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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for

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Speaker 1: listening to the podcast.

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Speaker 2: Did you know you can watch our weekend services live

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Speaker 2: online each week.

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Speaker 1: Of course, we'd love to have you into person if

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Speaker 1: you're ever in the Houston area, but the next best

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Speaker 1: thing is our online services. Thanks for downloading the podcast today,

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Speaker 1: and we hope you enjoy the message. So God bless you.

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Speaker 1: It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you.

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Speaker 1: We'd come with good news. We believe today that you're

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Speaker 1: going to be encouraged and inspired just to be all

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Speaker 1: God's created you to be. But thanks for tuning in.

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Speaker 1: If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop

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Speaker 1: by and see us. We'll make you feel right at home.

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Speaker 1: But again, it's good to have you today. You know

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Speaker 1: I'd like to start with something funny each week and

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Speaker 1: see what you think of this one. A small child

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Speaker 1: had a bad cough, so her parents took her to

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Speaker 1: the emergency room. A nurse, while examining the child's lung

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Speaker 1: with a stethoscope, told the child, I have to see

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Speaker 1: if Barney's in there. The little girl replied, I have

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Speaker 1: Jesus in my heart, but Barney's on my underwear. All right,

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Speaker 1: hold up your bibles. Let's say it like we've been

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Speaker 1: it read. This is my Bible. I am what it

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Speaker 1: says I am. I have what it says I have.

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Speaker 1: I can do what it says I can do. Today

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Speaker 1: I will be talked the word of God. I boldly confess.

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Speaker 1: My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will

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Speaker 1: never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible,

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Speaker 1: ever living seed of the Word of God. I'll never

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Speaker 1: be the same, never, never, never, I'll never be the same.

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Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk

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Speaker 1: to you today about having an attitude of a servant

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Speaker 1: and how we should be willing to get involved every day.

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Speaker 1: We should look for opportunities to do good. We should

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Speaker 1: look for ways that we can make a difference. Who

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Speaker 1: can I bless or where is there a need that

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Speaker 1: I can meet? How can I serve you today? A

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Speaker 1: lot of times we think I don't want to serve anybody.

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Speaker 1: I want somebody to serve me, want somebody to meet

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Speaker 1: my need, somebody to bless me. But really that's the

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Speaker 1: wrong attitude. Jesus said, I didn't come to be served.

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Speaker 1: I came to serve, and here he was the greatest

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Speaker 1: leader of all time, and yet he humbled himself as

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Speaker 1: a servant. And serving takes humility, it takes laying aside

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Speaker 1: our plan. Sometimes we've got to be willing to be inconvenience.

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Speaker 1: It means we've got to be willing to go out

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Speaker 1: of our way. Too many people today don't want to

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Speaker 1: get involved. Their attitude is, don't bother me with your problems. Man,

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Speaker 1: I got enough problems of my own. I can't give

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Speaker 1: you a ride in the morning. I get up early

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Speaker 1: enough already. No, it's that kind of selfish, self centered attitude.

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Speaker 1: That's why so many people are not happy today. And

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Speaker 1: if you're only living for yourself and you don't have

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Speaker 1: time for others, you're going to live a very unfulfilled life.

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Speaker 1: You were not made to be ingrown. You were made

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Speaker 1: to be a giver. You were made to make a

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Speaker 1: difference in somebody else's life. And really one of the

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Speaker 1: main ways we serve God is by serving one another.

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Speaker 1: One time, the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest,

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Speaker 1: who is the most important, who is going to have

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Speaker 1: the top position. Jesus overheard them and he said, Listen,

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Speaker 1: here's the key. If you want to be the greatest,

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Speaker 1: you've got to learn to become the servant of all.

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Speaker 1: In other words, you've got to have an attitude to

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Speaker 1: help people. You've got to take time to listen to

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Speaker 1: that friend that's down. You've got to go out of

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Speaker 1: your way and get involved with that coworker that's struggling.

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Speaker 1: Everywhere we go, we should be making a difference, even

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Speaker 1: if it's just giving a smile, given an encouraging word.

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Speaker 1: Somebody's car broke down, you give them twenty bucks to

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Speaker 1: help them get on their way. But we need to

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Speaker 1: look for opportunities to meet needs around us. And the

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Speaker 1: scripture says here in one John three point seventeen, if

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Speaker 1: anyone sees his brother in need and yet closes his

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Speaker 1: heart of compassion, how can the love of God be

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Speaker 1: in him? Notice we all have a heart of compassion.

