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Speaker 4: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria.

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Speaker 5: Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting

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Speaker 5: the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you

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Speaker 5: be a blessing and share it with a friend. We

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Speaker 5: appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well,

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Speaker 5: God bless you. It's always a joint of coming to

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Speaker 5: your homes. We love you and we know God has

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Speaker 5: great things in store for each one of you. If

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Speaker 5: you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by

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Speaker 5: and be a part of one of our services. I

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Speaker 5: promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But

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Speaker 5: thanks so much for tuning in and thank you again

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Speaker 5: for coming out today. I like to start with something

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Speaker 5: funny each week. And I heard about this new police recruit.

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Speaker 5: He was taking his final exam and he was in

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Speaker 5: front of this large classroom. The sergeant said to him,

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Speaker 5: what would you do if you had to arrest your.

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Speaker 4: Own mother in law without missing a beat?

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Speaker 5: He said, call for back up, Hold up your Bible

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Speaker 5: and say it like you mean it.

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Speaker 4: This is my Bible. I am what it says. I am.

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Speaker 5: I have what it says I have. I can do

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Speaker 5: what it says I can do. Today I will be

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Speaker 5: taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind

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Speaker 5: is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be

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Speaker 5: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want

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Speaker 5: to talk to you today about how your life is

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Speaker 5: divinely orchestrated. The scripture talks about how God has already

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Speaker 5: written all of our days in his book. He promised

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Speaker 5: that his plans for us are for good and not evil,

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Speaker 5: and that doesn't mean that we won't go through negative situations.

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Speaker 4: It means that.

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Speaker 5: God will use everything we go through to move us

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Speaker 5: toward that good plan. We all have things happen that

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Speaker 5: we don't understand, and it's easy to think, why did

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Speaker 5: this friend betray me? Why did this company lay me off?

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Speaker 5: Why didn't I get that promotion?

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Speaker 4: Why work? My prayers answered, we have to understand.

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Speaker 5: Just because it seems unfair, just because it looks like

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Speaker 5: a bad break, doesn't mean it's not a part of

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Speaker 5: God's plan.

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Speaker 4: Just as God uses.

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Speaker 5: Promotion, breakthroughs, loyal people, encouragement, God also uses disappoint ointments,

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Speaker 5: closed doors, betrayals, persecution to move us toward his divine plan.

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Speaker 5: One of the best things I've ever learned is nothing

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Speaker 5: in life happens to me, it happens for me. In

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Speaker 5: other words, God would not have allowed it unless he

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Speaker 5: had a purpose for it. That friend that walked out

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Speaker 5: of a relationship, that person that hurts you.

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Speaker 4: God could have stopped it. He's God. He could have

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Speaker 4: kept it from happening.

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Speaker 5: But since he didn't, you have to accept the fact

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Speaker 5: this disappointment, this betrayal, this bad break. I may not

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Speaker 5: like it, it may be painful right now, but I

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Speaker 5: know ultimately it is not going to work against me,

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Speaker 5: is going to work for me. I know God has

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Speaker 5: already written a good plan for my life, and as

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Speaker 5: long as I stay in faith. What was meant for

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Speaker 5: my harm, God will use to my advantage. When you

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Speaker 5: know your life is divinely orchestrated, takes all the prayer off.

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Speaker 5: You go through a disappointment, you don't get upset. Your

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Speaker 5: attitude is no big deal. I know this is a

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Speaker 5: part of God's plan. This is not happening to me,

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Speaker 5: It's happening for me. You get laid off. Yes, I'm disappointed,

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Speaker 5: but I'm not gonna live with a chip on my shoulder.

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Speaker 5: I know this is not a surprise to God. And

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Speaker 5: when one door closes, I know God will always open

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Speaker 5: up a bigger and a better door.

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Speaker 4: Somebody lies about you, does you wrong?

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Speaker 5: That's okay. I'm not gonna try to pay them back.

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Speaker 5: I know nothing can happen without God's permission. So I'm

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Speaker 5: gonna stay on the high road and pass this test

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Speaker 5: and let God take me to a new.

