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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

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Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.

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Speaker 1: Be sure to.

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Speaker 3: Subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week.

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Speaker 1: I hope you're blessed today.

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Speaker 4: I do want to just take a moment and say

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Speaker 4: to each and every one of you, you know that

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Speaker 4: I don't wear a red hoodie for just anything. Fall season,

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Speaker 4: holiday season. God is going to give us a very

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Speaker 4: strong end to this year.

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Speaker 1: How many are believing for that? How many you.

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Speaker 4: Got some catching up to do because this has been

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Speaker 4: a really weird year so far. We're gonna believe God

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Speaker 4: that every blessing that you haven't received that you're supposed

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Speaker 4: to receive this year, God would compress it into these

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Speaker 4: next few weeks for you. I'm believing that He's going

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Speaker 4: to give you supernatural guidance, wisdom, his reflexes, his response.

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Speaker 4: In fact, that's what I want to preach about today.

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Speaker 4: I want to preach about the blessing that God wants

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Speaker 4: to give you. And sometimes these things do come in

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Speaker 4: unexpected ways, So prepare for it and just tell your

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Speaker 4: neighbor real quick, get ready for it, Get ready for it.

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Speaker 4: I want to share some time with you today in

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Speaker 4: Genesis chapter thirty two, and remain standing for the reading

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Speaker 4: of God's word greeting to all of our campuses and

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Speaker 4: our epham around the world. Let's thank God for all

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Speaker 4: who are joining us today that they would receive the

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Speaker 4: flow of this anointing right where they are. Come on elevation, Valentine,

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Speaker 4: put those hands together. Let's welcome our worldwide Epham.

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Speaker 1: Genesis chapter thirty two.

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Speaker 4: Had a hard time deciding how much of this to

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Speaker 4: read to you, but I decided that we should go

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Speaker 4: from at least verse seven. So buckle in, and this

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Speaker 4: passage of scripture. Wow, it's really for those of you

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Speaker 4: who are wrestling with something and you've been struggling because

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Speaker 4: you're wrestling. You've been struggling to rest in what you

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Speaker 4: have and who you are because of what you're wrestling with.

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Speaker 4: That's who I'm preaching to today. Genesis chapter thirty two,

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Speaker 4: verse seven, the Bible says, in great fear and distress,

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Speaker 4: Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,

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Speaker 4: and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought,

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Speaker 4: if Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that

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Speaker 4: is left may escape. Now, for everybody who is kind

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Speaker 4: of a control freak you can relate to this. You

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Speaker 4: start making all of these plans and backup plans for

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Speaker 4: your backup plans, and all of these ways that you

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Speaker 4: start working and out.

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Speaker 1: You know. But Jacob is doing that because it said.

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Speaker 4: In verse eight that Esau was coming to attack him

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Speaker 4: his brother. But look at verse nine, this kind of

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Speaker 4: a turning point in the passage. Then Jacob prayed, so

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Speaker 4: watch this verse eight, he thought. Verse nine, Then Jacob pray,

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Speaker 4: You know, the devil shouldn't have let you get here

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Speaker 4: today because he's had you in your head and you've

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Speaker 4: been thinking about the attack. But the moment that you

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Speaker 4: started braising God today and lifted your eyes to him,

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Speaker 4: come on, I declare a level.

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Speaker 1: Change in your situation.

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Speaker 4: Then Jacob prayed, Oh, God of my father Abraham, God

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Speaker 4: of my father Isaac, Lord you who said to me,

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Speaker 4: go back to your country and your relatives, and I

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Speaker 4: will make you prosper. I am unworthy of all the

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Speaker 4: kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had

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Speaker 4: only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now

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Speaker 4: I have become two camps. Save me, I pray from

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Speaker 4: the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid

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Speaker 4: that he will come and attack me, and also the

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Speaker 4: mothers with their children.

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Speaker 1: But you have said, but you have said.

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Speaker 4: I will surely make you prosper and will make your

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Speaker 4: descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.

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Speaker 4: He spent the night there, and from what he had

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Speaker 4: with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau.

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Speaker 4: I'm gonna read you the whole list, all right, just

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Speaker 4: so you can see how blessed Jacob was. Two hundred

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Speaker 4: female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred us and

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Speaker 4: twenty rams, thirty female camels with their young, forty cows,

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Speaker 4: and ten bulls.

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Speaker 1: Oh boys, doing pretty good, he said a few verses ago.

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Speaker 4: I started with just a staff, look what God gave him,

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Speaker 4: and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

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Speaker 1: He put them in the care of his servants.

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Speaker 4: Each heard by his health, and said to his servants,

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Speaker 4: go ahead of me and keep some space between the herds.

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Speaker 1: He instructed the one in the lead.

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Speaker 4: When my brother Esau meets with you and asks who

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Speaker 4: do these belong to? Where you go and who owns

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Speaker 4: all these animals in front of you, then you are

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Speaker 4: to say they belong to your servant, Jacob. They are

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Speaker 4: a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is

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Speaker 4: coming behind us. He also instructed the second and the

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Speaker 4: third and all the others who followed the hers. He's

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Speaker 4: covering all his basis for this thing that he's got

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Speaker 4: to deal with. The next day, you are to say

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Speaker 4: the same thing to Esau when you meet him, and

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Speaker 4: be sure to say your servant, and Jacob.

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Speaker 1: Is coming behind us.

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Speaker 4: For he thought, I'll pacify him with these gifts I'm

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Speaker 4: sending on a head later when I see him, perhaps

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Speaker 4: he will receive me. So Jacob's gifts went on ahead

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Speaker 4: of him, but but.

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Speaker 1: He himself spent the night in the camp.

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Speaker 4: That night, Jacob got up and took his two wives,

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Speaker 4: his two female servants, and his eleven sons that would

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Speaker 4: keep you up all night, all of it, the eleven sons,

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Speaker 4: the two wives, all of it that would give me indigestion,

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Speaker 4: and then saw me they don't make a little Nesta

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Speaker 4: strong enough for the situation, and your brother might want

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Speaker 4: to kill you.

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Speaker 1: This is what he's dealing with.

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Speaker 4: He took all of that and crossed the ford of

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Speaker 4: the Jabe. After he had sent them across the stream.

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Speaker 4: He sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone,

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Speaker 4: and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. And when

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Speaker 4: the man saw that he could not overpower him, he

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Speaker 4: touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip

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Speaker 4: was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. And I'll

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Speaker 4: stop here for now. Then the man said, let me go,

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Speaker 4: for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not

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Speaker 4: let you go unless you bless me. I want to

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Speaker 4: speak to you today on the subject the blessing of

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Speaker 4: letting go, the blessing of letting go, And let's pray

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Speaker 4: one more time. Father, Your word is eternal. It produces

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Speaker 4: what you send it to produce. It accomplishes what you

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Speaker 4: intend for it to accomplish. May it be so we

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Speaker 4: call it done in the lives of these your children.

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Speaker 4: And today, when the harvest comes from this word, will

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Speaker 4: give you all the praise because.

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Speaker 1: You deserve it.

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Speaker 4: In Jesus' name, Amen, on your way to your seat,

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Speaker 4: tell your neighbor, yes, I'm blessed, Yes, I'm blessed.

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Speaker 1: Say it convincingly.

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Speaker 4: Now that first time you sounded like you were saying

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Speaker 4: it under compulsion. You sounded like I sent you to apologize,

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Speaker 4: like your mom.

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Speaker 1: Made you say that I'm sorry.

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Speaker 4: I just won look at them like you need to

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Speaker 4: sell something to eat tonight and say yes, I'm blessed,

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Speaker 4: because I mean, even the most basic reading of this

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Speaker 4: Bible story is confusing.

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Speaker 1: You don't even have to get.

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Speaker 4: Into all of the nuances of wait a minute, God

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Speaker 4: broke a guy's hip.

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Speaker 1: You don't even have to get into that to be confused.

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Speaker 1: You could be just confused. Okay, there's one verse in that.

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Speaker 4: This one verse is confusing just by itself, the one

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Speaker 4: that I stopped on where Jacob says to this guy

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Speaker 4: who turns out to be like an angel of God

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Speaker 4: or an appearance of God, but he doesn't know that

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Speaker 4: at the time, because it's not always obvious that it's

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Speaker 4: God when you're going through things. I said, it's not

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Speaker 4: always obvious that it's God when you're going through things.