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Speaker 1: But what's interesting is it can either be opened or

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Speaker 1: it can be closed. And the sad thing today is

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Speaker 1: many people have theirs closed. They're too busy to get involved.

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Speaker 1: They don't take time to sew into other people's life.

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Speaker 1: They see that friend that's struggling, he's down, and discouraged.

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Speaker 1: But they think, man, I don't want to go find

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Speaker 1: out what's wrong. He may need to borrow some money,

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Speaker 1: he may want to go to dinner after work. I

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Speaker 1: don't want to do that. What they've really just done

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Speaker 1: is they've closed their heart of compassion, and then they

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Speaker 1: wonder why they're not happy, why they're not fulfilled, why

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Speaker 1: their problems aren't being solved. It's all because they become

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Speaker 1: ingrown and a selfish life is always going to be

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Speaker 1: a miserable life. If you have a problem today, one

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Speaker 1: of the best things you can do is go out

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Speaker 1: and help solve somebody else's problem. If you're lonely, don't

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Speaker 1: sit around feeling sorry for yourself. Go out and encourage

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Speaker 1: somebody else that's lonely. You've got to get your mind

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Speaker 1: off of yourself. Sow that seed. Then God can begin

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Speaker 1: to change your seas. But I'm talking about a lifestyle

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Speaker 1: of giving, a lifestyle of serving, being involved with one another.

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Speaker 1: Some of you have more time than you do. Extra money,

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Speaker 1: We'll give your time. Why don't you mentor a young man,

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Speaker 1: or go visit the nursing homes, or how about adopting

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Speaker 1: a widow. You can call her during the week, send

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Speaker 1: her notes, or go pick her up and bring her

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Speaker 1: to church with you, sew into her life. You're not

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Speaker 1: just doing a good deed, you are serving God by

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Speaker 1: serving one another. I remember when Victoria and I first

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Speaker 1: started dating. Victoria would go pick up this older lady

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Speaker 1: and bring her to church. She'd done this for a

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Speaker 1: long time, they'd become good friends. Well, that was just

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Speaker 1: a way that she could serve. And there are so

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Speaker 1: many different areas we can get involved in. You can

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Speaker 1: serve in our children's ministry, teaching our kids we're always

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Speaker 1: looking for people. Or you can go visit the prisoners

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Speaker 1: with our prison outreach. We have to go every day,

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Speaker 1: go once a month. Or how about coaching your child's

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Speaker 1: Little league teams, making a difference in their lives. But

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Speaker 1: when you see a need, learn to meet it. Maybe

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Speaker 1: your child has a friend that comes from a single

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Speaker 1: parent family and you can see he's having trouble hitting

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Speaker 1: the ball, Well take him to the batting cages with

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Speaker 1: your son, or stay after practice and pitch to him

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Speaker 1: for half an hour or so. But what I'm saying

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Speaker 1: is you've got to on purpose get involved. Don't wait

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Speaker 1: for somebody to ask you be on the offensive. We

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Speaker 1: should get up every day and not try to figure

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Speaker 1: out how we can get blessed. Let's figure out how

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Speaker 1: we can be a blessing. Where is a need that

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Speaker 1: I can meet, or how can I make somebody else's

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Speaker 1: life better today? Where can I serve see be on

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Speaker 1: the lookout and learn to keep your heart of compassion open.

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Speaker 1: That's what real living is all about. And really, the

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Speaker 1: closest thing to the heart of God is not how

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Speaker 1: much we pray, not how many times we come to

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Speaker 1: church and all that's great, but the closest thing to

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Speaker 1: God's heart is helping hurting people. And all around us,

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Speaker 1: probably every day there's somebody this has been through a disappointment,

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Speaker 1: somebody that's discouraged, somebody that's having marital problems, somebody that's

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Speaker 1: struggling with an addiction. They need what only you can give.

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Speaker 1: They need your healing touch, they need your ears to listen,

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Speaker 1: they need your encouraging words. Somebody needs to know that

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Speaker 1: you care. And the scripture talks about how in the

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Speaker 1: last days the great love of the body of people

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Speaker 1: will grow cold, and unfortunately that's what seems to be

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Speaker 1: happening today. We're all so busy people are so driven

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Speaker 1: for success. We're in such a hurry. We don't want

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Speaker 1: to be inconvenience. We don't want to have to go

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Speaker 1: out of our way. We have to remember, if we're

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Speaker 1: not serving one another, we're really not serving God in

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Speaker 1: the way he wants us to. And Jesus said, when

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Speaker 1: you do it to the least of one of these,

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Speaker 1: it's just like you're doing it under me. You give

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Speaker 1: somebody in need as little as a cup of cold water,

