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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to

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Speaker 1: the podcast, and we want to tell you how much

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Speaker 1: we love you. Trusted You're going to have a blessed

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Speaker 1: Christmas season with you and your family. Know that we

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Speaker 1: pray for you every day. Just speak in God's blessings

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Speaker 1: and favor.

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Speaker 2: We love you, we are praying for you, and we

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Speaker 2: hope you have a very merry Christmas.

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Speaker 1: Enjoy the podcast today. Will God bless you for joy

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Speaker 1: to come into your home. If you're ever in the

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Speaker 1: Houston area, I hope that you'll stop by, take a

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Speaker 1: look at our new facility, and be a part of

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Speaker 1: one of our services. I can tell you this, it's

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Speaker 1: better in person than it is on TV, and we'd

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Speaker 1: love to have you. I like to start with something

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Speaker 1: funny each week, and this has no spiritual value whatsoever,

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Speaker 1: but I thought i'd tell it. A group of people

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Speaker 1: were coming down this real crowded elevator and they were

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Speaker 1: packed in there like sardines, and it was hot and stuffy,

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Speaker 1: and on top of that, something smelled really, really bad.

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Speaker 1: And this one lady she had finally had enough and

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Speaker 1: she said, well, we can certainly tell somebody's deodorant is

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Speaker 1: not working today. God in the corner spoke up and said,

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Speaker 1: couldn't be mine, lady, I'm not wearing any all right,

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Speaker 1: hold your bibles up, say it like you mean. Ready,

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Speaker 1: this is my Bible. I am what it says I am.

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

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

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Speaker 1: talked the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind

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Speaker 1: is alert, my heart is recepted. I will never be

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Speaker 1: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. We've been

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Speaker 1: talking about expecting good things and how important it is

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Speaker 1: that we keep our hopes up. Hope is called the

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Speaker 1: anchor of our souls. You need to know deep down

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Speaker 1: on the inside that there are good days up ahead,

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Speaker 1: and no matter what you may be facing, no matter

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Speaker 1: how long you've been that way, God can turn any

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Speaker 1: situation around. And we need to get up every morning

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Speaker 1: acting good things. We should get up expecting things to change.

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Speaker 1: And if you're in tough times today, don't believe that

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Speaker 1: lie that nothing's ever gonna get any better. You've been

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Speaker 1: this way too long. Now. Your attitude should be I

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Speaker 1: know this too shall pass. I know it is not

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Speaker 1: going to last forever, and that's one of the keys

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Speaker 1: to stay in full of hope. Don't believe the never

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Speaker 1: and forever lies. And I know some of you have

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Speaker 1: struggled in an area for a long time and the

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Speaker 1: enemy keeps telling you you're never gonna get well. You've

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Speaker 1: always had that sickness, You're never gonna get out of

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Speaker 1: that problem, You're never gonna get married. No, don't believe

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Speaker 1: that junk you say, Joel, I've been praying for years.

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Speaker 1: I've been believing for a long time. Listen, You've got

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Speaker 1: to keep on believing, keep praying, keep hoping. After all,

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Speaker 1: this could be the day God turns it all around.

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Speaker 1: This could be the day everything changes. And if it

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Speaker 1: doesn't happen today, the good news is it could happen tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: It could happen this week. But you've got to do

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Speaker 1: your part and stay full of hope, stay full of expectancy,

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Speaker 1: and understand all it takes is one touch of God's favor.

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Speaker 1: One touch of God's favor and that situation at work

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Speaker 1: or at home will totally resolve. One touch of God's

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Speaker 1: favor in your financial situation will turn around, or one

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Speaker 1: touch of God's favor and he can bring you a mate.

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Speaker 1: He can cause you to be at the right place

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Speaker 1: at the right time, and all of sudden you meet

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Speaker 1: the man or woman of your dreams. See, God is

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Speaker 1: a god of the sudden least, and in a split

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Speaker 1: second he can turn any situation around. And it says

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Speaker 1: in Second Corinthians, we shouldn't look at the things that

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Speaker 1: are seen because they're only temporary, but we should look

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Speaker 1: at the things that are not seen, because they are eternal.

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Speaker 1: One translation says, the things that are seen are subject

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Speaker 1: to change. I like that. Your child may be giving

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Speaker 1: you a hard time, but he is subject to change.

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Speaker 1: Your health may be going downhill, but it's subject to change.