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Speaker 4: Level of my destiny.

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Speaker 5: What if Jesus would have gotten upset when Judas betrayed him.

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Speaker 5: What if he would have said, come on, God, I'm

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Speaker 5: your son, How could you let this happen?

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Speaker 4: He's my disciple. This is not fair.

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Speaker 5: No Jesus even knew beforehand that Judas was going to

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Speaker 5: betray him, but he still didn't try to stop him.

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Speaker 5: In one sense, God used Judas more than he used

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Speaker 5: the other disciples, because if Judas had not betrayed Jesus,

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Speaker 5: there would have never been a crucifixion. Without a crucifixion,

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Speaker 5: there wouldn't have been a resurrection. Without a resurrection, we

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Speaker 5: wouldn't have redemption. What am I saying? The person that

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Speaker 5: betrayed Jesus played a critical role in Jesus fulfilling his

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Speaker 5: divine destiny. Quit complaining about someone that walked out on you.

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Speaker 5: If they betrayed you, they didn't set you back, They

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Speaker 5: set you up. If they had not done you wrong,

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Speaker 5: you wouldn't see the amazing future God has in store.

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Speaker 5: You may not have liked it, but God was using

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Speaker 5: that to get you to where he wanted you to be.

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Speaker 5: Anytime we go to a new level, we have to

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Speaker 5: pass the test of a new level of obedience where

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Speaker 5: we shake off the wrongs.

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Speaker 4: We keep a good.

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Speaker 5: Attitude even when we feel like being discouraged. We believe

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Speaker 5: it's going to get better, even though our mind is

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Speaker 5: telling us is never going to work out.

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Speaker 4: Deep down, you got to.

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Speaker 5: Know that you know that, you know my life is

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Speaker 5: divinely orchestrated. This is not happening to me. This is

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Speaker 5: happening for me. God's going to use it to my advantage.

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Speaker 5: Remember when I was in college, there was a gentleman

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Speaker 5: that was in charge of the television facility. The university

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Speaker 5: had a big television studio, a big production center. It

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Speaker 5: was known all over the world, and that was my passion.

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Speaker 5: I loved cameras and editing, anything that had to do

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Speaker 5: with production. And I had met this gentleman several years earlier,

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Speaker 5: and when I first got to college, he invited me

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Speaker 5: to come over and see the studios and he was

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Speaker 5: showing me around. It was so amazing, the beautiful sets,

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Speaker 5: the control room, the editing suites, was so exciting. My

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Speaker 5: dream was to work there. He said, Joel, no big deal,

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Speaker 5: Just fill out an application and I'll make sure that

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Speaker 5: it happens. I applied for the job, and a couple

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Speaker 5: of weeks went by and I didn't hear anything. So

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Speaker 5: I called him back, but he was too busy to talk.

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Speaker 5: I called him.

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Speaker 4: Again and again and again, day after day, week after week.

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Speaker 5: He was always either too busy out of the office,

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Speaker 5: some reason, he couldn't talk. I even went back to

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Speaker 5: the studio in person three or four times. Still he

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Speaker 5: would not see me. After several months of constantly trying

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Speaker 5: to get in touch with him, I finally accepted the fact, Hey,

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Speaker 5: this just isn't meant to be.

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Speaker 4: I was very disappointed.

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Speaker 5: I couldn't understand it then, But looking back now, I.

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Speaker 4: Know that that closed door was God's plan.

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Speaker 5: The man was a good man, but I believe God

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Speaker 5: caused him to not call me back because if I

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Speaker 5: had gotten that position, I would have been so excited.

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Speaker 5: I know my personality. I would have been so caught up.

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Speaker 5: I would have never come back here to Lakewood to

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Speaker 5: start the television outreach like I did.

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Speaker 4: Without that closed door, I don't believe I would be

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Speaker 4: standing here today. What am I saying?

