WEBVTT - Save Your Strength Pt. 1

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

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

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<v Speaker 2>I wanted to thank you for joining us today.

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<v Speaker 1>Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope

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<v Speaker 1>it gives your.

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<v Speaker 2>Perspective to see God is moving in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>Enjoy the message.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought I would take a moment and just illustrate

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<v Speaker 2>how sometimes where something shows up is not where it started.

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<v Speaker 1>At.

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<v Speaker 2>This sermon that you're here today came from a note

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<v Speaker 2>that I made last year, and sometimes where something shows

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<v Speaker 2>up is and where it starts. By the time you

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<v Speaker 2>hear the sermon, it's already been hopefully in the process

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<v Speaker 2>of me thinking about it for a long time, because

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to just think of something Saturday and

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<v Speaker 2>say it on Sunday.

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<v Speaker 1>I even realized that about about your life.

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<v Speaker 2>You showed up today and I'll see you, but I

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<v Speaker 2>don't really see what it took for you to get here,

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<v Speaker 2>or you know, what is affecting your mind.

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<v Speaker 1>As I preach, sometimes people will say that's the best

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<v Speaker 1>sermon you ever preached.

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<v Speaker 2>I'll say, that's just the best you ever listened. When

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<v Speaker 2>they're good, but the sermon starts before it starts. I

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<v Speaker 2>always tell the parking team, like, hey, help me out

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<v Speaker 2>when people are coming in. Smile at them, wave at them,

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<v Speaker 2>put them in a good mood. It'll make my job easier.

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<v Speaker 2>Because the sermon starts before it starts. It starts before

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<v Speaker 2>it starts, it starts checking in your kids, or starts.

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<v Speaker 2>So make sure make sure that you get as good

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<v Speaker 2>of a start as possible. And this time of year,

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<v Speaker 2>we're so focused on new beginnings. But the longer you live,

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<v Speaker 2>the less you really believe in new beginnings, and the

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<v Speaker 2>cliches don't really comfort you in the same way or

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<v Speaker 2>inspire you at the same level anymore. Knew you No, no,

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't grow three inches. Yeah, you see me. You

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<v Speaker 2>can't really get a new start to your story. What

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<v Speaker 2>you can do is change the ending. And the only

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<v Speaker 2>real way for you to affect the ending is to

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<v Speaker 2>understand the starting place. Is very important that we understand

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<v Speaker 2>the scripture that I read in the context of the times,

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<v Speaker 2>because there would have been an outside gate, the outer

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<v Speaker 2>wall of the city, with a gate for entrance and

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<v Speaker 2>inner gate as a line of defense, and then this

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<v Speaker 2>space between the gate where justice was supposed to be

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<v Speaker 2>served negotiations happened, and people would buy and sell, And

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<v Speaker 2>that was the space between the gates where the negotiations

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<v Speaker 2>of life and the deliberations took place. But between the

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<v Speaker 2>gates the realm of your decisions, the realm of your

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<v Speaker 2>thought process, the space between what you see with your

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<v Speaker 2>eyes and what you do in your life, what you

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<v Speaker 2>hear with your ears, and how you act when you

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<v Speaker 2>go home.

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<v Speaker 1>That's space. That's where the battle is won and lost.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, by the time the battle is won, there has

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<v Speaker 2>already been significant work done. Nobody wins the Olympics at

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<v Speaker 2>the race. They won the Olympics in the dark at

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<v Speaker 2>four thirty. Where their success showed up is not where

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<v Speaker 2>their success started. And usually if you see an issue

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<v Speaker 2>in somebody's life, where it showed up is not where

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<v Speaker 2>it started. It's the same with victories that it is

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<v Speaker 2>with defeat. I told a story last week about my dad,

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<v Speaker 2>and the reason I like to tell so many stories

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<v Speaker 2>about my dad is because he's not here to correct them.

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<v Speaker 1>I can tell him how I want to tell him.

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<v Speaker 2>The one I told HI about him last week made

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<v Speaker 2>him sound kind of bad, but I thought I would

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<v Speaker 2>tell a good one about him. Now my dad was

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<v Speaker 2>a good dad, especially if you compare him to the

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<v Speaker 2>standard that he didn't have a dad to show him

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<v Speaker 2>how to do it, and he was making.

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<v Speaker 1>It up when he was doing it. He was just

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<v Speaker 1>kind of he was winging it.

