today that you would go to heaven,

517
00:56:36.400 --> 00:56:41.200
if you want your sins forgiven and you want to know Jesus on the count of three, raise your hand,

518
00:56:41.200 --> 00:56:47.040
one, two, three, lift up your hand. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

519
00:56:47.120 --> 00:56:55.040
thank you, sir. Who else? Yeah, thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Anybody else?

520
00:56:56.960 --> 00:57:03.280
All right, we're all going to pray together now. What we're going to pray is a prayer where you

521
00:57:03.280 --> 00:57:10.320
acknowledge His Lordship over your life and you acknowledge His crucifixion and resurrection

522
00:57:11.440 --> 00:57:15.840
and eternal life is your portion. You say, what must I do? What must I do? It's not more

523
00:57:15.840 --> 00:57:22.800
must I do. It's what I must believe. So let's all pray this prayer together. Those of you who

524
00:57:22.800 --> 00:57:26.240
raised your hands though, I want you to be extra loud. Sometimes people who raised their hands

525
00:57:26.240 --> 00:57:30.800
are really feeling it and then they're silent. Say it extra loud. Say this dear Lord Jesus.

526
00:57:32.320 --> 00:57:40.560
I believe in you. I believe you died on the cross in my place. I repent of my sin.

527
00:57:41.360 --> 00:57:50.160
I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I'm adopted

528
00:57:50.960 --> 00:57:58.960
into the family of God and I am a friend of God. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Be my Lord

529
00:57:59.600 --> 00:58:08.000
and lead me in the way I should go. In Jesus name. Amen. Hallelujah.

530
00:58:08.160 --> 00:58:18.720
Now those of you who raised your hands fill out a connection card and let us know. You say I was

531
00:58:18.720 --> 00:58:23.440
coming back to the Lord. Let us know. Ask some questions. We don't have, we're not your

532
00:58:23.440 --> 00:58:27.920
hope as witnesses. We don't have a team of unpaid elders that we're going to send to your house now.

533
00:58:31.120 --> 00:58:33.760
Because they have to work 20 hours a week or they don't make heaven.

534
00:58:34.320 --> 00:58:40.640
So great. I got to tell you our staff budget would be half if we had that system. Really nice

535
00:58:41.280 --> 00:58:48.000
system to save money. But no, we have a biblical system. And so, and also we don't believe in

536
00:58:48.000 --> 00:58:54.400
control and manipulation. So in other words, we can't run after you. You have to meet us halfway.

537
00:58:54.400 --> 00:58:58.800
You have to let us know, hey, I exist. I'm alive. My name is Susie and I was in that service.

538
00:58:58.880 --> 00:59:03.360
And then we can reach out. And we're not going to, we're actually almost too careful to not

539
00:59:03.360 --> 00:59:08.640
invade your life. We'll reach out to how much you open the door. So if you want us to help open

540
00:59:08.640 --> 00:59:12.720
the door wide, if you want us to help a little, you know, you keep the chain on the door, you'll be like,

541
00:59:12.720 --> 00:59:17.520
hey, I have two questions and that's it. Keep the granny chain on the door, you know.

542
00:59:19.520 --> 00:59:23.680
But fill out a card. You say, what should I do next? Be a part of a life group. Keep coming

543
00:59:23.760 --> 00:59:29.760
every Sunday. Make some Christian friends. May the second get baptized. I'm already excited

544
00:59:29.760 --> 00:59:34.800
about me. That's the first Saturday in May. We're having baptisms. I'm excited about our baby

545
00:59:34.800 --> 00:59:42.000
girl who at just seven years old can't stop talking about baptisms. She loves Jesus so much.

546
00:59:44.160 --> 00:59:48.560
So make a decision to get baptized. You said, I just got saved exactly. You're late to get

547
00:59:48.560 --> 00:59:54.080
baptized if you're getting baptized. May the second. Sorry, partner, lateness. Let's hand out

548
00:59:54.080 --> 01:00:04.080
communion. When you receive communion, hang on to the elements. And we'll all receive the elements

549
01:00:04.080 --> 01:00:15.280
together. I'm going to do my 1990s and 2000s talk show. How you do that? I'm going to record it

550
01:00:15.280 --> 01:00:21.200
and that's going to be the training video for all communion handing outing. All right,

551
01:00:21.200 --> 01:00:27.360
somebody tell me what happens during communion? What should be happening? Any takers?

