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He is glorious.

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Behold the one who has come to life.

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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

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To get connected or to give online,

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you can go to connect.hcv.church

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or give.hcv.church.

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If at any time during this message

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you feel called to make a change in your life,

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text changeme to 970-00.

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Thank you and enjoy the message.

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Chris and I kind of switched roles.

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I'm Jess, Chris' wife.

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No, it's not Christie or Kelsey or Tracy.

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I'm actually his wife.

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Yeah, you got to see me today.

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So he's going to go and teach the youth group tonight.

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And so I said, oh, I guess I'll teach for church this morning.

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So I am super excited about what God wants to share with you

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today.

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I am excited about this series because it's

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so near and dear to my heart.

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Thank you, online community, for welcoming us

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in your homes, your apartments, your cars.

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I love our online community because my daughter Trinity

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and her friends at school get to be part of our community

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of faith, even from College Park.

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But guess what?

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If you're still in our online community

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and all you like to do is get in your pajamas

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and not come to church, that's not acceptable.

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So now get out of your pajamas, come to church, be with us,

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be challenged here at the building.

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Because it's a beautiful location.

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God has blessed us with so much.

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And we want everybody to be a part of it.

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We just want everybody to come and experience it.

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I was talking to a man who called on Friday.

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And he was telling me he was part of our community of faith.

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And I said, OK, well, I'll see you.

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And he's like, well, I'm online.

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And I was like, really?

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And he said, yeah, it's just there's

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something not the same as being online.

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And I'm like, yeah, you get to worship with us.

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You get to come on.

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And so he said he would be here today, but who knows.

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But so from his mouth, he was coming back to church.

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So if you have friends that haven't come back,

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just invite them back in.

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Because everybody needs a hug, a high five, and good coffee.

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And we need to get out of our pajamas on Sundays sometimes.

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Sometimes.

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All right, so I am so privileged to share with you

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this morning the series titled She Said Yes.

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Because we as girls and women, we

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love to fantasize about the time when we get to say yes to him.

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Or if you're Carrie Rudasill, he says yes to you.

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Yes, Carrie asked Chris Rudasill to marry her.

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So if you're, yeah.

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So she wasn't waiting around.

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She knew what she wanted.

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So we always think about this as women, right?

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And little girls.

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I have three girls.

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And they talk about their wedding dresses

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and their wedding day.

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Actually, my wedding dress is here,

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but it's not holding a guitar right now.

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This morning it was holding a guitar.

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So this is my wedding dress.

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And then there's three other wedding dresses of the ladies

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we have on stack today.

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Some material we ordered didn't show up.

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So I thought this was a great way to showcase

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what we're saying yes to in this series.

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Because you know what?

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When I met my husband, what I want to tell you guys

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is when I met my husband, I was already completely and totally

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and passionately in love with someone else.

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Yeah, it's true.

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It's true.

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Yeah, it didn't begin when I met Chris.

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I was already completely in love.

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I actually had committed my whole life to this love.

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I had transcended my relationship with God

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from just knowing about God to truly loving God,

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to wanting nothing else just to be in a relationship with him.

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I wanted to be a nun.

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I wanted to go around the world.

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I wanted to be a missionary.

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I didn't care what it took.

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I didn't want to get married because all I wanted

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was that love that passes all understanding, right?

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Because God completely loved me for every mistake I made,

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for every choice I made.

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He was with me.

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And he said, Jessica, I love you in spite of this, right?

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And when I realized God's grace for me,

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there was nothing else I wanted.

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I gave my life to him, right?

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And so the reason I have a husband right now,

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the reason I shared with Chris the story of God

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is because I wanted to keep him away from me.

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Well, I didn't do such a good job, but you know,

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and the reason we're married today,

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I tell all the youth we were just talking about

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finding the one, is that God literally said,

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this is the one.

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I want you to be in this relationship

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because what you guys can do together

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is gonna be more powerful than what you could ever do

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on your own, Jessica.

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And I said, okay, God, I said yes.

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And so because of that, God has written an amazing story

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of my life that is far beyond my wildest dreams.

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If I would have written the story of my life,

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it would be very, very, very dull and boring, right?

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But God in his infinite wisdom

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gave me an amazing testimony

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so I could be here with you guys today,

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so I could share in this kingdom of God ministry with you.

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So I am amazingly excited to share with you

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the story of Deborah today, okay?

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So Deborah was recorded in biblical history.

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She was actually recorded in the book of Judges.

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Now, last week we learned about Rahab

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and how Rahab helped God's people

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take the promised land, right?

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Rahab helped the spies over the wall

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and hence they saved her family.

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So Rahab saved her family.

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Well, guess what?

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After Joshua died, the people sinned and sinned

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and sinned again, right?

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We do that sometimes as people.

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I'm confessing my sin to you.

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We sin again and again.

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Even though God rescues us,

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he takes us into promised lands,

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we turn our backs on him, right?

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And so God's showing us how Israel turned their back on him,

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but yet God in his infinite love and wisdom

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for these people, he called them back to himself.

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He created these people, they're called judges,

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which we're gonna rule in the country.

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And what they are is they're broken people.

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They're not perfect, they make mistakes,

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but they love God and they love others.

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And so I am super excited.

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I like to say super excited a lot, sorry guys.

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So I am super excited, like I said again.

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Like to use lots of things together

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to share with you Deborah and her story.

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So Deborah's story is in the book of Judges 4.

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And the first thing we learned about Deborah

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is Deborah lived in a time of oppression.

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So Judges 4, 1 through 3,

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it talks about how the people had turned their backs

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on God again.

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And so God gave him over to King Jabin.

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And they were ruthlessly oppressed

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by a leader called Sisera.

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And he had 900 chariots, right?

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So oppression, if you don't know what the word means,

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is a prolonged, cruel, unjust treatment,

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persecution or abuse.

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So right now, if I think about a current situation

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of oppression that we're dealing with in this world today

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is the Ukrainian people, right?

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They're being oppressed by the Russian government, right?

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Or the bombs that are coming into their country.

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And so if you didn't see Chris's weekly email,

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I wanna remind you to keep praying

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for the people of the Ukraine.

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We have three vineyard churches there right now currently

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that are still ministering to people as we speak.

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So next week, we're gonna take a special offering up

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for those churches so that they continue

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to do ministry in the Ukraine, right?

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So and remember, in his email,

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he also highlights three different ways

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that you can continue to pray for the people of the Ukraine.

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So for 20 years, God's people, the Israelites,

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were being oppressed by Jabin and Sisera, right?

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And so this is where we find Deborah.

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Deborah listened to God.

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How did she do this?

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Judges 4-4 says Deborah was a prophet,

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she was a life of libiditeth,

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and she was leading Israel at the time.

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So we learned three important things

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about Deborah during this passage.

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First, she's a prophet.

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And so prophets need to spend time with God.

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So the job of a prophet, if you don't know,

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the job of a prophet is to listen to God's voice

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and to then to communicate it to the people, right?

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So she's made herself available to God.

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That's the first thing we see in this.

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She was a prophet, so she made herself available to God

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and she showed up.

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It was not only her just listening to God,

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but she said, yes, God, I will be your prophet.

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Right?

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And I will lead these people, right?

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And so she made herself available to God.

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Now, she was a wife.

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Now, I could just stop right there.

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A wife is a big job, right?

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And some of you are like, I'm a wife, I know.

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Some of you are husbands, I know, right?

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Right?

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That's a big job, it's a big role,

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but yet God called her to be more than just that, right?

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And that's a huge responsibility.

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But so I'm sure that she wasn't a young person.

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She had many kids, she had lots of family,

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she had extended members, but she said,

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no, God, I will be your prophet.

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God, I will be your prophet and I will be your judge

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and I will be a wife and I will do what it takes

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to work your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

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Right?

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So she showed up.

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And the third thing is she was leading Israel.

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So at an early age, people told me I had a prophetic gifting.

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I wanna say it's a pathetic gifting sometimes

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because the reason is because as prophets,

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we kind of learn things a little bit earlier than we should.

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So when I was younger, I would know things

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or I would think I would know things

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and I would have to communicate them right away, right?

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Well, I know this and this is what God's saying.

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And so, thus saith the Lord, you should do it, right?

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But I forgot there's a thing called God

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in his timing and his wisdom, right?

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So even though you have a prophetic gifting

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or God's given you things and you know

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they're coming in the future, your job as a prophet

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is not only to listen to God, but to wait on him

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and wait on his perfect timing.

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And we're gonna learn a little bit more about that

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in the story of Deborah.

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She made herself available not only to God,

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but she made herself available to others.

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Judges four or five says, under the palm tree of Deborah,

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I would just love to sit under a palm tree,

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isn't that awesome?

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She served the people as their judge.

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That was the place between Rama and Bethel

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in the hill country of Ephraim.

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The Israelites went up to her there

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and they came to have her decide cases for them.

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She settled matters between them.

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Now, I've heard people say, I love God with all my heart,

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soul, mind and strength, but I just can't stand people.

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They're really, you know, messy

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and they cut you off in traffic

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and you know, they're just people, right?

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Well, I wanna tell you, if you love God

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and you don't love people, you're missing it.

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You're missing it because God is a God of compassion

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and mercy and he passionately loves his people, right?

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He passionately loves you and me

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and he wants to see all of his children

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in the kingdom of God, right?

267
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So if I have a problem with somebody

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or if I'm rubbing noses with somebody

269
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or I'm like, somebody cut me off in traffic,

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I'm like, God, show me how you see them, right?

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Because God loves them.

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So whenever I get God's perspective on a person,

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my mind changes and you know what?

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Whenever God puts one of those people in your life

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that kind of rub you the wrong way,

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usually God wants you to grow in some way.

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It's not about them growing, it's not about them changing,

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it's about you saying, okay, God, I'm willing to change,

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I'm willing to grow.

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Thank you for putting my husband, Chris, in my life.

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Right?

282
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Right, because that's what marriage does,

283
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it just like rubs you the wrong way.

284
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Like iron sharpens iron, uh-huh, yeah.

285
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We'll get our knives out in a second.

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Because we, yeah, because I'm a prophet,

287
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I know everything, right?

288
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So you gotta listen to me.

289
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But no, no, I have to love my husband as Christ loves,

290
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I have to love him, I have to obey him,

291
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I have to honor him.

292
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As he loves me, we can work together in unity.

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So Deborah loved people.

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And you can see that because she's sitting

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in a passive position, she's sitting under a palm tree,

296
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right?

297
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And when you sit with somebody, you empathize with them.

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You get down on their level, you're not judging them.

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Like you think about a regular judge,

300
00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:52,340
they're sitting up in court and they're glaring

301
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their verdict down at people, right?

302
00:11:54,420 --> 00:11:55,780
But she's sitting with them.

303
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She's hearing their story.

304
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She's saying, okay, I get you, I've been there, sister.

305
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I know what you're going through.

306
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And she's listening to their case.

307
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And then she's making the decision

308
00:12:06,140 --> 00:12:08,780
on behalf of God for their lives.

309
00:12:08,780 --> 00:12:10,780
So when we wanna empathize with people,

310
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if we wanna love people, we need to get down with them.

311
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We need to be with them, we need to sit with them.

312
00:12:16,220 --> 00:12:18,660
And it says, when we sit and we wait,

313
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it's a passive position.

314
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It says, those who wait on the Lord,

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he will renew their strength.

316
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We will rise up with wings as eagles.

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We will run and not grow weary.

318
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We will walk and not faint.

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But when we sit, we get peace, we get joy, we get patience.

320
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We get things that only come from God,

321
00:12:34,460 --> 00:12:35,300
because guess what?

322
00:12:35,300 --> 00:12:39,500
We're saying, God, you're in control and I'm not, right?

323
00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:40,820
And that's what Deborah's saying here.

324
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God, you're in control.

325
00:12:42,260 --> 00:12:45,660
Give me wisdom for these people you love, right?

326
00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:47,180
And that we all need that in our life.

327
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We're all called to love those that we come in contact with.

328
00:12:49,820 --> 00:12:52,740
And the second part of being a prophet,

329
00:12:52,740 --> 00:12:55,860
that I wanna tell you is Deborah was obedient to God.

330
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She spoke up.

331
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So being a prophet, you not only hear from God,

332
00:12:59,900 --> 00:13:02,300
you have to be obedient when God tells you something,

333
00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:05,700
you have to act and in his timing, like I said.

334
00:13:05,700 --> 00:13:06,900
So she spoke up.

335
00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:11,020
So the first thing she did is she communicated God's plan.

336
00:13:11,020 --> 00:13:15,620
So, Judges 4, 6 through 7, Deborah sent for Barak.

337
00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:18,980
And the Lord God of Israel is giving you a command.

338
00:13:18,980 --> 00:13:23,820
He says, go take 10,000 men from the tribes of Napali

339
00:13:23,820 --> 00:13:27,100
and Zebulon with you and lead them up to Mount Tabor.

340
00:13:27,100 --> 00:13:29,820
And I will lead Sisera into a trap.

341
00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:33,100
He is the commander of Jabin's army and I will bring him,

342
00:13:33,100 --> 00:13:36,740
his 900 chariots, his troop to the Kishon River.

343
00:13:36,740 --> 00:13:39,820
And there, I'm gonna hand him over to you.

344
00:13:39,820 --> 00:13:42,300
Thus saith the Lord through Deborah, right?

345
00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:46,380
But Barak was like, I don't know about this.

346
00:13:46,380 --> 00:13:48,660
So the one thing about being a prophet,

347
00:13:48,660 --> 00:13:51,100
you're supposed to communicate God's plan,

348
00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:53,740
but you also need to communicate God's truth.

349
00:13:53,740 --> 00:13:55,860
So she communicated to Barak,

350
00:13:55,860 --> 00:13:58,620
or Barak communicated back to her Judges 4, 8 through 9.

351
00:13:58,620 --> 00:14:02,100
Barak said to her, I will go.

352
00:14:04,620 --> 00:14:07,660
I'll go, but not if you don't go with me.

353
00:14:07,660 --> 00:14:09,220
I need you to come.

