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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Did you know that Jesus Calling has its

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Speaker 1: own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will

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Speaker 1: as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday

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Speaker 1: You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series

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Speaker 1: hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe

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Speaker 1: today for new videos each week.

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Speaker 2: Paul recognize that if I'm going to receive anything from

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Speaker 2: the Lord, it's going to be because of his goodness

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Speaker 2: to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could

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Speaker 2: trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so

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Speaker 2: there's a lesson to be learned for us there to

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Speaker 2: be grateful, to be thankful to God for what we have,

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Speaker 2: and also to be hopeful and thankful for what we

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Speaker 2: need in the future.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to a special scripture focused bonus episode of the

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Speaker 1: Jesus Calling Podcast. For this episode, we look at the

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Speaker 1: Book of Philippians with Nate Piowitz, the pastor of Harvest

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Speaker 1: Bible Church. Nate walks us through the context of Philippians

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Speaker 1: and the life of the author the Apostle Paul, revealing

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Speaker 1: how when we can turn to God in the middle

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Speaker 1: of our fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, we can find joy

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Speaker 1: and peace that transcends our circumstances.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm Nate Picowitz. I'm the pastor of Harvest Bible

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Speaker 2: Church in Gilminton Ironworks in Hampshire up in the Boonies.

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Speaker 2: I'm a writer. I'm also a dad, a husband, and

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Speaker 2: a father of three kids. So the Lord's blessed me

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Speaker 2: with the opportunity to minister, obviously to my family, but

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Speaker 2: also to the church, and it's a joy to be

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Speaker 2: able to do ministry. My own walk with spiritual depression

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Speaker 2: began pretty early in my life. I can remember being

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Speaker 2: school age eight, nine, ten years old and struggling with

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Speaker 2: bouts of anxiety. I was just a very anxious kid,

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Speaker 2: to the point I'd have to go to the nurse's

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Speaker 2: office and lay down and take a deep breath because

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Speaker 2: I was just so anxious. So it followed me for

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Speaker 2: as long as I can remember, and even into my

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Speaker 2: adult years, just always battling the anxiety and the worry

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Speaker 2: and the fear and even just feeling downcast. And really,

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Speaker 2: when I became a Christian in my early twenties, began

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Speaker 2: to read the Bible, and I realized that God has

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Speaker 2: a lot to say about the things I was feeling.

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Speaker 2: The Apostle Paul deals with the issue of anxiousness and

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Speaker 2: fear and worry. There's actually a pretty famous passage that

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Speaker 2: comes to us in Philippians, chapter four, verses six and seven,

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Speaker 2: and he talks about a person who is struggling with

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Speaker 2: that anxiety, a worry about the future, or worry about circumstances.

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Speaker 2: And I remember Paul's in prison right now in Rome,

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Speaker 2: and he has every reason earthly wise to be worried

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Speaker 2: about his circumstances. But he says in chapter four, verse

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Speaker 2: six and seven, he says, be anxious for nothing, but

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Speaker 2: in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your

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Speaker 2: request be made known to God. He says, in the

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Speaker 2: peace of God, which surpasses all comprehensions, shall guard your

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Speaker 2: hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul connects

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Speaker 2: these two worlds. He connects the experience of anxiety and

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Speaker 2: wordy and fear about the future, and he pairs it

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Speaker 2: with thanksgiving and contentment and rejoicing. And so there is

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Speaker 2: this notion here that anxiety worry exists because we don't

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Speaker 2: know if we're going to have what we need for

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Speaker 2: the future. We're concerned about our circumstance, we're concerned about provision.

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Speaker 2: Jesus addresses this in Matthew chapter six, but he says, ultimately,

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Speaker 2: our source of help comes from the Lord, and so

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Speaker 2: recognizing that everything we have that's good comes from God,

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Speaker 2: he's able to give us abundantly more than we could

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Speaker 2: ever ask or think. So once you recognize that everything

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Speaker 2: that's good comes from God, suddenly you realize that if

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Speaker 2: I'm anxious or worried about what i might need from

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Speaker 2: the Lord, I can actually just turn to him, and

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Speaker 2: in turning to him actually doing to be thankful, he'd

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Speaker 2: be grateful for what He's given to me. Because in

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Speaker 2: the end, because of the fallenness of our nature, because

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Speaker 2: of our sinful hearts, we don't actually deserve anything good.