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Speaker 1: just like you're giving it under God. Take time to care,

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Speaker 1: have the heart of a servant, and be willing to

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Speaker 1: get involved. Most of us know the story of the

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Speaker 1: Good Samaritan. This man was out walking down the road,

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Speaker 1: and all of a sudden he was attacked and beaten

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Speaker 1: by these robbers, and they stole all of his money

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Speaker 1: and just left him there to die. Well, in a

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Speaker 1: little while, a priest came walking by, and when he

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Speaker 1: saw the men lying there, he just moved over to

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Speaker 1: the other side of the road. He didn't want to

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Speaker 1: be inconvenienced, he didn't want to get his hands dirty.

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Speaker 1: He was too proud, and so he just passed on by.

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Speaker 1: And isn't it interesting? The first example Jesus used as

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Speaker 1: he told this story was that of a religious person

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Speaker 1: that tells me, just because I come to church, just

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Speaker 1: because I sing the songs, doesn't mean that's my Christian duty.

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Speaker 1: And I'm done for the week. Know, our real duty

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Speaker 1: starts when we dismissed this service. Our real work should

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Speaker 1: begin at the office, at the mall, at the ball field,

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Speaker 1: in our everyday lives. Look for opportunities that you can

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Speaker 1: make a difference. And when you see somebody that's hurting,

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Speaker 1: don't be like this man, don't be quote too religious

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Speaker 1: to get your hands dirty. In other words, don't be

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Speaker 1: too proud to help that young man just struggling with

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Speaker 1: an addiction. Don't be too judgmental to give that young

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Speaker 1: lady that's pregnant and not yet married, your time, your attention,

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Speaker 1: your love. In a little while, another man came walking by.

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Speaker 1: He was a Levite, but he did the same thing.

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Speaker 1: He just scooted over and passed on by. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: Maybe he was in a hurry, maybe he had an

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Speaker 1: important meeting to go to, but he too chose not

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Speaker 1: to be involved. But this third man was different. I

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Speaker 1: like him. He had his heart of compassion open and

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Speaker 1: the Bible says, when he saw the man lying there,

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Speaker 1: he went to him. Notice he didn't wait for three

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Speaker 1: people to ask. He didn't wait till they made an

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Speaker 1: announcement at the office. He didn't wait till you read

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Speaker 1: it in the church bulletin. He was aggressive, he was

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Speaker 1: on the lookout, and he thought, here's a need, here's

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Speaker 1: somebody that's hurting. I'm gonna make a difference. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: serve God by serving my brother. And the fact is,

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Speaker 1: if you study it, he didn't know the man. He

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Speaker 1: didn't come from the same racial background, he didn't come

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Speaker 1: from the same social background. But that didn't stop him.

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Speaker 1: He thought, this is my brother, and I'm gonna do

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Speaker 1: something about it. And we too need to quit qualifying

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Speaker 1: what needs we're gonna meet. A need is a need,

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Speaker 1: regardless of race, regardless of social background, regardless of if

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Speaker 1: the people fit into our little group. You notice he

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Speaker 1: went to him. He bandaged him up and put him

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Speaker 1: on his animal, took him up to the local end,

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Speaker 1: and he stayed with him till he got better. And

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Speaker 1: when he did have to leave, he paid the innkeeper

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Speaker 1: extra money to keep him until he got well. And

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Speaker 1: he said, by the way, if you've got to keep

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Speaker 1: him longer, go ahead and do it, and just put

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Speaker 1: it on my tab and I'll make sure I pay

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Speaker 1: you the next time I come through. That's somebody that

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Speaker 1: has their heart of compassion open. That's somebody that's serving

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Speaker 1: God by serving one another. And you notice he was

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Speaker 1: willing to get his hands dirty. He was willing to

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Speaker 1: be inconvenienced. I'm sure he had to adjust his plans.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. Maybe he lost some money, maybe he

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Speaker 1: missed out on a big cell, but it didn't matter

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Speaker 1: to this man. He was more interested in helping hurting

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Speaker 1: people than he was and keeping his plans. I believe

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Speaker 1: what God is saying to us through this story is

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Speaker 1: when you see somebody that's down, somebody that's hurting, somebody

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Speaker 1: that's lonely, like this man, go to him. Let's not

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Speaker 1: be like the first man, too proud, too religious. Well,

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Speaker 1: I'm not gonna help you. You don't come from my

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Speaker 1: same group, you don't live in my neighborhood, you don't

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Speaker 1: believe what I believe. You're not of my same faith. Man,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going there. That kind of selfish, arrogant attitude

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Speaker 1: is going to keep us from God's best. Keep your

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Speaker 1: heart of compassion open and when you see a need,

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Speaker 1: don't wait, go to it. That's what I love about

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Speaker 1: the people of Lakewood. You guys are such great givers.