354
00:14:09,220 --> 00:14:11,460
I won't go if you don't come, Deborah.

355
00:14:11,460 --> 00:14:13,980
All right, Deborah said, I'll go with you.

356
00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:16,100
But because you're doing it this way,

357
00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:18,300
you won't receive any honor.

358
00:14:18,300 --> 00:14:20,540
It doesn't say that Deborah here knew

359
00:14:20,540 --> 00:14:22,700
Barak would need her strength,

360
00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:25,060
that her strength that comes from God.

361
00:14:25,060 --> 00:14:27,020
She doesn't know that Barak's gonna say this, right?

362
00:14:27,020 --> 00:14:29,860
We don't know this part of the story.

363
00:14:29,860 --> 00:14:33,380
But she acted, he asked for her strength,

364
00:14:33,380 --> 00:14:35,460
and she acted, she gave it to him.

365
00:14:35,460 --> 00:14:37,580
She didn't shame him, she didn't question him,

366
00:14:37,580 --> 00:14:40,500
she didn't say, ah, you're a wimpy guy.

367
00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:42,540
No, she said, okay, I'll come

368
00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:45,820
because I want God's plans to be fulfilled.

369
00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:47,380
I know that this is God's plan.

370
00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:49,300
I know you're the man that's called to do it.

371
00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:51,620
If you want me to go, I'm gonna go.

372
00:14:51,620 --> 00:14:53,540
And it's so important as women,

373
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as we work together with men,

374
00:14:55,540 --> 00:14:57,060
as we work together with other races,

375
00:14:57,060 --> 00:14:59,860
that we know that God's plan needs to be fulfilled.

376
00:14:59,860 --> 00:15:03,340
It's not about us or what we do or what we don't do

377
00:15:03,340 --> 00:15:05,300
or what the other person's doing or not doing.

378
00:15:05,300 --> 00:15:07,660
It's about God's plan, right?

379
00:15:07,660 --> 00:15:10,620
And the truth was Barak wasn't gonna get the victory

380
00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:11,700
or whatever, but he didn't care.

381
00:15:11,700 --> 00:15:13,060
He just wanted Deborah to go with him

382
00:15:13,060 --> 00:15:16,540
because Deborah had God on her side

383
00:15:16,540 --> 00:15:19,860
and he knew she was wise, right?

384
00:15:19,860 --> 00:15:21,980
People, we are better together.

385
00:15:21,980 --> 00:15:24,020
I know Chris wanted me to tell you it's our family song,

386
00:15:24,020 --> 00:15:25,700
Better Together by Jack Johnson.

387
00:15:26,660 --> 00:15:28,300
Yes, thank you, Chris, for your,

388
00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:29,820
he's like, you need to say that.

389
00:15:29,820 --> 00:15:33,820
But I wanna say, I wanna say, thank you, Chris,

390
00:15:33,820 --> 00:15:37,780
I wanna say that him and I work better together, okay?

391
00:15:37,780 --> 00:15:39,660
There has been so many times in our relationship

392
00:15:39,660 --> 00:15:41,140
where we've planted this church together

393
00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:42,060
or we've ministered together

394
00:15:42,060 --> 00:15:43,500
and it would be so easy for me,

395
00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:45,580
I've got a teaching degree to go back and teach

396
00:15:45,580 --> 00:15:46,900
or go and do this or go and do that

397
00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:48,540
and not work alongside my husband

398
00:15:48,540 --> 00:15:49,540
because guess what?

399
00:15:49,540 --> 00:15:51,340
We're messy together.

400
00:15:51,340 --> 00:15:52,460
We're messy, right?

401
00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:54,340
Because like I'm a prophet

402
00:15:54,340 --> 00:15:56,420
and I have to say what God's telling me.

403
00:15:56,420 --> 00:16:00,980
And sometimes I'm not as respectful and kind and loving

404
00:16:00,980 --> 00:16:04,340
and compassionate as I need to be with him, right?

405
00:16:04,340 --> 00:16:05,940
Because he's just my husband, right?

406
00:16:05,940 --> 00:16:07,580
We work well together, right?

407
00:16:07,580 --> 00:16:10,900
So the thing is, but God, that's what God wants.

408
00:16:10,900 --> 00:16:11,940
There's been so many times I'm like,

409
00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:12,820
I don't wanna do this, God.

410
00:16:12,820 --> 00:16:14,900
He's like, but I want you to

411
00:16:14,900 --> 00:16:17,580
because the vision I gave you of Chris and together,

412
00:16:17,580 --> 00:16:18,620
it was me in the middle

413
00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:21,620
and it was life coming from both of you equally,

414
00:16:21,620 --> 00:16:23,820
equally coming together, right?

415
00:16:23,820 --> 00:16:25,780
Because there's no headship in Christ.

416
00:16:25,780 --> 00:16:28,460
It's just Jesus and we're all under his authority

417
00:16:28,460 --> 00:16:29,500
and we all love him

418
00:16:29,500 --> 00:16:32,020
and we all just wanna work for his kingdom, right?

419
00:16:32,020 --> 00:16:34,140
But the enemy wants men to hate women

420
00:16:34,140 --> 00:16:36,940
and women to hate men and us not to get along

421
00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:39,660
and then no life is being produced, right?

422
00:16:39,660 --> 00:16:40,780
So that's the plan of the enemy.

423
00:16:40,780 --> 00:16:43,180
And I personally do not want the enemy's plans

424
00:16:43,180 --> 00:16:44,540
to be fulfilled in my life.

425
00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:46,340
And I don't want the enemy's plans to be fulfilled

426
00:16:46,340 --> 00:16:49,420
in your life or your marriage or your family or your home.

427
00:16:49,420 --> 00:16:51,940
So we need to get down on our knees and we need to pray

428
00:16:51,940 --> 00:16:53,900
and we need to ask for God's strength

429
00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:55,220
to deal with our spouse,

430
00:16:55,220 --> 00:16:56,700
God's strength to deal with those people

431
00:16:56,700 --> 00:16:58,420
that are annoying us, right?

432
00:16:58,420 --> 00:17:01,220
Because we need to work together.

433
00:17:01,220 --> 00:17:03,940
Now, if you guys don't know me, I'm like into names.

434
00:17:03,940 --> 00:17:05,540
I love names.

435
00:17:05,540 --> 00:17:07,700
Each one of my children, I have six children

436
00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:09,980
and I process their names.

437
00:17:09,980 --> 00:17:11,180
I prayed over their names.

438
00:17:11,180 --> 00:17:12,820
I soaked over their names.

439
00:17:12,820 --> 00:17:17,140
So I have Isaac is anointed child of God

440
00:17:17,140 --> 00:17:18,660
and Trinity is three in one.

441
00:17:18,660 --> 00:17:19,980
That was a mistake.

442
00:17:19,980 --> 00:17:24,660
And her middle name's Aaron, which means peace, but okay.

443
00:17:24,660 --> 00:17:27,740
And Zoe means life and her middle name's Grace

444
00:17:27,740 --> 00:17:30,100
because Chris needed grace for the third child.

445
00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:32,700
And Nolan means noble chariot racer,

446
00:17:32,700 --> 00:17:36,060
but we gave him Brooks so he'd be a peaceful stream too.

447
00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:36,900
He is.

448
00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:40,300
And then Lily is truth and purity.

449
00:17:40,300 --> 00:17:42,700
Chris picked that out for his tattoo.

450
00:17:42,700 --> 00:17:43,540
That's important.

451
00:17:43,540 --> 00:17:44,740
You have to have good tattoos.

452
00:17:44,740 --> 00:17:46,540
And I don't have any.

453
00:17:46,540 --> 00:17:48,180
And Joy, God gave me Joy

454
00:17:48,180 --> 00:17:49,820
because she came after two miscarriages

455
00:17:49,820 --> 00:17:51,340
we had experienced, right?

456
00:17:51,340 --> 00:17:55,020
And so I learned how joy is not about what you experienced,

457
00:17:55,020 --> 00:17:57,420
but joy is a continual faith in God, right?

458
00:17:57,420 --> 00:18:00,660
And then we had, we have Phoenix

459
00:18:00,660 --> 00:18:02,980
and Phoenix, God gave me his name.

460
00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:04,820
I was like, okay, God, what's up with this?

461
00:18:04,820 --> 00:18:06,220
So he gave me Phoenix and I looked it up

462
00:18:06,220 --> 00:18:09,620
and it means resurrection or rising from the ashes, right?

463
00:18:09,620 --> 00:18:11,140
And because when you're 45

464
00:18:11,140 --> 00:18:12,380
and you've already had five kids

465
00:18:12,380 --> 00:18:13,980
and the last one's 10,

466
00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:16,260
you probably shouldn't have a baby again.

467
00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:19,020
So it was kind of a resurrection for me,

468
00:18:19,020 --> 00:18:21,460
but it was also a rising from the ashes for me

469
00:18:21,460 --> 00:18:25,260
because he brought us so much joy and life into our family.

470
00:18:25,260 --> 00:18:27,340
And God said, I said, God,

471
00:18:27,340 --> 00:18:30,780
did I not learn my lesson on the first five kids?

472
00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:32,580
Like what's going on here?

473
00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:34,220
But the truth is I love being a mother.

474
00:18:34,220 --> 00:18:35,060
I love it.

475
00:18:35,060 --> 00:18:36,700
I love loving on your kids.

476
00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:37,660
I love it.

477
00:18:37,660 --> 00:18:40,660
And he said, no, I gave you this gift

478
00:18:40,660 --> 00:18:43,340
so that your heart would never get broken.

479
00:18:43,340 --> 00:18:44,180
Yeah, yeah.

480
00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:45,180
Cause when we first got pregnant,

481
00:18:45,180 --> 00:18:46,380
I was like, I don't know about this, God,

482
00:18:46,380 --> 00:18:47,300
is this gonna be a miscarriage?

483
00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:48,140
What's gonna happen here?

484
00:18:48,140 --> 00:18:49,100
I was very fearful.

485
00:18:49,100 --> 00:18:49,980
And God said, nope.

486
00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:52,300
And so I've been through a lot of trauma

487
00:18:52,300 --> 00:18:55,220
and there's been a lot of situations in our life, COVID,

488
00:18:55,220 --> 00:18:59,300
before, more than COVID, since we've had Phoenix.

489
00:18:59,300 --> 00:19:02,740
And he is, he has saved my heart so many times.

490
00:19:02,740 --> 00:19:05,020
He's such a cuddler and he's so full of energy.

491
00:19:05,020 --> 00:19:09,300
He's definitely, yeah, full of energy, yes.

492
00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:11,020
That's why I run a lot and stay in shape.

493
00:19:11,020 --> 00:19:13,900
Phoenix, Phoenix, Phoenix, yes.

494
00:19:13,900 --> 00:19:17,660
So the point of this is we're having a baby dedication

495
00:19:17,660 --> 00:19:18,820
in a couple of weeks, sign up.

496
00:19:18,820 --> 00:19:23,820
But no, Deborah's name means bee, bee, bee, you know, bee,

497
00:19:24,220 --> 00:19:26,900
like bee sting, meow, bee.

498
00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:29,420
Okay, so when I was little, I thought, wow, that's cool.

499
00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:30,580
Deborah's name means bee.

500
00:19:30,580 --> 00:19:32,020
That means she like stings them

501
00:19:32,020 --> 00:19:34,180
and she like got the enemy where he deserved it.

502
00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:37,780
And then I realized not all bees have stingers.

503
00:19:37,780 --> 00:19:40,980
Hmm, so God, why did you name Deborah bee

504
00:19:40,980 --> 00:19:41,900
or why is that name?

505
00:19:41,900 --> 00:19:44,940
And so Deborah's name, spiritual connotation,

506
00:19:44,940 --> 00:19:46,620
means wise and discerning.

507
00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:48,940
So did you guys know that not all bees have stingers,

508
00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:51,460
but they have five eyes?

509
00:19:51,460 --> 00:19:53,980
Hmm, and where did they get these five eyes from?

510
00:19:53,980 --> 00:19:56,660
No, they're not aliens, we'll kind of like it.

511
00:19:56,660 --> 00:19:58,300
But they use those five eyes.

512
00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:00,020
They're like a UV sensing.

513
00:20:00,020 --> 00:20:01,780
So they sense the different flowers

514
00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:03,620
and they know how to pollinate the flowers

515
00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:05,100
because of these five eyes.

516
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:09,300
So they can see things that we can't see as humans.

517
00:20:09,300 --> 00:20:11,460
They also are known for pollinating flowers.

518
00:20:11,460 --> 00:20:15,260
And so that means they go from flower to flower to flower,

519
00:20:15,260 --> 00:20:16,940
sowing good things, right?

520
00:20:16,940 --> 00:20:19,820
Because the flowers need them to have beautiful flowers

521
00:20:19,820 --> 00:20:21,260
to cross pollinate.

522
00:20:21,260 --> 00:20:24,100
So that's what Deborah did in this situation.

523
00:20:24,100 --> 00:20:27,780
She empowered others, just like a bee would pollinate flowers

524
00:20:27,780 --> 00:20:29,500
and go from flower to flower.

525
00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:32,180
She empowered others and she stood up.

526
00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:33,980
She was Barak's strength.

527
00:20:33,980 --> 00:20:36,540
Let's hear what happens when they go into battle together.

528
00:20:36,540 --> 00:20:38,380
Judges 4, 12 through 17.

529
00:20:38,380 --> 00:20:42,700
Sisera was told that Barak had gone down to Mount Tabor.

530
00:20:42,700 --> 00:20:45,780
So Sisera gathered his 900 chariots

531
00:20:46,740 --> 00:20:48,300
that had some parts iron.

532
00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:50,180
He also gathered together all his men.

533
00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:53,460
He brought them to Kishon, the Kishon River.

534
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:55,180
Then Deborah said to Barak,

535
00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:58,580
go today, the Lord will hand Sisera over to you.

536
00:20:58,580 --> 00:21:00,620
Hasn't the Lord gone ahead of you?