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Speaker 2: And yet God is gracious and gives us what is good,

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Speaker 2: and the greatest gift he's given us, obviously is Christ.

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Speaker 2: And so learning to become thankful that becomes an antidote

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Speaker 2: to anxiety and worry and fear and discontent. Being grateful

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Speaker 2: to God for what He's given it changes the entire

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Speaker 2: focus of our heart. So I was encouraged to know, like,

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Speaker 2: not only can I go to him, not only can

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Speaker 2: I find refuge and solace in him, but he says

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Speaker 2: that I'll give you peace, I'll give you rest. And

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Speaker 2: so this has been a journey, probably about twenty years

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Speaker 2: of just seeking the Lord, trying to understand why I

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Speaker 2: feel the way that I feel, why I wrestle the

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Speaker 2: way that I do, and try to find some hope

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Speaker 2: and some help. In the midst of all of that,

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Speaker 2: Paul recognized that if I'm going to receive anything from

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Speaker 2: the Lord, It's going to be because of his goodness

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Speaker 2: to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could

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Speaker 2: trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so

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Speaker 2: he was grateful, even in the midst of obstacles and

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Speaker 2: difficult circumstances, he was grateful to God for what he received.

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Speaker 2: And so there's a lesson to be learned for us

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Speaker 2: there as well, to be grateful, to be thankful to

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Speaker 2: God for what we have, and also to be hopeful

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Speaker 2: and thankful for what we need. In the future. When

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Speaker 2: we consider the life in the ministry of the Apostle Paul,

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Speaker 2: we have to remember that he was a Jewish pharisee.

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Speaker 2: He was a rabbi, he was a student learning the

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Speaker 2: Word of God. He was a pharisee of all pharisees.

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Speaker 2: He lists his accomplishments in chapter three of his letter

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Speaker 2: to the Philippians, and so in the midst of all

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Speaker 2: of that, he's actually zealous to persecute the Church of

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Speaker 2: God because he believes in his tradition that that's correct.

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Speaker 2: He believes that Christianity is a movement against Judaism, it's

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Speaker 2: against the truth. And so he goes out on a

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Speaker 2: pilgrimage to try to persecute and destroy the Church of

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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. And along the way, in Acts chapter nine,

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Speaker 2: we actually read that he is knocked off his horse,

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Speaker 2: and then the Lord appears to him, and he's converted

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Speaker 2: because he actually sees the risen Christ, and the Lord

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Speaker 2: correct semi says, you know you're persecuting me by persecuting

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Speaker 2: the Church. And then Paul gets turned all the way around.

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Speaker 2: His heart changes, his mind changes, and he begins to

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Speaker 2: be zealous for the things of Christ. And so now

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Speaker 2: he's traveling from region to region, city to city, sharing

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Speaker 2: the gospel. He's also planting churches. The church in Philippi

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Speaker 2: was one of the churches that he was instrumental in planting.

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Speaker 2: And so when we consider where he is now, now

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Speaker 2: he's actually a prisoner of the gospel because he's making

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Speaker 2: pretty large claims about who Jesus is. Where in the

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Speaker 2: Roman Empire that Caesar is considered to be lord of

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Speaker 2: all things, Paul is saying, actually, no, Jesus is Lord.

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Speaker 2: And they didn't want to hear that. The Jews didn't

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Speaker 2: want to hear about Christ. And so Paul has only

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Speaker 2: enemies in front of him as he's ministering this gospel.

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Speaker 2: And now he's taking his stand for Christ, and he's

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Speaker 2: writing to churches who also need to be encouraged in

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Speaker 2: the things of God. And so that's his life ministry

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Speaker 2: is to proclaim Christ, to know him, and to give

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Speaker 2: his life for the sake of the Gospel.