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Speaker 1: Your marriage may be on the rocks. Or maybe your

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Speaker 1: financial situation today looks pretty dismal, but thank god, all

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Speaker 1: of that is subject to change. And some of you

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Speaker 1: need to get your checkbook out and look at it

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Speaker 1: and say you are subject to change. Or maybe you

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Speaker 1: have a boss that's not treating you right, he's disrespectful

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Speaker 1: and condescending. Well, why don't you just smile at him

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Speaker 1: one day and say, sir, you are subject to change.

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Speaker 1: I don't suggest you do it to his face. You

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Speaker 1: better do that you may be looking for another job,

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Speaker 1: But what I'm saying is everything negative in your life

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Speaker 1: it didn't come to stay. It came to pass. You

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Speaker 1: may have been in that situation a long time, but

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Speaker 1: hear what God is saying to you. If you'll just

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Speaker 1: keep your hopes up and staying in attitude of faith,

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Speaker 1: then the best is yet to come. God has good

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Speaker 1: things in store. I've been saying since the first of

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Speaker 1: this year, I believe that two thousand and five is

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Speaker 1: gonna be a year of God's unprecedented favor. I believe

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Speaker 1: it's gonna be a year where you see your family

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Speaker 1: members come in, a year when you see your health

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Speaker 1: get better, where you see all kinds of increase, promotion, restoration.

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Speaker 1: And we're already seeing so much of that happening. We're

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Speaker 1: getting so many good reports. Well, you say, Joel, nothing

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Speaker 1: better has happened to me in two thousand and five.

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Speaker 1: It's just all been the same. I don't sure what

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Speaker 1: you're talking about. Well, let me challenge you. Don't quit hoping.

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Speaker 1: You've still got five months left. Why don't you believe

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Speaker 1: that you can get in on it. Why don't you

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Speaker 1: start getting up expecting things to change and if for

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Speaker 1: some reason it doesn't happen this year, you don't have

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Speaker 1: to get discouraged. We're gonna believe it's gonna happen next year.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna stay full of hope. Well, you say, Joel,

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Speaker 1: what if I get my hopes up and nothing happens.

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Speaker 1: What if you get your hopes up and something does happen?

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Speaker 1: If you believe, all things are possible. But if you

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Speaker 1: go around negative and discouraged in doubt, can hey you

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Speaker 1: not very much good is gonna happen in your life?

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Speaker 1: What you say, Joe, my problem is if I get

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Speaker 1: my hopes up and it doesn't happen that day, then

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Speaker 1: I'll go to bed all disappointed, and I don't need

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Speaker 1: another disappointment in my life. But really, that's not the

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Speaker 1: way to look at it. If it doesn't happen, you

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Speaker 1: need to go to bed saying Father, I thank you. Now.

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Speaker 1: I know I'm one day closer to seeing it come

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Speaker 1: to pass. I know I'm one day closer to seeing

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Speaker 1: it turn around. You've got to stay full of hope.

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Speaker 1: If you don't have any hope, you're not gonna have

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Speaker 1: any faith. And some of you have allowed yourself to

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Speaker 1: get negative. And discouraged, and you're not really believing for

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Speaker 1: anything to get better in your life. You've lost your enthusiasm,

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Speaker 1: you've lost your passion. But my prayer today is that

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna light a new fire on the inside, and

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Speaker 1: every one of you are gonna go out of here

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Speaker 1: full of hope, full of expectancy, knowing that there are

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Speaker 1: good days up ahead. And the scripture says there in

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Speaker 1: zachar Ryan nine to twelve, if you will be a

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Speaker 1: prisoner of hope, God will restore back to you double

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Speaker 1: your former prosperity. What a great promise, But really, there

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Speaker 1: are a lot of things we can be a prisoner

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Speaker 1: to negative thinking, doubt, fear, anger, low self esteem. But

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Speaker 1: you notice God wants us to be a prisoner of hope.

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Speaker 1: And if we'll get up each day expecting good things,

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Speaker 1: He's promised he'll restore back to us double. He'll do

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Speaker 1: more than we can ask or think. Well, what does

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Speaker 1: that mean to be a prisoner of hope? That simply

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Speaker 1: means that no matter what comes against you, you don't

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Speaker 1: let it get you down. You get a bad report

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Speaker 1: from the doctor, that's okay. I know the things that

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Speaker 1: are impossible with men are possible with God. You're struggling

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Speaker 1: in a situation at work today, Well that's all right.