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Speaker 4: Sometimes you will give the devil credit for something that

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Speaker 4: God is actually doing, so you'll be like, the Devil

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Speaker 4: is testing me, No, God is you, And at the

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Speaker 4: very end of the passage we'll find out that it

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Speaker 4: was God with Jacob. But the confusing thing and I

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Speaker 4: want to know if it confused you to is that

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Speaker 4: after reading that whole list of rams, bulls, goats, donkeys,

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Speaker 4: all of those things that God gave Jacob, he turns

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Speaker 4: around and says to this.

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Speaker 1: Whatever he's wrestling with, that he doesn't really know what

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Speaker 1: it is yet. He says verse twenty six, I will

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Speaker 1: not let you go unless you bless me. Isn't he

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Speaker 1: already blessed? Just asking the obvious? How many donkeys was it?

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Speaker 1: Were you counting them? I wasn't counting them.

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Speaker 4: There were so many donkeys I lost count so much livestock,

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Speaker 4: I mean Hebrew culture, the proof of blessing was life,

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Speaker 4: so having eleven sons which would later go on to

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Speaker 4: be the tribes of Israel. Benjamin isn't born yet, but

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Speaker 4: after Benjamin, it completes the roster, the starting lineup for

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Speaker 4: the nation of Israel, and all of that is traveling

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Speaker 4: with him, and he's blessed.

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Speaker 1: If you were to ask Jacob is he blessed? He'd

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Speaker 1: say yes.

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Speaker 4: He even said to God when he was praying, you

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Speaker 4: know you've done so much for me. I don't deserve it.

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Speaker 4: I'm looking at a life that I couldn't imagine, and

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Speaker 4: now I'm living in something that I never would have

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Speaker 4: imagined through the lens of my past. It reminded me

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Speaker 4: of a conversation that I had with a great entrepreneur.

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Speaker 4: He was sharing with me about the pressure that he

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Speaker 4: faces on a daily basis, and his solution was, I

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Speaker 4: just need to be more grateful. God has given me

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Speaker 4: so much, I just need to be more grateful. And

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Speaker 4: we went through a list of some of the accomplishments

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Speaker 4: that he had seen, and at the end of him

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Speaker 4: talking about how he felt so guilty because he wasn't

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Speaker 4: more greatful. Ask him a question, and it's a helpful

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Speaker 4: question that I want to ask you as well.

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Speaker 1: I said, you keep saying.

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Speaker 4: That you're not as grateful as you should be for

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Speaker 4: everything that God has given you. But I wonder if

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Speaker 4: what you're calling a lack of gratitude in your life

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Speaker 4: really isn't just the load of pressure that you feel

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Speaker 4: because of the blessings that God has given.

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Speaker 1: And so I don't think it's necessarily.

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Speaker 4: That you aren't grateful for everything that you just listed

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Speaker 4: that you know God has given you. I think it's

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Speaker 4: that at times you realize that, yes, I'm blessed. But

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Speaker 4: and so look at your neighbor again and say yes,

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Speaker 4: I'm blessed, but say it in that little high voice

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Speaker 4: like that. Look at him again, look at him again,

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Speaker 4: say yes I'm blessed. But I wanted to call this message.

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Speaker 4: Yes I'm blessed, but because when you came to church today,

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Speaker 4: you brought your blessed but sympathy laughs, come on, its

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Speaker 4: pastor appreciation.

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Speaker 1: Mine.

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Speaker 4: It's amazing to me how Jacob could be so blessed

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Speaker 4: that God has done so much, that God has given

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Speaker 4: so many things. But the Bible says he was terrified,

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Speaker 4: he was threatened, he was uncertain, and on the same

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Speaker 4: prayer that he's telling God, you promised me that you're

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Speaker 4: going to create something great out of my life, he's

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Speaker 4: reminding God that he has a brother named Esau who's

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Speaker 4: about to kill. So he looked up one night and

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Speaker 4: he saw all of the blessings God had given him,

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Speaker 4: But he also saw Esau. Not physically now, but he's

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Speaker 4: imagining this brother.

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Speaker 1: Do you know about Esau. Esau is the brother who

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Speaker 1: was the first born of Isaac, who was supposed to rightfully.

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Speaker 4: Carry the birthright to bring forth the nation of Israel.

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Speaker 4: But Jacob tricked his father into giving him the birthright

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Speaker 4: and the blessing because Isaac was going blind.

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Speaker 1: So Jacob dressed up like he was Esau.

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Speaker 4: It was his mom's idea to do it, and she's like,

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Speaker 4: I got some of his clothes, I can make some food.

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Speaker 1: We can take it into Isaac and Isaac.

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Speaker 4: Won't know the difference, and we can get him to

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Speaker 4: bless you instead, because she kind of liked Jacob and

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Speaker 4: Isaac kind of liked Esau, and so they switched it

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Speaker 4: up and bamboozled Isaac to get Jacob bless And that

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Speaker 4: is the background of this story, is that Jacob is blessed, but.

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Speaker 1: Blessed. But it's been twenty years since he's seen.

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Speaker 4: He saw, He's been a lot of places, He's seen

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Speaker 4: a lot of things. He lived with Uncle Laban for

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Speaker 4: most of those twenty years in a foreign land.

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Speaker 1: He got two wives.

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Speaker 4: He read about that in the text, Rachel and Leah.

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Speaker 1: Rachel was beautiful, Leoh.

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Speaker 4: Was had a good personality. And now he's going back

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Speaker 4: with everything that God has blessed him with.

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Speaker 1: But I'm gonna preach this. I'm gonna preach this. I'm

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Speaker 1: anapreach this because I feel it. He's blessed, but.

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Speaker 4: He's got a thousand reasons to be thankful. He's got

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Speaker 4: a thousand reasons to be confident. He's got Exhibit A, A, B, C, D, E, F,

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Speaker 4: G H, I JK that God keeps his promises. But

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Speaker 4: he knows the story how God told his father, well

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Speaker 4: not his father, his grandfather Abraham, I will bless.

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Speaker 1: You and you will be a blessing.

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Speaker 4: He knows all of that so well that he can

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Speaker 4: rehearse it in a prayer back to God in perfect

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Speaker 4: prose and remind God of how far he's come. It

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Speaker 4: is not wasted on him what God has done for him.

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Speaker 1: He's very blessed.

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Speaker 4: But it is important for us to realize as we

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Speaker 4: bring God our praise for.

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Speaker 1: The blessings that we have received.

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Speaker 4: And I need all the blessed people to take a moment,

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Speaker 4: clap your hands.

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Speaker 1: And thank God that He blessed you, because.

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Speaker 4: If He hadn't a blessed you.

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Speaker 1: You probably wouldn't be here. Three people, If.

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Speaker 4: He hadn't blessed you, kept you, fed, you led, you sown,

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Speaker 4: you crowned, you clothed, you walk you through you wouldn't

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Speaker 4: be here if you.

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Speaker 1: Weren't so blessed. High fire. Somebody say, yes, I'm blessed,

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Speaker 1: but but i'm blessed. I'm blessed. God gave me kids.

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Speaker 1: We struggle through infertility for three years. God gave us kids.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed. Children are blessing.

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Speaker 4: But can't talk to you about this in church. We

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Speaker 4: talk about it later, talk about later. In fact, I

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Speaker 4: don't talk to anybody about it because.

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Speaker 1: I don't want anybody to.

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Speaker 4: See my butt. You cain't talk about my butt. I'm

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Speaker 4: gona cover my butt. I'm gonna show you my blessing.

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Speaker 4: I'm'a cover my but I'm gonna post my blessings. I'm'a

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Speaker 4: cover my butt all up on Instagram. It's all my blessings.

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Speaker 1: You will see my butt on Instagram.

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Speaker 5: Now.

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Speaker 1: The thing about the passage that I need you to realize.

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Speaker 4: Is that the presence of the blessing does not mean

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Speaker 4: the absence of pressure. Sometimes we get confused about the

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Speaker 4: things that we feel. Sometimes we get confused about the

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Speaker 4: thoughts that we have. Because I'm blessed, and I know

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Speaker 4: that I should trust God, because I know that I've

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Speaker 4: seen him come through before. I am blessed. I have

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Speaker 4: seen so many times that He came through for me.

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Speaker 4: But I'm waking up lately at three in the morning,

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Speaker 4: and it's not just because of my liquid intake. I'm

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Speaker 4: working through scenarios right now that I can't figure out

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Speaker 4: how to sort.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed.

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Speaker 4: I mean, don't get me wrong, man, I'm not in

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Speaker 4: here to complain to you. I'm blessed. But I got

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Speaker 4: to go back to the doctor next Wednesday. And he's

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Speaker 4: my healer. God is my Jehovah rapha. But I still

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Speaker 4: kind of wonder what this doctor is gonna say to

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Speaker 4: me when I go see them on Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: I'm describing scenarios. These aren't my scenarios. These are just

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Speaker 1: these are the butts.