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Speaker 1: Stay tuned for more on the Book of Philippians with

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Speaker 1: Nate Pickowitz. After a brief message, these uncertain times bring

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Speaker 1: anxiety and fear, but Jesus listens prayers for every season

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Speaker 1: gives you daily prayers of comfort with seasonally inspired illustrations.

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Speaker 1: This beautiful book includes prayers that speak to your situation,

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Speaker 1: whether it's a time of stress or strength. Look for

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Speaker 1: Jesus Listens prayers for every season wherever you buy books.

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Speaker 2: The Book of Philippians is written by the apostle Paul,

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Speaker 2: and we call it a prison epistle. He most likely

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Speaker 2: wrote this while he was imprisoned in Rome for his faith.

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Speaker 2: We don't know if it's a house arrest or if

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Speaker 2: it's actually in a dungeon somewhere, but regardless of the circumstance,

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Speaker 2: he is in prison. He's writing this letter to the

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Speaker 2: church in Philippi, trying to encourage them in their faith.

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Speaker 2: There's a point in which he talks in the beginning

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Speaker 2: of the book about his aim being known throughout the

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Speaker 2: entire Praytonian Guard, and then toward the end of the

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Speaker 2: book he talks about actually praying for those who are

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Speaker 2: in Caesar's household. So we think that Paul actually made

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Speaker 2: some converts in the household of Caesar and was very

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Speaker 2: pleased to be able to bring the gospel that far.

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Speaker 2: And as we talk about bringing an element of joy

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Speaker 2: rejoicing in the Lord in the midst of all circumstances.

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Speaker 2: And so Paul is writing from a very personal experience,

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Speaker 2: sort of an authoritative experience. He's in prison, writing about joy.

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Speaker 2: So this is something very near and dear to his heart.

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Speaker 2: We realize that there's an overarching theme of joy. We

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Speaker 2: have to see the contrast between Paul's circumstances being imprisoned

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Speaker 2: and being persecuted for his faith, and then also the

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Speaker 2: joy of the Lord that the experience is while there.

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Speaker 2: And so we see that the circumstances actually tying together

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Speaker 2: pretty in an amazing way. He says at one point

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Speaker 2: in Philippians one twenty one, he says, for to me,

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Speaker 2: to live as Christ and to die is gain. He

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Speaker 2: frames his entire life and ministry and even his existence

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Speaker 2: around that purpose, being in Christ and serving the Lord.

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Speaker 2: And he actually says toward the beginning of the letter,

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Speaker 2: he says that my circumstances have turned out for the

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Speaker 2: greater progress of the Gospel. So Paul is framing his

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Speaker 2: own suffering, his own situation of being in prison for

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Speaker 2: his faith as a benefit, as a boon, And he

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Speaker 2: says in chapter one, verses twelve through fourteen, he actually

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Speaker 2: talks about how those in the church that were made

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Speaker 2: aware of his imprisonment, they actually have more courage now

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Speaker 2: because of his circumstances. They're emboldened by his imprisonment, he says,

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Speaker 2: they have more courage to speak the Word of God

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Speaker 2: without fear. So it's an interesting perspective that Paul presents

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Speaker 2: to us where even though he's uncomfortable, even though he's

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Speaker 2: probably not where he wants to be in himself, he's

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Speaker 2: not happy about where he is in prison, and yet

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Speaker 2: he has a transcendent view of his suffering, a view

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Speaker 2: of his imprisonment that actually gives hope and gives an

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Speaker 2: element of joy because he knows that the Gospel of

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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ is going out. Because of that, he's able

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Speaker 2: to evangelize the guards that are there in the prison

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Speaker 2: with him. He's able to get the Gospel even into

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Speaker 2: Caesar's household. And so Paul is sort of this evangelistic

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Speaker 2: mole now being brought into the prison, working for the

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Speaker 2: Lord no matter where he is. And so there is

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Speaker 2: an overarching lesson to us that regardless of our circumstances,

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Speaker 2: not only can we find joy in the midst of trouble,

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Speaker 2: that we can actually find a purpose for our suffering,

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Speaker 2: and a purpose that God is using the suffering for

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Speaker 2: to accomplish his end. Paul uses in verse six. Here

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Speaker 2: this notion of prayer in supplication. What is prayer? Prayer

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Speaker 2: is talking to God, certainly, but it's more than just

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Speaker 2: talking to God. It's not telling God any new information. Rather,

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Speaker 2: you're expressing your needs and your longings and even your repentance,

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Speaker 2: send your hope for the future, your prayers for other people.

