WEBVTT - The Benefit of the Doubt

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope

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

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<v Speaker 1>gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>Enjoy the message.

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<v Speaker 2>In Matthew chapter one, the record goes, this is how

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<v Speaker 2>the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother, Mary

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<v Speaker 2>was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they

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<v Speaker 2>came together, she was found to be with child through

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<v Speaker 2>the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man,

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<v Speaker 2>and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,

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<v Speaker 2>he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

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<v Speaker 1>But after he had considered.

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<v Speaker 2>This, because sometimes your first instinct is not God's will,

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<v Speaker 2>he had considered this, after he did the math, and

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<v Speaker 2>after he calculated his next move.

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<v Speaker 1>God spoke.

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<v Speaker 2>It is often contrary to our logic. When God speaks,

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<v Speaker 2>it often relates what we see when God calls us

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<v Speaker 2>to walk by faith.

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<v Speaker 1>But after he.

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<v Speaker 2>Had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to

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<v Speaker 2>him in a dream and said.

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<v Speaker 1>Joseph, son of David.

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<v Speaker 2>Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,

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<v Speaker 2>because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

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<v Speaker 2>She will give birth to a son, and you are

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<v Speaker 2>to give him the name Jesus. Everybody say that name.

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<v Speaker 2>You are to give him the name Jesus, because he

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<v Speaker 2>will save his people from their sins. I know you're confused,

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<v Speaker 2>I know you're bewildered, and I know that you're hurt.

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<v Speaker 2>But verse twenty two, all this took place to fulfill.

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<v Speaker 2>I know you're having a hard time making sense of

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<v Speaker 2>the situation right now, but all this took place to fulfill.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not random.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a reason all this took place to fulfill. I

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<v Speaker 2>hear the apostle Paul all the way over from Roman

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<v Speaker 2>say he wants to get in on this. All things

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<v Speaker 2>work together for the good of those who love God

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<v Speaker 2>and are called according to his purpose. All this the

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<v Speaker 2>parts you like, the parts you don't, the parts you get,

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<v Speaker 2>and the parts that keep you awake at night, the

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<v Speaker 2>parts that feel good, and the parts that lead you

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<v Speaker 2>with tears on your pillow. All this took place to

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<v Speaker 2>fulfill what the.

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<v Speaker 1>Lord had said through the prophet.

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<v Speaker 2>The Virgin will be with child and will give birth

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<v Speaker 2>to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which

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<v Speaker 2>means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did

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<v Speaker 2>with the Angel of the Lord had commanded him and

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<v Speaker 2>took Mary home as his wife, but he had no

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<v Speaker 2>union with her. Just to make it clear, he had

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<v Speaker 2>no union with her until she gave birth.

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<v Speaker 1>To a son, and he gave him the name Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to speak for just a few moments today

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<v Speaker 2>on the benefit of the doubt.

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas is rightly celebrated.

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<v Speaker 2>As the story of new beginnings, but the story begins

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<v Speaker 2>at a dead end. By the time you get to

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<v Speaker 2>Matthew Chapter one. Heaven has been seemingly silent since the

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<v Speaker 2>time of Malachi the prophet for several centuries. And I

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<v Speaker 2>did not read you the whole of Matthew Chapter one.

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<v Speaker 2>If I had started with verse one, you might have

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<v Speaker 2>been asleep by the time that I got to the

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<v Speaker 2>part I wanted to read, because it's just a genealogy

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<v Speaker 2>of how Jesus came into the earth from a human perspective,

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<v Speaker 2>and Matthew gives us fourteen generations between Abraham and David,

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<v Speaker 2>fourteen more between David and the Babylonian exile of the

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<v Speaker 2>people of Israel fourteen more from the exile to the

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<v Speaker 2>Birth of Jesus Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>That's all in Matthew chapter one.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a list of names, really, but it signifies how

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<v Speaker 2>at this point in God's redemptive story, as told in

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<v Speaker 2>the pages of Holy.

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<v Speaker 1>Scripture, heaven has hit a dead end.

