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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation

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Speaker 1: Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank

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Speaker 1: you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope

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Speaker 1: it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to

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Speaker 1: see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

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Speaker 1: And now would you welcome our very own Christmas Angel

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Speaker 1: as she shares Cook's word, we love you. Here comes Heaven,

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Speaker 1: Here comes Holly. Let's put our hands together, e fam

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Speaker 1: all over the world. Well, Merry Christmas. I knew he

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Speaker 1: was going to say, here comes Holly. I could just

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Speaker 1: feel it. You guys can have a seat. I just

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Speaker 1: want to say, God, I love our church. I really do.

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Speaker 1: I love our church. I love our pastor, I love

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Speaker 1: our worship team. I love the songs that are coming

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Speaker 1: out of this house. And I just can't believe that

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Speaker 1: I get to be a part of this. And it's

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Speaker 1: good in the room, and it's good in your house

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Speaker 1: and good on your computer, and this is great. So

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas. And I just want to say to everyone watching,

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Speaker 1: thank you for prioritizing the word of God in your

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Speaker 1: home today. This is possibly the most insane week of

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Speaker 1: the year for many of us, during the most insane

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Speaker 1: year ever, and there's only a handful of days left

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Speaker 1: before Christmas, and we're all running around frantic like we're

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Speaker 1: paying just god knows how much money and exorbitant prices

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Speaker 1: for shipping to hopefully get our gifts on time, which

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Speaker 1: just leves pause here and say to everyone in my family,

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Speaker 1: I think everybody has at least one gift that's not

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Speaker 1: gonna make it in on time. Okay, so just heads up.

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Speaker 1: But we're stressing, and we're trying to get to the

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Speaker 1: stores and figure out what the COVID hours of the

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Speaker 1: stores are and figuring out our plans, and some of

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Speaker 1: us are stressing about how we're going to pay for

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Speaker 1: Christmas this year, and thinking about how it won't be

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Speaker 1: the same without being with our grandparents, and wondering if

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Speaker 1: we should risk being around family. I mean, it's a lot.

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Speaker 1: And my prayer is that in the midst of all

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Speaker 1: of this, that we would stop and that we would

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Speaker 1: realize that the most important thing in this season is

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Speaker 1: not about what we give, but it's about what we

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Speaker 1: receive from God. Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. He

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Speaker 1: stands by, ready to give us the grace and the

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Speaker 1: peace and the joy in the middle of our chaos

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Speaker 1: and our anxiety. But we have to pause, and we

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Speaker 1: have to accept, and we have to allow him to

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Speaker 1: do so. And that is what I feel like this

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Speaker 1: moment is you're setting aside time, You're putting all of

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Speaker 1: those things out of your mind for just an hour

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Speaker 1: or so you can just let God speak to your

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Speaker 1: soul and you can worship him and you can hear

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Speaker 1: a word for him. So I just want to take

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Speaker 1: him in. I want to pray so that we can

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Speaker 1: just really center our thoughts and our focus and our

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Speaker 1: attention on Jesus in this moment, Lord, in the midst

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Speaker 1: of all of the worries and all the anxiety and

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Speaker 1: all of the chaos. God, you are Emmanuel, You are

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Speaker 1: right here with us. Make us aware of your presence.

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Speaker 1: Open up our eyes to see that you are quietly

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Speaker 1: standing by, ready to speak peace to our souls. And God,

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Speaker 1: Christmas is all about how you come to us, and

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Speaker 1: so we want to receive from you right now. You

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Speaker 1: are water for our thirsty souls. In this moment, we

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Speaker 1: are longing for you. Lord. Would you speak to us

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Speaker 1: just like you always do Lord, you speak and pray

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Speaker 1: that you would just do what you do. It's in

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Speaker 1: Jesus name. Amen. So I got into a little debate

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Speaker 1: the other night on my book club on Instagram Live

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Speaker 1: shameless plug. Those of you who enjoy reading fiction, Holly

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Speaker 1: Fredic book Club, we would love to have you. You

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Speaker 1: just google it find us. We're there on Instagram Live

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Speaker 1: once a week anyway. So we started talking about real

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Speaker 1: trees versus fake trees. We do talk about the book too,

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Speaker 1: but it's Christmas time and I'm not trying to start

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Speaker 1: another argument because God knows we do not need another

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Speaker 1: thing to debate about in twenty twenty. But just let

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Speaker 1: me know in the chat if you were a real

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Speaker 1: tree or a fake tree. Family. Speaking of real trees,

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Speaker 1: did anybody see the Rockefeller Christmas tree this year? So

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Speaker 1: there was this seventy four foot Christmas tree that was

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Speaker 1: donated by a family in upstate New York. I didn't

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Speaker 1: know the tree was always donated, but they went to

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Speaker 1: this family's like front yard and they wrapped the tree

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Speaker 1: up and they cut it down, they put it on

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Speaker 1: a truck and when they set it up in Rockefeller Center.

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Speaker 1: I have a picture for you because I just want

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Speaker 1: to say it fit right in with twenty twenty. That

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Speaker 1: is the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, and if you look at

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Speaker 1: it now, it looks amazing because I read that they

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Speaker 1: actually took branches from another tree. I don't know what

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Speaker 1: you call it, like when you I read a fiction

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Speaker 1: book about it one time, you like fay, like paste

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Speaker 1: a branch onto the tree trunk of the tree. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure Amy knows what it's called. It's like hair extensions

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Speaker 1: for the tree. Can I get an amen from the lady.

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Speaker 1: It's nothing wrong with a couple of extra strants, make

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Speaker 1: your hair look fuller, go the whole way. It's all good.

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Speaker 1: So then my friend Ashley, she posted this picture of

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Speaker 1: her real Christmas tree. She said, if this isn't the

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Speaker 1: most accurate picture of twenty twenty, I don't know what is.

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Speaker 1: Anyone have their tree fall over yet? You can let

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Speaker 1: me know in the chat. Just you know, I'm sorry

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Speaker 1: we did. There is this thing, the tree falling over

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Speaker 1: and the tree not looking perfect. These are just one

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Speaker 1: of the many reasons why the Fredick family is a

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Speaker 1: fake tree family. Steven and Ali Ferdick have only had

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Speaker 1: one real tree in all of the eighteen years of

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Speaker 1: Christmases that we have celebrated together, and that's just because

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Speaker 1: that was all we can afford. And I bought a

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Speaker 1: tree like December twenty sixth, the fake tree for the

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Speaker 1: following year, and we've had fake trees ever since. I

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Speaker 1: know some people really love the smell of a real

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Speaker 1: Christmas tree in their home, and some families love the

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Speaker 1: experience of going to a tree farm and cutting down

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Speaker 1: their own tree. And listen, if that's you, I am

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Speaker 1: so happy for you. We're just not really like the

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Speaker 1: outdoorsy type family and we don't really need to go

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Speaker 1: outside to find the perfect tree. We have the perfect

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Speaker 1: tree in our attic. I bought it at Sam's Club.