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<v Speaker 2>And I have mad respect for that, because it's hard

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<v Speaker 2>enough to be a dad when you've seen a dad.

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<v Speaker 1>But he had to make it.

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<v Speaker 2>Up, and so some of his tactics were not FDA approved.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of his tactics were kind of street tactics. One

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<v Speaker 2>time I told my mom I wanted to kill him. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>my finest moment, I'll kill him. I want to kill him.

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<v Speaker 2>And when he picked me up from school that day

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<v Speaker 2>early dismissal picked me up from school and said he

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<v Speaker 2>had two guns.

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<v Speaker 1>In the back of the truck.

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<v Speaker 2>I was going to get one and he was going

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<v Speaker 2>to get one because he heard I wanted to kill

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<v Speaker 2>him and if I didn't shoot, he was going to.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, that is not necessarily the type of parenting

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<v Speaker 2>you hear about. I'm focused on the family. But he's

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<v Speaker 2>doing him best he could and he didn't actually do it.

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<v Speaker 2>He let me cry for ten minutes and think that

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<v Speaker 2>he was going to do it. But I never said

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<v Speaker 2>it again. One of his finest moments, though I don't

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<v Speaker 2>know where he got the idea to do this, was

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<v Speaker 2>when he began to talk to.

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<v Speaker 1>Me about addiction. He begin to talk to me about addiction.

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<v Speaker 2>Because his father committed suicide and had been a very

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<v Speaker 2>mean drunk. His father's father had been an alcoholic, and

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<v Speaker 2>somewhere along the line, he made the decision that I

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<v Speaker 2>can't go back and rewrite how this story started in

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<v Speaker 2>our bloodline, but I'm going to impart a vision to

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<v Speaker 2>my son so that he might be the one to

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<v Speaker 2>write a different ending. You can't create a new beginning,

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<v Speaker 2>but you can write a new ending. That's what I'm

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<v Speaker 2>trying to say. You can't change who wasn't there for you,

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<v Speaker 2>but you can write a new ending. And maybe we

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<v Speaker 2>should start this year not as an expectation of new beginnings,

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<v Speaker 2>but new endings that from this point forward, I said,

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<v Speaker 2>From this point forward, Paul said, I pressed toward the mark.

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<v Speaker 2>This one thing I do forgetting what is behind me.

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<v Speaker 2>There is no strength in what's behind me. I stretch

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<v Speaker 2>toward what's ahead. I saw my dad, he would pull

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<v Speaker 2>me a so even from like a really young age,

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<v Speaker 2>like I was eight years old, and he would pull

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<v Speaker 2>me aside and start talking to me about the dangers

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<v Speaker 2>of alcoholism. Eight years old, and he would tell me

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<v Speaker 2>my dad was a drunk, and his dad was a drunk,

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<v Speaker 2>and his dad was drunk.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, you could be the first verdict. It wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>an alcoholic.

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<v Speaker 2>He put it out there like a challenge to me,

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<v Speaker 2>like you could go to the moon.

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<v Speaker 1>You could be the first verdict. And I kind of

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<v Speaker 1>liked that. I was only eight.

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<v Speaker 2>I was eight. I don't know what he thought the

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<v Speaker 2>kids would bringing to school in their juice boxes, Like

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<v Speaker 2>what temptation he thought I was under.

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<v Speaker 1>He could be the first verdict.

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<v Speaker 2>And it got through to me even when I got

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<v Speaker 2>a little older, I could be the first vertice. This

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<v Speaker 2>is not a sermon about don't drink, by the way, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>I said, I want you to get all nervous like that,

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<v Speaker 2>like I'm one of those preachers, because I have noticed

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of the preachers who preach don't drink or

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<v Speaker 2>eighty pounds overweight. So apparently they skipped all the verses

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<v Speaker 2>about gluttony and okay, okay, you didn't come for all that.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get back to the scripture. Isaiah said that he

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<v Speaker 1>will be.

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<v Speaker 2>Is anybody leaving, I can't see very well back here,

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<v Speaker 2>I'll stay there, okay, okay, a source of strength to

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<v Speaker 2>him who turns back the battle at the gate. In

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<v Speaker 2>other words, God will strengthen the will of the one

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<v Speaker 2>who makes the decision. It stops here. I'm taking my

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<v Speaker 2>place in the gate to say that I cannot affect

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<v Speaker 2>how the story started.