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<v Speaker 2>God has sent the law to his people, but they

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<v Speaker 2>broke it. Literally, when Moses came down the mountain with

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<v Speaker 2>the Ten Commandments showing the people how to live to

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<v Speaker 2>be a people, by the time he could get the

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<v Speaker 2>rules down to them, they were dancing naked around another

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<v Speaker 2>God that they made because they got tired of.

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<v Speaker 1>Waiting on the one they couldn't see.

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<v Speaker 2>So Moses, in his frustration, broke the tablets had to

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<v Speaker 2>go up and carve out some new ones. Not only

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<v Speaker 2>was their hope of keeping the law broken, like it

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<v Speaker 2>is every time we try to do God's will in

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<v Speaker 2>our own strength, but the prophets that God had sent

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<v Speaker 2>to his people were each turned away, despies, rejected. Many

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<v Speaker 2>of them died at the hands of the very people

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<v Speaker 2>that they came with a word to deliver. And so

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<v Speaker 2>now they've broken the law, disobeyed the prophets, and by

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<v Speaker 2>the time you get to Matthew chapter one, Heaven has

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<v Speaker 2>hit a dead end. And as man after man after

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<v Speaker 2>man after man comes into the earth, none of them

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<v Speaker 2>being the Messiah who is able to rescue and redeem,

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<v Speaker 2>it seems that we're at an impasse because the true

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<v Speaker 2>character of God cannot break through the frailty of humanity

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<v Speaker 2>to deliver this love message that has existed before time began.

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<v Speaker 2>The beginning was a word, and the word was with God,

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<v Speaker 2>and the Word was God. And the full preincarnate Word

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<v Speaker 2>of God was existing in Jesus Christ before he was

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<v Speaker 2>ever made flesh on Christmas Day. But it has not

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<v Speaker 2>yet found its way into the earth, not by the

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<v Speaker 2>time we have read Matthew chapter one.

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<v Speaker 1>So what we get is forty two.

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<v Speaker 2>Generations of frustration and suddenly Christ is born. Heaven has

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<v Speaker 2>hit a dead end, and humanity feels the same way.

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<v Speaker 2>No matter how they try to follow God, there seems

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<v Speaker 2>to be something in their hearts prone to wander. No

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<v Speaker 2>matter what commitment they make, they seem unable to keep it.

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<v Speaker 1>So now you have heaven at a dead end.

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<v Speaker 2>Because God is perfectly holy and cannot violate his standard

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<v Speaker 2>to relate to unholy people and humans who unholy have

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<v Speaker 2>no way to God. And all of a sudden, here

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<v Speaker 2>comes a latter named.

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<v Speaker 3>Jesus, not from the earth to the sky, but from

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<v Speaker 3>the heavens to the earth, and it's the throne of

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<v Speaker 3>the rule and reign of a sovereign God is lowered

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<v Speaker 3>into the.

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<v Speaker 2>Everyday affairs of humanity. We see Joseph is also at

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<v Speaker 2>a dead end. Maybe he really looked forward to having

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<v Speaker 2>Mary as his wife, but he gets some bad news

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to his attention that she's claiming that

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<v Speaker 2>she got pregnant by God. Now I want to say

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<v Speaker 2>something about that real quick, because in church we just

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<v Speaker 2>skip right over this stuff. But a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>come to church on Christmas and don't come any other

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<v Speaker 2>time of the year, and they sit in listen politely

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<v Speaker 2>to stuff like this. But when we say that she

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<v Speaker 2>had a baby, but it was all wise no X,

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<v Speaker 2>they get kind of confused about this because you know,

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<v Speaker 2>this stuff doesn't just happen every day, and what we're

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<v Speaker 2>shouting about they're.

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<v Speaker 1>Kind of skeptical about.

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<v Speaker 2>So let me talk about this for a minute, because

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<v Speaker 2>it must have been hard for Joseph to take the

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<v Speaker 2>Angel at his word when he saw no way forward.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, he wants to marry her.

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<v Speaker 2>He's looking for a way to go through with it,

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<v Speaker 2>but the law requires him to put her away. So

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<v Speaker 2>he's going to do it in the most dignified way possible.