537
00:21:00,620 --> 00:21:05,620
So Barak went down Mount Tabor, his 10,000 men followed him.

538
00:21:06,020 --> 00:21:07,820
As Barak's men marched out,

539
00:21:07,820 --> 00:21:11,860
the Lord drove Sisera away from the field of battle.

540
00:21:11,860 --> 00:21:15,140
The Lord scattered Sisera and all of his chariots.

541
00:21:15,140 --> 00:21:17,980
Barak's men struck down Sisera's army with their swords.

542
00:21:17,980 --> 00:21:19,660
Sisera got down from his chariot.

543
00:21:19,660 --> 00:21:21,100
He ran away on foot.

544
00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:23,900
Barak chased Sisera and his chariots in his army.

545
00:21:23,900 --> 00:21:26,260
And Barak chased him all the way.

546
00:21:26,260 --> 00:21:28,820
All of Sisera's troops were killed by swords.

547
00:21:28,820 --> 00:21:32,820
Not even one was left, but Sisera ran away on foot.

548
00:21:32,820 --> 00:21:35,500
Yay, that was awesome.

549
00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:38,700
You guys don't like Gladiator or 300 or,

550
00:21:38,700 --> 00:21:41,060
you don't like blood and gore and guts?

551
00:21:41,060 --> 00:21:43,380
Am I, is it, my family's the only one?

552
00:21:43,380 --> 00:21:44,580
Yeah, no.

553
00:21:44,580 --> 00:21:46,460
I always recommend to people movies and I'm like,

554
00:21:46,460 --> 00:21:48,900
well, just don't watch it, but it's a good movie

555
00:21:48,900 --> 00:21:50,860
because it's got like all this stuff in it.

556
00:21:50,860 --> 00:21:52,740
But yeah, it's a battle people.

557
00:21:52,740 --> 00:21:56,060
These people have been oppressed for 20 years.

558
00:21:56,060 --> 00:21:59,100
They have been under slavery for 20 years

559
00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:02,580
and they are now taking the enemy down.

560
00:22:02,580 --> 00:22:03,420
Yes.

561
00:22:03,420 --> 00:22:05,980
Yes, and don't you have enemies in your life?

562
00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:07,780
Don't you want to take them down?

563
00:22:07,780 --> 00:22:09,780
No, okay, yeah, we want to take them down.

564
00:22:09,780 --> 00:22:11,420
So this is a good story.

565
00:22:11,420 --> 00:22:14,740
This is a story how God uses,

566
00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:18,140
God uses Barak and Deborah to defeat the enemy.

567
00:22:18,140 --> 00:22:20,980
And also like, it wasn't just Barak and his family.

568
00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:23,420
It was like a bunch of families came together to do this.

569
00:22:23,420 --> 00:22:24,900
So it was a community effort,

570
00:22:24,900 --> 00:22:28,220
which that makes it also super amazing.

571
00:22:28,220 --> 00:22:30,900
All right, so there's somebody else in the story

572
00:22:30,900 --> 00:22:31,740
we're gonna learn about now.

573
00:22:31,740 --> 00:22:36,380
And this is, Deborah was JL's inspiration.

574
00:22:36,380 --> 00:22:41,060
Now here comes JL with her hammer and her tent peg.

575
00:22:41,980 --> 00:22:45,820
If you guys don't know the story, be warned.

576
00:22:45,820 --> 00:22:47,220
Men, this is not about you.

577
00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:51,020
Some of my men first service were getting really scared

578
00:22:51,020 --> 00:22:52,100
when I told this story,

579
00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:53,860
but this is about God's plans being fulfilled

580
00:22:53,860 --> 00:22:55,260
in JL's life.

581
00:22:55,260 --> 00:22:57,780
So judges four, 17 through 21,

582
00:22:57,780 --> 00:22:59,540
but Sisera ran away on foot.

583
00:22:59,540 --> 00:23:01,780
He ran into the tent of JL.

584
00:23:01,780 --> 00:23:04,460
She was the wife of Haber, the Canaanite.

585
00:23:04,460 --> 00:23:06,340
Sisera ran there because there was a treaty

586
00:23:06,340 --> 00:23:09,820
between Haber's family and Jabin, the king of Hazar.

587
00:23:09,820 --> 00:23:11,900
JL went out to meet Sisera.

588
00:23:11,900 --> 00:23:14,460
Come in, sir, she said.

589
00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:16,540
She's just a lonely housewife,

590
00:23:16,540 --> 00:23:20,340
a lonely nomadic housewife who moves tents here and there

591
00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:24,500
and has been imprisoned and oppressed by this guy

592
00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:25,940
for 20 years.

593
00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:27,860
He thinks she's a dummy.

594
00:23:27,860 --> 00:23:31,140
Don't you know that God uses the foolish things

595
00:23:31,140 --> 00:23:34,420
of this world to shame the wise, right?

596
00:23:34,420 --> 00:23:36,340
She's just a housewife, people.

597
00:23:36,340 --> 00:23:39,860
She's just like moving tents from here to there

598
00:23:39,860 --> 00:23:40,700
and everywhere.

599
00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:45,700
And so Sisera ran there because, okay, so come right in.

600
00:23:45,980 --> 00:23:47,260
Don't be afraid.

601
00:23:47,260 --> 00:23:48,740
So he entered her tent.

602
00:23:48,740 --> 00:23:52,660
And then she covered him with his blankie, it says.

603
00:23:52,660 --> 00:23:54,300
How many times does mommy's be covered?

604
00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:57,220
Just get your blankie, honey, it's okay.

605
00:23:57,220 --> 00:23:58,820
Just get your blankie.

606
00:23:58,820 --> 00:24:01,100
Funny story, my husband carried his blankie around.

607
00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:02,300
My mother-in-law's here.

608
00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:04,580
She kept his blankie till he was like in kindergarten

609
00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:06,100
or past, so anyway.

610
00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:08,820
But yeah, us moms know how to cover our kids in blankets.

611
00:24:08,820 --> 00:24:10,780
They know how to feel comfortable, right?

612
00:24:10,780 --> 00:24:12,860
Oh, just get covered in your blankie.

613
00:24:12,860 --> 00:24:15,860
And so he said, I'm thirsty.

614
00:24:15,860 --> 00:24:16,900
I'm thirsty, mommy.

615
00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,660
And she said, okay, give me some water.

616
00:24:18,660 --> 00:24:21,900
And so Joelle, sorry, not Joelle.

617
00:24:21,900 --> 00:24:23,980
Joelle opened a bottle of milk.

618
00:24:23,980 --> 00:24:25,100
She gave him milk to drink

619
00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:26,740
and then she covered him up again.

620
00:24:26,740 --> 00:24:28,980
Stand in the doorway of the tent, he told her.

621
00:24:28,980 --> 00:24:31,420
Someone might come and ask you, is anyone in there?

622
00:24:31,420 --> 00:24:33,700
If that happens, say no.

623
00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:38,260
But Hey Bear's wife, Joelle, picked up this tent stake

624
00:24:38,260 --> 00:24:39,820
and the hammer.

625
00:24:39,820 --> 00:24:41,700
So she gives him milk

626
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:44,580
because milk makes you go to sleep, right?

627
00:24:44,580 --> 00:24:46,220
It's got sugar in it.

628
00:24:46,220 --> 00:24:47,700
It's all nice in your tummy.

629
00:24:47,700 --> 00:24:49,620
So she's got this tent peg and this hammer

630
00:24:49,620 --> 00:24:51,140
that she's had for years.

631
00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:53,900
And she's probably moved her tent thousands

632
00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:55,820
and thousands of times since she's been a younger kid.

633
00:24:55,820 --> 00:24:58,180
So you just basically nomadic culture,

634
00:24:58,180 --> 00:25:00,100
take your peg and you drive it in, right?

635
00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:01,340
You're moving your tent.

636
00:25:01,340 --> 00:25:03,580
Now my husband doesn't like to camp.

637
00:25:03,580 --> 00:25:04,660
I like to camp.

638
00:25:04,660 --> 00:25:08,540
He likes to glamp or he likes to go to hotels

639
00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:09,380
and stay at the beach.

640
00:25:09,380 --> 00:25:12,460
He's like, honey, but I don't really wanna sleep outside.

641
00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:13,860
I don't wanna have to put up a tent.

642
00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:15,660
Anyway, if you like to camp, talk to me.

643
00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:16,900
Maybe we can do this together.

644
00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:21,900
Anyway, so she knew how to drive a peg into a tent, right?

645
00:25:22,460 --> 00:25:26,460
And so, let's read the rest of the story.

646
00:25:28,620 --> 00:25:31,060
She picked up the tent stake and the hammer

647
00:25:31,060 --> 00:25:32,820
and she went quickly over to him

648
00:25:32,820 --> 00:25:34,780
as he was lying there fast asleep.

649
00:25:34,780 --> 00:25:36,100
He was very tired.

650
00:25:36,100 --> 00:25:40,060
She drove the stake through his head

651
00:25:40,060 --> 00:25:43,580
right into the ground.

652
00:25:43,580 --> 00:25:46,580
So he died.

653
00:25:46,580 --> 00:25:51,580
I'm not a doctor, people, but I think you're like a tent stake

654
00:25:51,940 --> 00:25:54,260
through your head over and over again,

655
00:25:54,260 --> 00:25:56,220
through a vicious housewife.

656
00:25:56,220 --> 00:25:57,500
I've been one before.

657
00:25:57,500 --> 00:25:59,540
I've been like, I am home with the kids all day

658
00:25:59,540 --> 00:26:02,220
and you oppress me for years and I've had to stay.

659
00:26:02,220 --> 00:26:05,500
She took, yeah, yeah.

660
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:11,220
Don't, don't, don't, I wanna talk to moms

661
00:26:11,220 --> 00:26:12,420
that are staying at home right now.

662
00:26:12,420 --> 00:26:14,980
Don't neglect the gifts that God's given you

663
00:26:14,980 --> 00:26:16,540
right where you are, right?

664
00:26:16,540 --> 00:26:19,140
She had this opportunity, she had these tools

665
00:26:19,140 --> 00:26:22,460
and she used them for her God moment, right?

666
00:26:22,460 --> 00:26:25,020
She said, okay, God, use me where I am.

667
00:26:25,020 --> 00:26:28,020
She wasn't her getting him to come in.

668
00:26:28,020 --> 00:26:30,460
She knew, she's like, okay, this is my moment.

669
00:26:30,460 --> 00:26:32,380
This is the time where I can shine, right?

670
00:26:32,380 --> 00:26:34,260
So she took the time that God had given her,

671
00:26:34,260 --> 00:26:36,820
she used the tools she had and she took that opportunity

672
00:26:36,820 --> 00:26:39,020
and made it her God moment, right?

673
00:26:39,020 --> 00:26:41,100
And that's what's so impressive about JL

674
00:26:41,100 --> 00:26:42,300
and the reason she can do this,

675
00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:44,860
the reason she has such confidence, I believe,

676
00:26:44,860 --> 00:26:47,580
is because Deborah is ruling the country at the time.

677
00:26:47,580 --> 00:26:50,500
She sees a woman in power, she's the same as a woman

678
00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:53,860
who loves God's people, she sees herself being oppressed

679
00:26:53,860 --> 00:26:56,620
and she says, I will do this for such a time as this

680
00:26:56,620 --> 00:26:58,020
because Deborah is doing this.

681
00:26:58,020 --> 00:26:59,460
And Deborah went to the battle with Barak

682
00:26:59,460 --> 00:27:01,220
and if she can do that, I can do that.

683
00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:02,660
And so we need other women.

684
00:27:02,660 --> 00:27:03,980
The reason I won't stage here today

685
00:27:03,980 --> 00:27:07,820
is not because I wanna be, it's because I've got daughters.

686
00:27:07,820 --> 00:27:10,660
I've got a family and I wanna show people that, you know,

687
00:27:10,660 --> 00:27:14,260
God's given us all different giftings, right?

688
00:27:14,260 --> 00:27:16,100
And whatever God's called you to do,

689
00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:19,420
he wants you to have the ability to do it, right?

690
00:27:19,420 --> 00:27:22,820
And so that's what the story of JL is about.

691
00:27:22,820 --> 00:27:25,660
She had probably driven thousands of nails in her lifetime

692
00:27:25,660 --> 00:27:27,660
and this was her God moment.

693
00:27:28,820 --> 00:27:32,780
The enemy was defeated, Judges 4, 23 through 24.

694
00:27:32,780 --> 00:27:35,740
On that day, God brought Jabin under Israel's control.

695
00:27:35,740 --> 00:27:37,340
He was the king in Canaan.

696
00:27:37,340 --> 00:27:40,300
Israel's power grew stronger and stronger against King Jabin

697
00:27:40,300 --> 00:27:43,860
and the Israelites became so strong, they destroyed him.

698
00:27:43,860 --> 00:27:47,180
Deborah said yes to God, empowered others

699
00:27:47,180 --> 00:27:48,580
and the enemy was defeated.

700
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:52,140
When we work together people, the enemy is defeated.

701
00:27:52,140 --> 00:27:54,580
Do you guys have some enemies in your life?

702
00:27:54,580 --> 00:27:56,940
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've got some enemies

703
00:27:56,940 --> 00:27:58,380
in our life and our community, right?

704
00:27:58,380 --> 00:28:00,260
We've got so many enemies out there,

705
00:28:00,260 --> 00:28:03,100
so many tyrants out there, so to speak, right?

706
00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:06,020
And so I need you guys to work with me here

707
00:28:06,020 --> 00:28:08,580
so we can defeat the enemy that we're facing together.

708
00:28:08,580 --> 00:28:13,420
I didn't come, leave everything I had, leave Syracuse,

709
00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:15,140
plant this church with nothing.

710
00:28:15,140 --> 00:28:17,220
I didn't work bivocationaly for years.

711
00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:20,180
I didn't support Chris by having 20 kids in my home

712
00:28:20,180 --> 00:28:21,060
doing daycare.

713
00:28:21,060 --> 00:28:22,780
That's fun but not that fun, right?