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Speaker 5: The closed doors have been orchestrated by Almighty God. The

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Speaker 5: person that wouldn't call you back, the friend that ignored you,

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Speaker 5: the coworker that betrayed you. Don't sit around in self pity.

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Speaker 5: Shake the dust off your feet and move forward with

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Speaker 5: your life. If God wanted you to have that job,

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Speaker 5: he would have given you that job.

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Speaker 4: No person can stand against our God.

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Speaker 5: If God wanted you to marry that man, marry that woman,

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Speaker 5: you would have married them.

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Speaker 4: Quit sulking. God has somebody better in store. If God

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Speaker 4: wanted them to call.

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Speaker 5: You back, they would have called you back. Now put

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Speaker 5: on a new attitude. Their rejection is going to lead

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Speaker 5: to God's promotion. They didn't happen to you, They happened

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Speaker 5: for you. It may have looked like a setback, but

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Speaker 5: really it was a set up for God to do

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Speaker 5: something amazing in your life.

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Speaker 4: You may not be able to see it right now.

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Speaker 5: You may not understand it doesn't make any sense, but

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Speaker 5: one day you will understand it. One day you will

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Speaker 5: see God's wisdom and be glad that.

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Speaker 4: He didn't open the door.

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Speaker 5: It may be in a month, in a year, or

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Speaker 5: in thirty years, but one day you'll look back like

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Speaker 5: I did, and say, it was good that he didn't

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Speaker 5: call me back.

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Speaker 4: It was good that the.

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Speaker 5: Friend walked away, or I'd have never met my spouse.

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Speaker 5: It was good that God didn't answer my prayers my way,

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Speaker 5: or I wouldn't see the amazing opportunity that God's given me.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 5: My challenge to us is to trust him. Don't live

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Speaker 5: upset because a friend betrayed you. That's not a surprise

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Speaker 5: to God. Don't be bitter because your prayers didn't get

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Speaker 5: answered the way you want it.

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Speaker 4: God has something better.

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Speaker 5: Gonna have a chip on your shoulder because you went

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Speaker 5: through a disappointment, a bad break.

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Speaker 4: God is still on the throne.

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Speaker 5: He would not have allowed that unless he was going

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Speaker 5: to use it to your advantage. Few years ago, myself

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Speaker 5: and some of our staff were on a plane flying

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Speaker 5: to another city. And it was a smaller plane that

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Speaker 5: held about twelve people. There was one seat on each.

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Speaker 4: Side of the island.

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Speaker 5: After we took off, I wanted to open up my

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Speaker 5: tray table so I could write some notes, and the

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Speaker 5: table was on the side right underneath my window, and

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Speaker 5: I pulled and pulled and pulled, but it was stuck.

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Speaker 5: My friend Johnny was sitting next to me, and he

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Speaker 5: pulled his out just as easily as could be. I

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Speaker 5: went back to mine and I jerked, I yanked, and

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Speaker 5: I finagled and I struggled, but still couldn't get it out.

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Speaker 5: So Johnny came over and he started pulling on it.

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Speaker 5: Another staff member came and we were all pulling on it.

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Speaker 5: About that time I looked up right over the window

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Speaker 5: where we were pulling, there was a big sign that

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Speaker 5: had bold letters.

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Speaker 4: It said not a.

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Speaker 5: Tray table, emergency exit only. I said, thank you Lord

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Speaker 5: for not answering that prayer. Friends, God has our best

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Speaker 5: interest at heart. I wonder how many times we're frustrated

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Speaker 5: because it's not happening our way on our timetable, And

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Speaker 5: God's up in the heavens with a big smile on

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Speaker 5: his face, thinking to himself, if you only knew what

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Speaker 5: you were asking for. I love you way too much

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Speaker 5: to answer those prayers. But when you know, when you

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Speaker 5: know your life is divinely orchestrated, you don't get frustrated

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Speaker 5: and force things to happen. You trust God to do

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Speaker 5: it his way. You don't get upset when somebody does

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Speaker 5: you wrong. You know that God can use even your

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Speaker 5: enemies to keep you moving forward. I was out running

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Speaker 5: not long ago. I have this two mile path that

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Speaker 5: I run through my neighborhood, and this particular day it

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Speaker 5: had been extremely difficult. I had been traveling a lot,

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Speaker 5: and I'd just eaten dinner and didn't.