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Speaker 1: We get letters all the time from people telling us

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Speaker 1: how much you've helped them, just bragging on all that

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Speaker 1: you've done. And just the other day I got a

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Speaker 1: report from a single parent mom. She said, Joel, one

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Speaker 1: of your members out of the Clear Blue just bought

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Speaker 1: me a whole new set of living room furniture. And

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Speaker 1: she just wrote back to say thank you. We never

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Speaker 1: asked those people to do it. We didn't put it

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Speaker 1: into bulletin. They just did it. Unto God, they just

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Speaker 1: did it because they saw a need and they went

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Speaker 1: to it. They were willing to be involved. And if

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Speaker 1: you hear about some kids that aren't sleeping on good beds,

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Speaker 1: or somebody that doesn't have air conditioning in this heat,

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Speaker 1: and you have the means to meet that need, God's

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Speaker 1: bless you with that money, then you've got to step

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Speaker 1: up to the plate. The Bible tells us to stir

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Speaker 1: ourselves up under good works. And if we don't hear

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Speaker 1: a message like this on a regular basis, it is

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Speaker 1: so easy to get self centered, me and my four

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Speaker 1: and no more. But no, let me ask you today,

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Speaker 1: what are you doing for somebody else where? Are you

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Speaker 1: making a difference? Now? I realize as you give to

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Speaker 1: the ministry here in affects you are because we touch people.

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Speaker 1: But really I'm talking more specifically today about you personally.

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Speaker 1: Who are you serving? Who are you impacting? Do you

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Speaker 1: have your heart of compassion open? I had this other

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Speaker 1: man tell me he was an older gentleman, how he

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Speaker 1: was up at the pharmacy one night wanting to pick

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Speaker 1: up his prescription, but he thought the insurance would cover

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Speaker 1: more of the cost and he didn't have enough money. Well,

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Speaker 1: there was this young man in line behind him that

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Speaker 1: had just been out exercising in his tennis shoes and

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Speaker 1: running clothes, and he just come in there to get

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Speaker 1: something to drink. But when he heard this older man's dilemma,

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Speaker 1: he said, you stay right there, I'll be right back.

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Speaker 1: That young man ran out, went down to his house.

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Speaker 1: God his bill fole came all the way back and

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Speaker 1: bought his prescription for him. And you're talking about making

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Speaker 1: an impression on this man. Now, this older gentleman was

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Speaker 1: here at Lakewood in the front lobby. Never been here before,

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Speaker 1: but he came all the way back just to tell

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Speaker 1: that man thank you. I said, well, what was his name?

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Speaker 1: He said his name was John. I said, well, we

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Speaker 1: probably have a few hundred Johns in our church, but

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Speaker 1: I promised him I would tell John. Thank you. So,

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Speaker 1: whoever you are, thank you for keeping your heart a

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Speaker 1: compassion open. Thank you for serving God by serving one another.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for making a difference. Really, there's nothing like

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Speaker 1: the joy in giving. There's nothing like the satisfaction you

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Speaker 1: feel for meeting somebody else's needs. Remember one time I

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Speaker 1: went to India with my father and it was myself

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Speaker 1: and Victoria and several of our family members. There was

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Speaker 1: this good Christian leader that we had supported for many

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Speaker 1: many years. We'd become good friends with he and his family.

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Speaker 1: We really love and respect him. But he was so

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Speaker 1: devoted to his ministry and so devoted to his work.

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Speaker 1: He had never taken the time nor the money to

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Speaker 1: get his own family a decent place to live. They

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Speaker 1: had always lived in this old rundown, beat up place

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Speaker 1: that they had rented, and this really bothered my father.

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Speaker 1: He loved this young man like a son and he

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Speaker 1: always wanted him to have something, and so on this

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Speaker 1: particular trip, my father brought the money personally to buy

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Speaker 1: him a new home. And of course in India it's

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Speaker 1: not like it is here, but it was still a

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Speaker 1: whole lot of money. And I'll never forget how Daddy

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Speaker 1: did it. Instead of just having one check to give him,

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Speaker 1: he divided it up so that each of us kids

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Speaker 1: that were there could give the man a check as well.