714
00:28:22,780 --> 00:28:25,260
I changed a lot of poopy diapers for you guys.

715
00:28:25,260 --> 00:28:26,820
I changed a lot of things for you guys.

716
00:28:26,820 --> 00:28:28,420
I got up early for you guys.

717
00:28:28,420 --> 00:28:31,540
I worked late for you guys because I wanted this church

718
00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:34,100
to be changing Hegerstown.

719
00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:35,300
Hegerstown needs this.

720
00:28:35,300 --> 00:28:38,980
The tri-state area or the quad-state area needs life change.

721
00:28:38,980 --> 00:28:41,340
They need the power of God to move in their life.

722
00:28:41,340 --> 00:28:43,900
They need hope for a future, right?

723
00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:45,300
And the reason I'm here today,

724
00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:47,780
the reason I sacrificed everything I did in my life

725
00:28:47,780 --> 00:28:50,660
is because I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew

726
00:28:50,660 --> 00:28:52,940
I wanted to be part of the story of God

727
00:28:52,940 --> 00:28:55,540
that's gonna last through eternity, right?

728
00:28:55,540 --> 00:28:56,740
You're part of the story of God

729
00:28:56,740 --> 00:28:58,340
that's gonna last through eternity

730
00:28:58,340 --> 00:29:00,540
when you enter into His presence, right?

731
00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:02,780
And so I need you guys to partner with me

732
00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:06,380
so that we can combat this enemy, right?

733
00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:08,780
We can't do it by ourselves.

734
00:29:08,780 --> 00:29:11,060
So let's learn how to be a yes leader today.

735
00:29:11,060 --> 00:29:12,940
First of all, I need you to grow up.

736
00:29:14,300 --> 00:29:16,700
Yeah, I got my mom's voice on.

737
00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:18,740
But no, the reason I know I need you to grow up

738
00:29:18,740 --> 00:29:20,620
is because I needed to grow up, right?

739
00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:24,740
So the way you grow up is by trusting God.

740
00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:26,780
Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 says,

741
00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:29,140
trust in the Lord with all your heart.

742
00:29:29,140 --> 00:29:31,380
Do not depend on your own understanding

743
00:29:31,380 --> 00:29:33,460
in all your ways obey Him

744
00:29:33,460 --> 00:29:38,020
and then He will make your paths smooth and straight.

745
00:29:38,020 --> 00:29:41,180
We need God to be Lord over our whole life,

746
00:29:41,180 --> 00:29:42,820
not just part of it, right?

747
00:29:42,820 --> 00:29:45,980
And when I said yes to God, when I said,

748
00:29:45,980 --> 00:29:49,620
you know what God, I was God in my life for a while

749
00:29:49,620 --> 00:29:51,300
and it's not looking so good.

750
00:29:51,300 --> 00:29:52,420
I really messed it up.

751
00:29:52,420 --> 00:29:54,340
So when I gave Him the keys to my life,

752
00:29:54,340 --> 00:29:56,100
when I said I trust you God,

753
00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:59,940
and as I continue to trust God every day of my life,

754
00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:01,980
because it's not natural, it's not natural

755
00:30:01,980 --> 00:30:03,180
to give somebody the keys to your car

756
00:30:03,180 --> 00:30:04,940
when you wanna be in control, right?

757
00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:06,420
But I say, yes, God, I trust you.

758
00:30:06,420 --> 00:30:08,740
I remember there was a point in my marriage relationship

759
00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:11,420
where I was struggling and God was like,

760
00:30:11,420 --> 00:30:12,460
well, you don't trust your husband.

761
00:30:12,460 --> 00:30:13,380
I was like, what do you mean?

762
00:30:13,380 --> 00:30:14,340
No, I don't.

763
00:30:14,340 --> 00:30:16,020
And He's like, well, you don't trust me.

764
00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:17,460
I was like, oh yeah, God, I trust you.

765
00:30:17,460 --> 00:30:18,940
I trust you completely.

766
00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:20,820
You're amazing, God, you love me.

767
00:30:20,820 --> 00:30:24,500
Well, I put your husband in your life

768
00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:26,780
and now you don't trust him,

769
00:30:26,780 --> 00:30:28,900
so that means you don't trust me.

770
00:30:28,900 --> 00:30:32,140
And I was like, oh, prophetic.

771
00:30:32,140 --> 00:30:34,380
I'm pathetic, yeah, right?

772
00:30:34,380 --> 00:30:37,460
Right, because God, because God is God.

773
00:30:37,460 --> 00:30:39,260
You know, like, okay, God, you got this.

774
00:30:39,260 --> 00:30:40,580
But when He tells you something like that,

775
00:30:40,580 --> 00:30:43,140
I'm like, oh, yeah.

776
00:30:43,140 --> 00:30:45,340
I'm sorry, God, I'm sorry, Chris, I'm sorry,

777
00:30:45,340 --> 00:30:46,340
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

778
00:30:46,340 --> 00:30:48,540
So the reason I know that you need to grow up

779
00:30:48,540 --> 00:30:51,500
is because I've had to grow up over and over and over again.

780
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:52,340
That's why I have six kids,

781
00:30:52,340 --> 00:30:54,580
because I have to keep growing and growing and growing

782
00:30:54,580 --> 00:30:57,340
and changing more diapers and being more present, right?

783
00:30:57,340 --> 00:30:58,780
Right?

784
00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:02,940
So, so if you're here today and you need to trust God

785
00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:04,300
and you need to give him the keys to your life

786
00:31:04,300 --> 00:31:05,540
and you haven't done so,

787
00:31:05,540 --> 00:31:09,020
I just pray for you right now that you would do that.

788
00:31:09,020 --> 00:31:11,340
And one of the reasons I feel like we don't trust God

789
00:31:11,340 --> 00:31:12,820
and one of the things that happened in my life

790
00:31:12,820 --> 00:31:15,260
is we don't know the character of God, right?

791
00:31:15,260 --> 00:31:19,500
Because it says, the Lord is gracious and compassionate,

792
00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:23,300
slow to become angry and rich and unfailing love.

793
00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:26,100
And as far as the East is from the West,

794
00:31:26,100 --> 00:31:30,420
that's how far God has removed our transgressions from us.

795
00:31:30,420 --> 00:31:32,900
Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord.

796
00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:34,540
God has removed our transgressions

797
00:31:34,540 --> 00:31:36,700
as far as the East is from the West.

798
00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:38,660
That means he doesn't see you

799
00:31:38,660 --> 00:31:40,940
for how you see yourself, right?

800
00:31:40,940 --> 00:31:43,980
If I saw myself, I would be an imperfect bride

801
00:31:43,980 --> 00:31:46,100
with spot and wrinkle and stain,

802
00:31:46,100 --> 00:31:48,940
because I like beers and I like beer.

803
00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:51,780
Beers and beers, I said it twice.

804
00:31:51,780 --> 00:31:53,540
Beers and boys, I liked it, right?

805
00:31:53,540 --> 00:31:57,300
So it was like, for me, you know what I mean?

806
00:31:57,300 --> 00:32:00,220
I needed God to take control, right?

807
00:32:00,220 --> 00:32:01,060
Right?

808
00:32:01,060 --> 00:32:03,780
And I needed to say, okay, God, I trust you.

809
00:32:03,780 --> 00:32:06,100
I trust when you give me this plan,

810
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,460
when you say the steps of a righteous person

811
00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:10,820
are order of the Lord, I'm gonna let you order my steps, God.

812
00:32:10,820 --> 00:32:12,540
And when you say pray, Jessica,

813
00:32:12,540 --> 00:32:13,900
and when you say hold your tongue, Jessica,

814
00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:15,180
I'm gonna do it, right?

815
00:32:15,180 --> 00:32:17,540
And those simple acts of faith

816
00:32:17,540 --> 00:32:19,140
brought me into a relationship with God

817
00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:22,260
that's powerful, more powerful than it's ever been.

818
00:32:22,260 --> 00:32:24,100
You know, more fruitful and more blessed

819
00:32:24,100 --> 00:32:24,940
than it's ever been.

820
00:32:24,940 --> 00:32:27,060
I remember a couple months ago, I was like,

821
00:32:27,060 --> 00:32:29,660
man, God, I am so blessed.

822
00:32:29,660 --> 00:32:31,860
And I was feeling really guilty about being blessed.

823
00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:34,380
Have you guys ever felt guilty about, I must be, yeah,

824
00:32:34,380 --> 00:32:37,820
I'm weird though, but I was like, God, I'm so blessed.

825
00:32:37,820 --> 00:32:40,100
I just don't deserve this, I don't deserve this church,

826
00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:41,460
I don't deserve all these people, I don't have,

827
00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:45,100
and God said, Jessica, it didn't happen.

828
00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:46,780
It was one step after one step.

829
00:32:46,780 --> 00:32:49,100
Remember, you sacrificed your job, you did this,

830
00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:51,580
you did this, so it was little steps over time

831
00:32:51,580 --> 00:32:54,500
that led to God's blessings in my life, right?

832
00:32:54,500 --> 00:32:56,620
It was the faithfulness over time.

833
00:32:56,620 --> 00:32:59,460
It was me saying yes to God when I was 20 years old,

834
00:32:59,460 --> 00:33:00,620
now I'm 47, right?

835
00:33:00,620 --> 00:33:01,980
It was me saying, okay, God,

836
00:33:01,980 --> 00:33:03,740
I give you the steering wheel to my life,

837
00:33:03,740 --> 00:33:06,780
you can take control, and I'm gonna trust you.

838
00:33:06,780 --> 00:33:08,460
And then when I grabbed the wheel back again,

839
00:33:08,460 --> 00:33:09,780
he smacked my hand a little bit,

840
00:33:09,780 --> 00:33:12,540
and I said, okay, you're right, I trust you, right?

841
00:33:12,540 --> 00:33:14,020
And so that's what it is.

842
00:33:14,020 --> 00:33:17,300
And so when I learned that God loved me beyond belief,

843
00:33:17,300 --> 00:33:20,340
then I was able to give him control of my life, right?

844
00:33:20,340 --> 00:33:22,180
And so you guys gotta know the character of God.

845
00:33:22,180 --> 00:33:23,540
He is a good father.

846
00:33:24,700 --> 00:33:26,780
And that what you also have to do is besides grow up,

847
00:33:26,780 --> 00:33:30,020
you have to grow down, you have to grow some roots, okay?

848
00:33:30,020 --> 00:33:32,500
Psalms one, one through three says,

849
00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:35,220
blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.

850
00:33:35,220 --> 00:33:36,700
The law of the Lord gives them joy,

851
00:33:36,700 --> 00:33:38,780
and they think about it day and night.

852
00:33:38,780 --> 00:33:41,140
That kind of person is like a tree

853
00:33:41,140 --> 00:33:43,300
planted near the stream of living water.

854
00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:48,060
It bears forth fruit at just the right time, right?

855
00:33:48,060 --> 00:33:50,180
And so I just, I did some research on trees.

856
00:33:50,180 --> 00:33:51,580
I'm a big tree person.

857
00:33:51,580 --> 00:33:53,100
I love trees.

858
00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:54,660
Kind of weird, I don't know.

859
00:33:54,660 --> 00:33:56,700
I don't know, tree hugger.

860
00:33:56,700 --> 00:33:57,980
I didn't wear my hippie outfit today,

861
00:33:57,980 --> 00:33:59,780
but I had to wear my power outfit, but yeah,

862
00:33:59,780 --> 00:34:00,620
I do love trees.

863
00:34:00,620 --> 00:34:03,820
So, but the shepherd's tree in the Kalahari Desert

864
00:34:03,820 --> 00:34:05,060
has the deepest roots.

865
00:34:05,060 --> 00:34:09,220
The trees of that tree go 230 feet.

866
00:34:09,220 --> 00:34:11,020
So I'm a football fanatic too.

867
00:34:11,020 --> 00:34:14,140
So that's like two and a half football fields, right?

868
00:34:14,140 --> 00:34:15,140
That's pretty long.

869
00:34:15,140 --> 00:34:16,780
The trees roots grow that far.

870
00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:17,620
You know why?

871
00:34:17,620 --> 00:34:18,540
Because there's no water.

872
00:34:18,540 --> 00:34:20,660
So the roots go searching for the water.

873
00:34:20,660 --> 00:34:22,940
The roots are like the brain of the tree.

874
00:34:22,940 --> 00:34:24,740
They actually said that some of the tree roots

875
00:34:24,740 --> 00:34:28,060
will go through rocks to find water, right?

876
00:34:28,060 --> 00:34:30,060
So we need to be like that in the kingdom of God.

877
00:34:30,060 --> 00:34:31,540
We need our foundation sure.

878
00:34:31,540 --> 00:34:34,660
We need to, when those heavy storms of life come up,

879
00:34:34,660 --> 00:34:36,340
we need to be that tree that's planted

880
00:34:36,340 --> 00:34:37,540
by the streams of living water,

881
00:34:37,540 --> 00:34:39,380
which is God's presence, his peace.

882
00:34:39,380 --> 00:34:40,900
It's God's word, right?

883
00:34:40,900 --> 00:34:44,180
So when those storms come, we're not swept away.

884
00:34:44,180 --> 00:34:45,900
When the things happen, because they're gonna happen,

885
00:34:45,900 --> 00:34:47,180
because God doesn't say, in this world,

886
00:34:47,180 --> 00:34:49,900
says you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

887
00:34:49,900 --> 00:34:51,980
I have overcome the world, right?

888
00:34:51,980 --> 00:34:53,620
So it doesn't say Jessica's overcome the world,

889
00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:54,460
but God has.

890
00:34:54,460 --> 00:34:56,460
So I need to know that God's in control.

891
00:34:56,460 --> 00:34:59,660
He takes every opportunity, good or bad,

892
00:34:59,660 --> 00:35:02,580
and uses it for his glory if we let him, right?

893
00:35:02,580 --> 00:35:03,900
So we need to plant our roots deep

894
00:35:03,900 --> 00:35:07,140
and we have a HCV flower of power.