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Speaker 1: If you ask me, it's just real trees are such

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Speaker 1: a hassle. They're so messy and imperfect, and they have

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Speaker 1: holes that you have to hide the you know, turn

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Speaker 1: and hide the branches and need to be trimmed. And

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Speaker 1: then did you know, I mean, I'm sure you know

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Speaker 1: you have to water them. I didn't when we got

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Speaker 1: our first real Christmas tree, I didn't know that you

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Speaker 1: had to water it, and it died really fast. And

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Speaker 1: you know, sometimes their website you get sap on your hands.

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Speaker 1: I hate getting sap on my hands. It's just fake trees.

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Speaker 1: You just plug them in and fluff them up and

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Speaker 1: then you're ready to go. It's it's the best thing ever. Okay,

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Speaker 1: I see there's a lot of fake tree families out there.

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Speaker 1: So for the past several weeks, we've been learning from

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Speaker 1: our pastor about God's favor and how many of you

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Speaker 1: would agree that just the sermons of the truth of

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Speaker 1: this year that just gotten you through, it has gotten through.

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Speaker 1: I asked, I asked Elijah last night. I was like,

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Speaker 1: do I say that every time that I preach? It

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Speaker 1: was like, yeah, but it's true, it's true. It's just

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Speaker 1: they I mean, it's just our pastor is so prophetic

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Speaker 1: and his words have just gotten us through. And so anyway,

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Speaker 1: we've been reframing the idea of God's favor and gaining

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Speaker 1: this new perspective because this year twenty twenty, with all

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Speaker 1: that has come along with it, this year is the

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Speaker 1: year of God's favor. And we've been learning that favor

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Speaker 1: doesn't always come when we expect it to comment, it

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Speaker 1: doesn't always look the way we expected to look. And

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Speaker 1: last week, Pastor Stephen took us to the life of Mary,

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Speaker 1: my absolute favorite Bible character, and we saw in Luke

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Speaker 1: chapter one that the Angel told Mary that she had

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Speaker 1: found favor with God. And we learned that oftentimes true

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Speaker 1: favor feels like inconvenience and interruption, and it brings on insecurity,

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Speaker 1: and that favor is almost always accompanied by fear. And

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Speaker 1: as I've been processing these teachings, I'm learning that I

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Speaker 1: have to learn to let go of what I expected

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Speaker 1: favor to look like in my life so that I

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Speaker 1: can take hold of the amazing things that God is

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Speaker 1: calling me to do. But like my fact, fake Christmas

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Speaker 1: tree that doesn't require doesn't make a mess, it doesn't

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Speaker 1: require a ton of work and water. And I think

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Speaker 1: sometimes it's just easier if I could just have fake favor, too, right,

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Speaker 1: I want a favor that looks good without requiring anything

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Speaker 1: of me. I want to favor that's beautiful and does

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Speaker 1: it make me uncomfortable in any way. Fake favor is

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Speaker 1: focused on the outward appearance. It's focused on other people's

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Speaker 1: perceptions of me, and fake favor just stays on the

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Speaker 1: surface because the surface is safe, and so it's safe

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Speaker 1: for me to just tell everyone, yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine,

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Speaker 1: We're doing great. I'm good because I don't want anyone

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Speaker 1: to know what maybe is really going on in my life.

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Speaker 1: I want when people look at me and my family

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Speaker 1: to think that we have it all together, because if

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Speaker 1: I share my fears and my frustrations and my struggles,

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Speaker 1: how will you think that God's favor could possibly be

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Speaker 1: on my life. You don't have to share everything with everyone,

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Speaker 1: but you got to share some things with some people.

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Speaker 1: Fake favor also centers around stuff, and until recently, until

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Speaker 1: our pastors started preaching these messages messages, I think that

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Speaker 1: I think that I have always equated the favor of

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Speaker 1: God with the stuff that I have. Now, don't get

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Speaker 1: me wrong, I love stuff. I love stuff more than

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Speaker 1: the average person. I promise you, especially this time of year.

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Speaker 1: I love stuff. And Stephen Ferdick is on the front

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Speaker 1: row going, yes, she does. I'm sorry, I'm working on it.

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Speaker 1: I have nothing against stuff, and I believe that every

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Speaker 1: blessing that I have, every good and perfect gift, comes

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Speaker 1: from our Father above. But if when you think about

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Speaker 1: all the ways that God has blessed you, the only

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Speaker 1: things that you can think about are stuff, oriented you

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Speaker 1: have a very limited view of a very big God.

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Speaker 1: Stuff is fun, it's fun, but it has a very

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Speaker 1: very short shelf life in the realm of faith. And

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Speaker 1: I know a lot of people who have a lot

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Speaker 1: of stuff and a little faith. Type it in the

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Speaker 1: chat right now, No more fake favor, No more fake favor.

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Speaker 1: How did Mary find true favor with God? There was

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Speaker 1: something special about her that set her apart from every

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Speaker 1: other woman in her generation. There had to be. Mary

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Speaker 1: was not a random lottery pick. God didn't do a

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Speaker 1: lot and just pick a girl. I believe that Mary

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Speaker 1: had a foundation for favor. That's the title of my

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Speaker 1: message today, the foundation for favor. And I want you

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Speaker 1: to look with me Jeremiah seventeen, verse seven. But blessed

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Speaker 1: is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence

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Speaker 1: isn't him. They will be like a tree planted by

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Speaker 1: the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

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Speaker 1: It does not fear when he comes. Its leaves are

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Speaker 1: always green, It has no worries in a year of drought,

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Speaker 1: and it never fails to bear fruit. I love this

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Speaker 1: picture of this tree. This tree is solid, This tree

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Speaker 1: has weathered some storms. This is not a fake tree.

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Speaker 1: This tree shows me that having a relationship with God

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Speaker 1: does not make me exempt from difficulties and struggles. It

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Speaker 1: simply gives us a foundation that we can draw from

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Speaker 1: when those hard times come, and it enables us not

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Speaker 1: just to survive, but to actually bear fruit during the

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Speaker 1: most difficult seasons, during the drought, during the storm. See

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Speaker 1: fake trees look good, but fake trees can't bear fruit.

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Speaker 1: I know that everyone is glad to see twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: come to an end, right, but we all know that

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one is coming right around the corner and

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Speaker 1: it's gonna hit us with its own set of challenges.

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Speaker 1: Because this is life, and my goal is to be ready,

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Speaker 1: not perfect. I want to have a foundation that is

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Speaker 1: going to allow me to bear fruit. Fruit in every

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Speaker 1: season drought, storm, summer, winter, I can bear fruit because

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Speaker 1: my life is rooted in my relationship with Jesus. Blessed

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Speaker 1: is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence

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Speaker 1: is in him. We all know people who seem to

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Speaker 1: weather the most incredible storms and still keep their faith intact.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you have someone who comes to your mind

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Speaker 1: like this person who just personifies strength, and when you

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Speaker 1: look at their life, you just wonder how are they

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Speaker 1: making it through that? I could never make it through that.