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Speaker 1: I know God is fighting my battles for me. I

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Speaker 1: know he's making my crooked places straight. Or maybe you

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Speaker 1: go through a disappointment, your plans didn't work out. You're

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Speaker 1: tempted to get all discouraged, but your attitude should be God,

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Speaker 1: I know you always have my best interest at heart.

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Speaker 1: This door, yes, it closed, but that means you've got

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Speaker 1: something better in store. And some of you today, in

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Speaker 1: the natural, it doesn't really look like your dreams are

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Speaker 1: gonna come to pass. And you kind of got a

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Speaker 1: good reason to be negative and discouraged. But I would

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Speaker 1: just challenge you to dig your heels in and say no,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna shake off this old, defeated mentality and I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna start being a prisoner of hope. I know God

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Speaker 1: can make a way in my life, and I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: start believing for his very best. And when you have

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Speaker 1: that kind of attitude, that allows God to restore double

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Speaker 1: back to you. I know, when my father went to

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Speaker 1: be with the Lord, we didn't really know what we

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Speaker 1: were gonna do. Daddy had not raised up anyone to

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Speaker 1: take his place and pasture this church. And really I'd

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Speaker 1: only spoken one time before, and we were so shocked

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Speaker 1: by my father's death. And of course all the critics

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Speaker 1: had been telling us how we were gonna go under

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Speaker 1: and how we weren't gonna make it. But we made

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Speaker 1: a decision early on that we weren't going to just

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Speaker 1: look at the things that we could see with our

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Speaker 1: physical eyes, but we were gonna look out through our

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Speaker 1: eyes of faith. We made a decision that we were

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Speaker 1: going to be prisoners of hope, and we kept telling

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Speaker 1: ourselves during that time. God is in control, he is

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Speaker 1: guiding us, he's leading us, he's giving us what we need.

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Speaker 1: We kept hoping, kept praying, kept believing, and it didn't

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Speaker 1: happen overnight. And I can't say that it was necessarily easy,

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Speaker 1: but I can tell you this. As we trusted God,

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Speaker 1: he gave us his wisdom. He gave us strength and

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Speaker 1: ability that we didn't have before. The church began to

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Speaker 1: grow and grow so much so that we needed a

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Speaker 1: new place. And even when this place became available, it

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Speaker 1: looked impossible as well. But once again God was faithful

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Speaker 1: and he brought us through with the victory. I think

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Speaker 1: it about this scripture as I studied this week. Isn't

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Speaker 1: it interesting that our old auditorium held eight thousand people,

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Speaker 1: but now this new place holds sixteen thousand, exactly double.

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Speaker 1: And I believe that because we were prisoners of hope,

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Speaker 1: God restored back to us double what we had before,

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Speaker 1: more than we could even ask or think. And some

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Speaker 1: of you today you are not expecting enough. You've been

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Speaker 1: through some tough times, and you're kind of thinking, man,

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Speaker 1: if I could just be as happy as I was before,

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Speaker 1: or if I could just get a job back like

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Speaker 1: the one I used to have before I got laid off. Now,

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Speaker 1: that's not the right way to look at it. God

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Speaker 1: doesn't want to just bring you out like you were before.

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Speaker 1: He wants to bring you out better off than you

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Speaker 1: were before. He wants to increase you. He wants to

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Speaker 1: bring you out stronger, happier, healthier. Why don't you get

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Speaker 1: a vision of that today? Why don't you start believing

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Speaker 1: for twice the strength, twice the wisdom, twice the joy,

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Speaker 1: twice the income. If you will be a prisoner of hope,

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Speaker 1: God rogers stored double back to you. Now, I'm not

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Speaker 1: saying this happens overnight. Really, what I'm talking about today

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Speaker 1: is living a lifestyle of expecting good things, living a

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Speaker 1: lifestyle of believing for the best. I know this young

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Speaker 1: lady a few years ago. She had to have an

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Speaker 1: emergency surgery and for some reason, it wasn't covered on

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Speaker 1: her insurance. It was a kind of odd little loophole there,

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Speaker 1: and she ended up owing the hospital over twenty seven

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars. She was very young, she didn't have that

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Speaker 1: kind of extra money, and so they worked out a

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Speaker 1: payment plan with the hospital where she was paying them

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Speaker 1: back a little each week. And she really couldn't afford this.

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Speaker 1: She was really struggling. She was a single mom, and

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Speaker 1: this was just causing her to get behind. But do

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Speaker 1: you know she didn't get discouraged. She didn't go around

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Speaker 1: complaining about how life wasn't gonna get any better and

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Speaker 1: why did this happen to me? No, she was a

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Speaker 1: prisoner of hope. She stayed in that attitude of faith.