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Speaker 4: Really let my food settle.

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Speaker 5: And while I was running, my sidestar hurting and kind

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Speaker 5: of cramping up, and I was very winded, and with

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Speaker 5: every step I heard that voice saying, stop, stop, you're

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Speaker 5: too tired, it's too painful.

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Speaker 4: Just walk the rest of the way. I'm a very

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Speaker 4: determined person.

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Speaker 5: I don't like to stop, but this day I just

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Speaker 5: didn't think that I could finish, and I was planning

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Speaker 5: to run up to the corner and walk the last

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Speaker 5: quarter of a mile or so to my house.

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Speaker 4: But about that time, this little.

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Speaker 5: White poodle with pink bows in her hair came barking

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Speaker 5: out toward me ninety miles an hour, barking up a storm.

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Speaker 5: I thought to myself, that dog is so cute, seemed

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Speaker 5: so happy, so friendly. But when she got up to

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Speaker 5: me while I was still running, all of a sudden,

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Speaker 5: that dog bit my sock and tore part.

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Speaker 4: Of it away.

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Speaker 5: Do you know, I forgot all about my side hurting.

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Speaker 5: I forgot all about being tired. I took off running

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Speaker 5: with a new passion, trying to get away from the this

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Speaker 5: part poodle part pit bull. The whole time she was

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Speaker 5: chasing me, darting in and out around my feet, trying

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Speaker 5: to bite me again. Neighbor drove by, and I just smiled,

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Speaker 5: like everything was okay, But on the inside, my heart

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Speaker 5: was racing, the adrenaline was flowing. I was so consumed

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Speaker 5: trying to not let that little dog bite me. I

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Speaker 5: ended up running right past my house. I was planning

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Speaker 5: on stopping a quarter of a mile earlier. I went

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Speaker 5: further than I normally would have all because this little

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Speaker 5: dog distracted me. Caused me to forget about my pain,

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Speaker 5: forget about my suffering. Friends, God works in mysterious ways.

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Speaker 5: Don't complain about your enemies. God can use your enemies

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Speaker 5: to keep you going further when you would have given up.

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Speaker 5: Sometimes sometimes your enemies will do more to catapult you

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Speaker 5: to success than your friend.

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Speaker 4: A few years ago, when.

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Speaker 5: Word got out that we wanted to move our church

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Speaker 5: to this place, one of my good friends was at

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Speaker 5: a business lunch in here in town. There were several

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Speaker 5: hundred business leaders there, and there was a gentleman at

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Speaker 5: his table, an older man, very well known, very influential.

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Speaker 5: When he heard that my friend went to Lakewood, he

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Speaker 5: laughed and he said to the whole table, it'll be

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Speaker 5: a cold day in hell before Lakewood ever gets the

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Speaker 5: Compact Center. And up to that point, I really wanted

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Speaker 5: to get the facility. But when I heard that, my

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Speaker 5: determination went up to a whole new level. I had

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Speaker 5: a new fire, a new bisolve, a new passion. Anytime

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Speaker 5: I even thought about wanting to give up, God would

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Speaker 5: let me hear those words. It'll be a cold day

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Speaker 5: in hell. That man doesn't know how much he helped us.

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Speaker 5: If I ever see him, I need to buy him

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Speaker 5: dinner McDonald's.

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Speaker 4: Probably.

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Speaker 5: But in the Old test God used a donkey to speak.

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Speaker 4: And let me tell you, God used him.

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Speaker 5: He didn't happen to us, He happened for us.

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Speaker 4: I didn't call him a donkey.

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Speaker 5: In the Book of Exodus, when the people of Israel

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Speaker 5: were trying to leave Egypt, God said, I'm going to

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Speaker 5: harden Pharaoh's heart and cause him to chase after you.