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Speaker 1: But have you if you've ever noticed that, there's some

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Speaker 1: people that don't actually make it through. Like there are

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Speaker 1: those people who come through a storm. They weather the storm,

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Speaker 1: and they come through it. They're battered, they're bruised, and

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Speaker 1: they're stronger, right, But there are also those people who

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Speaker 1: are badder and bruised and bitter. And I can tell

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Speaker 1: you right now that strong people don't happen by accident.

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Speaker 1: Strength is not developed in the dry season. It just

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Speaker 1: reveals itself there. So if you get to the dry

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Speaker 1: season and you don't have any strength, you're in trouble.

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Speaker 1: The other day, I had a very short window to

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Speaker 1: get my workout in. I have a certain number of workouts.

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to get to the end of the year.

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to make it to my goal, but

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Speaker 1: I'm because I was going to. I literally have to

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Speaker 1: work out every day for the rest of the year

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Speaker 1: to make my goal. But that's okay. I'm close to

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Speaker 1: the goal anyway. Normally, that's the point, right, I've got close. Normally,

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Speaker 1: I that's my definition of a goal. Okay, So normally

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Speaker 1: I have a peloton bike and I do the peloton ride,

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Speaker 1: and to be honest, this particular day, I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to get my hair sweaty, and so I selected a

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Speaker 1: twenty minute intermediate strength training workout. I was like, twenty

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Speaker 1: minutes intermediate. I'm intermediate. I think I can do this,

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Speaker 1: and so everything was going along just fine, and there

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Speaker 1: was this one exercise that I never do, and it

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Speaker 1: was called well, I don't actually know what it was

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Speaker 1: called because I never do it, but it was the

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Speaker 1: one where you hold the weights. It looks really easy,

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Speaker 1: and so you hold the weights and you've been down

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Speaker 1: and then you come up and you pull them up,

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Speaker 1: and the instructor said, that kind of hurt my legs there.

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Speaker 1: I didn't even have the weights. The instructor said, she said,

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Speaker 1: get heavier weights, and I didn't want to get too sore,

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Speaker 1: and so I thought I was being smart and at

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Speaker 1: the risk of you understanding how little I lift weights,

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Speaker 1: I'm just going to go ahead and tell you. I

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Speaker 1: stuck with my tens and I still got sore. I

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Speaker 1: got so sore that I could barely walk for two days.

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Speaker 1: I was like shuffling, you know, and I haven't done

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Speaker 1: that exercise. Since then, of course not. I don't want

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Speaker 1: to be sure again. But the soreness is an indication

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Speaker 1: that you are, that you're getting stronger, if, if, and

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Speaker 1: only if you keep doing that exercise. Do you remember

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Speaker 1: what pastor Steven so prophetically said to us at the

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Speaker 1: beginning of twenty twenty, He said, time under tension. We

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Speaker 1: had no idea how much tension was coming. Time under

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Speaker 1: tension creates strength. Strength is built over time, little by little,

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Speaker 1: day by day, exercise after exercise. A tree does not

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Speaker 1: grow overnight. A tree takes time to put down roots.

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Speaker 1: And if you want to be a strong person, a

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Speaker 1: person who never fails to bear fruit, a person who

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Speaker 1: has found favor with God, you're going to have to

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Speaker 1: have a foundation that can sustain you through Jeremiah says

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Speaker 1: that the tree is planted by water, and that it

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Speaker 1: sends out its roots. So the most important part of

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Speaker 1: the tree happens below the surface. It's not the blooms,

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Speaker 1: it's not the beautiful fall leaves. The most important part

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Speaker 1: of the tree happens in the places that we can't see.

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Speaker 1: So I want to go back and look at Luke

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Speaker 1: one again this week, and I want to look at

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Speaker 1: Mary and I want to see how did she find

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Speaker 1: favor with God? How did God know that she would

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Speaker 1: be strong enough to press on when people didn't believe

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Speaker 1: that she was carrying God's child? How did he know

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Speaker 1: that she would not crumble under the weight of disappointment

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Speaker 1: and grief, the the immense grief she must have had

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Speaker 1: when she watched her firstborn son die a gruesome martyrs

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Speaker 1: dad at age thirty three. And yet still that woman

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Speaker 1: had the faith to be sitting there in the upper

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Speaker 1: room with the disciples at Pentecost. How did God know

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Speaker 1: that she'd be strong enough to make it through all

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Speaker 1: of that. If twenty twenty is the year of the

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Speaker 1: Lord's favor, I want to have fresh eyes to look

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Speaker 1: at it. I want to see that every difficult thing

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Speaker 1: that I faced was actually making me stronger for the

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Speaker 1: journey ahead in twenty twenty one. We've been building for

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Speaker 1: this all along. God, how do I do this? I

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Speaker 1: want to look at Luke one and I'm going to

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Speaker 1: show you five things about Mary that gave her a

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Speaker 1: foundation to receive the favor of God. And these are

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Speaker 1: the same things that we need in our lives to

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Speaker 1: prepare us for the blessings that God wants to bring

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Speaker 1: us this year, not the stuff the blessings. Here we

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Speaker 1: go Luke one, Starting in verse twenty six, in the

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Speaker 1: sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel

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Speaker 1: to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged

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Speaker 1: to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant

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Speaker 1: of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel said

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Speaker 1: to her, greetings, you, who are highly favored. The Lord

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Speaker 1: is with you. And Mary was greatly troubled at his

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Speaker 1: words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

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Speaker 1: But the Angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary,

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Speaker 1: you have found favor with God. You will conceive and

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Speaker 1: give birth to a son, and you are to call

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Speaker 1: him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be

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Speaker 1: called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will

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Speaker 1: give him the throne of his father David, and he

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Speaker 1: will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end.

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Speaker 1: How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I

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Speaker 1: am a virgin. The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will

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Speaker 1: come on you, and the power of the Most High

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Speaker 1: will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born

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Speaker 1: will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative,

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Speaker 1: is going to have a child in her own age,

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Speaker 1: and she who was said to be unable to conceive

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Speaker 1: and is in her six month for no word from

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Speaker 1: God will ever fail. I am the Lord's servant. Mary answered,

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Speaker 1: may your word to me be fulfilled? And then the

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Speaker 1: angel left her. So Mary has this massive calling on

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Speaker 1: her life. She is going to be the mother of

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Speaker 1: the Messiah. She's going to raise God. And we know

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Speaker 1: nothing about her prior to this passage of scripture. But

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Speaker 1: as the story unfolds, we find out that she's a

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Speaker 1: girl from Nazareth. She's engaged to be married. The Angel

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Speaker 1: comes to her and says, greetings. Have you ever thought

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Speaker 1: about all the ways that God spoke to people in

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Speaker 1: the Bible up until this point? It's pretty cool. He

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Speaker 1: spoke through dreams, he spoke to Moses in a burning bush,

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Speaker 1: he spoke through a talking donkey one time, the writing

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Speaker 1: on the wall, and oftentimes God spoke to people in

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Speaker 1: out loud, audible voices. Where was Mary when the Angel

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Speaker 1: came to her? What was she doing? The passage doesn't say,

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Speaker 1: doesn't say that she was in church or that she

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Speaker 1: was kneeling in prayer, or even that she was sleeping

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Speaker 1: and that the Angel came to her in a dream.