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Speaker 1: She said, God, I know you're in control. I don't

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Speaker 1: know how I'm ever gonna pay this debt back. I

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Speaker 1: don't know how I'm ever gonna be well off, But God,

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Speaker 1: I know you can make a way and see, you

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Speaker 1: got to realize your job is not your source. God

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Speaker 1: is your source. One time, when when Peter needed money

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Speaker 1: to pay his taxes, Jesus said, Peter, just go down

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Speaker 1: to the lake and the first fish you catch, it's

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Speaker 1: going to have enough money in it for both yours

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Speaker 1: in my taxes. He did it, and sure enough, that's

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Speaker 1: exactly what happened. I know some of you are already

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Speaker 1: planning to go fishing tomorrow, aren't you. How, But don't

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Speaker 1: limit God be a prisoner of hope. Some of you think, man,

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Speaker 1: I could never be well off, I could never pay

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Speaker 1: my house off, I could never get out of debt,

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Speaker 1: I could never see my dreams come to path. Quit

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Speaker 1: thinking like that, Stay hopeful, stay expected. God can make away.

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Speaker 1: This is just what this young lady did. And do

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Speaker 1: you know a few days before Christmas that year, she

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Speaker 1: got a letter in the mail from the hospital. They said,

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Speaker 1: every year we like to choose a few families and

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Speaker 1: do something special for them, and this year we've chosen you,

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Speaker 1: and we're just writing to inform you that we are

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Speaker 1: canceling your twenty seven thousand dollars debt. And if that

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Speaker 1: wasn't good enough, the letter went on to say, not

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Speaker 1: only are we going to forgive your debt, but we

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Speaker 1: are going to refund to you the several thousand dollars

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Speaker 1: that you've already paid to us. That's God doing more

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Speaker 1: than you could even ask or think. Hey, you say, Joe,

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Speaker 1: all that never happened to me. Man, you don't know

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Speaker 1: my luck. Listen, you're exactly right, It'll never happen with

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Speaker 1: that kind of attitude. You've got to be a prisoner

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Speaker 1: of hope. And it may look impossible to you, but

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Speaker 1: let me just remind you. Our God is the god

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Speaker 1: that created the universe. He's the God that flung the

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Speaker 1: stars into space. Your enemies may be powerful, but our

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Speaker 1: God is all powerful. Your obstacles may be high, but

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Speaker 1: our God is the most high. And the good news

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Speaker 1: is he loves you. He's for you, He's on your side.

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Speaker 1: He wants to take the negative that's been brought into

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Speaker 1: your life and turn it around and use it to

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Speaker 1: your advantage. He wants to pay you back double. You've

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Speaker 1: got to do your part be a prisoner of hope.

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Speaker 1: I was thinking about Abraham. God promised him that he

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Speaker 1: was going to have a son. But you know this,

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Speaker 1: he was much too old, and in the natural it

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Speaker 1: was an impossible situation. But I love what the scripture

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Speaker 1: says about him. In Romans four eighteen. It says that

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Speaker 1: all human reason for hope being gone. What Abraham do

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Speaker 1: He hoped on in faith, and you may be here

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Speaker 1: just like Abraham today in the natural you don't have

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Speaker 1: any reason in the world to be hopeful. When you

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Speaker 1: look at your health or you look at your finance,

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Speaker 1: as you look at your marriage, seems impossible. And I'm

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Speaker 1: sure you're hearing the same lines he heard. It's never

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Speaker 1: gonna change, it's never gonna get any better. You're gonna

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Speaker 1: be that way the rest of your life. Now, let

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Speaker 1: me challenge you to do what Abraham did and hope

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Speaker 1: on in faith anyway. That means dare to believe, dare

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Speaker 1: to go out each day expecting things to change. Now,

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Speaker 1: as I said, I know some of you have been

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Speaker 1: in that situation a long time. You say, Jeel, I've

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Speaker 1: been praying for my children to get on track year

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Speaker 1: after year after year, but they're not doing any better.