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Speaker 5: I have planned this so I will receive great glory

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Speaker 5: at Pharaoh's expense. Notice God was the one that hardened

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Speaker 5: Pharaoh's heart. God had already planned for him to cause

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Speaker 5: them trouble. Why so God could show his power in

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Speaker 5: a greater way. This tells me two things. Number one,

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Speaker 5: God is in control of our enemies. And number two,

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Speaker 5: if we'll keep the right attitude, God will take the

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Speaker 5: opposition and use it to show us his favor in

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Speaker 5: a new way. God had a great plan for David's life.

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Speaker 5: He was a shepherd boy, a teenager. Nobody had ever

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Speaker 5: heard of him. What did God do?

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Speaker 4: Sent him an enemy, sent him Goliath.

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Speaker 5: Goliath in David's life was there for one purpose to

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Speaker 5: promote David. In the same way, every adversity, every challenge,

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Speaker 5: every enemy is there for one reason to promote you,

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Speaker 5: to make you stronger, to develop your character, not to

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Speaker 5: defeat you, but to make you better. I think about Joseph.

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Speaker 5: God gave him a big dream that one day he

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Speaker 5: would rule a nation.

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Speaker 4: What happened.

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Speaker 5: His brothers betrayed him, sold him into slavery. Potiphar's wife

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Speaker 5: lied about him, his cell made in prison. When he

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Speaker 5: got out of prison, forgot all about Joseph. But Joseph

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Speaker 5: understood this principle. He didn't get bitter, he didn't complain,

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Speaker 5: He just kept being his best. He knew his life

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Speaker 5: was divinely orchestrated.

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Speaker 4: When it was all said and done, Joseph saw the

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Speaker 4: dream come to pass.

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Speaker 5: Too many people get stuck somewhere along the way because

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Speaker 5: they don't understand why something happened, Why this person left me,

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Speaker 5: Why this company laid me off, Why this coworker betrayed me.

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Speaker 5: No quit dwelling on the wives of life. We will

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Speaker 5: never understand all of God's plan. Our mind is much

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Speaker 5: too small to comprehend God's infinite wisdom. I can't explain

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Speaker 5: every bad thing that's happened, but I can tell you

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Speaker 5: this God is still on the throne. He's still got

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Speaker 5: a great plan for your life. What was meant for

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Speaker 5: your harm? God wants to use it to your advantage.

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Speaker 5: But you've got to do your part and shake off

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Speaker 5: the self pity, the blame, the discouragement, the disappointment. No

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Speaker 5: enemy is powerful enough to keep you from your destiny.

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Speaker 5: No injustice, no betrayal, no disappointment. We serve the most

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Speaker 5: high God. He controls the whole universe. If you'll get

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Speaker 5: in agreement with him, he'll only bring you through the trouble.

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Speaker 4: He'll bring you out better off than you were before.

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Speaker 5: In the scripture, Philip was living in Jerusalem. That's where

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Speaker 5: he and one hundred and twenty other believers had been

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Speaker 5: in the upper Room, and they had heard the sound

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Speaker 5: of a rushing mighty wind and experienced the day of Pentecost.

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Speaker 5: God's power and freshness in a new way. Philip had

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Speaker 5: seen God do many amazing things there in Jerusalem.

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Speaker 4: He loved being there.

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Speaker 5: But the scripture says persecution arose in Jerusalem. Notice people

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Speaker 5: came against Philip. He had trouble opposition, so much so

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Speaker 5: that Philip got run out of Jerusalem. He had to

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Speaker 5: leave and go to Samaria. Think about this. God could

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Speaker 5: have stopped the persecution. God could have quieted the people

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Speaker 5: that were opposing them. After all, earlier God had shut

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Speaker 5: the mouths of lions. Why didn't God do it? It

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Speaker 5: was because God wanted Philip to go to Samria. He

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Speaker 5: wanted him there, but God didn't send an angel to

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Speaker 5: tell him. He didn't send a prophet.