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Speaker 1: It simply says that the angel came to her and

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Speaker 1: got me wondering if God knew that he could just

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Speaker 1: interrupt any old day in Mary's life, that she had

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Speaker 1: such an awareness of God's presence that she was ready

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Speaker 1: to receive from him during her everyday life. The first

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Speaker 1: foundation for Mary's favor is awareness. Are you aware of

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Speaker 1: God's presence in your everyday life? Or is your life

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Speaker 1: so loud and so crowded and so back to back

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Speaker 1: to back that God would have to strike lightning to

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Speaker 1: get your attention because you are so busy. If you

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Speaker 1: think that being aware of God's presence means that, well,

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Speaker 1: maybe I just get up at five am. That's wonderful.

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Speaker 1: You should do it. If that's what you think, it

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Speaker 1: is great. I think getting up early is awesome. I

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Speaker 1: just can't do it. And yes, I do think that

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Speaker 1: it's important to set aside time to read and to

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Speaker 1: study God's word, and to pray and to listen to music.

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Speaker 1: It's essential to my growth and to my strength. But

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Speaker 1: I can't get up early, and I live a very

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Speaker 1: full life. And so I told the ladies that reflect

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Speaker 1: that one of the things that I do is I

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Speaker 1: look for pockets, look at the person next to you,

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Speaker 1: or put it in the chat. What's in your pockets.

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Speaker 1: You may not have an hour of time to spend

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Speaker 1: each day, but I bet you have pockets, Like what

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Speaker 1: do you do during your commute to work? What do

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Speaker 1: you do when you're sitting at your kids' sports practice.

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Speaker 1: What's playing in the background while you're mowing the lawn

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Speaker 1: or doing the laundry, or what do you do on

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Speaker 1: your lunch break at work? What's the last thing that

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Speaker 1: you do before you fall asleep at night. These are pockets.

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Speaker 1: Mary had space in her life for God. And we

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Speaker 1: live in a day and time where this one little device,

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Speaker 1: actually have my phone in my pocket, this one little

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Speaker 1: device can enable us to fill the space in our

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Speaker 1: life with sermons and worship music and audio books and podcasts.

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Speaker 1: But if you don't have a plan, you just start scrolling,

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Speaker 1: and you'll scroll feeds during every extra second that you

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Speaker 1: have in your day. And if you spend your day scrolling,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna end it starving, starving for encouragement. Because you

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Speaker 1: were looking in the wrong place, starving for purpose because

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Speaker 1: you are comparing your calling to someone else's calling, lacking

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Speaker 1: the peace and the joy that are hours for the taking.

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Speaker 1: But we wasted that precious pocket of time that could

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Speaker 1: have been used for God's just Whisper a word of encouragement.

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Speaker 1: Fill that little empty space in your life. Some of

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Speaker 1: us are starving right now because we've let church just

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00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: slip between our fingers. When we went into quarantine. You

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Speaker 1: got up, you got your family up, you got the

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Speaker 1: TV on, you were watching the pre show. You got

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Speaker 1: out of bed and sat up at your kitchen table

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Speaker 1: and gave God your full attention. And now you're like,

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Speaker 1: we'll just catch it later on YouTube. I know it's

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Speaker 1: Christmas time. I know the numbers are going up all

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Speaker 1: over our country, But as we look toward twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: are we going to prioritize church in our homes. This

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Speaker 1: virus has taken a lot from us. But I just

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Speaker 1: want you to know me and my house we're gonna

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Speaker 1: take away We're going to take the time to worship God.

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Speaker 1: We're not gonna let the enemy take away church from us.

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Speaker 1: I'm not. And if it's safe for you to actually

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Speaker 1: go to church. If it's safe for me to actually

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Speaker 1: be in these seats, you better bet my kids butts

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Speaker 1: are gonna be in these seats as much as possible.

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Speaker 1: If you're not careful, if we're not if we're not diligent,

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Speaker 1: we will let the important things just slip, and then

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Speaker 1: we find ourselves in a difficult storm and we don't

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00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,399
Speaker 1: have the roots to get us through because we haven't

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Speaker 1: made the presence of God a priority in our lives.

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Speaker 1: It's time to wake up and position yourself to hear

430
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,160
Speaker 1: God speak. Wherever God speaks to you, you get yourself

431
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 1: there because the strength that you need for the next

432
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,160
Speaker 1: season is in the things that God wants to speak

433
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: to you right now. Are you aware? Are you listening?

434
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: Mary was aware, and the Angel comes to her and

435
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,920
Speaker 1: he tells her, you have found favor with God. You're

436
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 1: gonna give birth to the son of the Most hi God,

437
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,640
Speaker 1: and the power of the Holy Spirit is gonna come

438
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,600
Speaker 1: upon you. And I got to read to you Mary's

439
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 1: response from the Passion translation. I love a Passion translation.

440
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,960
Speaker 1: Sometimes I just go to it to see a little

441
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 1: bit different way it that it says this. This is

442
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,200
Speaker 1: my favorite verse in the whole Bible, and I love

443
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,520
Speaker 1: to read it in a different translation, because sometimes when

444
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 1: you switch up your translations, GOT will show you something new.

445
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 1: So this is uh Luke one thirty eight. Then Mary

446
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:33,640
Speaker 1: responded saying, this is amazing. I will be the mother

447
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 1: for our Lord. That's a message for some of the

448
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 1: moms out there. I think I'll be the mother for

449
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,840
Speaker 1: our I'm gonna Lord, I'm gonna be the mother for

450
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 1: these these people. Sorry, this is amazing. I will be

451
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:53,719
Speaker 1: the mother for the Lord as his servant. I accept

452
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:59,080
Speaker 1: whatever he has for me. May everything you have told

453
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,440
Speaker 1: me come to pass? And the angel left her. Second

454
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:09,080
Speaker 1: foundation that Mary had was acceptance. See if this were me,

455
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 1: I don't think I would have said this is amazing.

456
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 1: I would have been like, Okay, God, this sounds I'm

457
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:22,000
Speaker 1: getting there. I have a few questions before I accept

458
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 1: this assignment. God, you do know that I'm just a

459
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,560
Speaker 1: girl and I don't know nothing about babies, right, just checking?

460
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:34,360
Speaker 1: And God, have you thought about how nobody's going to

461
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: believe me? God? Like, are you sure I'm the right person?

462
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,800
Speaker 1: Are you sure I'm good enough to embrace your son?

463
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: Are you sure I'm smart enough? And what about my past?

464
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,280
Speaker 1: What about the mistakes that are made? What about what

465
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 1: about the things that I've done? And God, you know,

466
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,479
Speaker 1: are you sure? Like I was thinking I could have

467
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,800
Speaker 1: more of like an upfront calling than a behind the

468
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:01,719
Speaker 1: scenes one, Like maybe I could be a prophetess instead

469
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:09,720
Speaker 1: of a diaper changer. Mary simply accepted the calling that

470
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,200
Speaker 1: God had placed on her life. And if you don't

471
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,200
Speaker 1: have the foundation of acceptance in your life, you're gonna

472
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:21,479
Speaker 1: abandon your calling at the first sign of trouble, and

473
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,840
Speaker 1: then you're gonna miss out on living a life full

474
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 1: of purpose. The thing about a calling is it's like

475
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,720
Speaker 1: a gift that is exclusively for you, Like a gift

476
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,120
Speaker 1: that has your initials in it. You can't trade it

477
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: with someone else, you can't return it for a different one.