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Speaker 1: Or I've been praying for my spouse to come to church,

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Speaker 1: but he's not interested. I don't think it's ever going

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Speaker 1: to happen. Now, what I'm saying to you today is

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Speaker 1: you got to keep on believing, keep on praying, keep

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Speaker 1: on hoping, and understand this. There's no situation too difficult

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Speaker 1: for God. There's no person that is too far gone

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Speaker 1: for our God. I know this young man. At one

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Speaker 1: time he was living as an outlaw biker who was

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Speaker 1: running with one of these motorcycle gangs. And he was

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Speaker 1: always high on some kind of drug, involved in all

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Speaker 1: kinds of illegal activity. I mean, his life was totally

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Speaker 1: out of control. He told me, Joel, when I got

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Speaker 1: up in the morning, the first thing I would do

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Speaker 1: was go get high. He was in and out of

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Speaker 1: jail all the time. Year after year, things got worse

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Speaker 1: and worse. You wouldn't think there's any hope for this

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Speaker 1: young man. But do you know all that time back

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Speaker 1: at home, he had a mother that was praying. She

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Speaker 1: refused to give up on him. She was a prisoner

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Speaker 1: of hope, and even though it looked impossible, she just

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Speaker 1: kept on believing. Like Abraham, she kept hoping on in faith.

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Speaker 1: And one Mother's day, out of the clear blue, this

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Speaker 1: big tough biker walked into Lakewood Church, long beard tattoos,

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Speaker 1: and all he was as high as a kite. And

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Speaker 1: for some reason, the usher that day took him all

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Speaker 1: the way down to the front and set him on

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Speaker 1: the second row, and all of a sudden he began

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Speaker 1: to feel the love the presence of God, and he

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Speaker 1: said it instantly sobered him up. When he left that day,

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Speaker 1: he went out into the parking lot all by himself,

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Speaker 1: and in front of his motorcycle, he got down on

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Speaker 1: his knees and asked Jesus to come into his life.

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Speaker 1: He said immediately, the desire for drugs and alcohol left

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Speaker 1: him in an instant. He was set for in an instant,

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Speaker 1: he was changed. To make a long story short, today,

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Speaker 1: that young man is a pastor of a church here

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Speaker 1: in town. He goes all over the world telling his story.

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Speaker 1: And do you know what God did for him. He

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Speaker 1: can do for any one of you. What God did

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Speaker 1: for that young man. He could do for your son,

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Speaker 1: your daughter, your relative. There is nobody too far gone

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Speaker 1: with our God. And it may not look like anything's

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Speaker 1: happening to you, but you need to know God is

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Speaker 1: working behind the scenes, and you got to just do

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Speaker 1: like that little mother, keep hoping on in faith. I

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Speaker 1: remember my father told how his father, my grandfather, for

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Speaker 1: years and years, he wouldn't have anything to do with

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Speaker 1: the things of God. He said, John, there's nothing to

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Speaker 1: all that religious stuff. When I'm dead, I'm dead like

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Speaker 1: a dog. Just roll me over in the ditch. Daddy said, no, no,

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Speaker 1: that's not right. Year after year, though, we didn't see

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Speaker 1: any change in my grandfather. And here my father was

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Speaker 1: a well known minister going all over the world, yet

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Speaker 1: his own dad didn't believe. But Daddy never gave up

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Speaker 1: on him. He was a prisoner of hope. He knew

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Speaker 1: my grandfather was subject to change. One weekend, my father

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Speaker 1: was holding a series of meetings there in the Dallas

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Speaker 1: area where my grandparents lived, and he invited them to

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Speaker 1: come out to the meetings. Granddaddy had never really been

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Speaker 1: to church before, but he said he would come, and

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Speaker 1: he was there Friday night. Nothing happened. Saturday night, nothing happened,

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Speaker 1: just sat there. But on Sunday morning, right in the

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Speaker 1: middle of my dad's sermon, my grandfather got up from

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Speaker 1: the back of that little church and he walked down

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Speaker 1: the aisle, walked past the altar, he walked all the

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Speaker 1: way up onto the platform. My dad had to stop

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Speaker 1: his sermon. He said, Daddy, what are you doing? What

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Speaker 1: do you want? He said, John, I want to give

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Speaker 1: my life to Christ now. I want to do it

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Speaker 1: right now. And do you know, from that day forward,

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Speaker 1: my grandfather never missed another service. His favorite thing in

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Speaker 1: the world was the fact that that church had asked

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Speaker 1: him to be an usher. You would have thought that

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Speaker 1: asked him to be the president of the United States.

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Speaker 1: He was so honored. When Granddaddy died, he only had

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Speaker 1: one suit to his name. When they checked the pockets,

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Speaker 1: it was full of gospel tracts. Everywhere he went. He

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Speaker 1: couldn't wait to tell people what God had done for him.