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Speaker 1: Daddy wanted us personally to experience the joy in giving,

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Speaker 1: and so one night after dinner, we went back to

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Speaker 1: their little place and Daddy began to tell them how

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Speaker 1: much we loved them and what we wanted to do

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Speaker 1: for their family, and he explained how this money was

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Speaker 1: for them personally to buy them a new house. And

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Speaker 1: his wife and his kids were there and Daddy handed

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Speaker 1: them the check, and men, they couldn't believe it. They

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Speaker 1: just wept and wept. They'd never seen money like that,

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Speaker 1: not for their own use. And then each of us kids,

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Speaker 1: one by one we went up and gave the men

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Speaker 1: our check. And I'll never forget the impression that made

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Speaker 1: on me, seeing the tears in his eyes, seeing his

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Speaker 1: children weeping with joy, weeping with Drady Toad. All I

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Speaker 1: could think about was the scripture that says it is

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Speaker 1: more blessed to give than it is to receive, And

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Speaker 1: that night I felt just an overwhelming sense of joy

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Speaker 1: on the inside. And listen, I had bought a sports

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Speaker 1: car a couple months earlier, and I was happy about that,

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Speaker 1: but there was no comparison in the joy that I

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Speaker 1: felt that day. You are never more like God than

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Speaker 1: when you give. When you're meeting a need, when you're

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Speaker 1: helping the hurting, when you're ministering to the lonely, there's

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Speaker 1: a joy and a satisfaction like nothing else can bring.

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Speaker 1: And some of you today, no doubt you kind of

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Speaker 1: like my parents. God's blessed you. You've got more than

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Speaker 1: you could probably ever spend. Why don't you start investing

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Speaker 1: it in others? Why don't you step out and do

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Speaker 1: something out of the ordinary and maybe buy that single

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Speaker 1: mom a new car. Why don't you pay the rent

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Speaker 1: for that friend that's really hit some tough times. If

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Speaker 1: you have the means to meet a need and you

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Speaker 1: just close your heart of compassion and you kind of

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Speaker 1: ignore it, Really, what you're doing is like those first

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Speaker 1: two men you're just passing by on the other side

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Speaker 1: of the street. Now do what you can. And I

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Speaker 1: realize there's a balance. I'm not telling you to give

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Speaker 1: everything away. That's not wisdom. But if I have five

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Speaker 1: coats and I see my friend out here that's cold.

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Speaker 1: It's not right for me to hold on to everything

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Speaker 1: that I have, And it's not right for me to say, well, brother,

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Speaker 1: i'll pray for you. We'll believe you'll get one by

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Speaker 1: next week. Man, I'm standing in faith. That's the biggest

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Speaker 1: cop out we could ever use. The Bible says faith

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Speaker 1: without actions backing it up is useless. If you want

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Speaker 1: your faith to really work, do something good for somebody else,

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Speaker 1: meet and need make a difference. This is something that

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Speaker 1: Victoria and I try to do as often as we can.

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Speaker 1: And really, when you do something good, you shouldn't tell

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Speaker 1: people about it, keep quiet so you'll get your reward.

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Speaker 1: But I'm gonna share this example with you just to

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Speaker 1: make a point. I believe God knows my heart. But

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Speaker 1: the other day I was praying for this family down front.

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Speaker 1: They just lost their mother. It was a very sad situation.

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Speaker 1: All these young kids just weeping and weeping, and I

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Speaker 1: could tell they didn't have too much financially, and so

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Speaker 1: when they went back to their seats, I asked Michelle,

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Speaker 1: my assistant, if she would ask them about the funeral.

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Speaker 1: She came back and said, sure enough, Joel, they don't

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Speaker 1: have any money. They don't know what they're going to do.

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Speaker 1: I said, Michelle, don't make a big deal about it,

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Speaker 1: but tell them that it's taken care of. That's something

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Speaker 1: I thought that Victorian I can do. And sure, we

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Speaker 1: have a big church, and the easy thing is to say, well,

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Speaker 1: let's just let the church do it. But no, I

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Speaker 1: don't want to miss out on the joy in giving.

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Speaker 1: I don't want to be another minister that passes by

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Speaker 1: down the side of the street. I want to keep

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Speaker 1: my heart of compassion open. I want to be on

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Speaker 1: the lookout for opportunities to do good for people. As

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Speaker 1: I said, you may not have a lot of extra money,

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Speaker 1: but you can give your time. You can give somebody

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Speaker 1: a ride, you can babysit someone's children. You got to

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Speaker 1: find a need and meet it, serve God by serving

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Speaker 1: one another. Too many people don't want to get involved.

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Speaker 1: You may have remembered the story several years ago that

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Speaker 1: happened in one of the major cities here in America.