895
00:35:07,140 --> 00:35:09,660
Have you guys seen the flower of power out there?

896
00:35:09,660 --> 00:35:10,500
No?

897
00:35:10,500 --> 00:35:11,820
All right, well, if you haven't seen it,

898
00:35:11,820 --> 00:35:14,300
nobody's responding, so I'm gonna let you know what it is.

899
00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:17,260
I'm gonna talk more if you don't talk back to me.

900
00:35:17,260 --> 00:35:18,300
I'm like a teacher.

901
00:35:18,300 --> 00:35:19,780
So we have that flower out there.

902
00:35:19,780 --> 00:35:21,660
The first step is start with why, right?

903
00:35:21,660 --> 00:35:23,540
So you're gonna learn about the vineyard, who we are,

904
00:35:23,540 --> 00:35:26,580
why we're here, what we do, why we don't do certain things,

905
00:35:26,580 --> 00:35:27,700
why we do certain things.

906
00:35:27,700 --> 00:35:29,100
The second step is team up.

907
00:35:29,100 --> 00:35:30,180
You can get on a team.

908
00:35:30,180 --> 00:35:33,220
The third step is now what it actually started today.

909
00:35:33,220 --> 00:35:35,460
It's a four-week class to just learn how it's like

910
00:35:35,460 --> 00:35:37,260
to grow in your relationship with God,

911
00:35:37,260 --> 00:35:40,100
be non-religious with God and with people.

912
00:35:40,100 --> 00:35:43,500
And then there's also a step that says get in a group, okay?

913
00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:46,100
That's an amazing way to grow your roots, right?

914
00:35:46,100 --> 00:35:48,300
So we have all these steps for you here at the vineyard

915
00:35:48,300 --> 00:35:49,140
to grow your roots.

916
00:35:49,140 --> 00:35:53,140
And just give us a year and just see how it goes.

917
00:35:53,140 --> 00:35:54,780
Grow your roots, grow your roots.

918
00:35:55,780 --> 00:35:58,700
All right, so be obedient.

919
00:35:58,700 --> 00:36:01,020
So part of growing your roots is be obedient.

920
00:36:01,020 --> 00:36:04,220
So John 14, 23 says, Jesus replied,

921
00:36:04,220 --> 00:36:06,820
anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

922
00:36:06,820 --> 00:36:08,300
My father will love them.

923
00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:11,940
He will come to them and he will make their home with them.

924
00:36:11,940 --> 00:36:13,620
Now, when God tells you to do something,

925
00:36:13,620 --> 00:36:16,860
you have to trust him and be obedient.

926
00:36:16,860 --> 00:36:21,580
Okay, so God told me, we're talking about letting go here.

927
00:36:21,580 --> 00:36:23,620
So I don't know if anybody knows,

928
00:36:23,620 --> 00:36:27,140
but my brother died in September, my brother Joel.

929
00:36:27,140 --> 00:36:28,580
I have seven brothers.

930
00:36:28,580 --> 00:36:31,780
And my brother Joel was my baby brother

931
00:36:31,780 --> 00:36:33,340
who I kind of did everything with.

932
00:36:33,340 --> 00:36:36,340
I was probably like in kindergarten, first grade,

933
00:36:36,340 --> 00:36:37,420
and we would go everywhere.

934
00:36:37,420 --> 00:36:38,820
He was my baby, right?

935
00:36:38,820 --> 00:36:40,660
And so for three years,

936
00:36:40,660 --> 00:36:42,660
and Joel was part of this community of faith for a while.

937
00:36:42,660 --> 00:36:44,060
He gave his life to God.

938
00:36:44,060 --> 00:36:47,860
He was in CR.

939
00:36:47,860 --> 00:36:49,940
So for three years, Joel wasn't making good choices

940
00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:52,180
and I just kept calling him back home.

941
00:36:52,180 --> 00:36:54,220
I like grieved our relationship for three years

942
00:36:54,220 --> 00:36:57,020
because he didn't want to have a relationship with me.

943
00:36:57,020 --> 00:36:59,180
And sometimes when you have family in those dark spots,

944
00:36:59,180 --> 00:37:00,700
they don't want to have a relationship with you.

945
00:37:00,700 --> 00:37:02,580
And what you have to do is get on your knees

946
00:37:02,580 --> 00:37:04,220
and you gotta pray, right?

947
00:37:04,220 --> 00:37:05,460
And you gotta trust God.

948
00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:08,140
And it's a hard place to be in because you have no control.

949
00:37:08,140 --> 00:37:11,780
And so just kept calling him back for three years.

950
00:37:11,780 --> 00:37:14,340
He finally came back to our house,

951
00:37:14,340 --> 00:37:16,700
kind of a fluke that he came back

952
00:37:16,700 --> 00:37:19,740
because he didn't have anything and he was homeless.

953
00:37:19,740 --> 00:37:20,580
But he came back.

954
00:37:20,580 --> 00:37:22,700
And for two weeks, we had him with us

955
00:37:22,700 --> 00:37:24,140
and he got to be part of my family,

956
00:37:24,140 --> 00:37:26,780
got to see my Phoenix and hang out.

957
00:37:26,780 --> 00:37:28,700
And we got to laugh at his jokes and stuff.

958
00:37:28,700 --> 00:37:30,900
And then he died.

959
00:37:30,900 --> 00:37:32,660
And Chris and I got to find him

960
00:37:32,660 --> 00:37:35,820
and we got to say goodbye to him.

961
00:37:35,820 --> 00:37:39,180
And it's just a process when somebody dies, right?

962
00:37:39,180 --> 00:37:41,060
Because I know that God had a plan

963
00:37:41,060 --> 00:37:42,820
and a purpose for his life.

964
00:37:42,820 --> 00:37:45,180
But I know the enemy was strong too, right?

965
00:37:45,180 --> 00:37:46,780
And you kind of question and you wonder

966
00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:47,620
what you could have done,

967
00:37:47,620 --> 00:37:48,940
what you could have done differently.

968
00:37:48,940 --> 00:37:51,180
And I just had a piece about what we did.

969
00:37:51,180 --> 00:37:52,260
And I just said, you know what, God,

970
00:37:52,260 --> 00:37:55,860
I can't let Joel's life count for nothing, right?

971
00:37:55,860 --> 00:37:58,460
If somebody that comes to the funeral,

972
00:37:58,460 --> 00:37:59,540
if somebody comes to the viewing,

973
00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:02,700
if we're gonna do a baseball camp in September,

974
00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:05,100
if somebody that comes to the camp changes their life,

975
00:38:05,100 --> 00:38:06,420
that'll be not for nothing, God.

976
00:38:06,420 --> 00:38:07,740
Because you're not a God who says

977
00:38:07,740 --> 00:38:09,060
things aren't gonna happen in this world,

978
00:38:09,060 --> 00:38:11,860
but you're a God who redeems and restores

979
00:38:11,860 --> 00:38:13,740
and makes things even better.

980
00:38:13,740 --> 00:38:15,140
And that's what you did in Judges.

981
00:38:15,140 --> 00:38:18,340
And so, you know, I have Phoenix, a two year old.

982
00:38:18,340 --> 00:38:19,620
So I couldn't like lose it.

983
00:38:19,620 --> 00:38:22,420
You know, I had to grieve Joel in stages

984
00:38:22,420 --> 00:38:23,980
and then steps, right?

985
00:38:23,980 --> 00:38:25,980
And so God just gave me little opportunities

986
00:38:25,980 --> 00:38:27,340
here and there to grieve him.

987
00:38:27,340 --> 00:38:29,260
And I'm a runner, I like to run.

988
00:38:29,260 --> 00:38:31,940
So I would go out on the trail and just think about him

989
00:38:31,940 --> 00:38:33,900
and release him to God more and more.

990
00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:35,620
And so I said, God, what are we gonna do here?

991
00:38:35,620 --> 00:38:36,980
What, you know, what's the plan?

992
00:38:36,980 --> 00:38:39,180
And God said to me, he gave me a plan.

993
00:38:39,180 --> 00:38:41,300
Joel's birthday's in February.

994
00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:44,580
So he said, on his birthday, you're gonna let him go.

995
00:38:44,580 --> 00:38:47,180
And so I said, okay, God, all right.

996
00:38:47,180 --> 00:38:48,380
And it was easier said to done

997
00:38:48,380 --> 00:38:50,180
until you got to the day of his birthday, right?

998
00:38:50,180 --> 00:38:52,220
And so when we got to his birthday,

999
00:38:52,220 --> 00:38:54,220
I just had scheduled that day off on the calendar

1000
00:38:54,220 --> 00:38:55,820
and I went and I ran.

1001
00:38:55,820 --> 00:38:59,460
And I'm not really in running shape after the winter.

1002
00:38:59,460 --> 00:39:00,780
So I ran like seven miles.

1003
00:39:00,780 --> 00:39:02,780
I just wanted to keep carrying him with me.

1004
00:39:02,780 --> 00:39:04,860
And I was finally like completely exhausted.

1005
00:39:04,860 --> 00:39:07,900
And God's like, you can't carry him anymore.

1006
00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:10,260
I've got him, you know I've got him.

1007
00:39:10,260 --> 00:39:12,700
And so I was like, yes, God, I trust you.

1008
00:39:12,700 --> 00:39:13,700
I know you have him.

1009
00:39:13,700 --> 00:39:16,340
And so I ran with his ashes, you know, on the canal

1010
00:39:16,340 --> 00:39:17,260
because I live in Williamsport.

1011
00:39:17,260 --> 00:39:19,060
And then I said, okay, God,

1012
00:39:19,060 --> 00:39:20,100
and he had showed me where I was supposed

1013
00:39:20,100 --> 00:39:20,940
to release his ashes.

1014
00:39:20,940 --> 00:39:23,780
So I go up on the hill to release his ashes.

1015
00:39:23,780 --> 00:39:26,060
And I'm looking there and I'm like, God,

1016
00:39:26,060 --> 00:39:28,460
the wind isn't blowing the right direction.

1017
00:39:28,460 --> 00:39:30,140
Like, why did you make the wind blow in this direction?

1018
00:39:30,140 --> 00:39:31,500
I can't do it now because, you know,

1019
00:39:31,500 --> 00:39:34,140
the wind is blowing, you know, inward,

1020
00:39:34,140 --> 00:39:35,380
not out to sea, right?

1021
00:39:35,380 --> 00:39:36,620
Or out to the river, right?

1022
00:39:36,620 --> 00:39:40,420
And God said, Jessica, I control the wind.

1023
00:39:40,420 --> 00:39:42,420
All you have to do is be obedient

1024
00:39:42,420 --> 00:39:43,380
to what I'm calling you to do.

1025
00:39:43,380 --> 00:39:45,660
And I'm like, you're right, God, you're right.

1026
00:39:45,660 --> 00:39:47,700
So I talk a lot to myself and God.

1027
00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:49,780
So if you see me talking, I'm probably talking to God.

1028
00:39:49,780 --> 00:39:51,260
Maybe myself sometimes, anyway.

1029
00:39:52,340 --> 00:39:53,980
So I just said, okay, God, you're right.

1030
00:39:53,980 --> 00:39:56,460
And so as I released his ashes where he told me,

1031
00:39:56,460 --> 00:39:57,900
well, I kind of was waiting.

1032
00:39:58,980 --> 00:40:00,700
I'm like, God, give me a sign something.

1033
00:40:00,700 --> 00:40:02,300
And God's like, Jessica.

1034
00:40:02,300 --> 00:40:04,820
And so, but then the sky did turn

1035
00:40:04,820 --> 00:40:06,260
this beautiful shade of blue.

1036
00:40:06,260 --> 00:40:07,700
And it just reminded me so much.

1037
00:40:07,700 --> 00:40:10,340
He had the best blue eyes when he was a kid.

1038
00:40:10,340 --> 00:40:11,580
And so I was like, okay, God.

1039
00:40:11,580 --> 00:40:12,860
And I was like, can you send a bird too?

1040
00:40:12,860 --> 00:40:14,540
And he's like, don't be greedy, Jessica.

1041
00:40:14,540 --> 00:40:18,060
So I was like, okay, all right.

1042
00:40:18,060 --> 00:40:21,540
And so when I released him, even as I was releasing,

1043
00:40:21,540 --> 00:40:22,420
God said to me, you know what?

1044
00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:25,340
Joel was more Williamsport than Williamsport was.

1045
00:40:25,340 --> 00:40:27,820
He needs to be here in Williamsport, you know?

1046
00:40:27,820 --> 00:40:30,220
So he blew in to Williamsport

1047
00:40:30,220 --> 00:40:31,620
and these ashes that I had.

1048
00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:34,220
And so there was a little left in the bottom.

1049
00:40:34,220 --> 00:40:35,820
And the bottom said, okay, God, what's next?

1050
00:40:35,820 --> 00:40:36,660
So it was beautiful.

1051
00:40:36,660 --> 00:40:38,700
And then God, what's next?

1052
00:40:38,700 --> 00:40:40,460
And he was like, you need to go down to the river

1053
00:40:40,460 --> 00:40:42,220
and release more.

1054
00:40:42,220 --> 00:40:43,940
So I walked down to the river.

1055
00:40:43,940 --> 00:40:46,260
And as I was walking down, I got my bird.

1056
00:40:46,260 --> 00:40:48,380
I got my hawk was flying above me.

1057
00:40:48,380 --> 00:40:49,220
So I saw that.

1058
00:40:49,220 --> 00:40:50,420
And so I got down there.

1059
00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:53,540
This is G-rated, but I did strip down all my clothes,

1060
00:40:53,540 --> 00:40:55,940
but like I had like little running shorts and you know,

1061
00:40:55,940 --> 00:40:57,620
it was February people.

1062
00:40:57,620 --> 00:40:59,700
So I'm like, I needed a moment to just go in the river.

1063
00:40:59,700 --> 00:41:02,420
So I'm like, I'm gonna do a polar bear plunge for Joel.

1064
00:41:02,420 --> 00:41:04,740
So I run, I go in the water and I'm like,

1065
00:41:04,740 --> 00:41:07,700
oh, this is so cold.