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Speaker 1: But see what my father couldn't do in years, in years,

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Speaker 1: God did in a split second of time. God suddenly

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Speaker 1: touched his heart. God suddenly took the blinders off of him.

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Speaker 1: And it doesn't matter what your family situation looks like.

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Speaker 1: God can turn any person around. Don't quit believing for him,

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Speaker 1: don't quit hoping. You may not think anything is happening,

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Speaker 1: but you can rest assured as long as you're in faith.

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Speaker 1: God is working behind the scenes. And we have a

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Speaker 1: promise just like Abraham had. And it says as for

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Speaker 1: me and my house. We will serve the Lord. It

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Speaker 1: may not look like today it's ever gonna happen. But

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Speaker 1: the good news is it's not our part to figure

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Speaker 1: out how it's gonna happen. It's our part to believe.

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Speaker 1: It's our part to be a prisoner of hope. Don't

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Speaker 1: give up on your family, don't give up on your children,

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Speaker 1: your relatives. I think about the mother of Moses. When

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Speaker 1: Moses was just a little baby, Phedro put out a

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Speaker 1: decree that all the male children two years old and

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Speaker 1: under would be and Moses's mother, she could have easily

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Speaker 1: just given up. She could have easily thought, well, too bad,

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Speaker 1: just my luck, picked the wrong time to have a baby.

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Speaker 1: But know that lady was a prisoner of hope. She

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Speaker 1: got little Moses, and she hit him away for three

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Speaker 1: months time. When she didn't think she could hide him

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Speaker 1: any longer, she wrapped him up in a blanket, and

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Speaker 1: she put him in a basket and set him in

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Speaker 1: the Nile River. And just as he was floating by

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Speaker 1: a pharaoh's palace, all of a sudden, one of Pharaoh's

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Speaker 1: daughters decided to go out to the river and take

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Speaker 1: a bath. And when she did. She heard the little

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Speaker 1: baby crying, and she asked somebody to go get him.

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Speaker 1: And when they brought him back and she saw baby Moses,

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Speaker 1: she fell in love with him. She said, this is

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Speaker 1: going to be my child. I'm going to take care

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Speaker 1: of him. And she knew she needed to feed him,

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Speaker 1: and so she asked the ladies if there was anybody

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Speaker 1: there that could nurse the baby. They went and found

403
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Speaker 1: Moses's mother. She came back and said, I'll be glad

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Speaker 1: to do it. And see God not only supernaturally spared

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00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,000
Speaker 1: moses life, but his mother was able to help raise him.

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Speaker 1: And on top of that, Faah paid for it all.

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Speaker 1: And if you too, will commit your children into God's hands,

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Speaker 1: if you'll not give up on your children, God will

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Speaker 1: do for you what he did for this lady. He'll

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00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,600
Speaker 1: supernaturally protect your children. He'll supernaturally take care of him.

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Speaker 1: Think about how difficult it must have been for that

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Speaker 1: mother to put her son into the Nile River, where

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Speaker 1: the alligators were, where the snakes were in the deep waters.

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Speaker 1: But see, when you trust God with your children, he'll

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Speaker 1: cause the alligators to lie still, He'll cause the snakes

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Speaker 1: to stay away. The scripture says, when you go through

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Speaker 1: the deep waters, you won't go under. When you go

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Speaker 1: through the floods, you're not going to drown. When you

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00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,040
Speaker 1: go through the fire, you're not going to be burned.

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Speaker 1: That's what happens when you're a prisoner of hope. You

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Speaker 1: may say, Joe, you don't know my children. I just

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Speaker 1: don't think they're ever going to straighten up. No, don't

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Speaker 1: quit believing, give up. If you'll be a prisoner of hope,

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Speaker 1: God will not only bring them out, he'll bring them

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Speaker 1: out better off than they were before.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what you're up against today. You may

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00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,680
Speaker 1: be facing the situation in your family, or your health,

429
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,840
Speaker 1: your marriage, and you know it just looks impossible. It'd

430
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,200
Speaker 1: be so easy for you to go through life negative

431
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:24,360
Speaker 1: and defeated. But I'm asking you today to keep hope alive.

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00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:26,959
Speaker 1: Don't just look at what you can see with your

433
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,480
Speaker 1: physical eyes. God says that's only temporary. Dare to look

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Speaker 1: out through your eyes of faith. As long as you

435
00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 1: have hope, your situation is subject to change. As long

436
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 1: as you've got that attitude of faith, you are activating

437
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,159
Speaker 1: God's supernatural power. This is exactly what Elijah had to do.