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Speaker 2: You're presenting your heart and your life to God in submission,

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Speaker 2: and He hears us and he answers according to his will.

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Speaker 2: The Lord Jesus tells us to ask and it shall

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Speaker 2: be given to you. Again, this isn't well wishing. It's

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Speaker 2: not a Laddin's lamp where you just ask the Lord

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Speaker 2: for wonderful things and he gives you abundantly because you've asked.

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Speaker 2: But rather you're seeking to receive from the Lord what

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Speaker 2: you need. And so supplication, you're asking either for yourself

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Speaker 2: or you're asking on behalf of other people. This notion

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Speaker 2: of prayer and supplication. We can go to our heavenly

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Speaker 2: Father and we can ask him in humility, and again

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Speaker 2: he does answer. These requests according to his will, He's

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Speaker 2: more than gracious to give to his people for those

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Speaker 2: who ask. I think for the person who's struggling to

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Speaker 2: experience peace, especially in light of what the apostle Paul

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Speaker 2: talks about in Philippians. I mean, certainly, there's always things

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Speaker 2: we can be doing to pray, to seek the Lord,

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Speaker 2: and experience some measure or practical comfort. But I think

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Speaker 2: at the very core of all of that, all the prescriptions,

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Speaker 2: all the Bible verses, all the truths, that we can

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Speaker 2: consider the fundamental truth. For every believer who is seeking peace,

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Speaker 2: not just with Gods through salvation, but the peace of God,

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Speaker 2: who is struggling to find that peace, I think we

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Speaker 2: have to look to Philippians chapter three, because that's where

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Speaker 2: Paul goes. Paul he considers everything in his life. He

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Speaker 2: considers his spiritual accomplishments, he considers his imprisonment, he considers

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Speaker 2: everything he has, and at one point he says, I

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Speaker 2: consider all things as lost. He says, the word rubbish,

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Speaker 2: which is garbage. He goes everything else in my life

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Speaker 2: in comparison to knowing Christ is garbage, he says. However,

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Speaker 2: he goes the grand pursuit The whole goal of his life,

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Speaker 2: he says, is to know Christ. He says, all these things,

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Speaker 2: he says, everything else is lost in comparison or in

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Speaker 2: considering the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord,

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Speaker 2: and he says, there's a desire to know him, to

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Speaker 2: know the fellowship of his sufferings, he goes, to know

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Speaker 2: the power of his resurrection. I think that has to

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Speaker 2: be are what I like to call the transcendent obsession,

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Speaker 2: that we realize that we need to know Jesus more

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Speaker 2: and more and more to become acquainted with his words,

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Speaker 2: his works, the sufferings of the Cross, the power of

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Speaker 2: his resurrection, conquering death, conquering sin. The more that we

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Speaker 2: know Christ, we can actually experience greater measures of peace

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Speaker 2: of God. We can experience victory over sin, we can

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Speaker 2: experience joy and gladness. I think that becomes the ultimate goal,

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Speaker 2: is to know Jesus Christ. And I think that really

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Speaker 2: is the key to understanding and experiencing the peace and

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Speaker 2: the joy that you're seeking.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the special scripture focused bonus episode.

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Speaker 1: To learn more about Nate, follow him on social media

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Speaker 1: and be sure to check out his book Overcoming the Darkness,

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Speaker 1: Biblical Help for spiritual depression of at your favorite retailer.

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Speaker 1: to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the

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Speaker 1: Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from

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Speaker 1: people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer

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Speaker 1: and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure

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