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Speaker 4: You brought to church, the man who told me, I'm

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Speaker 4: so grateful that God will allowed me to open this restaurant.

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Speaker 4: But I've got this pain in my shoulder right now,

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Speaker 4: and I'm coming in and I'm getting here at four

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Speaker 4: in the morning, And will you pray for me, pastor,

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Speaker 4: because I trust God, but my shoulder.

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Speaker 1: And God has.

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Speaker 4: Blessed me with so much, but this hurts. I'm waking

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Speaker 4: up with this pain in my body. I'm not able

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Speaker 4: to sleep at night. Would you just pray for me?

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Speaker 4: Because I love God, I trust God. I'm blessed, and

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Speaker 4: don't get this confused. The load that I carry does

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Speaker 4: not mean that I don't love God, nor does it

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Speaker 4: mean that I doubt his love for me. I'm blessed.

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Speaker 4: Yes I'm blessed, but this addiction is kicking my butt.

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Speaker 4: Yes I'm blessed, but I still can't understand why I

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Speaker 4: emotionally eat, and so every diet that I try, it

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Speaker 4: fails because there's something driving me back to that eating

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Speaker 4: and I don't even know what it is.

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Speaker 1: And yes, I'm blessed, and I'm not.

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Speaker 4: Complaining because I know that there's somebody somewhere who doesn't

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Speaker 4: even have food to eat. So I'm not comparing myself

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Speaker 4: and saying that I don't appreciate what God gave me.

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Speaker 4: And I know that overeating is kind of like an

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Speaker 4: American blessed people problem anyway to have, but I still

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Speaker 4: have it. I'm blessed, but I can't control this and

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Speaker 4: I don't know how to control it because I'm wrestling

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Speaker 4: with something I can't see. And I'm forgiving of my sin,

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Speaker 4: but I don't feel free from it yet. I know

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Speaker 4: that it's under the blood, but it's still going on

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Speaker 4: in my house. And I can say the right words

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Speaker 4: to you, when I can sing the right songs with you.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed, but but you probably want to hear about this.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed but and this is what I feel sometimes

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Speaker 1: when people.

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Speaker 4: Say, boy, it must be wonderful to know that God

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Speaker 4: uses you to help thousands of people through your preaching.

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Speaker 1: That must be a blessing. It is a blessing, y'all.

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Speaker 1: Don't want to hear about that.

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Speaker 4: No, it's just the Holy Spirit just flows and I

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Speaker 4: just let him say what he wants to say, because

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Speaker 4: it's his work, not my work, and it's his way

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Speaker 4: not my way.

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Speaker 1: And I believe that. But sometimes I want to get

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Speaker 1: up and say what I said last week, do it

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Speaker 1: and walk off the stage. You like that, Lord, I

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Speaker 1: like that. The Lord said he liked that. Now about

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Speaker 1: this wrestling match.

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Speaker 4: Let me give you another verse that to me, it's

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Speaker 4: not confusing, but it just really shows what Jacob is

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Speaker 4: going through in this passage. It says that when verse

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Speaker 4: twenty four comes around and he's, you know, sent everything

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Speaker 4: across the stream because he's got to deal with Esau,

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Speaker 4: and he thinks Esau is the enemy that he.

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Speaker 1: Has to face. And so what happens is he has.

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Speaker 4: A fight that he didn't plan for as he's getting

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Speaker 4: ready for the fight that he's not going to have

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Speaker 4: that he thinks he's going to have.

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Speaker 1: This is kind of what worry does to you.

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Speaker 4: It gets you fighting battles that probably aren't even going

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Speaker 4: to happen, to deplete you of the strength that you

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Speaker 4: need to do the things that you can do to

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Speaker 4: affect what you can affect, to impact what you can impact.

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Speaker 4: But the Bible says that after Jacob was separated from

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Speaker 4: all of these blessings, donkeys, camels, what else did he

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Speaker 4: have use and Rachels and Leah's and Simeon's and Levi's

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Speaker 4: and all of these tangible expressions of blessing After those

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Speaker 4: have all gone, it says in verse twenty four. So

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Speaker 4: Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him

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Speaker 4: till daybreak.

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Speaker 1: Now, I have been in an.

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Speaker 4: Nostalgia hole all week watching nineteen ninety one, nineteen ninety two,

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Speaker 4: nineteen ninety three wrestling matches. I don't mean the kind

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Speaker 4: where they compete on a collegiate level. I'm talking about

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Speaker 4: the Four Horsemen. And I'll be honest, I even went

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Speaker 4: past because I quit watching wrestling when I was about

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Speaker 4: thirteen or fourteen. I even went past when I stopped

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Speaker 4: watching wrestling, and I watched when Hulk Hogan became a

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Speaker 4: bad guy, and that was heartbreaking because when I was

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Speaker 4: growing up, he was telling me to eat my vitamins

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Speaker 4: and say my prayers. And I had a little Hulk

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Speaker 4: Hogan workout cassette tape and I listened to that thing

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Speaker 4: and to watch hul Hogan Hulk Hogan look at the

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Speaker 4: crowd and say shove it. I'm like, shove it. You're

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Speaker 4: our guy, You're our hero. How could you do this

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Speaker 4: to me? I was watching it all week long, but

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Speaker 4: I was watching it in the lens of Jacob. I

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Speaker 4: was trying to figure out what that had to do

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Speaker 4: with Jacob, and I realized it right here. It's because

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Speaker 4: you know, they have a lot of arguments about is

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Speaker 4: wrestling fake or is it real? Is it fake or

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Speaker 4: is it real? And I heard one wrestler say something,

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Speaker 4: He's like, let me slam you, and then you can

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Speaker 4: see how real it feels or how fake it feels.

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Speaker 4: So when the Bible says that he was wrestling, and

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Speaker 4: he was wrestling alone, it lets me know two things.

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Speaker 4: One is that no one else got to see how

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Speaker 4: he struggled. No one else saw this struggle. And number two,

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Speaker 4: he wrestled at night, which means that even he couldn't

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Speaker 4: see what he was struggling with. And is that the

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Speaker 4: nature of the real things we wrestle with. I'm not

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Speaker 4: talking about where the issues show up in our lives.

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Speaker 1: I'm talking about.

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Speaker 4: The source of the issue, and the source of the

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Speaker 4: issue determines the strategy for the battle. So if you

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Speaker 4: live your whole life thinking, oh, well, I'm wrestling against them,

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Speaker 4: I'm fighting against them, I need to convince them if

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Speaker 4: they would just appreciate me, you are.

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Speaker 1: You are making them the source of your struggle.

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Speaker 4: If they are the source of your struggle and they

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Speaker 4: are a person, if they're external, if it's an issue,

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Speaker 4: if it's the source of your struggle, then the source

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Speaker 4: of your strength is also external. Because the source of

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Speaker 4: your struggle will determine the source of the strength.

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Speaker 1: That you need to defeat that struggle. I'm going to

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Speaker 1: make it plain in.

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Speaker 4: Just a moment when I'm fighting with something that I

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Speaker 4: can see, I need to fight with things that I

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Speaker 4: can see. If I'm fighting against something that is visible,

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Speaker 4: I need to fight with something that is visible. But

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Speaker 4: what do I do when the fight is happening at night?

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Speaker 4: What do I do when the fight is happening in

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Speaker 4: a place in me that I can't even really tell.

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Speaker 1: You about it?

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Speaker 4: And I'm not even really sure you want to hear

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Speaker 4: it anyway? Because I'm blessed, but I'm thankful, but.

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Speaker 1: I've come so far. But and I told God.

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Speaker 4: I didn't want to preach this message to you because

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Speaker 4: the yes, I'm blessed thing works so much better on

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Speaker 4: Sunday without the plot. But when you come to this church,

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Speaker 4: as long as I get to be the pastor, you

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Speaker 4: can bring your bliss. But in this church every single Sunday,

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Speaker 4: what does that mean you could come I'm in confused?

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Speaker 4: What does that mean? You can come in conflicted? What

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Speaker 4: does that mean? You can come in crying? You can

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Speaker 4: leave crying. You don't have to shout, you don't have

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00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:11,800
Speaker 4: to clap, you'll have to say men.

439
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:13,960
Speaker 1: You don't have to have a highlighter. You don't have

440
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: to know thirty five scriptures.

441
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 4: You don't have to know how to quote the apostles creed.

442
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,159
Speaker 1: You don't have to be born in the right place

443
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:21,440
Speaker 1: at the right time.