552
01:00:28.560 --> 01:00:33.600
Like, what are we thinking about? What is the point? You can just say a sentence or shout it out

553
01:00:33.600 --> 01:00:40.560
if you don't want me to shove a microphone in your face. The blood of Jesus. We're focusing

554
01:00:40.640 --> 01:00:47.600
on the blood of Jesus. What else? What is the benefit? You know, that song, I think it's from the 80s.

555
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What have you done for me lately? It seems like an ugly carnal selfish song,

556
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but it is a fair question to ask. Since secretly, that's what you're all thinking about. Like,

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I haven't taught on finances in ages. I need to teach on finances. And there's always one or two

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people who get upset. Why do you talk about money? I'm sorry. You spend 99% of your time chasing this

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thing so you cannot die on planet earth. This thing called money. And I want to give you a biblical

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perspective. You get upset. You spend 99% of your life chasing it in one form or another. Amen.

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So it's important. So what else is important is understanding what is the benefit? It's not selfish.

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The scripture says, bless the Lord on my soul. And don't forget about any of his benefits.

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And when you see a Christian struggling oftentimes, they haven't read the fine print. They don't

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know the Benny package. You got a job. You check out those benefits. Oh, look, they pay for my

565
01:01:50.480 --> 01:01:56.400
gym membership. Oh, health insurance. Wow. And so many people don't know the benefits of Christianity.

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They don't know the benefits of communion. There is a purpose. That's why Satan has attacked

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communion and oftentimes made it the most depressing time during a church service.

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But it's not supposed to bring depression and sadness. This is God's medicine. This is God's

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victory. Communion is us partaking. Here's the phrase Paul used. We're partaking of Christ. What

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does that mean? We're partaking of his victory. We're reaffirming the covenant. And the covenant says

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he is with you. The covenant says all your sins are forgiven. The covenant says you have victory.

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The covenant says you are healed. You're not the sick trying to get healed. You are the healed

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of the Lord. You are the prosperous of the Lord. So examine yourself. What do I examine myself?

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What part of your life does not look like the reality of what Jesus did for your life?

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So the reality is your cup is so overflowing. You're blessed. You're healthy. You're

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whole. That's what your life should look like. And if it doesn't, examine yourself.

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Oh, look, there's a gap between where I'm at right now and what the Lord promised me.

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And trust is you receive communion. He closes that gap. Is this making sense? Hallelujah. He will

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fill up whatever is lacking on your part. So if you need healing in your body, go ahead and eat

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to your healing. If you need healing in your bank account, go ahead and eat to your prosperity.

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You need healing in your emotions. Receive soul restoration as you partake of Jesus.

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This is not an empty, wrote, religious thing. This is the power of God. So go ahead and partake of

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the body of Jesus that was bruised for you. And go ahead and partake of the blood of Jesus

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that was shed for you. And receive all of the benefits of the cross and resurrection of Jesus

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Christ. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

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Amen. He has made me glad. He has made me glad. I will rejoice where he has made me glad.

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Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.

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Thank you, Lord. Well, we're going to honor the Lord with our tides and offerings. Thank you, Jesus.

590
01:05:03.440 --> 01:05:10.320
I was just watching a service where I saw something I haven't seen in many years. The buckets

591
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were being passed out. And it's only been like six, seven years that we haven't had buckets,

592
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but it reminded me of, wow, we used to do the bucket thing. And I guess the bucket thing is for

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people who want to give cash because most people give digitally now. Of course, COVID expedited that

594
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with contactless giving. But then I thought about how funny that was with the, I told my dad,

595
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by the way, who hates the offering. He's got a long way to go, but my dad was the offering. He's

596
01:05:42.880 --> 01:05:50.800
like the demons. I said, we got rid of the buckets. Oh, good. I always hated those buckets.