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Speaker 1: This man was going home to his apartment late at

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Speaker 1: night and he was attacked and robbed by this game.

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Speaker 1: And while it was happening, he was screaming out to

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Speaker 1: the top of his lungs, help me, help me, and

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Speaker 1: all these people in the high rise buildings around him,

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Speaker 1: they begin to open up their windows and come out

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Speaker 1: on the balcony to watch what was going on. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he created a big stir, and it lasted like five

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Speaker 1: or ten minutes. But do you know, not one of

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Speaker 1: those people did anything about it. Not one person came

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Speaker 1: downstairs to help him. No one even bothered to call

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Speaker 1: the police. They, no doubt thought, man, we don't want

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Speaker 1: to get involved. We've got enough problems. We may have

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Speaker 1: to go give a police report, we may have to

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Speaker 1: go to court and testify. We don't want to be inconvenienced.

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Speaker 1: The amazing thing to me is nobody even bothered to

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Speaker 1: pick up the phone and call an ambulance while the

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Speaker 1: guy was lying down there, and he laid on the

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Speaker 1: street for over one hour and ended up bleeding to death.

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Speaker 1: They did an autopsy later, and the report said they

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Speaker 1: could have easily spared his life if somebody would have

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Speaker 1: just brought him to the hospital so they could have

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Speaker 1: stopped the bleeding. Several months later, this report came out.

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Speaker 1: It was in the paper and thirty eight people admitted

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Speaker 1: to having watched it take place, but unfortunately they just

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Speaker 1: chose to pass by the other side of the street. Friends,

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Speaker 1: let's don't let that be you and high I pray

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Speaker 1: every day God help me to not be so focused

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Speaker 1: on myself, so focused on my needs that I don't

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Speaker 1: see the needs of those around me. God helped me

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Speaker 1: to stay sensitive, help me to keep my heart of

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Speaker 1: compassion open. And thank God. Not everybody's like that. There's

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Speaker 1: a lot of great people. I heard another story about

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Speaker 1: this older African American woman. She was stranded beside the

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Speaker 1: side of a road in the middle of a driving rainstorm.

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Speaker 1: She had run over something and blown out one of

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Speaker 1: her tires. This was way back in the early nineteen

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Speaker 1: sixties and it was around eleven thirty at night. She

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Speaker 1: was in a rural section of Alabama. All she could

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Speaker 1: do is just go out and try to flag somebody over.

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Speaker 1: And about that time, this young white man came driving by.

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Speaker 1: He saw the lady out there, soaking wet, so distraught,

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Speaker 1: so upset. He decided to pull over and to help.

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Speaker 1: And this was almost unheard of, you know, in the

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Speaker 1: conflict ridden sixties. But this young man was so nice

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Speaker 1: and kind and caring. He put the older woman in

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Speaker 1: his own car, and in the midst of that driving rain,

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Speaker 1: he got out and took her old tire off. They

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Speaker 1: put it in the trunk and had to go into town.

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Speaker 1: Took like three or four hours to get it fixed.

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Speaker 1: In the middle of the night, they brought it back to

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Speaker 1: her car, still driving rain. Didn't matter. He got out

429
00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:30,840
Speaker 1: and put her new tyre on. She was ready to go.

430
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,800
Speaker 1: She tried and tried to pay him many many times,

431
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,720
Speaker 1: but he wouldn't take anything. And finally, just as he

432
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,439
Speaker 1: was about to leave, she said, at least let me

433
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,400
Speaker 1: get an address so I can send you a thank

434
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,639
Speaker 1: you note, and he kind of reluctantly agreed. Well, several

435
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,399
Speaker 1: days later there was a knock on this young man's door,

436
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,720
Speaker 1: and much to his surprise, they were delivering a large

437
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,720
Speaker 1: color TV set, had a note on it and said,

438
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,680
Speaker 1: thank you so much for your kindness the other night.

439
00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,280
Speaker 1: Because of you, I was able to make it my

440
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,600
Speaker 1: dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. She wanted

441
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,720
Speaker 1: them to say thank you for so generously serving others,

442
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,439
Speaker 1: and it was signed Missus Nat King Cole. See, you

443
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:15,920
Speaker 1: never really know who you're helping. You never know what

444
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,200
Speaker 1: kind of impact you're going to have. And think about,

445
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,760
Speaker 1: had that young man not taken the time to care,

446
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,720
Speaker 1: maybe she wouldn't have been able to spend the final

447
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:27,880
Speaker 1: moments with her husband. But if we can just remember,

448
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: when I serve you, I'm serving God. When I give

449
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,120
Speaker 1: you a ride, it's just like I'm giving God a ride.