444
00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 4: You can be conflicted and still come in this church.

445
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,880
Speaker 4: You can bring your blessed, but you can come in

446
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,919
Speaker 4: here with questions and not even leave with answers, but

447
00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,680
Speaker 4: throw up your hands and say, I'm.

448
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,480
Speaker 6: Met with God fresh and the Angel told me it's

449
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:54,119
Speaker 6: gonna be ay.

450
00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 4: You're blessed, but you're blessed, but you struggle. You're blessed,

451
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:06,119
Speaker 4: but you wonder. You're blessed, but you're still not completely

452
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,240
Speaker 4: healed from it yet. It happened fifteen years ago. I'm blessed,

453
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 4: but there's a part of me that still can't forgive

454
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 4: what they did to me. I'm blessed, but I still

455
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,960
Speaker 4: replay it in my mind. I'm blessed, but I still

456
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,600
Speaker 4: run back to it when the pressure's on. I'm blessed,

457
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,400
Speaker 4: but I still can't make sense out of it. I'm blessed,

458
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 4: but I still don't feel ready for it.

459
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,040
Speaker 1: I'm blessed, but I still feel exhausted when I go

460
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:29,440
Speaker 1: to it. I'm blessed.

461
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,000
Speaker 4: God has given me so much, but I spend so

462
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:33,679
Speaker 4: much time wondering can.

463
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: I keep it up?

464
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,840
Speaker 4: Because God gave it to me, but I can't keep

465
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:37,200
Speaker 4: it up.

466
00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:38,600
Speaker 1: But here's the good news.

467
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 4: If he started it, then the pressure is on him

468
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:48,400
Speaker 4: to finish it. You need to remember that the source

469
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 4: determines the strategy, and if the blessing comes from you,

470
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 4: then it's on you to keep it going.

471
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:57,000
Speaker 1: But if it comes from God.

472
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,480
Speaker 4: So I learned this in my life. When I give

473
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:12,359
Speaker 4: Him praise, it takes off pressure. Somebody said to me,

474
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,320
Speaker 4: y'all praise God at Elevation Church very externally and very openly,

475
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,119
Speaker 4: and it's kind of shocking. And I'm like, why is

476
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:28,439
Speaker 4: this shocking? The world is crazy externally and verbally. So

477
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,280
Speaker 4: if it's crazy externally and verbally, then when I'm fighting

478
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,440
Speaker 4: back against the craziness.

479
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,880
Speaker 1: I need to fight it externally and verbally.

480
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,760
Speaker 4: So if the devil is telling me Esau is gonna

481
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 4: kill you, I need to speak back and say to God,

482
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,719
Speaker 4: you promised I have your word on this, I have

483
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:48,960
Speaker 4: your assurance on this.

484
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,960
Speaker 1: I'm in the middle of your purpose.

485
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,160
Speaker 4: And so Jacob, who I love, the story is so

486
00:28:55,280 --> 00:29:01,080
Speaker 4: amazing because Jacob, all of his life has been blessed

487
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,800
Speaker 4: by grabbing on.

488
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:08,120
Speaker 1: To what he wanted. Oh, he's a go getter. Jacob

489
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,600
Speaker 1: sets his mind out to do something. This is how

490
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,080
Speaker 1: ambitious Jacob is.

491
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 4: When he was born, Esau was coming out first, and

492
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,920
Speaker 4: he came out.

493
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 1: Y'all, don't run the punchline for me. Oh, your bible nurse.

494
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,600
Speaker 4: He came out grabbing the heel of his older brothers

495
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:28,480
Speaker 4: so he could be first.

496
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 1: And so they saw him doing.

497
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 4: That, and they're like, we need to call him Jacob

498
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:41,840
Speaker 4: because Jacob means heel grabber. What amazing creativity. And then secondly,

499
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,640
Speaker 4: what an amazing picture of the way he lived the

500
00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,400
Speaker 4: rest of his life and the way so many of

501
00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 4: us do, grabbing for something that God wants to give him.

502
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,400
Speaker 4: And you be honest with you, we live in a

503
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,880
Speaker 4: time where it's very easy to confuse.

504
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,320
Speaker 1: Christianity with discipline.

505
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,479
Speaker 4: To be a good Christian in many of our minds

506
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,760
Speaker 4: means that this is how much I'm gonna read the Bible,

507
00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:15,760
Speaker 4: this is how much I'm going to pray. And I

508
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 4: hope that you read the Bible and pray a lot

509
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 4: and more and more every day. And I hope you do,

510
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:20,880
Speaker 4: and I hope I do, and I hope we all do.

511
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,040
Speaker 4: That isn't what makes you a Christian. That isn't what

512
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 4: makes you a better Christian. That isn't even what makes

513
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,720
Speaker 4: you a strong Christian. Just by how much you pray,

514
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,400
Speaker 4: how much you read the Bible. That is not how

515
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 4: to be blessed God's way, the Gospel way. And the

516
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 4: reason that I know that in my life is because

517
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:49,800
Speaker 4: I've spent too many of my years thinking that the

518
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,960
Speaker 4: blessing of God was something that I had to hold

519
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:59,560
Speaker 4: on to or it would get away from me and

520
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 4: for all of the Christian control freaks, which is an oxymoron.

521
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,960
Speaker 4: Because God, I give you my life as long as

522
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,520
Speaker 4: I'm married by age twenty three. God, I give you

523
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 4: my life as long as this job opportunity opens up

524
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 4: in the right market. And I like the climate as

525
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:18,920
Speaker 4: well as the school educational scene. God, here's our children.

526
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,560
Speaker 4: We devote them to You. And Lord Jesus, I believe

527
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 4: that she would make a great worship leader in the church,

528
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,000
Speaker 4: just like that girl Tiffany. And she's just sing just

529
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:29,800
Speaker 4: like that. And I know she's not blonde, but will

530
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:31,240
Speaker 4: dye her hair. Lord, and she could be just like

531
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,960
Speaker 4: that girl Tiphany, And that would be wonderful, but I

532
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 4: give them to you Lord. And so the interesting thing

533
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 4: for me has been in my life how to have

534
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 4: a real commitment to Christ without trying to control His

535
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,160
Speaker 4: will in my life.

536
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,000
Speaker 1: How to be serious.

537
00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:02,080
Speaker 4: About my relationship with God whilst being surrendered to the

538
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,440
Speaker 4: God who I'm in relationship with. This is not as

539
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 4: easy as it seems, because you will find yourself often

540
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,360
Speaker 4: really really committed to trying to get God to bless you.

541
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,440
Speaker 4: Committed to I'm really gonna get my life together, committed

542
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,760
Speaker 4: to I really want to be free from these patterns.

543
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:22,800
Speaker 1: Committed to. I want to be an.

544
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,000
Speaker 4: Example, make a difference, have an influence, make a mark,

545
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:32,440
Speaker 4: fulfilled purpose, really committed to that. But then commitment becomes control,

546
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:42,960
Speaker 4: and you cannot follow Christ and have control. I'm sorry.

547
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 4: I want it to be where you can. I want

548
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:51,440
Speaker 4: it to be where Jesus lets you code him, where

549
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,239
Speaker 4: you get to give in the commands and you get

550
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 4: to give in the thing.

551
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,080
Speaker 1: But every time I read in the Bible, He's given

552
00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 1: the commands.

553
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 4: Every time in my life he brings me into something new,

554
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 4: he takes me through something scary. Every time in my

555
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,120
Speaker 4: life he sets me free from something that I don't

556
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,479
Speaker 4: want to give me something that I do want. I

557
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:14,000
Speaker 4: cannot reach toward what He's giving me without letting go

558
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 4: of what I held.

559
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:18,680
Speaker 1: And there are a lot of us who.

560
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 4: Are not going to get what we need from God

561
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 4: in this season until we let go of what we

562
00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:30,880
Speaker 4: held to in the previous. There are some blessings that

563
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:35,000
Speaker 4: only come through holding on. I'm telling you sometimes you

564
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,720
Speaker 4: have got to get around a promise from God and say,

565
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,360
Speaker 4: I don't care how many things blow against it.

566
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,920
Speaker 1: I don't care how many things shake it up. I

567
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,840
Speaker 1: don't care how many years pass. I am holding on

568
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:47,560
Speaker 1: to what God said.

569
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,560
Speaker 4: There are blessings that only come from holding on. That's Jacob.

570
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,680
Speaker 4: He's like, no, you're not leaving until you bless me.

571
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 4: I need a blessing. I got a fresh battle, resh blessing.

572
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,680
Speaker 1: I got a fresh test. I need a fresh blessing.