478
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,120
Speaker 1: You can either reject it or accept it. And let

479
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,080
Speaker 1: me just say, you don't have to accept God's calling

480
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,400
Speaker 1: on your life. He has someone else that he can use,

481
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: he does, but he picked you. And I'm just gonna

482
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,440
Speaker 1: say I've been guilty of just rejecting the calling that

483
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 1: God has placed on my life at times. Not outright,

484
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 1: of course, I mean I would never be like Jonah

485
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,440
Speaker 1: and go in the opposite direction. Of what God told

486
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 1: me to do. It's just a little more subtle, you know,

487
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:17,360
Speaker 1: like maybe I get a little stuck, and some days

488
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 1: I'm just unwilling to put in the work required to

489
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:23,960
Speaker 1: accomplish the things that God wants me to do. I'm

490
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:28,080
Speaker 1: just gonna say I'm lazy, and I'd rather watch YouTube

491
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:31,320
Speaker 1: videos of someone else's day in the life than actually

492
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 1: live mine with the purpose that God has given me.

493
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,920
Speaker 1: Since I'm up here being honest with thousands of my

494
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: closest friends, I'll just tell you that there were years,

495
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 1: years where I was simply unwilling to put in the

496
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 1: work required to do the things that God was calling

497
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,560
Speaker 1: me to do, because living in the favor of God

498
00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:02,840
Speaker 1: requires work on my part. So like it takes a

499
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,280
Speaker 1: lot of work to write a good sermon, you know

500
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,480
Speaker 1: what else it takes to write a good sermon, Like

501
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,640
Speaker 1: knowing your Bible, reading it. You got to hear from

502
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 1: God for yourself before you can just pass it on

503
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,880
Speaker 1: to other people. And there were years where I hid

504
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,840
Speaker 1: behind the idea that I wasn't good enough, that I

505
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,400
Speaker 1: didn't have the intelligence or the talent or the charisma

506
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,959
Speaker 1: that it takes to minister to people from a stage,

507
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:33,320
Speaker 1: and the reality is I wasn't willing to put in

508
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,840
Speaker 1: the work to live up to the calling that God

509
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 1: had placed right in my lap. You are enough and

510
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:50,000
Speaker 1: you have everything you need. If God called you, you're enough,

511
00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,440
Speaker 1: and it's time for you to accept that. But that

512
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,520
Speaker 1: doesn't mean it won't be hard, and that doesn't mean

513
00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:59,479
Speaker 1: you won't have to put in a lot of work,

514
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,760
Speaker 1: and that doesn't mean that sometimes you won't like it.

515
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:10,240
Speaker 1: Repetition over time creates strength. And you might be thinking, well,

516
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 1: that's easy for you to say, you're Stephen Verdick's wife.

517
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:18,000
Speaker 1: How do I know what I'm called to do? I

518
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,840
Speaker 1: have an answer for you. You're called to do whatever

519
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:26,080
Speaker 1: God has placed in your life right now, this moment,

520
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,839
Speaker 1: not one day when you get married, or one day

521
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,520
Speaker 1: when you have more money, or one day when you

522
00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,160
Speaker 1: own your own home. Then I'll have and then I'll

523
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 1: help people in my home. Then I'll I'll be hospitable.

524
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,120
Speaker 1: And I said to the ladies last month, and I'm

525
00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:45,200
Speaker 1: gonna say it again to everybody under the sound of

526
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:51,360
Speaker 1: my voice. The best person to raise your kids is you, mom, dad,

527
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:56,360
Speaker 1: It's you. The best person to do your job, the

528
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,120
Speaker 1: job that you have today. Thank God that you have

529
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,680
Speaker 1: a job. The best person to do that job? Is

530
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:07,200
Speaker 1: you the best person to speak up for that cause

531
00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:10,680
Speaker 1: it's just burning in your heart that that's the Holy

532
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:15,799
Speaker 1: Spirit calling you, calling you out to speak out for

533
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:20,560
Speaker 1: that organization, for those overlooked people. You are called to

534
00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:25,160
Speaker 1: the place where you are right now. Your high school,

535
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 1: your neighborhood, your coworkers, all of these people need to

536
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:35,440
Speaker 1: see you confidently walking in the calling that God has

537
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,160
Speaker 1: given you. And when you do go through something hard,

538
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:43,319
Speaker 1: because you will, they're going to see your strength and

539
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,799
Speaker 1: your resilience and your dependence on God and your relationship

540
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,279
Speaker 1: with Him as you go through whatever your challenges are.

541
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:52,960
Speaker 1: And we like to think of Mary when the Angel

542
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,040
Speaker 1: visited her, But what about Mary when no one believed

543
00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:58,960
Speaker 1: her that she was a pregnant virgin? That would be hard.

544
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 1: About Mary when she had to ride on a donkey

545
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,880
Speaker 1: when she was nine months pregnant, that would be hard.

546
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,800
Speaker 1: What about Mary when she stood at the foot of

547
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 1: the cross the most unimaginable pain and rejection that was

548
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:17,879
Speaker 1: as much a parting her part of her calling as

549
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,800
Speaker 1: anything else. Those are the things that we celebrate today

550
00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,840
Speaker 1: about her, And I think It was in those moments,

551
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:30,920
Speaker 1: those those difficult moments, that Mary had to come back

552
00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:35,880
Speaker 1: to that encounter with the angel and remember that she

553
00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:42,240
Speaker 1: was chosen for this. She was chosen for this task,

554
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:46,080
Speaker 1: no matter how hard it is, You're chosen for this.

555
00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,120
Speaker 1: And I want to tell you today you can do

556
00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:55,360
Speaker 1: hard things. You can. In the minute that she accepted

557
00:36:55,360 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 1: her calling, she went into action. That's the third one.

558
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,920
Speaker 1: Look what Mary said, So we're back at Luke one

559
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 1: thirty eight. I am the Lord's servant. Mary answered, May

560
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:13,200
Speaker 1: your word to me be fulfilled. Then the angel left her.

561
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,120
Speaker 1: At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a

562
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:19,320
Speaker 1: town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered

563
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,560
Speaker 1: Zechariah's home and greeted, Elizabeth. Let me ask you this,

564
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:30,719
Speaker 1: What do you do when the angel leaves? Think about this.

565
00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:37,839
Speaker 1: An angel comes to her and tells her all these

566
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:42,480
Speaker 1: amazing three things. Don't be afraid. God has chosen you.

567
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,600
Speaker 1: You're gonna bear the hiss Son, and you're gonna call

568
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:50,240
Speaker 1: him Jesus. And when Mary asked her one clarifying question,

569
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,040
Speaker 1: she said, how my husband pointed this out last week.