450
00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:36,640
Speaker 1: When I come mow your lawn because you're not feeling well,

451
00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 1: just like I'm mowing God's lawn. When I give you

452
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,879
Speaker 1: a gift certificate to buy some new clothes, just like

453
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: I'm buying God some new clothes. Well, Joe, I don't

454
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,320
Speaker 1: know if I believed that. No, Jesus said, when I

455
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,280
Speaker 1: was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you

456
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,600
Speaker 1: gave me something to drink. When I was in prison,

457
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,640
Speaker 1: you visited me. They said, Jesus, what are you talking about.

458
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 1: We never did that. He said, sure you did. When

459
00:22:58,040 --> 00:22:59,840
Speaker 1: you did it to the least of one of these,

460
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,679
Speaker 1: just like you're doing it unto me. And the Bible

461
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:07,359
Speaker 1: talks about specific groups of people that we need to

462
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,400
Speaker 1: make sure that we watch after, make sure we take

463
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,439
Speaker 1: care of. Those groups are the widows, the orphans, and

464
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,520
Speaker 1: the fatherless. There are so many children today growing up

465
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:22,080
Speaker 1: in a single parent home. I read where never before

466
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,120
Speaker 1: in our history have there been so many fatherless children.

467
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,280
Speaker 1: In other words, more children are being raised without a

468
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 1: father figure than any other time. And we men who

469
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,639
Speaker 1: are healthy, we men who are good fathers. We have

470
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,320
Speaker 1: a responsibility to God to impart into these young people,

471
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 1: to mentor a young man, to mentor a young woman.

472
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 1: As I said earlier, look around at the church, at

473
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,000
Speaker 1: the school, at the ball field. Maybe your child has

474
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,080
Speaker 1: a friend that comes from a fatherless family, or why

475
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,679
Speaker 1: don't you take him under your wing, take him to

476
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,679
Speaker 1: do things that only fathers do. I know this family

477
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,240
Speaker 1: in our church the other day they were taken these

478
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,159
Speaker 1: two single parent sons on a camping trip with their children.

479
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,399
Speaker 1: These boys were so excited, they had never done anything

480
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,560
Speaker 1: like that before. We have to pay special attention to

481
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,199
Speaker 1: these groups. And I'm sure all of you know a

482
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 1: single parent mom. We have plenty of them here at

483
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,680
Speaker 1: the church. We've got to make sure we encourage them.

484
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,000
Speaker 1: Most of them. They're working night and day. They come

485
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 1: home and cook and clean. They're struggling to make it.

486
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,200
Speaker 1: They're half worn out. Why don't you take the time

487
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,639
Speaker 1: to take them out to dinner every once in a while.

488
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,399
Speaker 1: Why don't you babysit her children to give her a break.

489
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,119
Speaker 1: If you have the money, why don't you pay a

490
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,280
Speaker 1: rent for a few months, do something to lighten the load.

491
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:39,840
Speaker 1: When you do it for her, it's just like you're

492
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,920
Speaker 1: doing it unto God, the scripture says in James one

493
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,480
Speaker 1: twenty seven. True worship that is pure and unblemished in

494
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,840
Speaker 1: the sight of God is to take care of the fatherless,

495
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,840
Speaker 1: the orphans, and the widows. I don't know. Maybe you

496
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,119
Speaker 1: know a widow. There's somebody you can take care of.

497
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: You can help mow her law, keep her house up,

498
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,960
Speaker 1: run some errands for her. Do you know how many

499
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,199
Speaker 1: people today are lonely? Nobody comes by to check on,

500
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 1: nobody comes by to visit. Had this lady tell me

501
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 1: the other day she was older, and she said, I

502
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,639
Speaker 1: have no relatives alive, no aunts and uncles, no sons

503
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,600
Speaker 1: or daughters. We've got to do our part. I was

504
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,119
Speaker 1: thinking about when William went to be with the Lord.

505
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 1: He used to be the head of our prayer partners,

506
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,320
Speaker 1: good man, a good friend. He did so much for

507
00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:26,880
Speaker 1: this church. And I told Victoria, we're going to take

508
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,480
Speaker 1: care of his wife, Barbara. We have a responsibility. We're

509
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,800
Speaker 1: not going to pass by the other side of the street.