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<v Speaker 1>But my dad said, if.

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<v Speaker 2>You really want to be the first verdict to beat this,

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<v Speaker 2>you got to beat it in your blood because if

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<v Speaker 2>you taste it, you're gonna like it. So I want

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<v Speaker 2>to challenge you, just don't ever fight it. He was

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<v Speaker 2>trying to get me to see that sometimes the best

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<v Speaker 2>place to fight the battle is before it ever begins.

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<v Speaker 2>To draw a line and say, I'm not even going there.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not even playing with this. This is not going

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<v Speaker 2>to be a part of my children's legacy. I can't

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<v Speaker 2>control what it's been until now, but from this stay forward.

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<v Speaker 2>By the grace of God. I am a new creation

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<v Speaker 2>in Christ, and I'm gonna beat it in the bloodline.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna make a stand for the next generation. There

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<v Speaker 2>are going to be some changes at the gate.

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<v Speaker 1>The place to beat it.

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<v Speaker 2>Is before it begins, because if you let it in,

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<v Speaker 2>you've already let it win.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like this in marriage.

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<v Speaker 2>By the time you let resentment in, you've already let

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<v Speaker 2>bitterness win.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like this in our thought process.

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<v Speaker 2>By the time we let worry in, we've already let

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<v Speaker 2>anxiety win. And this is the year we no longer

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<v Speaker 2>fight the devil on his level, because Isaiah said, there

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<v Speaker 2>is a strategy you can turn back.

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<v Speaker 1>The battle at the gate.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a powerful thought. Sometimes people make fun of me

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<v Speaker 2>and we go out to eat. They say, oh, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I forgot you don't drink. Yeah, fine, judging you drink

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<v Speaker 2>what you want to drink. I drink fourteen diet Mountain

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<v Speaker 2>News today. I got no judgment for your liquid consumption.

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<v Speaker 2>I's got a different drug. What I'm saying is this

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<v Speaker 2>is a decision I made. It is a standard that

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<v Speaker 2>I have set. And the problem in Isaiah is they

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<v Speaker 2>is that the leaders who should have been setting the

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<v Speaker 2>standard for the people have lowered the standard and left

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<v Speaker 2>the people vulnerable.

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<v Speaker 1>This has no relevance to our modern day. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>the Bible is an ancient book.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, Isaiah says he gives a picture of it.

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<v Speaker 2>He says that the leaders who are supposed to be

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<v Speaker 2>sitting in their seat of judgment rendering decisions of virtue

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<v Speaker 2>and justice. Verse seven, He says, they stagger from wine

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<v Speaker 2>and reel from beer, the priest and the prophets.

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<v Speaker 1>Wouldn't this make church more interesting?

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<v Speaker 2>The priests and the prophets stagger from beer and are

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<v Speaker 2>befuddled with wine. Y'all, I have a hard enough time

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<v Speaker 2>making sense when I'm up here sober. Can you imagine

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<v Speaker 2>what I would sound like if I had of you?

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<v Speaker 1>He said.

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<v Speaker 2>They stagger when seeing visions. They cannot see correctly, so

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<v Speaker 2>how can they leave correctly? They stumble when rendering decisions.

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<v Speaker 2>They are the ones who are supposed to calibrate the

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<v Speaker 2>calling of the nation, and yet they are so drunk.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe it's a metaphor. Maybe it's not just that they're

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<v Speaker 2>drunk on alcohol. Maybe they're drunk on pride. Maybe they're

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<v Speaker 2>intoxicated with power, maybe a self aggrandizement that has caused

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<v Speaker 2>the leaders of this day to begin to weigh self

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<v Speaker 2>interest in a different scale than the best interests of

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<v Speaker 2>the people.

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<v Speaker 1>And yet Isaiah says something.

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<v Speaker 2>That rings true today, that God will be a source

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<v Speaker 2>of strength to those who turn back.

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<v Speaker 1>The battle at the gate. Notice, he says that no

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<v Speaker 1>matter who sits in the gate.

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<v Speaker 2>God is still the source of strength to those who

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<v Speaker 2>turn back the battle at the gate. It would be

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<v Speaker 2>worth answering the question, who is the source of your strength?