1066
00:41:07,700 --> 00:41:09,580
And I said a couple bad words, you know,

1067
00:41:09,580 --> 00:41:11,180
like, cause I do that sometimes.

1068
00:41:11,180 --> 00:41:12,940
And I was like, oh my gosh.

1069
00:41:12,940 --> 00:41:14,380
And then, and then thank God,

1070
00:41:14,380 --> 00:41:16,180
I started laughing hysterically

1071
00:41:16,180 --> 00:41:17,940
cause my brother would just be like,

1072
00:41:17,940 --> 00:41:20,340
what in the heck are you doing, Jessica?

1073
00:41:20,340 --> 00:41:23,260
Like, why are you getting in the Potomac River in February?

1074
00:41:23,260 --> 00:41:24,380
Like you make no sense.

1075
00:41:24,380 --> 00:41:25,580
And I'm like, you're right, Joel.

1076
00:41:25,580 --> 00:41:29,500
Okay, so I ran and I'm like, no, God told me to do this.

1077
00:41:29,500 --> 00:41:30,340
I'm gonna do it.

1078
00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:35,220
So I ran in and I jumped in and I tossed the thing

1079
00:41:35,220 --> 00:41:36,900
and said, see you later, brother.

1080
00:41:36,900 --> 00:41:37,940
And let him float down the river.

1081
00:41:37,940 --> 00:41:42,260
And I went under and I came up and I went,

1082
00:41:42,260 --> 00:41:44,340
got my clothes on, walked home.

1083
00:41:44,340 --> 00:41:47,340
But, but I said, God, you know, why didn't he do that?

1084
00:41:47,340 --> 00:41:49,780
He's like, because you need that point to remember,

1085
00:41:49,780 --> 00:41:51,100
you let go.

1086
00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:53,220
So whenever the enemy tries to get in my head

1087
00:41:53,220 --> 00:41:54,940
or something tries to get in my head and say,

1088
00:41:54,940 --> 00:41:56,420
oh, you should have done this yesterday,

1089
00:41:56,420 --> 00:41:57,540
a couple of days ago, it happened.

1090
00:41:57,540 --> 00:41:58,940
You should have, you could have said this.

1091
00:41:58,940 --> 00:42:00,020
You could have done that.

1092
00:42:00,020 --> 00:42:02,300
No, I let him go.

1093
00:42:02,300 --> 00:42:04,820
He's God's now and it's done, right?

1094
00:42:04,820 --> 00:42:07,100
So sometimes we need those markers in our life.

1095
00:42:07,100 --> 00:42:10,180
So I said all that just to say, you need to be obedient.

1096
00:42:10,180 --> 00:42:12,260
When God tells you to let go of something,

1097
00:42:12,260 --> 00:42:14,860
some of you guys right now are holding on to loved ones

1098
00:42:14,860 --> 00:42:16,420
that you're just like, I don't know what happened.

1099
00:42:16,420 --> 00:42:18,620
You're not gonna know what happened, right?

1100
00:42:18,620 --> 00:42:20,380
You're not always gonna know what happened.

1101
00:42:20,380 --> 00:42:23,740
But we have to trust that our loving father

1102
00:42:23,740 --> 00:42:27,540
loves those people even more than we do, because he does.

1103
00:42:27,540 --> 00:42:30,100
He loves my kids even more than I do, right?

1104
00:42:30,100 --> 00:42:32,340
And that's so hard, but he does.

1105
00:42:33,340 --> 00:42:35,540
So be obedient and then you need to show up.

1106
00:42:36,780 --> 00:42:38,620
You need to make yourself available to God.

1107
00:42:38,620 --> 00:42:40,380
Psalms 37, 23 says,

1108
00:42:40,380 --> 00:42:42,460
the Lord directs the steps of the ungodly.

1109
00:42:42,460 --> 00:42:45,100
He delights in every detail of the godly,

1110
00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:46,540
sorry, the ungodly.

1111
00:42:46,540 --> 00:42:48,660
The Lord directs the steps of the godly.

1112
00:42:48,660 --> 00:42:51,900
He delights in every detail of their lives.

1113
00:42:51,900 --> 00:42:54,460
I think sometimes God gives us so many awesome gifts.

1114
00:42:54,460 --> 00:42:56,420
Like I call God the giver, right?

1115
00:42:56,420 --> 00:42:58,500
And he gives us so many awesome gifts

1116
00:42:58,500 --> 00:43:01,340
that sometimes we focus on these gifts he's given us

1117
00:43:01,340 --> 00:43:04,660
rather than focusing on him and his presence in our life.

1118
00:43:04,660 --> 00:43:07,620
I can get so distracted from my marriage and my kids

1119
00:43:07,620 --> 00:43:09,900
and my work and the things that I'm doing for God,

1120
00:43:09,900 --> 00:43:12,700
I forget to spend time with the lover of my soul,

1121
00:43:12,700 --> 00:43:14,500
the giver of good gifts, right?

1122
00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:16,460
And we need to focus on him.

1123
00:43:16,460 --> 00:43:18,420
We need to focus on him and that's how we show up.

1124
00:43:18,420 --> 00:43:20,620
We focus on him, he tells us to do something

1125
00:43:20,620 --> 00:43:22,620
and then we go and do, right?

1126
00:43:22,620 --> 00:43:24,660
We go and do, God, where do you want me to serve

1127
00:43:24,660 --> 00:43:25,620
in the community of faith?

1128
00:43:25,620 --> 00:43:27,300
God, where do you want me to serve in the community?

1129
00:43:27,300 --> 00:43:29,820
You focus on him, he gives you the download

1130
00:43:29,820 --> 00:43:32,820
and then it's our job to show up, right?

1131
00:43:32,820 --> 00:43:34,540
It's our job, just like Deborah, to show up.

1132
00:43:34,540 --> 00:43:36,100
She could have said, no, God, sorry,

1133
00:43:36,100 --> 00:43:39,020
I'm busy with my family, but she showed up for Israel

1134
00:43:39,020 --> 00:43:41,860
and God wrote her into the history, right?

1135
00:43:41,860 --> 00:43:44,180
We need to show up wherever God's calling you to,

1136
00:43:44,180 --> 00:43:45,380
you need to be there.

1137
00:43:46,900 --> 00:43:50,180
You need to make yourself available to people

1138
00:43:50,180 --> 00:43:51,500
because God loves people, right?

1139
00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:53,860
So Luke 4, 17 through 19.

1140
00:43:53,860 --> 00:43:56,500
Now this was actually the scripture that called us back

1141
00:43:56,500 --> 00:43:58,060
to Hagerstown, it says,

1142
00:43:58,060 --> 00:43:59,500
the spirit of the Lord is on me.

1143
00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:02,660
He has anointed me to announce good news to poor people.

1144
00:44:02,660 --> 00:44:05,020
He has sent me to announce freedom for the prisoners.

1145
00:44:05,020 --> 00:44:08,020
He has sent me so the blind will see again

1146
00:44:08,020 --> 00:44:11,460
and he wants to set free those who are treated badly.

1147
00:44:12,300 --> 00:44:14,260
Sometimes we're always looking for a calling

1148
00:44:14,260 --> 00:44:16,540
and a purpose in our life, but what if our calling

1149
00:44:16,540 --> 00:44:18,940
and our purpose is just to be present

1150
00:44:18,940 --> 00:44:21,860
for those that are in our lives, right?

1151
00:44:21,860 --> 00:44:24,620
What if it's just to text a friend?

1152
00:44:24,620 --> 00:44:26,820
What if it's just to be there

1153
00:44:26,820 --> 00:44:28,660
and the church has given away flowers, let's do it.

1154
00:44:28,660 --> 00:44:29,860
Let's give away flowers.

1155
00:44:29,860 --> 00:44:31,260
What if it's just that there's a work day,

1156
00:44:31,260 --> 00:44:32,660
I'm gonna show up for a work day.

1157
00:44:32,660 --> 00:44:35,580
What if it's my grandmother needs something moved around,

1158
00:44:35,580 --> 00:44:38,100
some furniture moved around, just go and do it, right?

1159
00:44:38,100 --> 00:44:40,700
That's being the kingdom of God here, right?

1160
00:44:40,700 --> 00:44:42,300
That's being the kingdom of God.

1161
00:44:43,620 --> 00:44:46,700
You know, the reason why we do what we do here

1162
00:44:46,700 --> 00:44:50,340
is I hate injustice, right?

1163
00:44:50,340 --> 00:44:52,740
And the biggest way we can have it,

1164
00:44:52,740 --> 00:44:54,180
I don't need more things to do, right?

1165
00:44:54,180 --> 00:44:56,300
But the biggest way to combat injustice

1166
00:44:56,300 --> 00:44:58,700
is to provide daycare for your children, right?

1167
00:44:58,700 --> 00:45:01,060
So we have a daycare here that loves on kids,

1168
00:45:01,060 --> 00:45:03,860
that teaches them how to read and write and manners

1169
00:45:03,860 --> 00:45:05,020
and that God loves them.

1170
00:45:05,020 --> 00:45:08,260
And I employ college kids and single moms

1171
00:45:08,260 --> 00:45:10,860
and people that need jobs so that we are a light

1172
00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:14,020
to the community through our learning center, right?

1173
00:45:14,020 --> 00:45:15,660
And I can't do that all by myself.

1174
00:45:15,660 --> 00:45:17,380
I can't do this church all by myself.

1175
00:45:17,380 --> 00:45:19,900
You need to link up, okay?

1176
00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:21,940
So you need to look to empower someone else.

1177
00:45:21,940 --> 00:45:26,940
So Jesus empowers the 12 disciples in Mark 3, 13 through 15.

1178
00:45:27,220 --> 00:45:31,500
Jesus calls the disciples up and he anoints them, right?

1179
00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:33,180
He says, I need your help.

1180
00:45:33,180 --> 00:45:35,900
Now, if you think that Jesus needs disciples

1181
00:45:35,900 --> 00:45:37,380
and Jesus needs help,

1182
00:45:37,380 --> 00:45:39,780
what in the world do you think that you don't need help,

1183
00:45:39,780 --> 00:45:40,700
right?

1184
00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:41,860
Like I need help.

1185
00:45:41,860 --> 00:45:45,060
When I became 40, I think I got better at asking for help

1186
00:45:45,060 --> 00:45:45,900
because when I was younger, I was like,

1187
00:45:45,900 --> 00:45:46,900
ah, I can do it myself.

1188
00:45:46,900 --> 00:45:48,660
I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.

1189
00:45:48,660 --> 00:45:50,580
Because whenever you ask for somebody's help,

1190
00:45:50,580 --> 00:45:52,360
it gets a little messy, right?

1191
00:45:52,360 --> 00:45:54,600
It gets a little messy because people are messy.

1192
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:56,740
Now we're messy back in the kid's wing.

1193
00:45:56,740 --> 00:45:58,060
You know, the kids are screaming,

1194
00:45:58,060 --> 00:46:00,020
they're hitting each other, they're learning about praying,

1195
00:46:00,020 --> 00:46:01,380
they're learning about forgiveness,

1196
00:46:01,380 --> 00:46:03,940
they're learning about taking turns, right?

1197
00:46:03,940 --> 00:46:05,300
Because you know what?

1198
00:46:05,300 --> 00:46:08,620
God gave me another vision of camping.

1199
00:46:08,620 --> 00:46:09,820
Chris loves this vision.

1200
00:46:09,820 --> 00:46:11,700
No, but there's, you know, has anybody been camping

1201
00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:14,220
and there's like that water pump that you pump the water?

1202
00:46:14,220 --> 00:46:15,500
Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

1203
00:46:15,500 --> 00:46:17,320
Yes, okay, a couple of campers here.

1204
00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:19,740
So at one point in my life, I was like,

1205
00:46:19,740 --> 00:46:21,260
God, why all the mess?

1206
00:46:21,260 --> 00:46:23,180
And he's like, well, it's just like that water.

1207
00:46:23,180 --> 00:46:24,860
When that water comes out and hits the ground,

1208
00:46:24,860 --> 00:46:25,860
there's mud everywhere.

1209
00:46:25,860 --> 00:46:27,780
Have you guys ever seen that at a campsite?

1210
00:46:27,780 --> 00:46:29,920
Now they have grates and stuff sometimes,

1211
00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:31,480
but when I used to camp, there was mud everywhere.

1212
00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:32,320
It was a mess.

1213
00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:33,660
And God said, you know what?

1214
00:46:33,660 --> 00:46:36,700
Where people are, where life is, there's gonna be mess.

1215
00:46:36,700 --> 00:46:38,660
But it's better to have the mess than no life.

1216
00:46:38,660 --> 00:46:40,680
Could you imagine a clean house and no kids?

1217
00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:42,500
Could you imagine a car that smells good

1218
00:46:42,500 --> 00:46:44,640
and there's no dirty cleats in it, right?

1219
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:46,960
Like we can't say no to God.

1220
00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:49,180
Expect life to come without having a mess.

1221
00:46:49,180 --> 00:46:50,460
It's gonna be a mess.

1222
00:46:50,460 --> 00:46:51,380
It's gonna be a mess.

1223
00:46:51,380 --> 00:46:53,660
And it's okay because God's in it, right?

1224
00:46:53,660 --> 00:46:56,620
And it's gonna teach us to grow in the process, right?

1225
00:46:56,620 --> 00:46:58,620
Chris, I think yesterday texted me, he was like,

1226
00:46:58,620 --> 00:47:00,260
do you think our kids ever gonna know

1227
00:47:00,260 --> 00:47:01,080
what we did for them?

1228
00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:01,920
I was like, nope.

1229
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:03,060
And you know why?

1230
00:47:03,060 --> 00:47:04,320
Until they become parents.

1231
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,540
But I said, because it's not about them

1232
00:47:06,540 --> 00:47:07,720
knowing what we're doing for them.

1233
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:10,060
It's about us growing, right?