573
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,520
Speaker 1: You are not leaving. I am not going to let

574
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,600
Speaker 1: you go unless you bless me.

575
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:18,200
Speaker 4: And then God says, but I cannot bless you unless

576
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:30,799
Speaker 4: you let go, let go of the way you thought

577
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:36,080
Speaker 4: it was supposed to go. Let go of your comparison

578
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,240
Speaker 4: to other standards that have nothing to do with who.

579
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,360
Speaker 1: The sovereign God called you to be let go.

580
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,760
Speaker 4: Of the expectations of perfection that you have for yourself

581
00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:47,759
Speaker 4: that can only be satisfied through the perfect work of

582
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:50,040
Speaker 4: Jesus and has already applied to your account.

583
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:50,480
Speaker 1: Let go.

584
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,880
Speaker 4: There are some blessings that you can get by holding on.

585
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,480
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, Jacob was blessed. His blessed him. He got

586
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 4: the blessing of the firstborn, double inheritance, the blessing of

587
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:09,040
Speaker 4: the firstborn, the naming rights of the children, the patriarchy

588
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:13,960
Speaker 4: of the whole nation. He got blessed by Isaac. But

589
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:20,040
Speaker 4: he didn't get blessed yet. Ask who he really was.

590
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,400
Speaker 4: So you say, wait a minute. You read me a

591
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 4: scripture and you said that the key to being blessed

592
00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:33,759
Speaker 4: was holding on. And sometimes that's true. But I want

593
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:35,560
Speaker 4: you to read just a little bit further in this

594
00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:37,919
Speaker 4: passage and see what the real blessing that God wants

595
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,279
Speaker 4: to give you in this season. I believe God has

596
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,120
Speaker 4: a blessing for you in this season that your eyes

597
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,600
Speaker 4: haven't seen yet, that your ears haven't heard, that hasn't

598
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:45,399
Speaker 4: entered into your.

599
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,000
Speaker 1: Hearts, that you will be speaking about for years to come.

600
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:48,600
Speaker 1: But watch this.

601
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:55,239
Speaker 4: There is a blessing that comes from holding on persevering.

602
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,520
Speaker 4: There's a blessing that comes through tenacity. Then the man said,

603
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,920
Speaker 4: let me go, for it is daybreak, but Jacob replied,

604
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:08,319
Speaker 4: I will not let go unless you bless me.

605
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:08,920
Speaker 1: Now, watch this.

606
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,360
Speaker 4: On the surface, so far, it seems like that Jacob

607
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 4: got this blessing the way that he got every other blessing.

608
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:17,400
Speaker 4: And maybe right now you're trying to do it like

609
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,160
Speaker 4: you always did it and it's not working. And you're

610
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 4: trying to face it like you always faced it and

611
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 4: it's not working.

612
00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:25,520
Speaker 1: But watch what the angel said, and this is.

613
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:29,840
Speaker 4: The turning point in this trans transformative experience for Jacob

614
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,520
Speaker 4: and for you. But Jacob replied, I will not let

615
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:32,839
Speaker 4: you go.

616
00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 1: Unless you bless me. And the man asked him, what

617
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 1: is your name? Jacob? He answered.

618
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:47,120
Speaker 4: Then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob,

619
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:52,480
Speaker 4: but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with

620
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,920
Speaker 4: humans and have overcome.

621
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,040
Speaker 1: When he said what is your name?

622
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:04,720
Speaker 4: It reminds us of twenty years ago in Genesis twenty seven,

623
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,799
Speaker 4: when Isaac called his son to bless him. He thought

624
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:12,239
Speaker 4: he was talking to Esau because he was blind, and

625
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,960
Speaker 4: he said, who are you, And the voice came back saying,

626
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,680
Speaker 4: I am Esau.

627
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,680
Speaker 1: But it wasn't Esau, it was Jacob.

628
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,320
Speaker 4: In two days there will be enraged Christians on social

629
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,359
Speaker 4: media arguing about Halloween. Is it right or is it

630
00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,200
Speaker 4: not right to celebrate Halloween. We will not discuss that

631
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,759
Speaker 4: in this pulpit today. That is not the purpose for

632
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,480
Speaker 4: which God sent me. But I will tell you one

633
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,120
Speaker 4: thing that God is very concerned about. Anytime you dress

634
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:51,880
Speaker 4: up as something that you're not, come on church. Anytime

635
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:56,560
Speaker 4: you start putting on clothes, anytime you start putting on personas,

636
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,799
Speaker 4: anytime you start putting on something that doesn't come from

637
00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,560
Speaker 4: God made you to be. Anytime you start dressing yourself

638
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:09,160
Speaker 4: disguising yourself trying to gain the acceptance or the approval

639
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,719
Speaker 4: is always a trick, and.

640
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:13,080
Speaker 1: It's never a treat.

641
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 4: And God says, I don't need you to be Esaul

642
00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:21,160
Speaker 4: to bless you, because when I bless you, I'm gonna.

643
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:28,600
Speaker 7: Bless you the real you, the short you, the tall you,

644
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 7: the old you, the knew you.

645
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:34,759
Speaker 8: Godsend.

646
00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:38,759
Speaker 1: When I bless you, you won't have to pretend about anything.

647
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:39,840
Speaker 1: You'll get dressed.

648
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:44,480
Speaker 7: Brace me, He goes the source of your strict and

649
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:49,440
Speaker 7: the strength of your life.

650
00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 4: High five three people say yes, I'm blessed.

651
00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:54,720
Speaker 1: Yes, I'm blessed.

652
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:59,279
Speaker 4: And so Jacob was already blessed, but he didn't know

653
00:38:59,320 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 4: who he was.

654
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,799
Speaker 1: And God said, after all I've done for you, do

655
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:05,719
Speaker 1: you still not know who you are?

656
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,440
Speaker 4: You're my child, You're the heading off the tail. You're blessed,

657
00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:14,120
Speaker 4: you are redeemed from the pit. You are blessed. You

658
00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:17,360
Speaker 4: are chosen in love, that's the apple of his eyes.

659
00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:21,560
Speaker 4: You are blessed. You are an overcomer, you are blessed.

660
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:25,279
Speaker 4: You are the purchased of God. You are blessed. You

661
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,080
Speaker 4: are blessed. You are blessed to be a blessing. And

662
00:39:29,239 --> 00:39:30,319
Speaker 4: now sound like you.

663
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:37,160
Speaker 1: Know who blessed you, because when you know who bless.

664
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:40,200
Speaker 7: You, you know who to go back to when you

665
00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:41,279
Speaker 7: need some thought of it.

666
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,600
Speaker 1: Thank God, here's to me.

667
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:47,680
Speaker 9: Here's your boy, here's your daughter, here's your sap.

668
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 1: I need you.

669
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,880
Speaker 4: I five eleven people say yes, I'm blessed. Not bragging,

670
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:03,120
Speaker 4: but I'm blessed. I'm not perfect, but I'm blessed. I'm

671
00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:05,880
Speaker 4: not one hundred percent honest all the time, but I'm blessed.

672
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:07,640
Speaker 1: Let me, just be real with you.

673
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:12,640
Speaker 4: He has blessed me with every blessing his spiritual places.

674
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 1: I got it into heavenly realm. Now I just gotta

675
00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:17,400
Speaker 1: bring it in my life.

676
00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:22,399
Speaker 4: The Bible says he blessed him there in the place

677
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,239
Speaker 4: of his real name. You know what God wants to

678
00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:28,479
Speaker 4: give you today, a surrender of who you thought you were,

679
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,840
Speaker 4: so you can receive who you really are. I wonder,

680
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:40,360
Speaker 4: is anybody ready to receive who you really are? I

681
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,200
Speaker 4: got warn you, See, man, I gotta warn you. It's

682
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 4: not like changing your name to Hollywood Hogan. It's not

683
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,359
Speaker 4: like changing your name on wrestling. It's not that kind

684
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:52,600
Speaker 4: of wrestling match. Sometimes, oh God, this is so difficult

685
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 4: for me to communicate to you, but I hope that

686
00:40:54,800 --> 00:41:00,040
Speaker 4: you can hear it. Sometimes it is a letting go

687
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:08,319
Speaker 4: was like death, but it's really a blessing. And I

688
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,320
Speaker 4: confer upon you today and impart to you in the

689
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:16,040
Speaker 4: name of Jesus Christ, your Savior, the blessing of letting go.

690
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:24,719
Speaker 4: Letting go not when you're driving home. That's not the

691
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,480
Speaker 4: time to let go. That's the time to drive a car.