510
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,800
Speaker 1: And every one of you has people in your own life,

511
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,479
Speaker 1: a single parent mom, a single parent child, a widow,

512
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,199
Speaker 1: maybe in the neighborhood, maybe at work. Well, what are

513
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:45,960
Speaker 1: you doing to make a difference. True worship, true religion,

514
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,199
Speaker 1: God says, is not just to come to church and

515
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,560
Speaker 1: sing and shout and have a good time. And I'm

516
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,200
Speaker 1: all for that, But true worship is taking care of

517
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,960
Speaker 1: the lonely, helping the hurting, seeing the need, and meeting

518
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: that name. And I wonder what our society would be

519
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,560
Speaker 1: like today if every person took time to care, if

520
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,480
Speaker 1: each one of us would be more concerned about serving

521
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 1: others than just wanting to be served. Why don't you

522
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:13,720
Speaker 1: make a decision with me today that you're going to

523
00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,680
Speaker 1: be a giver and not a taker in life. After all,

524
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 1: when you meet other people's needs, God will always meet

525
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 1: your own needs. And if you're not happy today, there's

526
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: a very good chance you've gotten so focused on your problems.

527
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,720
Speaker 1: You're so caught up in yourself that you become ingrown,

528
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,879
Speaker 1: and that is a sure formula for misery. You have

529
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,439
Speaker 1: to get your mind off yourself when you get up

530
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 1: in the morning. Look for opportunities to be a blessing.

531
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:40,840
Speaker 1: When you see a need, don't wait, go to it.

532
00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 1: Get involved with your time, your energy, and your effort.

533
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:48,280
Speaker 1: If you have to your money. Remember when you serve others,

534
00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,000
Speaker 1: you are serving God. If you'll be sensitive to the

535
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:53,840
Speaker 1: needs around you and keep your heart of compassion open,

536
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,159
Speaker 1: there's no limit to what God will do in your

537
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,040
Speaker 1: own life. He'll pour out his blessings and favor and

538
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,200
Speaker 1: you'll experience victories that He has in story. Amen, how

539
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,199
Speaker 1: many of you receive it today? We never like to

540
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,359
Speaker 1: close our god past without giving you an opportunity to

541
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,160
Speaker 1: make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray

542
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:16,120
Speaker 1: with me, just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins.

543
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:22,840
Speaker 1: Come into my heart. I make you my lord and savior. Friends,

544
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,200
Speaker 1: if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got

545
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 1: born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep

546
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,919
Speaker 1: God first place. He's going to take your places that

547
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 1: you've never dreamed of.

548
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,199
Speaker 2: Sometimes life can make you feel like you are just

549
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,960
Speaker 2: living in the dark. Even your prayers don't feel like

550
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 2: they are making it to heaven. But God is listening

551
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,479
Speaker 2: and his light is about to shine.

552
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,399
Speaker 1: We know God is all powerful that he can answer

553
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,680
Speaker 1: any prayer, but sometimes we don't know what to pray.

554
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:56,160
Speaker 1: We don't think we deserve God's goodness. Maybe we're inconveniencing him,

555
00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,200
Speaker 1: or he has more important things to deal with. But

556
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:03,120
Speaker 1: God is earned about every detail of your life. He's

557
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,400
Speaker 1: waiting to hear your prayers. I have a new resource

558
00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 1: called Praying with Confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. When

559
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,800
Speaker 1: you face challenges or obstacles that seem too big, you'll

560
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,800
Speaker 1: find prayers that will build your faith, prayers that will

561
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:20,520
Speaker 1: move the hands of God. There are prayers you can

562
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,120
Speaker 1: pray for peace and comfort, prayers for your family and hell,

563
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 1: prayers for your dreams and goals. As you make these

564
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,840
Speaker 1: prayers your own, pray with confidence, that's when you'll see

565
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 1: the creator of the universe go to work. I hope

566
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,920
Speaker 1: you'll bequest your copy today.

567
00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 2: With a gift of any amount this month, we would

568
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 2: like to immediately send you a copy of Praying with

569
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,640
Speaker 2: Confidence Guided Prayers for Life's Moments. In this new resource,

570
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,120
Speaker 2: Joel shares how to pray when you need a breakthrough,

571
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 2: when you need strength. Yes, when life's moments happen and

572
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 2: you're not sure how to pray. Praying confident prayers will

573
00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,760
Speaker 2: put you on the right path. You'll enter new seasons

574
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,080
Speaker 2: in your prayer life that will turn challenges to victory's

575
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 2: heartache to hope, frustration to new found favor. Be sure

576
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 2: to request your copy of Praying with Confidence Guided Prayers

577
00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 2: for Life's Moments today. Visit Joeloustein dot com or call

578
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 2: eighty eight five six seven.

579
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 1: Joel