1234
00:47:10,060 --> 00:47:11,460
Everything we do for our children,

1235
00:47:11,460 --> 00:47:12,740
everything we do for somebody else,

1236
00:47:12,740 --> 00:47:14,940
it's an opportunity for us to grow our roots

1237
00:47:14,940 --> 00:47:16,940
and grow closer to God, right?

1238
00:47:16,940 --> 00:47:18,940
But we need to empower others.

1239
00:47:18,940 --> 00:47:20,620
We need to partner with others

1240
00:47:20,620 --> 00:47:22,820
to get in our mess together, right?

1241
00:47:22,820 --> 00:47:25,500
And we also need to build for the future.

1242
00:47:25,500 --> 00:47:30,140
John 21, 15 through seven, Jesus is challenging Peter.

1243
00:47:30,140 --> 00:47:32,180
He's saying, Peter, do you love me?

1244
00:47:32,180 --> 00:47:35,260
And Peter's like, yeah, you know I love you, God.

1245
00:47:35,260 --> 00:47:37,780
He's like, then feed my lambs.

1246
00:47:37,780 --> 00:47:39,580
And then Jesus asked him a second time,

1247
00:47:39,580 --> 00:47:40,420
Peter, do you love me?

1248
00:47:40,420 --> 00:47:42,140
And he's like, yeah, God, you know I love you.

1249
00:47:42,140 --> 00:47:43,820
I got you, I love you.

1250
00:47:43,820 --> 00:47:45,540
And he said, then feed my sheep.

1251
00:47:45,540 --> 00:47:46,780
And then he does it a third time.

1252
00:47:46,780 --> 00:47:48,300
And Peter's like, God, what's this about?

1253
00:47:48,300 --> 00:47:49,660
And a lot of people say it's because

1254
00:47:49,660 --> 00:47:51,860
Peter denied him three times, right?

1255
00:47:51,860 --> 00:47:54,220
But I believe there's an important factor here

1256
00:47:54,220 --> 00:47:55,340
we can look at.

1257
00:47:55,340 --> 00:47:58,300
God wants us to minister to lambs and sheep.

1258
00:47:58,300 --> 00:48:02,380
He wants his kingdom to continue long after we're gone.

1259
00:48:02,380 --> 00:48:04,740
We think about our life as long,

1260
00:48:04,740 --> 00:48:05,760
but we're just a vapor.

1261
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:08,180
We're here today, gone tomorrow, right?

1262
00:48:08,180 --> 00:48:09,700
It doesn't really matter if we catch up

1263
00:48:09,700 --> 00:48:12,620
on the latest gossip or the latest news.

1264
00:48:12,620 --> 00:48:14,420
You know, we're just living right now

1265
00:48:14,420 --> 00:48:17,340
for eternity from this point on.

1266
00:48:17,340 --> 00:48:21,380
And what if good things actually take time, right?

1267
00:48:21,380 --> 00:48:23,860
I was running on the beach, another running story.

1268
00:48:23,860 --> 00:48:24,700
Bear with me.

1269
00:48:24,700 --> 00:48:25,980
And I was listening to Ted Talks.

1270
00:48:25,980 --> 00:48:27,700
Anybody know about Ted Talks, right?

1271
00:48:27,700 --> 00:48:32,700
And so they were learning about how good things take time.

1272
00:48:32,700 --> 00:48:34,540
And I was like, this is the worst podcast

1273
00:48:34,540 --> 00:48:36,140
to listen to while you're running

1274
00:48:36,140 --> 00:48:37,220
because you're running on a beach

1275
00:48:37,220 --> 00:48:38,740
and you're trudging through the sand.

1276
00:48:38,740 --> 00:48:41,140
But this point was about a sloth and something else.

1277
00:48:41,140 --> 00:48:43,880
But then they talked about how we build right now,

1278
00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,980
our technology is built like instantaneous, right?

1279
00:48:46,980 --> 00:48:49,140
We build bridges, we solve problems,

1280
00:48:49,140 --> 00:48:51,940
but they cannot solve a problem in the rainforest

1281
00:48:51,940 --> 00:48:54,860
where all these waters come and they rush through

1282
00:48:54,860 --> 00:48:56,620
and they blow out bridges, right?

1283
00:48:56,620 --> 00:48:58,020
And then communities are lost.

1284
00:48:58,020 --> 00:49:01,300
And so the lady who was talking in this podcast,

1285
00:49:01,300 --> 00:49:04,500
she said basically she went and studied people,

1286
00:49:04,500 --> 00:49:07,120
tribal people, and what they do is they build bridges

1287
00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:09,940
that last because what they do is they grow trees.

1288
00:49:09,940 --> 00:49:12,500
Over time, they plant them in specific places.

1289
00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:15,700
And then the trees become bridges, right?

1290
00:49:15,700 --> 00:49:17,700
And they plant them there for their children

1291
00:49:17,700 --> 00:49:20,460
and their children and their children's children's children

1292
00:49:20,460 --> 00:49:21,820
and generations to come.

1293
00:49:21,820 --> 00:49:22,940
Like that song we sing,

1294
00:49:22,940 --> 00:49:27,940
may your favor be upon us for a thousand generations

1295
00:49:28,300 --> 00:49:30,700
and our families and our children

1296
00:49:30,700 --> 00:49:33,380
and our children and their children.

1297
00:49:33,380 --> 00:49:36,020
So it's, we're not doing stuff today for us.

1298
00:49:36,020 --> 00:49:38,700
We're doing stuff for generations to come.

1299
00:49:38,700 --> 00:49:41,100
We're not doing stuff for today, tomorrow,

1300
00:49:41,100 --> 00:49:42,100
next week, next year.

1301
00:49:42,100 --> 00:49:43,020
That's how we think.

1302
00:49:43,020 --> 00:49:44,220
We think in this logical mind,

1303
00:49:44,220 --> 00:49:46,540
but we're doing kingdom work here, people.

1304
00:49:46,540 --> 00:49:47,380
Kingdom work.

1305
00:49:47,380 --> 00:49:49,020
And we have to think about eternity

1306
00:49:49,020 --> 00:49:50,340
when we're planting those seeds,

1307
00:49:50,340 --> 00:49:51,700
when we're saying yes to God,

1308
00:49:51,700 --> 00:49:53,340
when we're coming in, right?

1309
00:49:54,840 --> 00:49:56,200
So the way we can do this,

1310
00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:57,900
the way we can plan for eternity

1311
00:49:57,900 --> 00:50:01,060
and the way we can do this is to turn it up in our life.

1312
00:50:01,060 --> 00:50:03,180
And some of my girls say turn it up, turn it up.

1313
00:50:03,180 --> 00:50:04,500
Do, do, do, do, do, do.

1314
00:50:04,500 --> 00:50:07,060
No, anyway, so I ran again, running story.

1315
00:50:07,060 --> 00:50:08,900
I need to come up with more stories,

1316
00:50:08,900 --> 00:50:10,780
but that's actually the only time I get by myself.

1317
00:50:10,780 --> 00:50:14,220
So, so a couple days I ran the gym without earphones

1318
00:50:14,220 --> 00:50:15,300
because I lost mine at the beach.

1319
00:50:15,300 --> 00:50:17,460
Anyway, so I borrowed my son's the one day

1320
00:50:17,460 --> 00:50:19,620
and I'm like running so fast, right?

1321
00:50:19,620 --> 00:50:20,940
Because I had music on.

1322
00:50:20,940 --> 00:50:22,500
And music is rhythm, right?

1323
00:50:22,500 --> 00:50:24,500
And so I'm like, wow, I had a great run today.

1324
00:50:24,500 --> 00:50:26,340
I had my earphones on and this is great.

1325
00:50:26,340 --> 00:50:28,780
But how many times do we not turn up

1326
00:50:28,780 --> 00:50:30,340
the voice of God in our life?

1327
00:50:30,340 --> 00:50:31,900
How many times do we get distracted

1328
00:50:31,900 --> 00:50:33,100
by all those things around us

1329
00:50:33,100 --> 00:50:35,420
and we forget to turn up the voice of God

1330
00:50:35,420 --> 00:50:37,660
to see what he's actually doing in a situation?

1331
00:50:37,660 --> 00:50:39,520
When there's a crisis in your family,

1332
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:40,860
when there's something happening,

1333
00:50:40,860 --> 00:50:42,740
how many times do we say stop?

1334
00:50:42,740 --> 00:50:44,140
Let's stop and pray first

1335
00:50:44,140 --> 00:50:45,500
and let's turn up the voice of God

1336
00:50:45,500 --> 00:50:48,380
so we can figure out what to do for eternity.

1337
00:50:48,380 --> 00:50:50,300
Not just for this moment, not just for this week,

1338
00:50:50,300 --> 00:50:52,380
but what's God telling us to do here?

1339
00:50:52,380 --> 00:50:54,820
Because ultimately God has a plan, right?

1340
00:50:54,820 --> 00:50:58,260
And we also, we also, I had this,

1341
00:50:58,260 --> 00:50:59,820
I had listened to another Ted Talks

1342
00:50:59,820 --> 00:51:02,140
and it was by this pro wrestler.

1343
00:51:02,140 --> 00:51:04,600
You guys, anybody here like wrestling?

1344
00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:06,180
Chris said I have to watch wrestling

1345
00:51:06,180 --> 00:51:08,040
now that I've listened to the Ted Talks on wrestling.

1346
00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:09,820
Nobody likes wrestling.

1347
00:51:09,820 --> 00:51:12,740
Tracy likes cage fighting or something.

1348
00:51:12,740 --> 00:51:13,920
Must be just the people I love.

1349
00:51:13,920 --> 00:51:17,940
Anyway, so, so you guys didn't grow up with like

1350
00:51:17,940 --> 00:51:20,260
Hawk Hogan and Andre the Giant, all that.

1351
00:51:20,260 --> 00:51:22,020
Okay, I'm dating myself, I'm dating myself.

1352
00:51:22,020 --> 00:51:24,580
Anyway, so basically the wrestler says

1353
00:51:24,580 --> 00:51:26,420
to be a successful pro wrestler,

1354
00:51:26,420 --> 00:51:29,960
you have to turn up what you have inside you.

1355
00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:31,980
So he said, you know what, I was a heavyweight guy

1356
00:51:31,980 --> 00:51:33,580
and I didn't have any pride issues,

1357
00:51:33,580 --> 00:51:36,540
so I got in a Speedo and I let it all hang out

1358
00:51:36,540 --> 00:51:38,300
and I was a pro wrestler, right?

1359
00:51:38,300 --> 00:51:39,780
So what you're doing as a pro wrestler

1360
00:51:39,780 --> 00:51:41,300
is you're basically just turning up

1361
00:51:41,300 --> 00:51:42,820
the things that God's given them

1362
00:51:42,820 --> 00:51:45,820
and becoming this extreme figure, right?

1363
00:51:45,820 --> 00:51:47,540
A lifelong superhero.

1364
00:51:47,540 --> 00:51:49,300
And so I feel like that's what God wants to do

1365
00:51:49,300 --> 00:51:50,140
in our lives today.

1366
00:51:50,140 --> 00:51:51,860
He wants to take our hearing,

1367
00:51:51,860 --> 00:51:53,460
he wants to take the gifts he's given us,

1368
00:51:53,460 --> 00:51:55,980
he wants to take our tent pegs, right?

1369
00:51:55,980 --> 00:51:57,020
Our tent pegs and our hammer

1370
00:51:57,020 --> 00:51:58,140
and he wants to turn them up

1371
00:51:58,140 --> 00:52:00,100
for his kingdom and his glory, right?

1372
00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:01,300
And so that's what we need to do

1373
00:52:01,300 --> 00:52:02,700
is we need to turn on the voice of God

1374
00:52:02,700 --> 00:52:04,780
so that we can get turned up.

1375
00:52:04,780 --> 00:52:08,380
All right, so I'm done.

1376
00:52:10,820 --> 00:52:11,740
Aren't you guys excited?

1377
00:52:11,740 --> 00:52:13,820
No, I'm not done, no, okay, oh thanks.

1378
00:52:13,820 --> 00:52:17,420
Anyway, no, okay, so I don't think God's done here though

1379
00:52:17,420 --> 00:52:20,740
today, so I just, I really feel like

1380
00:52:20,740 --> 00:52:23,580
we would be amiss today if we didn't take an opportunity

1381
00:52:23,580 --> 00:52:25,500
just to hear from the Holy Spirit today,

1382
00:52:25,500 --> 00:52:28,260
just allow God's presence and his peace to wash over you.

1383
00:52:28,260 --> 00:52:31,860
I have some words Chris is gonna come out with me

1384
00:52:31,860 --> 00:52:35,500
like I feel like God's given us for the congregation today.

1385
00:52:35,500 --> 00:52:37,180
But the first thing I wanna do is if,

1386
00:52:37,180 --> 00:52:39,820
is everybody wanna stand with me right now?

1387
00:52:39,820 --> 00:52:41,180
You can turn on the music a little louder

1388
00:52:41,180 --> 00:52:42,900
than first service.

1389
00:52:42,900 --> 00:52:45,300
If anybody here has not said yes to God,

1390
00:52:45,300 --> 00:52:47,900
if you've not given him the steering wheel to your life,

1391
00:52:47,900 --> 00:52:51,340
if you've not said, God, I trust you with my life,

1392
00:52:51,340 --> 00:52:56,060
I know you're good, we're gonna do that right now together.

1393
00:52:56,060 --> 00:52:57,620
So Holy Spirit, come.

1394
00:52:58,860 --> 00:53:01,580
You can raise your hand if you wanna give your life

1395
00:53:01,580 --> 00:53:04,580
right now to Jesus and you wanna trust him with your life.

1396
00:53:06,660 --> 00:53:07,500
Thank you, Lord.

1397
00:53:10,380 --> 00:53:14,020
Holy Spirit, you guys wanna sit and just pray with me?

1398
00:53:14,020 --> 00:53:15,540
You can repeat after me.

1399
00:53:15,540 --> 00:53:20,540
Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me.

1400
00:53:20,820 --> 00:53:24,340
Thank you for seeing me.