570
00:37:55,120 --> 00:38:00,640
Speaker 1: Mary said how. The answer she got was who the

571
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,080
Speaker 1: power of the Holy spirit will come upon you. And

572
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,360
Speaker 1: also your cousin Elizabeth is pregnant, and then the angel left.

573
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:13,960
Speaker 1: See God doesn't always spell everything out for us. Now,

574
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:18,680
Speaker 1: He's with us every step of the way, but he's

575
00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:24,600
Speaker 1: not gonna move your feet for you. Favor requires action

576
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 1: on your partner. When God gives you a direction, what

577
00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:35,560
Speaker 1: is your response time? Because Mary, she went quick. God

578
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:42,200
Speaker 1: uses people who hear and move. Now, he may give

579
00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:47,759
Speaker 1: you a big calling, but usually every calling starts with

580
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:52,240
Speaker 1: a small step. Because if you can't hear and act

581
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,960
Speaker 1: in the small things, you won't do it in the

582
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 1: big things. I know you think you will, but you won't.

583
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,360
Speaker 1: And sometimes I think it's so funny that the small

584
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:06,440
Speaker 1: things are what hold up our progress. But why wouldn't

585
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,520
Speaker 1: Why would God give you more direction when you have

586
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:12,520
Speaker 1: not done the simplest things that He's asked you to do.

587
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,440
Speaker 1: I mean little things like maybe he asked you to

588
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,920
Speaker 1: apologize to someone, to admit that you were wrong and

589
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,200
Speaker 1: say you were sorry. Did you do it? Maybe he

590
00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:26,480
Speaker 1: asked you to begin the process of forgiving. I know

591
00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,799
Speaker 1: that's a big thing, that's a big deal, but did

592
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:33,280
Speaker 1: you start. Maybe he asked you to do something seemingly easy,

593
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:35,760
Speaker 1: like join an E group or start an EE group.

594
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:43,280
Speaker 1: Did you do it? God is good. God is very patient,

595
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,319
Speaker 1: Thank you Lord, but he is not going to give

596
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:52,080
Speaker 1: you step two before you do step one. Now, the

597
00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:56,040
Speaker 1: good news is that step one is still right there

598
00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:59,800
Speaker 1: waiting for you right now, because better is it something

599
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:04,359
Speaker 1: out there? Calling isn't out there, it's here, it's now.

600
00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,880
Speaker 1: It's in the very next step. And becoming a person

601
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:14,319
Speaker 1: of action takes practice, but the absolute best gift that

602
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:16,719
Speaker 1: you can give to the people in your life this

603
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,160
Speaker 1: Christmas is for you to make space for Christ in

604
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:23,399
Speaker 1: your life, for you to receive the words that He's

605
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,879
Speaker 1: speaking to you, and for you to act on them,

606
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 1: even if that is the smallest thing. I love to

607
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:37,800
Speaker 1: imagine this scenario. Okay again, An angel comes to Mary

608
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:43,480
Speaker 1: and he tells her that she's blessed and she's highly favored,

609
00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:46,000
Speaker 1: and he gives her, you know, the details, like what

610
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,520
Speaker 1: she's gonna name the baby and how the power of

611
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and then he

612
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:55,560
Speaker 1: leaves and can you just imagine Mary in just the

613
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,920
Speaker 1: moments right after he left, like what she was thinking,

614
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:04,759
Speaker 1: Did that really just happen? Did I dream? That did

615
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,520
Speaker 1: I make that up in my head? And now I

616
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,160
Speaker 1: think I really did. So then she decides to Okay,

617
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 1: that did happen, and I bet all of a sudden,

618
00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:19,319
Speaker 1: she's alone with her thoughts. I don't really like to

619
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,680
Speaker 1: be alone with my thoughts. Can you imagine how her

620
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,600
Speaker 1: thoughts just started going insane, you know, like thoughts of

621
00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:34,080
Speaker 1: doubt and fear and discouragement, like you could get stoned

622
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,960
Speaker 1: for being pregnant out of marriage, right, So she's thinking

623
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:41,560
Speaker 1: about all of that, and she's on the verge of

624
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:45,840
Speaker 1: just her mind just going off. And then I like

625
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:49,240
Speaker 1: to think, like maybe she just remembered this one little

626
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:54,919
Speaker 1: detail that the angel said to her, Your cousin Elizabeth

627
00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:59,040
Speaker 1: in her old age is going to bear a son.

628
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:02,000
Speaker 1: And that was all she needed to figure out what

629
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:05,799
Speaker 1: her next step was. The Angel didn't just give her

630
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:10,920
Speaker 1: one who he gave her two. He said, the Holy

631
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:14,240
Speaker 1: Spirit will bring forth the baby, but also, your cousin

632
00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:18,720
Speaker 1: Elizabeth is gonna show you how. The Angel didn't stay

633
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,680
Speaker 1: with her and coach her through the process. He pointed

634
00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:27,600
Speaker 1: her to a person, and the Bible says she got

635
00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:30,160
Speaker 1: ready and she hurried down to the town of Judea

636
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:35,040
Speaker 1: where Elizabeth was. Is there a person God is pointing

637
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:37,760
Speaker 1: you to who can help you through the hard things?

638
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:43,600
Speaker 1: You know when we talk about stuff God, you know

639
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,840
Speaker 1: the favor of God and how it's not just about stuff.

640
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,319
Speaker 1: Sometimes the favor of God is about the people that

641
00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:53,279
Speaker 1: He has placed in your life. And Mary understood that

642
00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,640
Speaker 1: part of her strength would come from the people that

643
00:42:56,719 --> 00:43:01,319
Speaker 1: she surrounded herself with. So this is the fourth It's attachment.

644
00:43:02,719 --> 00:43:06,399
Speaker 1: When I am confident in my calling, I don't need

645
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:11,400
Speaker 1: to compete with other people or compare myself to other people,

646
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:15,640
Speaker 1: but I do need to align myself with those who

647
00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:21,719
Speaker 1: will confirm what is already placed inside of me. You

648
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:27,880
Speaker 1: were never intended to live out your calling alone. You

649
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:31,680
Speaker 1: do have to get the order right. It is not people. First.

650
00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,560
Speaker 1: Mary was aware she was ready to hear God when

651
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:39,319
Speaker 1: God spoke to her, not another person. She accepted the

652
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:44,240
Speaker 1: calling that God placed on her life, not her mama.

653
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:49,200
Speaker 1: Then she acted quickly because she realized she was going

654
00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:52,040
Speaker 1: to have a baby. She needed to get herself around

655
00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,359
Speaker 1: someone who was a little bit farther down the road

656
00:43:54,400 --> 00:44:01,840
Speaker 1: from her. We need each other. This is the body

657
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:07,040
Speaker 1: of Christ and it is beautiful. And that's another thing

658
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,320
Speaker 1: that I feel like the enemy has tried to steal

659
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:13,520
Speaker 1: from us in twenty twenty. I need you and you

660
00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:16,960
Speaker 1: need me. And I'm not talking about marriage. I'm talking

661
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,480
Speaker 1: about friendship, because when the favor of God is on

662
00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:25,839
Speaker 1: your life, you are going to meet the support of others.