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't decided it by now. You need to decide

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<v Speaker 2>it really quickly, because if the source of your strength

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<v Speaker 2>is who you're sitting beside, you will live a very

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<v Speaker 2>disappointed life. If the source of your strength is a

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<v Speaker 2>number at the bottom of your balance sheet, something will

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<v Speaker 2>hit your life so hard that you can't buy your

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<v Speaker 2>way out of it, and you will find out really

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<v Speaker 2>quickly that net worth is a terrible place to put

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<v Speaker 2>your sense of self value. If the source of your

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<v Speaker 2>strength is how people look at you, or treat you,

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<v Speaker 2>or think about you. If the source of your strength

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<v Speaker 2>on any given day is the condition of your health,

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<v Speaker 2>you will always be susceptible to the elements. And so

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<v Speaker 2>Isaiah says, he will be a spirit of justice to

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<v Speaker 2>the one who sits in judgment, and a source of

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<v Speaker 2>strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

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<v Speaker 2>To make God the source of your strength means that

0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.400
<v Speaker 2>you depend on him as one Psalmist said, you lift

0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.640
<v Speaker 2>your eyes to the hills. From whence cometh your health.

0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.600
<v Speaker 2>Your health cometh from the Lord, the maker of heaven

0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:51.280
<v Speaker 2>and earth. And he will not suffer your foot to

0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:53.520
<v Speaker 2>be moved. The Lord which keepeth thee will not slumber

0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.520
<v Speaker 2>nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is

0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.480
<v Speaker 2>your shade upon your right hand. And the someone not

0:12:57.559 --> 0:12:58.920
<v Speaker 2>smite thee by day nor.

0:12:58.840 --> 0:12:59.440
<v Speaker 1>The moon by night.

0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.920
<v Speaker 2>He will preserve your soul even Forevermore. To know that

0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:06.040
<v Speaker 2>all your help comes from God, that all your hope

0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:08.760
<v Speaker 2>is in Jesus. That all of your help comes not

0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.800
<v Speaker 2>from the right, not from the left, not from the north,

0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:14.840
<v Speaker 2>not from the south, not from the economy, not from

0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.840
<v Speaker 2>the job touch. Somebody say not you, God is my source.

0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:21.559
<v Speaker 2>Now go ahead and clap right now. If you know

0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:25.440
<v Speaker 2>God's got your bet. In fact, stand up on your

0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.240
<v Speaker 2>feet and shout about it. If God is your source

0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.360
<v Speaker 2>in every season of your life, in every famine, I

0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:34.120
<v Speaker 2>have a friend named Jesus.

0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:41.360
<v Speaker 1>He is my source.

0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:46.959
<v Speaker 2>I am so tempted to preach on this part of

0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:48.120
<v Speaker 2>the verse that I.

0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.959
<v Speaker 1>Almost forgot what came before it.

0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:54.839
<v Speaker 2>Isaiah said, in that day, the Lord Almighty will be

0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.800
<v Speaker 2>a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of

0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.280
<v Speaker 2>his people. Now, what is a wreath and God is

0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:05.000
<v Speaker 2>a remnant besides a Christmas decoration. A wreath symbolizes victory,

0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:07.280
<v Speaker 2>and he is preaching victory to.

0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.240
<v Speaker 1>People who are about to experience defeat.

0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:14.520
<v Speaker 2>He's preaching, of course, about the impending as Syrian evasion

0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:18.160
<v Speaker 2>to the to the northern territory of Samaria, the crown

0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.240
<v Speaker 2>jewel of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, set on a

0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:20.960
<v Speaker 2>ferral valley.

0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:26.160
<v Speaker 1>He's speaking to them about their potential, and he's.

0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:29.240
<v Speaker 2>Telling them how their protection is gone, and so now

0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:33.880
<v Speaker 2>they're going to face a season of defeat. And in

0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.080
<v Speaker 2>the same breath that he promises to be a source

0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.960
<v Speaker 2>of strength, he warns them of a coming defeat. But

0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.120
<v Speaker 2>yet he speaks about victory in the context of defeat.

0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:44.520
<v Speaker 2>He says, in that day, the Lord Almighty will be

0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.280
<v Speaker 2>a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of

0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.240
<v Speaker 2>his people. God said he will be a wreath for

0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:56.040
<v Speaker 2>the remnant. The wreath symbolizes victory. The remnant represents what's left.