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Speaker 4: This time.

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Speaker 5: God used people coming against Philip to get him to Samaria,

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Speaker 5: where God wanted him to be.

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Speaker 4: It was in Samaria that.

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Speaker 5: Philip saw his greatest days of ministry. That's where he

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Speaker 5: saw his life really blossom.

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Speaker 4: What's my point. The persecution was for a purpose.

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Speaker 5: God used it to get Philip to his place of blessing.

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Speaker 5: Don't fight against every closed door. Don't be depressed when

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Speaker 5: people come against you.

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Speaker 4: You don't know.

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Speaker 5: God may be using that to get you to your Samaria,

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Speaker 5: to your new place of blessing. This is what happened

384
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Speaker 5: to my father back in the nineteen fifties.

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Speaker 4: He was a successful pastor.

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Speaker 5: Everything was going great, but one day some of his

387
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Speaker 5: main leaders turned on him, people that had been with

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Speaker 5: him for many years. They didn't like his new message

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Speaker 5: of faith and hope and victory. Long story short, they

390
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Speaker 5: pressured him into leaving that church. My father had just

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Speaker 5: built a beautiful new sanctuary. He had poured his heart

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Speaker 5: and soul into those people. He could not understand how

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Speaker 5: these lifelong friends could all of a sudden be so

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Speaker 5: against him.

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Speaker 4: Didn't make sense to my father.

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Speaker 5: But the truth is that was all a part of

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Speaker 5: God's divine plan. My father left that church, but he

398
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Speaker 5: didn't sit around depressed and defeated. He went out and

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Speaker 5: found an abandoned feed store and started Lakewood Church on

400
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Speaker 5: Mother's Day in nineteen fifty nine with ninety people. Do

401
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Speaker 5: you know, for the next forty years, my father saw

402
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Speaker 5: God do more than he could even ask or think.

403
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Speaker 5: Here we are now still going strong. Here's my point.

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Speaker 4: Had it not been for the opposition, had it not.

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Speaker 5: Been for the people coming against him, he would have

406
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Speaker 5: stayed in his boat and missed the fullness of what

407
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Speaker 5: God had in store. Sometimes God will use difficult people

408
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Speaker 5: to push you out.

409
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Speaker 4: Of your comfort zone.

410
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Speaker 5: Sometimes God will allow opposition in Jerusalem, so to speak,

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Speaker 5: so he can get you to Samaria, where you'll see

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Speaker 5: a new level.

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Speaker 4: Of his favor in his increase.

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Speaker 5: Don't fight against closed doors. Don't be discouraged because a

415
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Speaker 5: friend walked away. God knows what he's doing. He's directing

416
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Speaker 5: your steps. Learn to just flow with it.

417
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Speaker 4: See it's easy to have a good attitude.

418
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Speaker 5: When we get a promotion, when we see a breakthrough,

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Speaker 5: when our prayers are being answered, we know God is

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Speaker 5: in control. But what I want us to see today

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Speaker 5: is when our prayers aren't being answered, when people come

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Speaker 5: against us, when plans don't work out, God is still

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Speaker 5: in complete control. Your life is divinely orchestrated, not just

424
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Speaker 5: the good seasons, but even the rough seasons. Now, don't

425
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Speaker 5: complain about what went wrong. Well, Hell, Joel, these people

426
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Speaker 5: the office played politics. They cheated me out of my promotions.

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Speaker 5: They pushed me out of my position. Now, if you'll

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Speaker 5: stay in faith, you'll discover they didn't push you out,

429
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Speaker 5: They pushed you up. God will use the persecution to

430
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Speaker 5: promote you. He'll use the opposition to make you stronger.

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Speaker 5: That closed door will lead to a bigger and a

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Speaker 5: better open door. One day you'll look back and say,

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Speaker 5: like my father, Lord, thank you for letting them push

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Speaker 5: me out. Thank you for letting them come against me

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Speaker 5: so I could get out of that narrow, limited environment

436
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Speaker 5: out here into the deep waters where I could see

437
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Speaker 5: the surpassing greatness of your favor.