692
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,560
Speaker 4: And I will say that there's some of us in

693
00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:36,160
Speaker 4: here that are saying, I won't let go till you

694
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:36,680
Speaker 4: bless me.

695
00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:38,719
Speaker 1: God, I won't let go till you bless me.

696
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,880
Speaker 4: I hear the Holy Spirit saying I can't bless you

697
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:44,959
Speaker 4: until you let go.

698
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:47,759
Speaker 1: You hear it, You hear it, you hear it.

699
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,360
Speaker 4: When God showed me that, it was like, oh, I

700
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:52,560
Speaker 4: don't want to really admit that that's the way it works,

701
00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:55,880
Speaker 4: because this goes against my control free Christianity that I

702
00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:57,480
Speaker 4: invented that is nowhere in the Bible.

703
00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:04,160
Speaker 1: I want to achieve this thing. I want to earn

704
00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:04,759
Speaker 1: this thing.

705
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:09,720
Speaker 4: And that's why God gave us the New Testament example

706
00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:13,720
Speaker 4: of Paul, because he said, man, I was stacking stuff

707
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:18,200
Speaker 4: that I did. I was stacking successes and a spiritual

708
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 4: religious realm that amounted the status that you wouldn't imagine.

709
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:24,719
Speaker 4: A Pharisee of pharis Hees, a Hebrew of Hebrews, of

710
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,239
Speaker 4: the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, I

711
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:33,800
Speaker 4: studied under Gamelia. What all these things I count as lost?

712
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:40,520
Speaker 4: And yet, in order to balance these great revelations that

713
00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:43,439
Speaker 4: God gave me, I was given a thorn in the flesh,

714
00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:44,840
Speaker 4: A messenger of Satan sent.

715
00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,200
Speaker 1: To buffet me.

716
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:52,799
Speaker 4: You'll always have a buff but to buffet you, and

717
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,720
Speaker 4: the bigger the blessing, the bigger the buffet.

718
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:01,680
Speaker 1: To keep it in balance, so you know where your

719
00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:02,200
Speaker 1: source is.

720
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:06,080
Speaker 4: As a matter of fact, Paul said, I had this

721
00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,000
Speaker 4: storm in my flesh, and three times I asked God

722
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,600
Speaker 4: to take it away. Three times I asked God to

723
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:13,080
Speaker 4: do it. You've been asking God to change something in

724
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:14,560
Speaker 4: your life, and he won't do it. This is your

725
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:20,200
Speaker 4: verse right here, Tewod Corinthians twelve nine. But he said

726
00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:24,000
Speaker 4: to me, Paul, the great apostle, who took the mission

727
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:24,759
Speaker 4: of Jesus.

728
00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:27,440
Speaker 1: Christ to sites that had previously.

729
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:30,759
Speaker 4: Seemed to distant, who spoke with eloquence and yet simplicity,

730
00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,640
Speaker 4: Christ crucified, but did it in a way that the

731
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:36,279
Speaker 4: philosophers were confounded. Paul said, I was given a thorn

732
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:39,320
Speaker 4: in my flesh along with all my blessings. I'm blessed,

733
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,719
Speaker 4: don't get me wrong. I saw Jesus on the road

734
00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:45,719
Speaker 4: to Damascus. I preached with such power that people were converted,

735
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:48,400
Speaker 4: that people that cities went into riot. I was so

736
00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:51,400
Speaker 4: blessed to be able to do that. Yes, I'm blessed,

737
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:55,759
Speaker 4: but I had a thorn, and I asked God to

738
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,279
Speaker 4: take it away, and he said.

739
00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:04,000
Speaker 1: No, but my grace is sufficient.

740
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:13,680
Speaker 4: That's the blessing of letting go of the way you

741
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:17,240
Speaker 4: thought it was supposed to be, is that you get

742
00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:22,600
Speaker 4: the grace to accept what it is. And that's where

743
00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:27,239
Speaker 4: the transformation is. That's where the power is, that's where

744
00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:34,080
Speaker 4: the revelation is. What is your name? He said, Jacob,

745
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:37,440
Speaker 4: I'm not pretending to be something else anymore. I'm not

746
00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:41,120
Speaker 4: striving to be something anymore. I'm not gonna dress up

747
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:43,880
Speaker 4: like anything anymore. For all of you that think you

748
00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:46,759
Speaker 4: need approval from a person, you don't need approval from

749
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:50,000
Speaker 4: a person. If the person gives it, the person.

750
00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:50,319
Speaker 1: Can take it.

751
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:52,919
Speaker 4: But if you get it from God, it can never

752
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:55,879
Speaker 4: go away. Let them say what they want, think what

753
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:58,600
Speaker 4: they want, do what they want, write what they want,

754
00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:02,360
Speaker 4: take what they want what they want. I'll never be alone,

755
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 4: not when God is with me. I might look alone,

756
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:10,399
Speaker 4: but I'm not alone.

757
00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:15,960
Speaker 1: The blessing of letting go is grace.

758
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:21,279
Speaker 4: Can you imagine all your life like Jacob, you have

759
00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,040
Speaker 4: been running to chase something that you thought.

760
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:26,200
Speaker 10: You needed to be to be successful, that you thought

761
00:45:26,239 --> 00:45:28,040
Speaker 10: you needed to be to be whole that you thought

762
00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,000
Speaker 10: you needed to be to be worthy, that you thought

763
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:31,799
Speaker 10: you needed to be because your father didn't give it

764
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:33,520
Speaker 10: to you, that you thought you needed to be, because

765
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:34,839
Speaker 10: nobody ever spoke it over you.

766
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:37,680
Speaker 4: Can you imagine the moment of release when the Angel said,

767
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:39,880
Speaker 4: all I.

768
00:45:39,239 --> 00:45:45,919
Speaker 1: Want is you. What's your name? And when you say

769
00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:55,360
Speaker 1: your name, When you say your name, you receive his nature.

770
00:45:57,360 --> 00:46:00,279
Speaker 4: Today I came to call you to some and it

771
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:06,080
Speaker 4: isn't awfully popular in pulpits where the message is hold

772
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:11,279
Speaker 4: on and you'll be blessed. I came with a little

773
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:15,040
Speaker 4: different twist for some of the things that you're staying

774
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:18,400
Speaker 4: up at night about, for some of the esaus that

775
00:46:18,440 --> 00:46:22,640
Speaker 4: you're facing. The only way God can really bless you.

776
00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:30,719
Speaker 1: Let go. Let go quit trying to live out your

777
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,640
Speaker 1: high school quarterback career through your kid. Let go. He's

778
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:35,760
Speaker 1: good at video games.

779
00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:40,640
Speaker 4: You can make money on that now, because I'm gonna

780
00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:42,719
Speaker 4: show you in the text something that you never expected

781
00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:43,200
Speaker 4: to see.

782
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:45,319
Speaker 1: You're up all night worrying about it. You're up all

783
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:47,839
Speaker 1: night thinking about it. You're devising different ways to get

784
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:48,279
Speaker 1: out of it.

785
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:50,680
Speaker 4: You got lists on list on list on lists, and

786
00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:52,600
Speaker 4: if it does that let's do that, and you're all

787
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:53,120
Speaker 4: in your head.

788
00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:55,560
Speaker 1: And then he prayed, and guess what happened when God

789
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:56,440
Speaker 1: blessed him.

790
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,640
Speaker 4: Verse thirty three says he got up the next morning

791
00:46:58,640 --> 00:46:59,920
Speaker 4: he saw Esau coming toward him.

792
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:01,960
Speaker 1: He thinks he's gonna kill me. Now. Oh, I hope

793
00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:02,640
Speaker 1: that prayer worked.

794
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:03,000
Speaker 5: I don't know.

795
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:05,719
Speaker 4: I hope that sermon worked. That pastrophretic preached, I mean

796
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:07,959
Speaker 4: he preached real hard. He preached as hard as he could.

797
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:11,719
Speaker 4: I hope it works. And Genesis thirty three, verse four,

798
00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:14,160
Speaker 4: I want you to see this will help me illustrate this.

799
00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,400
Speaker 4: Here's Esau, the one he was so intimidated by, the

800
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:20,960
Speaker 4: one who for twenty years he's been thinking, if I

801
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,840
Speaker 4: ever see Esau again, he's gonna kill me. The guilt

802
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:26,920
Speaker 4: you carry, the shame you carry, the hypotheticals that you

803
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:29,479
Speaker 4: build out in your mind, everything that you worry about

804
00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:29,879
Speaker 4: at night.

805
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:36,160
Speaker 1: Watch what God did while Jacob prayed. Verse four, Esau.