0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.600
<v Speaker 2>God always has a remnant, no matter what you've lost

0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:02.560
<v Speaker 2>in your life or who walked away from you. God

0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:06.680
<v Speaker 2>always leaves a remnant. No matter how wicked this world

0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:08.360
<v Speaker 2>gets or how dark the times that we live in

0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.240
<v Speaker 2>may seem to be. God always has a remnant in

0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.920
<v Speaker 2>every office. God has a remnant in every church. God

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.520
<v Speaker 2>has a remnant in every city, and every generation. God

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:21.400
<v Speaker 2>has a remnant. God always has a remnant. There's always

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:22.960
<v Speaker 2>a little bit of oil in the house, even if

0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.960
<v Speaker 2>you feel like you're starving to death. God always has

0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.080
<v Speaker 2>a remnant. There's always a little boy with a lunch.

0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:29.440
<v Speaker 2>If you call him forward and put it in the

0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.760
<v Speaker 2>hands of the Master, it will multiply. Because God always

0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.840
<v Speaker 2>has a remnant. No matter how many leave Gideot, there

0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.600
<v Speaker 2>will always be three hundred. And God is able to

0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:42.840
<v Speaker 2>win with the remnant. God said, I'm gonna bless what's left.

0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.320
<v Speaker 2>I will not be limited by what you lost. I

0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.640
<v Speaker 2>will be a wreath for the remnant. I'm gonna bless

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:54.520
<v Speaker 2>what's left. I'm gonna bless what's left. Stop weeping over

0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.520
<v Speaker 2>what's lost. I'm gonna bless what's left. I want you

0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.160
<v Speaker 2>to shout right now over what you've gotten left.

0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:04.320
<v Speaker 1>I want you to shout right now over the gift

0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.280
<v Speaker 1>you have the strength you have, the friends you have,

0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.320
<v Speaker 1>the opportunities you have, the time you have.

0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.640
<v Speaker 2>God said, I'm gonna bless what you got left. If

0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.440
<v Speaker 2>you will not stay stuck in what walked away, I'm

0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.440
<v Speaker 2>gonna bless what you got left. You can win with

0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:26.240
<v Speaker 2>what you got left. I feel like preaching. I feel

0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.560
<v Speaker 2>like preaching to the remnant. Where's the remnant at where?

0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:31.920
<v Speaker 2>Who wants who went through the fire and came out

0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:32.880
<v Speaker 2>of boud.

0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:42.760
<v Speaker 1>Go to bless what's left.

0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:49.360
<v Speaker 2>No matter what happens at the leadership level, I'm looking

0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:53.600
<v Speaker 2>for someone who will turn back the battle at the gate.

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.480
<v Speaker 2>And in that day the Lord Almighty will be a

0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.560
<v Speaker 2>glorious crown of beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.

0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.360
<v Speaker 1>And then he mentions two different spirits. Watch this in

0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.040
<v Speaker 1>verse six. Can we study the Bible.

0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.919
<v Speaker 2>He will be a spirit of justice to the one

0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.720
<v Speaker 2>who sits in judgment, that's the first one, and a

0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:15.040
<v Speaker 2>source of strength to those who turn back the battle

0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.960
<v Speaker 2>at the gate. So you've got the spirit of justice

0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.080
<v Speaker 2>to the one who sits in judgment and the source

0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.720
<v Speaker 2>of strength to those who turned back the battle at

0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.600
<v Speaker 2>the gate. Study that text all week, and I thought,

0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.640
<v Speaker 2>I was talking about two different things. But the more

0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.399
<v Speaker 2>I read it, the more I realized that this is

0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:37.520
<v Speaker 2>two functions of the same spirit.

0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.280
<v Speaker 1>He will be a spirit of justice to the one

0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:43.080
<v Speaker 1>who sits.

0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:47.040
<v Speaker 2>In judgment, a source of strength to those who turn

0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:50.320
<v Speaker 2>back the battle at the gate. The first part of

0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.920
<v Speaker 2>the verse is about standards. He will be a spirit

0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.640
<v Speaker 2>of justice. He will decide what is wrong and right

0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:00.320
<v Speaker 2>to the one who sits in judgment. Will be a

0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.440
<v Speaker 2>spirit of justice and a source of strength to the

0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.520
<v Speaker 2>one who turns back the battle at the gate.

0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:08.080
<v Speaker 1>So the same God that.