438
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:46,639
Speaker 1: One time, there was a great drought in the land.

439
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,200
Speaker 1: For three and a half years, it hadn't rained, and

440
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,400
Speaker 1: the people were very desperate for water. So Elijah went

441
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,080
Speaker 1: on top of the mountain to pray, and God spoke

442
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:57,120
Speaker 1: to him and told him that it was going to rain.

443
00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,000
Speaker 1: And so now he's got this promise in his heart.

444
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,440
Speaker 1: Just like many of you, you're believing for something to change.

445
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 1: But in the natural Elijah didn't see any sign of rain.

446
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,239
Speaker 1: The skies were just as clear as they had been

447
00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 1: year after year. But see, Elijah knew the secret to

448
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,000
Speaker 1: not just look with his natural eyes. He knew how

449
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 1: to look out through his eyes of faith, and he

450
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,359
Speaker 1: could see the rain coming down. He knew the situation

451
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 1: was subject to change, and so he acted in faith.

452
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,359
Speaker 1: He told one of his servants, go out on the

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00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:31,080
Speaker 1: other side of the mountain and look up and see

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00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,200
Speaker 1: if you can see any sign of rain. Servant went out,

455
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,399
Speaker 1: came back a few minutes later. He said, no, Elijah,

456
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 1: the skies are perfectly clear. I didn't see anything. It's

457
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,320
Speaker 1: not going to rain. But do you know Elijah didn't

458
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,240
Speaker 1: get discouraged. He didn't say, well, I must not have

459
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,120
Speaker 1: heard God, right, it's never going to rain. This situation

460
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,680
Speaker 1: is never going to change. No, he knew that God

461
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,240
Speaker 1: would be faithful to his word, and he didn't lose

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00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 1: his hope. He simply told the servant go back and

463
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,760
Speaker 1: look again. Servant went back, came back a few minutes later.

464
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,480
Speaker 1: He said, Elijah, you're just wasting my time. I told

465
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,560
Speaker 1: you it's not gonna rain. There's not a cloud in

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00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,200
Speaker 1: the sky. I love what Elijah did. He said, we'll

467
00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,560
Speaker 1: go back and look again, and see that's a prisoner

468
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,520
Speaker 1: of hope. He didn't allow the negative circumstances to cause

469
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,639
Speaker 1: him to give up. He didn't allow that negative report

470
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,360
Speaker 1: to cause him to just lose his hope and get

471
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,200
Speaker 1: all discouraged. He just kept looking out through his eyes

472
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 1: of faith and seeing that rain come down. He told

473
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,159
Speaker 1: that servant to go back again and again and again

474
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,360
Speaker 1: and again. Finally, on the seventh time, the young man

475
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 1: came back and he said, Elijah, I don't want you

476
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 1: to get your hopes up, but this time I did

477
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,600
Speaker 1: see just a little cloud beginning to form. Wasn't much,

478
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,399
Speaker 1: just the size of a man's hand. I can imagine

479
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 1: Elijah's face lit up. He said, son, you better get

480
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,879
Speaker 1: your umbrella and take off running, because that rain that

481
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,359
Speaker 1: I've already seen through my eyes of faith is about

482
00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,800
Speaker 1: to unload out of these skies. And sure enough, the

483
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 1: Bible says it wasn't any time before the heavens opened

484
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,160
Speaker 1: up and the rain came down. Well, you too may

485
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,560
Speaker 1: be in some kind of drought today. You've been praying,

486
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,199
Speaker 1: believe in, hoping, but you don't see anything happening. Just

487
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,679
Speaker 1: like that servant, every time you go look, doesn't look

488
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,240
Speaker 1: like anything's getting better, doesn't look like anything's changing. But

489
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,200
Speaker 1: I would encourage you to do what that young man did.

490
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,040
Speaker 1: Go back and look again and again and again and again.

491
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,360
Speaker 1: Don't ever give up. Even though you don't see anything

492
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,359
Speaker 1: happening with your physical eyes. You need to know that

493
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,440
Speaker 1: behind the scenes, God is changing things in your favor.