806
00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:46,000
Speaker 4: Ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Wow, the thing

807
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:53,080
Speaker 4: that he was afraid of was waiting to embrace him.

808
00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:56,200
Speaker 4: He threw his arms around his neck first time, like

809
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:59,360
Speaker 4: he's slow violin, and we're not gonna act all this

810
00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:04,319
Speaker 4: out and worry, but.

811
00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:05,240
Speaker 1: You get the picture.

812
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,239
Speaker 4: And Jacob said, hey, he saw he bowed down on

813
00:48:11,239 --> 00:48:13,759
Speaker 4: the ground seven times, putting on a big show. All

814
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:15,720
Speaker 4: the things we do to try to make the situation

815
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,920
Speaker 4: better that God never told us to do, all the

816
00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:21,520
Speaker 4: ways we wear ourselves out when we could really just

817
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:27,080
Speaker 4: worship twenty years. He worried about this moment, and yet

818
00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:30,520
Speaker 4: Esau says something very powerful. Go to overs five, Jacob said.

819
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,919
Speaker 4: Esau said, what's all this stuff you brought? Jacob said, oh,

820
00:48:34,960 --> 00:48:37,920
Speaker 4: this is my kids that God graciously gave your children.

821
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:44,359
Speaker 11: Probably should have stopped at ten. And then Esau looks

822
00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:49,160
Speaker 11: up and he sees all this stuff for six, for six,

823
00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:51,239
Speaker 11: have female served their children inproach and bowed down?

824
00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:51,760
Speaker 1: For seven?

825
00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:54,600
Speaker 4: And lean her children came about down last all Joseph

826
00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:57,279
Speaker 4: came Rachel did they two bowed down? Jacob put the

827
00:48:57,320 --> 00:48:59,719
Speaker 4: pretty wife behind the other one.

828
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,439
Speaker 1: I don't know why I did that. Look at verse eight.

829
00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:07,279
Speaker 1: Now this is the point. We could edit this out later.

830
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:09,759
Speaker 1: What's the meaning of all this?

831
00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:11,719
Speaker 4: Flocks and herds said, what's all this stuff you're trying

832
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:15,040
Speaker 4: to do to make peace with me? To find favor

833
00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:17,120
Speaker 4: in your eyes? My lord, he said, and watch this.

834
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:24,400
Speaker 4: Esau said, oh, hold on. But Esau said, here you

835
00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:29,759
Speaker 4: have letty brother keep what you have for yourself. Esau

836
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:34,359
Speaker 4: was already blessed. If he would have spent twenty years

837
00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:36,160
Speaker 4: in bitterness, he wouldn't have been. But he said, you

838
00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:42,960
Speaker 4: know what, I let go, and you can't too. Now

839
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,879
Speaker 4: bring it in, bring it in, bring it in, bring

840
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:50,600
Speaker 4: it in. Let that thing go, Let that thing go,

841
00:49:51,480 --> 00:49:53,760
Speaker 4: Let that thing go, Let that thing.

842
00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:57,160
Speaker 1: Go, Let it go. God is not against sheep. Let

843
00:49:57,160 --> 00:50:00,319
Speaker 1: it go. He's fighting for you. Let it go. He's

844
00:50:00,320 --> 00:50:03,480
Speaker 1: not abandoning you. That's him you're wrestling with.

845
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:07,120
Speaker 4: You're coming forth stronger, You're coming forth staple.

846
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:12,879
Speaker 1: Let that thing go. Hug at least three people say

847
00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:17,759
Speaker 1: let that thing go, Let that thing go. This is

848
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:23,960
Speaker 1: your day of grace. This is your moment to let go.

849
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:27,439
Speaker 1: And when you let it go, lift your.

850
00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:30,680
Speaker 4: Hands and expect a blessing that you will not have

851
00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:31,960
Speaker 4: room enough to receive.

852
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,960
Speaker 1: I declare the blessing of peace coming to your house

853
00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:38,800
Speaker 1: in the place of the shame that Christ took away.

854
00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:45,840
Speaker 4: I declare new relationships, new favor, new opportunities.

855
00:50:45,239 --> 00:50:48,279
Speaker 1: In the place of your let go. Here comes the

856
00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:53,560
Speaker 1: grace of Almighty God. Yes, I'm blessed. Yes I'm chosen.

857
00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:57,560
Speaker 1: Yes I'm sealed, Yes some anointed.

858
00:50:57,600 --> 00:51:03,200
Speaker 6: Yes I call Let's gives, Yes praise, we gave it

859
00:51:03,320 --> 00:51:03,879
Speaker 6: all day.

860
00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:18,920
Speaker 9: Yes I'm bless Yes I'm yes I am.

861
00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:22,919
Speaker 1: Aren't you so afraid of if you got angels? This

862
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:24,239
Speaker 1: is the blessing of let go.

863
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:31,000
Speaker 4: I pray that this, this letting go today for you

864
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:37,120
Speaker 4: would take you into a place of freedom tonight when

865
00:51:37,160 --> 00:51:40,440
Speaker 4: you lie down to sleep, your sleep will be sweet

866
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:46,520
Speaker 4: because God is dealing with Esau, because you have met

867
00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:51,719
Speaker 4: with him God. God's given a word to somebody right now,

868
00:51:51,719 --> 00:51:53,040
Speaker 4: How do I deal with it? How do I deal

869
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:55,000
Speaker 4: with the anxiety? How do I deal with the panic?

870
00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:55,759
Speaker 4: How do I do it?

871
00:51:55,800 --> 00:51:56,120
Speaker 1: Okay?

872
00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:00,600
Speaker 4: Every time, God says, every time you think about what

873
00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:02,480
Speaker 4: you've got to deal with that you can't get over.

874
00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:10,959
Speaker 4: Every time you think about Esau, pray to me. Every

875
00:52:10,960 --> 00:52:16,400
Speaker 4: time you think about bills, pray to your provider. And

876
00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:20,120
Speaker 4: then when you pray, expect him to direct you to

877
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:24,200
Speaker 4: the next step. Every time you feel the hurt, every

878
00:52:24,239 --> 00:52:27,760
Speaker 4: time you feel the old offense, you pray and thank

879
00:52:27,840 --> 00:52:32,000
Speaker 4: God for his forgiveness for you, and that person, and

880
00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:34,920
Speaker 4: you open your arms because for what God has for

881
00:52:34,960 --> 00:52:38,080
Speaker 4: you in the future. You cannot afford to hold a grudge.

882
00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:42,360
Speaker 4: You cannot afford to carry around guilt. It's too big

883
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:51,720
Speaker 4: for you to be burdened. Yes, I'm blessed, And because

884
00:52:51,760 --> 00:52:55,799
Speaker 4: I'm blessed, I expect God everywhere I go.

885
00:52:57,239 --> 00:53:03,080
Speaker 1: And because I'm blessed, I accept up every space in between.

886
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:08,240
Speaker 4: So no, now, Lord, we come to you, the blesser

887
00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:15,360
Speaker 4: of our coming, the blesser of our going, the blesser

888
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:18,359
Speaker 4: when we rise up, the blessing and we fall down,

889
00:53:20,200 --> 00:53:27,520
Speaker 4: the blesser of our in between. We declare now that

890
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:33,239
Speaker 4: your face is turning toward your children. I know that

891
00:53:33,239 --> 00:53:35,200
Speaker 4: for some today this will be a good reminder.

892
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:41,279
Speaker 1: For others, it will be a life changing revelation. Let go,

893
00:53:42,960 --> 00:53:46,840
Speaker 1: let go, God says, it's me.

894
00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:51,720
Speaker 4: I'm here with you. You're not alone, Jacob. I'm changing

895
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,080
Speaker 4: your name, I'm changing your life.

896
00:53:55,760 --> 00:54:03,040
Speaker 1: Let go. Yeah, I like that. L j ah.

897
00:54:04,360 --> 00:54:07,879
Speaker 5: Sorry, that's good.

898
00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:08,359
Speaker 4: That's good.

899
00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:08,879
Speaker 1: That's good.

900
00:54:08,960 --> 00:54:09,680
Speaker 5: That's good.

901
00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:27,440
Speaker 8: I sirreander, oh I sorreyor oh.

902
00:54:26,560 --> 00:54:38,080
Speaker 5: Mm hmmm, oh h.

903
00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:45,799
Speaker 1: Hey you Jesus, let go, he's got it.

904
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:47,480
Speaker 5: Let go, Let go, h.