0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.440
<v Speaker 2>Is the source of our strength is to also be

0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.080
<v Speaker 2>the source of our standers. And here's the question that

0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:19.520
<v Speaker 2>I came to ask today. How can I expect God's

0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:26.600
<v Speaker 2>strength if I do not embrace God's standers. I'm about

0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:33.720
<v Speaker 2>to throw this my brother. See, how can I call

0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:38.000
<v Speaker 2>God the source of my strength if I have not

0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.639
<v Speaker 2>made him the source of my standers. He will be

0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.000
<v Speaker 2>a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment.

0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.560
<v Speaker 1>Now, if I have let that seat open, and I

0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:50.440
<v Speaker 1>have left culture.

0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.320
<v Speaker 2>To tell me what's right and wrong, how can I

0:18:56.400 --> 0:19:00.080
<v Speaker 2>look to culture for my standards and then look to God.

0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:06.480
<v Speaker 1>For my strength? How can I look for the world to.

0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.760
<v Speaker 2>Tell me how to live, and then expect God to

0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 2>give me strength for a standard that was not his.

0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.119
<v Speaker 2>How can I call God the source of my strength

0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:22.080
<v Speaker 2>if he is not the source of my standards? How

0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.520
<v Speaker 2>can I expect his strength and resist his standards?

0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:29.400
<v Speaker 1>It's good right.

0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:34.600
<v Speaker 2>That's why I feel weak sometimes because I'm asking God.

0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:35.359
<v Speaker 1>To strengthen me.

0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:39.119
<v Speaker 2>But I have given away my strength because I have

0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:44.159
<v Speaker 2>lowered my standard. And then the enemy comes in like

0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:53.359
<v Speaker 2>a flood. But I don't have a standard. And then

0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:57.359
<v Speaker 2>I ask God to give me joy. You know, and

0:19:57.480 --> 0:19:58.480
<v Speaker 2>your present foods the joy?

0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.439
<v Speaker 1>Joy? The Lord is my strength, and I want his strength.

0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:02.240
<v Speaker 1>I want his joy.

0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:06.960
<v Speaker 2>But if I have not applied his standard to my

0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:11.119
<v Speaker 2>thought life, and I let my mind think whatever it

0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.479
<v Speaker 2>wants to think, and I go to God for strength,

0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:17.119
<v Speaker 2>but I did not go to him for standards.

0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:19.320
<v Speaker 1>I am asking him to.

0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.600
<v Speaker 2>Violate the very nature of our relationship. How can he

0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:25.600
<v Speaker 2>be the source of my strength if I won't let

0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:31.560
<v Speaker 2>him be the source of my standards? Who set your standards?

0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:36.639
<v Speaker 2>Who set your standards? Was it.

0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:40.920
<v Speaker 1>Was it God that set your standards?

0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:43.560
<v Speaker 2>I was talking to one guy the other day it

0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:47.240
<v Speaker 2>became very apparent to me pretty quickly that he sets

0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:51.200
<v Speaker 2>his own standards for right and wrong. And I admire

0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:52.920
<v Speaker 2>him for that because I don't trust myself that much.

0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.760
<v Speaker 2>I mean, he must be really perfect to have his

0:20:57.880 --> 0:20:59.000
<v Speaker 2>own standard for right and wrong.

0:20:59.040 --> 0:20:59.800
<v Speaker 1>See, I need a God.

0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:04.399
<v Speaker 2>I need a God who's bigger than me, wiser than me,

0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:07.760
<v Speaker 2>who's been around longer than me. I need a God

0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:10.159
<v Speaker 2>who can see around the next corner and know how

0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.720
<v Speaker 2>this decision is going to affect my destiny.

0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:17.320
<v Speaker 1>I don't want to occupy that seat. I need a God.

0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:21.680
<v Speaker 2>And sometimes we're so crazy as Christians. We will allow

0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:25.520
<v Speaker 2>the world to set our standards as a church and

0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:27.879
<v Speaker 2>tell us what the church ought to be and not be,

0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:31.480
<v Speaker 2>and put us in a box and call us by

0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:34.960
<v Speaker 2>a denomination. But I will not be standardized by a

0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:40.480
<v Speaker 2>dysfunctional world. I have a higher standard. We are chosen people,

0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:45.600
<v Speaker 2>a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to declare the praises

0:21:45.880 --> 0:21:47.960
<v Speaker 2>of Him who called us out of darkness.

0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:56.440
<v Speaker 1>Like preaching. I'm preaching like this might be my last time.