494
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 1: And if you'll keep seeing it through your eyes of

495
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,119
Speaker 1: faith and keep being a prisoner of hope, one day

496
00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:42,639
Speaker 1: you're gonna see a little cloud starting to form. One

497
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,199
Speaker 1: day you're gonna see things start to change, and all

498
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,280
Speaker 1: of a sudden, the heavens will open up. Suddenly God

499
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 1: will bring the promise to pass. And so I want

500
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,520
Speaker 1: to encourage you again, no matter what you're up against.

501
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,600
Speaker 1: No matter how long you've been that way, it is

502
00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,360
Speaker 1: subject to change. It is not permanent, it's temporary. Come

503
00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:02,439
Speaker 1: to stay. It came to pass, and you need to

504
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,639
Speaker 1: hear what God is saying. There are good days up

505
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,359
Speaker 1: ahead for each one of you. But listen, we've got

506
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,239
Speaker 1: to do our part and dig our heels in and

507
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,760
Speaker 1: be a prisoner of hope. Why don't you go out

508
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,000
Speaker 1: each day expecting things to change. Remember, all it takes

509
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,160
Speaker 1: is one touch of God's favor. Suddenly God can turn

510
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,240
Speaker 1: around any situation. And the good news is it could

511
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,560
Speaker 1: happen today. And I really believe some of you are

512
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,160
Speaker 1: right around the corner from seeing a major breakthrough take

513
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:35,280
Speaker 1: place in your life, a major turning point. I would

514
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,680
Speaker 1: just encourage you to not give up before it gets here.

515
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,480
Speaker 1: Stay hopeful. Abraham waited in faith for nearly twenty years,

516
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 1: day in and day out, before the promise came. And

517
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,480
Speaker 1: if you will be a prisoner of hope, God promises

518
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:50,480
Speaker 1: he'll not only bring you out, he'll bring you out

519
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:52,640
Speaker 1: better off than you were before. He'll bring you out

520
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 1: with double amen. Can you give a Lord a chat

521
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:59,920
Speaker 1: of praise today? We never like to close our God

522
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,399
Speaker 1: death without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the

523
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 1: Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say,

524
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:12,400
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart.

525
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,480
Speaker 1: I make you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you've

526
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,080
Speaker 1: prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again.

527
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,639
Speaker 1: Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place.

528
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 1: He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of.

529
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,639
Speaker 3: Do you have a dream that's waiting to happen, but

530
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,720
Speaker 3: it often feels like you'll never get there? Is your

531
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 3: dream to start a business, to see a loved one

532
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,240
Speaker 3: come to the Lord? Are you asking God? Will it

533
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:38,919
Speaker 3: ever happen?

534
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,720
Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels like our dream is so far off.

535
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,040
Speaker 1: But I believe you're closer than you think.

536
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,360
Speaker 2: You're on the verge of seeing things change in your favor,

537
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,280
Speaker 2: new doors opening the right, people showing up.

538
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 1: I'd love to send you are new Hopes and Dreams

539
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,600
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four Planner. It's not only a calendar, but

540
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,719
Speaker 1: it has scriptures, an inspiration, a place to journal.

541
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,680
Speaker 2: I'll help you stay focused and encouraged so you can

542
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:04,240
Speaker 2: see your dreams come to pass.

543
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,400
Speaker 3: As you support the ministry this month with a special

544
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 3: end of year gift of any amount, we would like

545
00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,160
Speaker 3: to bless you with the Hopes and Dreams twenty twenty

546
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,320
Speaker 3: four Planner. With the new Planner, you will start the

547
00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 3: new year with fresh ideas, fresh hope, and endless possibilities.

548
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,200
Speaker 3: You'll find monthly calendars and plenty of space to plan

549
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 3: for a better day ahead. Plus there are inspiring scriptures

550
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,120
Speaker 3: and thoughts that will encourage you to believe for your dreams.

551
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,720
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your prayer and support your

552
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 1: year in giving you making a difference around the world.

553
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 1: And a special thank you to our Champion of Hope

554
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 1: partners for your monthly gift. If you're not a partner,

555
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,560
Speaker 1: I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember you can watch

556
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:51,120
Speaker 1: the services online every Sunday morning, see all the music

557
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 1: and ministry, and you can download our daily podcast.

558
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,200
Speaker 2: We hope you and your family have a very blessed

559
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:01,680
Speaker 2: Christmas season and a healthy productive to favor Field twenty

560
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:02,240
Speaker 2: twenty four.

561
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,320
Speaker 3: Be sure to request your copy of The Hopes and

562
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:09,840
Speaker 3: Dreams twenty twenty four Planner today. Visit Joeloustein dot com

563
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 3: or call us toll free