905
00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:21,719
Speaker 4: Out with your heads about your eyes closed. I want

906
00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:23,279
Speaker 4: to give an invitation for those who need to give

907
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:25,880
Speaker 4: your life to Jesus Christ. You will never get to

908
00:55:25,960 --> 00:55:28,280
Speaker 4: him by climbing. You will never get to him by trying,

909
00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:30,600
Speaker 4: only through receiving His grace.

910
00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:35,520
Speaker 1: Right now, in this moment, I think there's probably a lot.

911
00:55:35,400 --> 00:55:37,080
Speaker 4: Of you who need to make this your day to

912
00:55:37,120 --> 00:55:40,120
Speaker 4: receive God's grace for your life, to turn from your sin,

913
00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,040
Speaker 4: and to realize that there is a God and you

914
00:55:42,080 --> 00:55:45,760
Speaker 4: are not him, that there is a Savior standing ready

915
00:55:45,800 --> 00:55:48,120
Speaker 4: and willing to forgive you cleanse you give you a

916
00:55:48,160 --> 00:55:50,399
Speaker 4: brand new life. So right now we're going to pray

917
00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:53,520
Speaker 4: as a church family those online as well. And if

918
00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:55,399
Speaker 4: this is your moment, and you know this is God

919
00:55:55,480 --> 00:55:58,360
Speaker 4: calling me, Pastor Stephen, while you were preaching, I realized

920
00:55:58,400 --> 00:56:00,640
Speaker 4: I need to let go of my life my way.

921
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:04,440
Speaker 4: I need to receive this gift of salvation through Jesus.

922
00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:06,160
Speaker 4: Right now, I want you to pray with me, and

923
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:08,560
Speaker 4: we're going to pray as a church family out loud

924
00:56:08,920 --> 00:56:11,120
Speaker 4: for the benefit of those who are coming to God

925
00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:14,280
Speaker 4: for the first time or back to God in this moment.

926
00:56:14,640 --> 00:56:15,400
Speaker 1: Now, pray with me.

927
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:17,239
Speaker 4: If you mean it, God will hear you, and this

928
00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:20,440
Speaker 4: will be your new beginning. Repeat after me, Heavenly Father.

929
00:56:21,719 --> 00:56:26,200
Speaker 4: I am a sinner in need of a savior, and

930
00:56:26,360 --> 00:56:31,160
Speaker 4: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

931
00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:36,560
Speaker 4: and the savior of the world. And today I make

932
00:56:36,760 --> 00:56:41,040
Speaker 4: Jesus the lord of my life. I believe he died

933
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:46,160
Speaker 4: that I would be forgiven and rose again to give

934
00:56:46,239 --> 00:56:47,680
Speaker 4: me life.

935
00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:53,560
Speaker 1: I receive this new life. This is my new beginning.

936
00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:55,960
Speaker 4: On the count of three, shoot your hand up if

937
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,960
Speaker 4: you prayed that one, two, three, I'm celebrating with him.

938
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:06,600
Speaker 1: Now, that's amazing. That's amazing, man, that's amazing seeing God

939
00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:07,040
Speaker 1: sees you.

940
00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:10,600
Speaker 4: Come on till we thank God for everybody who just

941
00:57:10,680 --> 00:57:12,759
Speaker 4: made that decision to.

942
00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:22,160
Speaker 1: Let God, to let God. Oh man, beautiful, beautiful.

943
00:57:22,240 --> 00:57:24,120
Speaker 4: Let's thank God one more time for the great work

944
00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:24,560
Speaker 4: he did in.

945
00:57:24,520 --> 00:57:25,280
Speaker 1: Our lives today.

946
00:57:26,560 --> 00:57:36,400
Speaker 4: Amen, Ron. So all of our campus pastors, you can

947
00:57:36,400 --> 00:57:38,480
Speaker 4: take it right now. They're gonna close. Can I bless

948
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:41,080
Speaker 4: you here at Valentine? You stick with me for just

949
00:57:41,560 --> 00:57:49,200
Speaker 4: ninety more seconds. I want to bless you because you've

950
00:57:49,200 --> 00:57:50,720
Speaker 4: been saying I don't know if I can hold on

951
00:57:50,840 --> 00:57:55,600
Speaker 4: much longer. God says, you don't have to you weren't

952
00:57:55,600 --> 00:57:57,720
Speaker 4: the one who grabbed me to begin with?

953
00:57:59,320 --> 00:58:00,480
Speaker 1: I got a script for you.

954
00:58:00,520 --> 00:58:03,840
Speaker 4: This is a Valentine nine point thirty only special. Nobody

955
00:58:03,840 --> 00:58:07,840
Speaker 4: else will see this. Y'all fight through the parkin you

956
00:58:07,960 --> 00:58:09,200
Speaker 4: get the cherry on top.

957
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:15,600
Speaker 1: Let me tell you how blessed you are? You ready

958
00:58:15,600 --> 00:58:16,000
Speaker 1: for this?

959
00:58:17,120 --> 00:58:20,200
Speaker 4: Oh, great googlymoglie, You're not ready for this.

960
00:58:21,640 --> 00:58:22,680
Speaker 1: Praise be to the.

961
00:58:22,600 --> 00:58:24,960
Speaker 4: God and Father of our Lord, Jesus.

962
00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:27,120
Speaker 1: Christ, who has blessed us.

963
00:58:27,200 --> 00:58:31,160
Speaker 4: Somebody say, yes, I'm blessed in the heavenly realms with

964
00:58:31,280 --> 00:58:35,160
Speaker 4: every spiritual blessing in Christ, for he shows us in

965
00:58:35,280 --> 00:58:37,720
Speaker 4: Him before the creation of the world, to be holy

966
00:58:37,800 --> 00:58:41,200
Speaker 4: and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us

967
00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:46,240
Speaker 4: for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with

968
00:58:46,400 --> 00:58:50,280
Speaker 4: his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace.

969
00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:55,440
Speaker 4: Everybody say, glorious grace, which he has freely given us

970
00:58:55,480 --> 00:58:58,080
Speaker 4: in the one he loves. In him, we have redemption

971
00:58:58,280 --> 00:58:59,439
Speaker 4: through his blood.

972
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:01,880
Speaker 1: Giveness of sins, in accordance with.

973
00:59:01,920 --> 00:59:05,520
Speaker 4: The richest of God's grace that he lavished on us.

974
00:59:05,920 --> 00:59:09,200
Speaker 4: With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us

975
00:59:09,280 --> 00:59:12,520
Speaker 4: the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure,

976
00:59:13,040 --> 00:59:16,200
Speaker 4: which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect

977
00:59:16,600 --> 00:59:19,760
Speaker 4: when the times reached their fulfillment, to bring unity to

978
00:59:19,800 --> 00:59:24,240
Speaker 4: all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In Him,

979
00:59:24,600 --> 00:59:30,360
Speaker 4: we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the

980
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:33,320
Speaker 4: plan of Him who works out everything.

981
00:59:34,200 --> 00:59:38,520
Speaker 1: Oh, he's working it out right now, take a nap today.

982
00:59:38,920 --> 00:59:42,960
Speaker 4: He's working it out in conformity with the purpose.

983
00:59:43,080 --> 00:59:48,600
Speaker 1: Oh, He's will everybody shall. Yes, I'm blessed. You're dismissed.

984
00:59:48,640 --> 00:59:50,560
Speaker 1: I see you soon, Pap the Blest Week.

985
00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:55,360
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm blessed, and I hope you enjoyed the podcast,

986
00:59:55,440 --> 00:59:58,000
Speaker 3: And if you did, make sure to share it and

987
00:59:58,080 --> 01:00:00,640
Speaker 3: subscribe so we can get you all of these new

988
01:00:00,680 --> 01:00:03,680
Speaker 3: messages as soon as they're available. I also want to

989
01:00:03,680 --> 01:00:05,680
Speaker 3: take a moment and thank all of you who are

990
01:00:05,680 --> 01:00:09,200
Speaker 3: a part of Elevation. Whether you support us financially, or

991
01:00:09,400 --> 01:00:12,920
Speaker 3: serve with us, or just share these messages, it's because

992
01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:14,400
Speaker 3: of you that we're able to reach.

993
01:00:14,200 --> 01:00:17,240
Speaker 2: People all around the world. And if you want more

994
01:00:17,280 --> 01:00:20,440
Speaker 2: information on how to be a part of Elevation, click

995
01:00:20,560 --> 01:00:23,600
Speaker 2: the link in the description. Thanks again for listening. Make

996
01:00:23,600 --> 01:00:26,760
Speaker 2: sure to leave a review share the message and subscribe.

997
01:00:27,120 --> 01:00:34,520
Speaker 2: God bless you.