597
01:05:53.920 --> 01:05:57.360
Right. Because it's, it is a weird thing. And then like, let's say you're giving digitally,

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people set up automatic giving. People have given on the way to service because you can give it

599
01:06:04.320 --> 01:06:09.520
any time really. Now that it's so easy. And then maybe you don't, you always pass the bucket.

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And you're like, man, maybe everyone thinks maybe pastures staring right at me. Think,

601
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can I never give? Meanwhile, I'm one of the biggest givers in the church, but I give anonymously

602
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digitally. What's the point of anything that I'm saying? My point is that you're giving onto the Lord.

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And you're giving with no strings attached. But always have your faith that your harvest is coming

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and that your giving creates prosperity in your life. I feel like that old Psalmist who said,

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I once was young and now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging

606
01:06:46.960 --> 01:06:52.960
bread. It's fun being 50. You have a lot more history to draw from. Now I'm 50 and I can go,

607
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oh, nearly four decades of serving the Lord. And so what have I learned? Well, here's what I've

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learned that the most generous people I know are the most blessed people I know. They're the most

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alive people I know. They have the most of the Zoe abundant life of God. I've shared with you my

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testimony for those of you willing and who care enough to listen over and over again.

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I've given things that at the time I thought I was insane. I should be locked up for giving

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only to have the Lord show me that I cannot give him, that he will always get me back.

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So I just because I love you, I want to say this, don't be a scrawny Christian. Don't be someone

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who has a scrawny spirit. I was always looking to see what they can get. When you start looking to

615
01:07:44.480 --> 01:07:51.840
see who you can bless and how you can give, there'll be such an overwhelming,

616
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overwhelming harvest. Hallelujah.

617
01:08:05.440 --> 01:08:09.680
You know, it was actually for me, I had to shake this off. For me, it was getting a little

618
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embarrassing in the last few months because for me in my head, there was always gifts for me here.

619
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I was walking away. I felt like this is like one of those weird children. I'm always going

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with boxes and bags and then I thought for the first 20 years, I never got any gifts.

621
01:08:29.280 --> 01:08:35.520
Never got a bag, hardly a card, nothing. Never talked about it, but I didn't even notice it

622
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until I started going back to my car with bags and boxes to where I'm almost thinking, man,

623
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Pastor Moe, can you get me a armor bearer to carry the bags?

624
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Right, baby, you were a part of that. It was just hardly a slap on the back.

625
01:08:51.120 --> 01:08:55.840
And then without me saying a word, people just started blessing me.

626
01:08:58.240 --> 01:09:02.480
And I went to the Lord about it and he said, well, you've shown when you were getting no bags,

627
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no cards, no gifts, no penicassal handshakes, you kept giving, you kept giving.

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And now your harvest is here. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

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And I just say that it's just as an anecdotal thing.

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I pray for you that God would multiply every seed,

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so that your cup would overflow and that no matter what happens in the world,

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you would financially increase more and more and more and more.

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And if you want prayer for anything at all, the ministry team is in that blue lit section

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01:09:41.520 --> 01:09:43.440
and they would love to pray with you and for you.

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We're going to worship God with one more song. Let's all stand and if you want prayer,

636
01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:58.640
once again, go now to that blue lit section. And the ministry team will love on you.

637
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They will pray with you and for you. The whole process can just take a couple of minutes.

638
01:10:02.400 --> 01:10:08.160
You might be well, what should I expect? I'm going for not the regular customers now.

639
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I'm going for that person who's heard about this ministry team four times and has never gone over

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01:10:12.640 --> 01:10:20.160
there. Go. You won't regret it. Go and have somebody else. Just lay hands on you and pray with you.

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There's an anointing and a power released through the laying out of hands.

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Have a blessed week. Shout one more time with me. A big hallelujah to Jesus. Hallelujah!

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Be blessed, City Light.

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This is the City Light Church podcast. If you've missed any part of today's message,

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or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansik in City Light Church,

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01:10:42.800 --> 01:10:48.800
visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com.

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Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you.

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We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how much God

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loves you, and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you

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01:11:05.280 --> 01:11:13.760
subscribe to City Light Church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.