663
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:28,920
Speaker 1: And yes, yes, yes, I know there are dramatic people

664
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:33,120
Speaker 1: out there. There are crazy people out there. And I

665
00:44:33,239 --> 00:44:36,560
Speaker 1: told the youth girls mean girls don't go away when

666
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:42,960
Speaker 1: you graduate high school. But perhaps you are using the

667
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:47,719
Speaker 1: wrong criteria for your support system. What you want to

668
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:51,759
Speaker 1: do is get yourself around someone who's a little bit

669
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:53,839
Speaker 1: farther down the road from you, like Mary is, maybe

670
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:59,759
Speaker 1: not in age, maybe in maturity or experience, someone that

671
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:05,520
Speaker 1: you look up to, not for what they wear, but

672
00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:12,359
Speaker 1: for who they are, Someone that you admire. I want

673
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:14,360
Speaker 1: you to just think about it. Someone that you admire

674
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:17,680
Speaker 1: for the way that they treat their wife, not the

675
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:22,440
Speaker 1: kind of car that they drive. Someone who has walked

676
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:27,440
Speaker 1: where you are about to walk and can help you

677
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,960
Speaker 1: prepare for some of the twists and turns that could

678
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:35,960
Speaker 1: knock you off course. When Mary got to Elizabeth, Elizabeth

679
00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:41,959
Speaker 1: immediately confirmed what was already happening inside of Mary, She said,

680
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:45,000
Speaker 1: look at this. In the ESV. It says, blessed are

681
00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:49,120
Speaker 1: you among women, and blessed is the fruit. Here's our

682
00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 1: word again, the fruit of your womb. We all need

683
00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:58,200
Speaker 1: people in our lives that will confirm what God has

684
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:00,560
Speaker 1: placed on us, people who will call all out the

685
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,959
Speaker 1: fruit that isn't even there yet. And I think about

686
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:05,640
Speaker 1: the people that have come alongside me and that have

687
00:46:05,719 --> 00:46:09,359
Speaker 1: come alongside my husband and have called fruit out in us.

688
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,239
Speaker 1: And we wouldn't be where we are today without those

689
00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:15,120
Speaker 1: people in our lives. And God has those people in

690
00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:20,440
Speaker 1: your life too. Elizabeth celebrated Mary and then she brought

691
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,640
Speaker 1: her into her life. And the Bible tells us that

692
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:27,440
Speaker 1: Elizabeth was six months pregnant and that Mary stayed with

693
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,520
Speaker 1: Elizabeth for three months. I don't know if you can

694
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:32,480
Speaker 1: do the math on that, but I can do that math.

695
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 1: Mary said, with Elizabeth until Elizabeth gave birth. And when

696
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:42,839
Speaker 1: it came time for Mary to give birth to her

697
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:47,880
Speaker 1: own child in a barn alone, well, she had her husband.

698
00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:54,759
Speaker 1: But you know whose voice. Whose voice do you think

699
00:46:54,920 --> 00:47:06,000
Speaker 1: was in her head? Elizabeth? The favor of God is

700
00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:09,640
Speaker 1: ultimately built on the foundation of our relationships and our

701
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:13,000
Speaker 1: relationship with God, our relationship with others, and our relationship

702
00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:18,120
Speaker 1: with God. That's the foundation. And you can't leave out

703
00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:20,799
Speaker 1: the people part. And men if you think that this

704
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:24,359
Speaker 1: isn't for you, there's more in the Bible about men

705
00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:27,120
Speaker 1: friendships than there are about women. Trust me, I've looked.

706
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:31,839
Speaker 1: David had, Jonathan, Paul had Silas. Jesus even had the Disciples,

707
00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:34,560
Speaker 1: although sometimes he probably wish that he didn't. It's okay.

708
00:47:34,719 --> 00:47:39,000
Speaker 1: Friends make you feel that way. Sometimes it's okay. Who

709
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:45,040
Speaker 1: is around you, who is cheering you on, who has

710
00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:49,319
Speaker 1: fought with you and grieved with you. Those are the

711
00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:52,080
Speaker 1: people that God has placed on your life, on your journey,

712
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,319
Speaker 1: And if you don't build it now, you won't have

713
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:59,719
Speaker 1: it when you need it. And you know what, because

714
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:02,879
Speaker 1: I know some people think like, oh, I'm good, I'm good.

715
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:04,880
Speaker 1: I don't really need a lot of people. But you

716
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:08,799
Speaker 1: know what, else, it's an amazing thing to feel the

717
00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:11,560
Speaker 1: support of people in your life during a difficult time.

718
00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:14,640
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful thing to experience, but it is also

719
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:19,239
Speaker 1: a privilege to do it for someone that you love.

720
00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:25,520
Speaker 1: And if you've ever walked with someone, walked alongside a

721
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:29,680
Speaker 1: friend through a divorce, or a loss or a sickness.

722
00:48:30,920 --> 00:48:34,319
Speaker 1: You experience a level of friendship that's only found in

723
00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:41,160
Speaker 1: the struggle. That's a beautiful gift that God has for us,

724
00:48:42,719 --> 00:48:48,759
Speaker 1: Sue Elizabeth confirms. She says, blessed is the one who

725
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:55,560
Speaker 1: has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.

726
00:48:56,320 --> 00:49:01,160
Speaker 1: And then Mary begins her prayer, this beautiful prayer that

727
00:49:01,239 --> 00:49:06,520
Speaker 1: she prays, and she says, my soul glorifies the Lord,

728
00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,600
Speaker 1: and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he

729
00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:14,520
Speaker 1: has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

730
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:18,920
Speaker 1: From now on, Mary says, all generations will call me blessed,

731
00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:22,600
Speaker 1: for the Mighty One has done great things for me.

732
00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:28,320
Speaker 1: Holy is his name. The last foundation is affirmation, because

733
00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:30,680
Speaker 1: you see, it was good for Mary to have Elizabeth

734
00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:33,359
Speaker 1: to confirm what God had called Mary to do. But

735
00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:35,920
Speaker 1: there also comes a time when the affirmation that you

736
00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:41,560
Speaker 1: need has to come from within yourself with your own mouth.

737
00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:46,400
Speaker 1: You begin to worship. And before Mary saw any fruit

738
00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:49,680
Speaker 1: that the Angel told her that she would see, she

739
00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:55,840
Speaker 1: centered her focus on who God was to her, her savior,

740
00:49:56,680 --> 00:49:59,920
Speaker 1: the Mighty One Who's done great things. Worship like this

741
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 1: only flows from someone who has a living, breathing relationship

742
00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:10,000
Speaker 1: with her heavenly Father. She goes on to quote scripture

743
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:12,560
Speaker 1: and scripture that she had planted it in her heart

744
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:15,480
Speaker 1: as a child just started to pour out of her mouth,

745
00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:19,279
Speaker 1: because long before she was visited by an angel, she

746
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:23,840
Speaker 1: was building the foundation that she would draw from. Mary

747
00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:26,200
Speaker 1: focused her faith on the one who had called her,

748
00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:29,000
Speaker 1: the one who had chosen her. She didn't list out

749
00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:31,160
Speaker 1: all the things that could go wrong, She didn't think

750
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:33,520
Speaker 1: about all the hardships that would lay ahead for her.