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Speaker 4: See. I used to just thank.

439
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Speaker 5: God only for my open doors, but now I've learned

440
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Speaker 5: to thank God for my closed doors, because that closed

441
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,640
Speaker 5: door means God has something better in story. The opposition

442
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,440
Speaker 5: means a new level is coming. The persecution is a

443
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,399
Speaker 5: sign God is about to release his favor in a

444
00:23:59,440 --> 00:23:59,960
Speaker 5: greater way.

445
00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,159
Speaker 4: Now. The key is to stay in faith.

446
00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:07,040
Speaker 5: If we get bitter and say God, why is this happening,

447
00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:09,840
Speaker 5: we try to pay people back and get revenge, then

448
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:12,600
Speaker 5: we'll get stuck right where we are. The way you

449
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:16,160
Speaker 5: pass the test is to say, God, I trust you.

450
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,399
Speaker 5: I believe my life is in your hands. I know

451
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 5: you know what's best for me. I may not understand this,

452
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,560
Speaker 5: it may not make sense, but I believe it's a

453
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:26,399
Speaker 5: part of your plan.

454
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:28,200
Speaker 4: You have a purpose for it.

455
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 5: So I'm gonna let go of the self pity, the blame,

456
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,120
Speaker 5: the discouragement, and I'm going to get a fresh new

457
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:38,119
Speaker 5: vision for my life, knowing that you promised all things

458
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,199
Speaker 5: are going to work together for my good. When you

459
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,080
Speaker 5: show God you trust him like that, that your faith

460
00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,720
Speaker 5: will allow God to do amazing things in your life.

461
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,639
Speaker 5: In the early nineteen hundreds, Alabama cotton farmers were facing

462
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 5: a major challenge.

463
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,000
Speaker 4: A tiny insect.

464
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 5: Called the bull weavil had migrated from South America. It

465
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,359
Speaker 5: was quickly destroying their crops. They tried everything they could

466
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:08,280
Speaker 5: to get rid of it. They exterminated with different pesticides, chemicals,

467
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,760
Speaker 5: they even came up with their own special formula, still

468
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 5: to no avail. Eventually, all they could do was just

469
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,520
Speaker 5: sit back and watch their livelihood be eaten away. It

470
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 5: was very discouraging, looked like it was over. But as

471
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,160
Speaker 5: they were sitting around kind of depressed and defeated, one

472
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,439
Speaker 5: of the farmers had an idea. He said, instead of

473
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 5: planting our normal cotton crops, which we know the bowl

474
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:38,359
Speaker 5: weevils will destroy, why don't we try peanuts instead. Those

475
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,000
Speaker 5: other farmers looked at him like a cow at a

476
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,680
Speaker 5: new gate, said, peanuts. Can't make a living off of peanuts.

477
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,320
Speaker 5: What are you talking about? He finally convinced them.

478
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:48,680
Speaker 4: They went to work.

479
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 5: What they discovered was the bowl weavil did not like

480
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,359
Speaker 5: the taste of peanuts. Those crops took off like nothing

481
00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 5: they had ever seen. The farmers made more money in

482
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,440
Speaker 5: months off of peanuts than they'd normally make in a

483
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 5: year off their normal cotton crops. Even when the bowl

484
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,200
Speaker 5: weevils left the region, they never did go back to cotton.

485
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:11,560
Speaker 4: They stuck with peanuts.

486
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,920
Speaker 5: They went on to produce more peanuts than any other

487
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,000
Speaker 5: country in the world. But a lot of times we

488
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,480
Speaker 5: complain about the bowl weevils of life.

489
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,040
Speaker 4: God, why did you let this person hurt me? God?

490
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,760
Speaker 4: Why did you let me lose my main client? God?