1401
00:53:24,340 --> 00:53:31,660
Thank you for knowing who I am inside and out.

1402
00:53:31,660 --> 00:53:40,660
And right now, I choose by an act of my will to trust you.

1403
00:53:40,660 --> 00:53:44,980
I give you control of my life.

1404
00:53:44,980 --> 00:53:50,220
Forgive me for the choices I made,

1405
00:53:50,220 --> 00:53:53,620
for being God of my own life.

1406
00:53:53,620 --> 00:53:56,220
Right now, I choose you.

1407
00:53:57,100 --> 00:53:58,900
I say yes to you, Jesus.

1408
00:54:00,260 --> 00:54:03,580
Now and forever more.

1409
00:54:03,580 --> 00:54:05,500
Amen, amen.

1410
00:54:05,500 --> 00:54:08,340
So that was the first prayer for somebody to do that

1411
00:54:08,340 --> 00:54:09,500
and he took away my iPad

1412
00:54:09,500 --> 00:54:11,980
so I don't know the other things I was gonna say.

1413
00:54:11,980 --> 00:54:14,740
But I also wanted to pray for people right now.

1414
00:54:14,740 --> 00:54:15,820
That was to grow up.

1415
00:54:15,820 --> 00:54:16,820
Where's that, hang.

1416
00:54:19,140 --> 00:54:20,980
It's okay, I love how he takes care of me.

1417
00:54:20,980 --> 00:54:24,700
Isn't he an awesome servant?

1418
00:54:24,700 --> 00:54:27,980
No, he's awesome.

1419
00:54:27,980 --> 00:54:30,420
He puts up with me, I'm a mess, just mess.

1420
00:54:30,420 --> 00:54:31,220
They rhyme.

1421
00:54:31,220 --> 00:54:33,340
So, okay, so the next thing is,

1422
00:54:33,340 --> 00:54:34,980
I need some of you to grow down today.

1423
00:54:34,980 --> 00:54:37,740
I feel like God's, you've said yes to God.

1424
00:54:37,740 --> 00:54:39,700
You maybe gotten baptized or you haven't gotten baptized.

1425
00:54:39,700 --> 00:54:41,620
That would be another way to grow down.

1426
00:54:41,620 --> 00:54:43,180
But you've gotten baptized,

1427
00:54:43,180 --> 00:54:45,100
but you just haven't done the steps,

1428
00:54:45,100 --> 00:54:47,820
the weekly steps it takes to just get into God's word,

1429
00:54:47,820 --> 00:54:50,300
to get into a group, come into this community of faith

1430
00:54:50,300 --> 00:54:52,940
and really grow in relationship.

1431
00:54:52,940 --> 00:54:54,220
So right now I'm gonna pray for you.

1432
00:54:54,220 --> 00:54:56,620
If that's you, just raise your hand.

1433
00:54:56,620 --> 00:54:57,460
Thank you, Lord.

1434
00:54:57,460 --> 00:54:59,820
God, I just pray for all of us, Lord, right now,

1435
00:54:59,820 --> 00:55:03,420
that we would grow our roots deep like those trees, Lord.

1436
00:55:03,420 --> 00:55:06,500
God, that our foundation would be in you, Lord.

1437
00:55:06,500 --> 00:55:09,660
That we would plug into this community of faith.

1438
00:55:09,660 --> 00:55:11,300
Lord, that we would know that we would know

1439
00:55:11,300 --> 00:55:12,980
that you love us, Lord,

1440
00:55:12,980 --> 00:55:15,140
and that we would be rich in mercy, God.

1441
00:55:16,740 --> 00:55:18,380
God, I ask that you would just highlight ways

1442
00:55:18,380 --> 00:55:20,420
that you want us to grow, even this week.

1443
00:55:21,340 --> 00:55:23,100
In Jesus' name, amen.

1444
00:55:24,060 --> 00:55:25,180
And then the third thing is,

1445
00:55:25,180 --> 00:55:28,780
I know some of you guys need to let go, okay?

1446
00:55:28,780 --> 00:55:31,780
You need to show up for the living people in your life.

1447
00:55:31,780 --> 00:55:34,380
Okay, you're holding on to something that you've lost.

1448
00:55:34,380 --> 00:55:36,540
You're holding on to a dream that you had.

1449
00:55:36,540 --> 00:55:40,580
You're holding on to something that you need to let go of.

1450
00:55:40,580 --> 00:55:42,700
And God is here, the Holy Spirit is here

1451
00:55:42,700 --> 00:55:44,980
to minister to you right now.

1452
00:55:44,980 --> 00:55:46,660
And God doesn't say let go

1453
00:55:46,660 --> 00:55:47,700
because something worse is gonna happen.

1454
00:55:47,700 --> 00:55:49,020
He says let go and trust me

1455
00:55:49,020 --> 00:55:52,140
because I've got so many good things for you.

1456
00:55:52,140 --> 00:55:53,740
So right now, if you need to let go,

1457
00:55:53,740 --> 00:55:56,780
I just ask you to raise your hand right now.

1458
00:55:56,780 --> 00:55:59,500
If there's something that you need to let go of,

1459
00:55:59,500 --> 00:56:03,260
expectations, we just let them go in Jesus' name.

1460
00:56:05,900 --> 00:56:08,740
How we should be, we just let it go in Jesus' name.

1461
00:56:10,460 --> 00:56:13,380
Just let go of those negative thoughts

1462
00:56:13,380 --> 00:56:15,380
and negative words that have been spoken over you.

1463
00:56:15,380 --> 00:56:17,540
I just cut those off in the name of Jesus.

1464
00:56:17,540 --> 00:56:20,500
Any negativity that's been spoken over you or your life,

1465
00:56:20,500 --> 00:56:21,980
just cut it off in the name of Jesus.

1466
00:56:21,980 --> 00:56:25,100
God, and I speak God's plan over these people's life.

1467
00:56:25,100 --> 00:56:27,860
God, as they trust you with their loved ones

1468
00:56:27,860 --> 00:56:28,700
that they've lost, God,

1469
00:56:28,700 --> 00:56:31,340
as they trust you with their finances, Lord,

1470
00:56:31,340 --> 00:56:33,460
as they trust you with their future, Lord,

1471
00:56:33,460 --> 00:56:35,700
I ask that you show up in their life, God.

1472
00:56:37,180 --> 00:56:38,980
God, I ask that you write a story on their life

1473
00:56:38,980 --> 00:56:40,780
that they could have never imagined.

1474
00:56:42,020 --> 00:56:44,420
Thank you, God, for helping us let go.

1475
00:56:44,420 --> 00:56:46,820
And then some of you, I think you need to turn it up.

1476
00:56:47,700 --> 00:56:48,620
You know what you're called to do.

1477
00:56:48,620 --> 00:56:50,140
You know what God's calling you into

1478
00:56:50,140 --> 00:56:53,740
and you haven't done it, and you've just kind of sat in the,

1479
00:56:53,740 --> 00:56:55,260
you know, you're not even sat in the side,

1480
00:56:55,260 --> 00:56:57,940
you've kind of sat in the back seat for a long time, right?

1481
00:56:57,940 --> 00:56:59,780
And so God wants you to turn up the gifts

1482
00:56:59,780 --> 00:57:02,060
that you've been given, turn up the gifts that you have

1483
00:57:02,060 --> 00:57:03,900
and use them for the kingdom.

1484
00:57:03,900 --> 00:57:04,740
Because guess what?

1485
00:57:04,740 --> 00:57:06,900
We can't work as a community of faith

1486
00:57:06,900 --> 00:57:09,900
unless we have all the bodies working together, right?

1487
00:57:09,900 --> 00:57:11,980
That's why God calls us the body of Christ.

1488
00:57:11,980 --> 00:57:15,500
That's why God calls us the body of Christ, okay?

1489
00:57:15,500 --> 00:57:17,020
So if you feel like you need to turn it up

1490
00:57:17,020 --> 00:57:19,020
in your life right now,

1491
00:57:19,020 --> 00:57:20,940
specifically if you think you need to turn it up

1492
00:57:20,940 --> 00:57:23,300
and like you need to work with kids in the next generation,

1493
00:57:23,300 --> 00:57:25,540
I just ask that you raise your hands right now.

1494
00:57:26,700 --> 00:57:27,540
Thank you, Lord.

1495
00:57:27,540 --> 00:57:30,140
God, I just ask that you would help us

1496
00:57:30,140 --> 00:57:33,180
turn up you in our lives, God.

1497
00:57:33,180 --> 00:57:36,260
That our God radio will be tuned to you, Lord.

1498
00:57:36,260 --> 00:57:38,380
That we would hear your voice clearly

1499
00:57:38,380 --> 00:57:41,180
and that we would make decisions

1500
00:57:41,180 --> 00:57:43,660
based on what you want for our life, God.

1501
00:57:43,660 --> 00:57:45,260
On what you think is best for our life,

1502
00:57:45,260 --> 00:57:46,500
not what we think is best,

1503
00:57:46,500 --> 00:57:47,700
not what we think we should do,

1504
00:57:47,700 --> 00:57:50,420
but God, what you're calling us to do.

1505
00:57:50,420 --> 00:57:51,980
God, I thank you for the calling

1506
00:57:51,980 --> 00:57:53,060
and the plans and the purposes

1507
00:57:53,060 --> 00:57:55,940
for each one of these individuals here today, Lord.

1508
00:57:55,940 --> 00:57:59,580
And God, I just speak as the mother of this church,

1509
00:57:59,580 --> 00:58:00,860
I just speak over them, God,

1510
00:58:00,860 --> 00:58:04,140
and I just say that they are worthy of the calling, God.

1511
00:58:04,140 --> 00:58:06,420
That they are so good, God,

1512
00:58:06,420 --> 00:58:08,900
that I'm just so thankful each and every one of them, Lord.

1513
00:58:08,900 --> 00:58:13,260
And I ask that you continue to pull forth their giftings, Lord.

1514
00:58:13,260 --> 00:58:15,620
That they continue to plug into this community of faith.

1515
00:58:15,620 --> 00:58:20,460
That, God, that you have businesses that are coming forth.

1516
00:58:20,460 --> 00:58:22,020
I feel like there's businesses coming forth,

1517
00:58:22,020 --> 00:58:23,820
nonprofits that are gonna be coming forth

1518
00:58:23,820 --> 00:58:25,220
from this community of faith.

1519
00:58:27,220 --> 00:58:29,660
I feel like there's gonna be jobs,

1520
00:58:29,660 --> 00:58:31,820
opportunities for jobs, for people

1521
00:58:31,820 --> 00:58:34,380
that are gonna come forth from this community of faith.

1522
00:58:34,380 --> 00:58:35,700
There's gonna be more things come up.

1523
00:58:35,700 --> 00:58:37,260
So, God, I just pray for more right now

1524
00:58:37,260 --> 00:58:41,020
and Jesus saying more, more, yes, more.

1525
00:58:42,780 --> 00:58:45,820
This morning, our prayer team was praying for our services

1526
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and there's a couple things they highlighted

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that we specifically wanna pray for in your life.

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The first one was fear,

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that there was gonna be people here this morning

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that was just so gripped in fear

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that they just couldn't take a step and move forward.

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For example, there's just a testimony

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about what already happened during our nine o'clock gathering.

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I had a guy grab me afterwards

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and he looked at me, he goes,

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it's my first time here.

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I was like, oh, that's cool.

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Glad you're here and gave him a hug

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and he goes, no, you don't understand.

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I was in my house.

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He lived right across the street here.

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He goes, I was in my house watching online

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and I heard what your wife said and how she started

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and he was like, holy crap,

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I gotta get dressed and get to church.

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So he said he threw on his clothes and came running over.

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He literally didn't even drive,

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came running over to church.

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It was his first time ever in our building

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and he gave his life to Jesus and he filled out a card

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and it was just cool, you know?

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But some of you this morning,

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you're so gripped in fear that you can't even take a step.

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And if that's you, we wanna pray for you.

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And it's not just fear, but it's also stomach issues.

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If you have something going on with your abdomen,

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we wanna pray for healing in your life.

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And Jess also felt that God wants to heal some knees

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and some feet.

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So if that's you, if they speak to you

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in any way, we're gonna be up here in the front

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and we're gonna encourage you.

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We wanna pray for you, but you gotta take a step of faith.

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Does that make sense?

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Like you gotta come forward

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and our prayer team will meet you up here and pray for you.

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All right, so I feel like we're supposed to pray for Chris.

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Can you guys agree with me in prayer?

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Chris has been having knee problems

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and he is getting old, but.

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I tell you what, man, first gathering,

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everyone's like, oh, Jess needs to speak more

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and all this stuff.

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I said, man, I got thrown over the bus so much.

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She's never speaking again.

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No, no, no.

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Can I hear it, man?

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Right, yeah.

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Holy cow.

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But I don't think, I don't think that his knees are.

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I know you've been like a glamp, come on.

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I don't think that his knees are hurting

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because he's old.

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I just think that God, it was a sign

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that God wants to pray for people's knees,

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but can we pray together for,

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that his knees would be healed

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because I need him to walk

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and I need him to do things for me.

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And he does great laundry, so yes.

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So, so God, we just lift up Chris to you right now, God.

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We lift his body up to you, Lord.

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Any area that he feels attacked, Lord.

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Any area where the enemy would try to

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make him stop walking, Lord.

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I just come against it in Jesus' name, God.

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And I thank you for the love you have for Chris, God.

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I thank you that you love him so much, Lord.

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And I just pray that right now,

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I just pray for healing, supernatural healing

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in both of his knees, Lord.

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Thank you, God.

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Supernatural healing in both of his knees, God.

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That he could walk where you want him to walk.

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That he could go where you want him to go, Lord.

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Jesus' name.

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So yeah, the knees and the feet,

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I feel like God wants you to go somewhere

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and those feet and those knees are like

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taking you from where you need to go.

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So I'll be over here praying for that.

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Yeah, abdomen and fear will be over here.

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There'll be people here to meet you

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and pray with you from our prayer team.

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But you have to take that step of faith

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and believe that God wants to heal you, amen?