751
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:38,000
Speaker 1: She say focused on who God was and who she

752
00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:42,640
Speaker 1: was in Christ. And this makes sense when you read

753
00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:47,920
Speaker 1: about Mary the Mother of Jesus. But these are things

754
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:51,840
Speaker 1: that we have to put into action in our own lives.

755
00:50:53,719 --> 00:50:56,480
Speaker 1: Affirmation this is the root that you draw from on

756
00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:00,520
Speaker 1: the days when you feel weak, you feel like you

757
00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:04,560
Speaker 1: don't have what it takes, and on those days where

758
00:51:05,560 --> 00:51:10,319
Speaker 1: maybe nobody knows exactly what you're going through because you

759
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:14,359
Speaker 1: just can't. Sometimes you just can't tell people. Yet that

760
00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:19,880
Speaker 1: kind of affirmation can only come from within. And I

761
00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:21,960
Speaker 1: told the ladies that reflect this it's kind of like

762
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:26,919
Speaker 1: a little embarrassing story. But several weeks ago I woke

763
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:31,440
Speaker 1: up to the start of a really long day. I had, truly,

764
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,839
Speaker 1: it felt like a million and one things to do.

765
00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:37,520
Speaker 1: Some of them were big and some of them were small.

766
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:41,239
Speaker 1: And already told you, I'm not a morning person. And

767
00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:46,239
Speaker 1: so when my alarm went off at six am, I

768
00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:54,879
Speaker 1: was overwhelmed and just feeling like, there's no way could

769
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:57,240
Speaker 1: I could do all of this? And I dragged myself

770
00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:00,719
Speaker 1: out of bed and I kind of shrudged towards the

771
00:52:00,719 --> 00:52:04,960
Speaker 1: bathroom and I thought to myself, I can do this.

772
00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:10,480
Speaker 1: And my husband sat up and he said, what can

773
00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:14,680
Speaker 1: you do? Honestly, I was shocked, and I was a

774
00:52:14,719 --> 00:52:17,960
Speaker 1: little bit embarrassed, like did the angel come to me?

775
00:52:19,040 --> 00:52:23,560
Speaker 1: And I didn't realize that I'd actually spoken that out loud.

776
00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:27,799
Speaker 1: And so he says, what can you do? And I said,

777
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:33,040
Speaker 1: all of it, everything I have to do today, I

778
00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:38,880
Speaker 1: can do it. And I promise you, ninety nine mornings

779
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:41,440
Speaker 1: out of one hundred, I do not get this right,

780
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:45,680
Speaker 1: I don't do this, but on that particular day I did.

781
00:52:46,440 --> 00:52:52,040
Speaker 1: It was like in the darkness, my soul tapped those

782
00:52:52,160 --> 00:52:57,080
Speaker 1: roots that I have and reminded me Philippians four thirteen.

783
00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:02,319
Speaker 1: I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

784
00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:06,920
Speaker 1: And if you hear me say nothing else today. I

785
00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:12,359
Speaker 1: want you to know you can do this, all of it,

786
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:16,439
Speaker 1: all that you were called to do, and not one

787
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:21,040
Speaker 1: thing extra. You don't have to let fear and anxiety

788
00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:24,600
Speaker 1: occupy the space in your soul that was meant for Christ.

789
00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:28,680
Speaker 1: You are a chosen child of the Most High God,

790
00:53:28,880 --> 00:53:33,080
Speaker 1: and you're not operating in your own power. Not by power,

791
00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:36,239
Speaker 1: but by My spirit, says the Lord. You don't have

792
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,719
Speaker 1: to force it, you don't have to manipulate it. You

793
00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:41,560
Speaker 1: have a foundation for the favor that God has placed

794
00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:45,120
Speaker 1: on your life, and that foundation is the Holy Spirit

795
00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:50,360
Speaker 1: within you. Jesus, Christ and Manuel. You are never alone.

796
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:54,000
Speaker 1: And as I close today, I just want to pray

797
00:53:54,040 --> 00:53:56,359
Speaker 1: for us. You just want to take a minute and

798
00:53:56,440 --> 00:54:01,440
Speaker 1: pray over you. So wherever you are, just close your

799
00:54:01,480 --> 00:54:10,680
Speaker 1: eyes and foixsh your attention on Christ, Jesus Emmanuel, we

800
00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:15,840
Speaker 1: come to you in this moment. Pray for the person

801
00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:20,080
Speaker 1: that is overwhelmed everything they have to get done. God,

802
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:25,759
Speaker 1: would you just stop and whisper at your peace. Pray

803
00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:30,160
Speaker 1: for the person who's lonely. God, would you just whisper

804
00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:34,319
Speaker 1: to them Here I am right here with you. You're

805
00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:41,920
Speaker 1: not alone. Thank you God, Thank you for being with us,

806
00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:48,960
Speaker 1: thank you for showing us the way. Thank you for

807
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:52,960
Speaker 1: the people that you've placed in our lives. Lord, we

808
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:59,319
Speaker 1: are so grateful. We are so grateful that we never

809
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:04,960
Speaker 1: have to walk. Help us to fight, God, make us strong,

810
00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:10,680
Speaker 1: Make us aware of your presence so we can see

811
00:55:10,840 --> 00:55:19,360
Speaker 1: that you are there with us. Thank you for this word,

812
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:21,640
Speaker 1: thank you for these words that you've spoken of our

813
00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:27,760
Speaker 1: over our lives in this time. We're ready. We're ready

814
00:55:28,560 --> 00:55:33,200
Speaker 1: for whatever you have for us. We accept your calling

815
00:55:33,239 --> 00:55:37,480
Speaker 1: on our lives in this moment. Thank you for picking me,

816
00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:44,680
Speaker 1: Thank you for picking us. Since Jesus name, I pray, Amen,

817
00:55:47,400 --> 00:55:50,200
Speaker 1: were you blessed by that? I want to thank all

818
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:52,719
Speaker 1: of you who pray for me and Holly and for

819
00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:56,879
Speaker 1: our church and for the great and awesome outreach that's

820
00:55:56,880 --> 00:55:59,840
Speaker 1: happening this time of year. So many people rely on

821
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,279
Speaker 1: us to be the light of Jesus Christ, and I'm

822
00:56:03,280 --> 00:56:06,560
Speaker 1: so thankful. I'm so thankful that you're a part of

823
00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:10,040
Speaker 1: this move of God. Make sure you subscribe and like

824
00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:12,360
Speaker 1: and all of that stuff. But don't forget. This is

825
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:14,720
Speaker 1: the year of the Lord's favor and there are great

826
00:56:14,760 --> 00:56:16,560
Speaker 1: things ahead for you. I just wanted to tell you

827
00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:19,360
Speaker 1: that we're praying for you, believe in God for great

828
00:56:19,360 --> 00:56:22,000
Speaker 1: things in your life. We love you, God bless