491
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,640
Speaker 5: Why did these people treat me so badly? We don't

492
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,280
Speaker 5: realize the bowl weevil is not there to destroy us,

493
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,400
Speaker 5: but to simply show us the new thing God wants

494
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 5: to do. Just like God caused Pharaoh to harden his

495
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,440
Speaker 5: heart so he could show his power in a greater way,

496
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,400
Speaker 5: God will allow bowl weavils so he can show us

497
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 5: his favor in a greater way. You may be dealing

498
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,879
Speaker 5: with some bowl weavils right now, maybe at the office.

499
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,119
Speaker 4: Listen, here's my encouragement to you. Stay in faith.

500
00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 5: Peanuts are hitting you away. It may look like a setback,

501
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,200
Speaker 5: but really it is a setup.

502
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 4: For God to do something new.

503
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,240
Speaker 5: Now, don't you dare drag around depressed complaining about how

504
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:10,960
Speaker 5: bad they treated you, about how.

505
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,760
Speaker 4: Wrong it was. You know what that is. That's a

506
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:13,480
Speaker 4: bull weavil.

507
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,720
Speaker 5: It looks like it's there to destroy you, when in

508
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,080
Speaker 5: fact God allowed it so he could take you to

509
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:19,760
Speaker 5: a new level.

510
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 4: At the office, that.

511
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 5: Person is always giving you a hard time, trying to

512
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,160
Speaker 5: ruin your reputation. When you see him tomorrow, just think

513
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,199
Speaker 5: to yourself, he's just a bull weavil. He's trying to

514
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,439
Speaker 5: take me down. But I know the truth. God's going

515
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,800
Speaker 5: to use him to take me up. That's what the

516
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:40,640
Speaker 5: scripture says. God will cause your enemies to become your footstools.

517
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 5: In other words, when people come against you, opposition, persecution, betrayal,

518
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,640
Speaker 5: that's not going to be a stumbling block to take

519
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,760
Speaker 5: you down. If you'll stay in faith, God will use

520
00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,199
Speaker 5: it as a stepping stone to take you higher. Friends,

521
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,720
Speaker 5: your life is divinely orchestrated. Not just all the good breaks.

522
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 5: God has even lined up the right enemies, the right Golias,

523
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,120
Speaker 5: the judases, the bull weevils.

524
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 4: Nothing that happens is a coincidence.

525
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,240
Speaker 5: You may not understand it, it may not make sense.

526
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,879
Speaker 5: But don't get soured, don't start complaining. Stay in faith.

527
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 5: God wouldn't have allowed it unless he had a purpose.

528
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,360
Speaker 5: One day you will look back and see what God

529
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,480
Speaker 5: is doing. I'm asking you to dare to trust him,

530
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,000
Speaker 5: believe that He's got your best interest at heart.

531
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:28,200
Speaker 4: If you will.

532
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,720
Speaker 5: Shake off the disappointment, the self pity, the blame, then

533
00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 5: you'll discover nothing in life happened to you, It happened

534
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:39,480
Speaker 5: for you. I believe in declare you will overcome every obstacle,

535
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 5: defeat every enemy, and you will accomplish every God given dream.

536
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:44,560
Speaker 4: If you receive it.

537
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 5: Can you give the Lord one more shout of praise today?

538
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 5: But we never like to close our broadcast without giving

539
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 5: you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life.

540
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:59,480
Speaker 4: Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I'll

541
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:04,400
Speaker 4: repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make

542
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 4: you my lord and Savior.

543
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,320
Speaker 5: Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you

544
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 5: got born again.

545
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,720
Speaker 4: Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place.

546
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,360
Speaker 4: He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of.

547
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 4: Thank you for listening to the joel Ostine podcast. Help

548
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,920
Speaker 4: us continue to share the message of hope with those

549
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 4: all over the world.

550
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:25,440
Speaker 3: Visit joelus dein.

551
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,680
Speaker 4: Dot com slash give Hope to give a gift today.

552
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 4: Thanks so much for listening to today's message.

553
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,280
Speaker 5: I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest

554
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:36,720
Speaker 5: podcast to keep you.

555
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,840
Speaker 4: Inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I

556
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 4: know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.