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<v Speaker 2>He's not going to humiliate her. He's going to do

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<v Speaker 2>it in a righteous way. But he sees no road forward,

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<v Speaker 2>no route past this indiscretion. And so the scripture says

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<v Speaker 2>that he had in mind to put her away. But

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes what you have in mind is not what God

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<v Speaker 2>has in store.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just that he can't see a way forward. He's

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<v Speaker 1>at a dead end. I was looking.

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<v Speaker 2>Forward to Mary. You know, Mary is a wonderful person.

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<v Speaker 2>We find out, very content, not a wife who's hard

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<v Speaker 2>to please.

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<v Speaker 1>She was gonna be such a good wife.

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<v Speaker 2>And I already put a deposit down on the venue

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<v Speaker 2>for the wedding and it's non refundable.

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<v Speaker 1>But I don't see any way to go.

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<v Speaker 2>Through with this because she's got a baby and it's

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<v Speaker 2>not mine, and she says it belongs to the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't see a way forward. Heaven is at a

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<v Speaker 2>dead end, humanity is at a dead end. Joseph is

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<v Speaker 2>at a dead end, and I just wonder are you.

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<v Speaker 2>I wonder is there anybody in this room, watching online

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<v Speaker 2>or on television who has found yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>At a dead end this day.

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<v Speaker 2>In a relationship, you can find yourself having done all

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<v Speaker 2>that you know to do for someone that you love

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<v Speaker 2>and thinking to yourself, well if they don't love me

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<v Speaker 2>back by now.

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<v Speaker 1>You can find.

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<v Speaker 2>Yourself at a dead end with your children. You can

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<v Speaker 2>do everything that you can do for the very for

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<v Speaker 2>the very person that you would do anything for, but

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<v Speaker 2>it is not enough, and you find yourself before God.

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<v Speaker 1>Saying I don't know what else to do.

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<v Speaker 2>You can find yourself at a dead end in your resources.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm out of I'm out of money.

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<v Speaker 2>I put everything on every credit card. I stole a

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<v Speaker 2>credit card alive to get another credit card. I put

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<v Speaker 2>that balance on this balance, and I can't balance anything

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<v Speaker 2>else anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm at an end. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>I think this is it, because I really think I've

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<v Speaker 2>run out of room to run.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm at a dead end. You know, religion can leave.

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<v Speaker 2>You at a dead end when you have made so

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<v Speaker 2>many commitments to change, but you never do, When you

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<v Speaker 2>have said so many times you know I'm gonna do

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<v Speaker 2>better now, you know I'm really gonna I'm gonna really

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<v Speaker 2>kick that. You know, that's the last time I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 2>do that. That's really the last time. This time is

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<v Speaker 2>the last time. I won't do it no more. And

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<v Speaker 2>then you do it again, and every time you do,

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<v Speaker 2>you feel a little more hopeless that you're ever going

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<v Speaker 2>to be capable of real change. I wonder, are you

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<v Speaker 2>at a dead end? And I wonder did you know

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<v Speaker 2>that dead ends are the perfect.

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<v Speaker 1>Place for new beginnings?

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<v Speaker 2>In Jesus Christ, this is the message that I came

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<v Speaker 2>to preach this Christmas, not about a tall baby lying

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<v Speaker 2>in a bassinet. I came to preach about new beginnings.

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<v Speaker 2>The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king. Let

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<v Speaker 2>every heart prepare his room. He is with us, and

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<v Speaker 2>anything is possible.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not the end.

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<v Speaker 2>Seems to be the announcement of Heaven that this is

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<v Speaker 2>not the end. Touch somebody say this is not the end.

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<v Speaker 2>New beginnings often start when you find yourself at a

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<v Speaker 2>dead end.

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<v Speaker 1>I admire Joseph. I admire Joseph.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe maybe it's more appropriate to say you admire Mary.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe that's sexist for me to preach about Joseph on Christmas,

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<v Speaker 2>because Mary did all the hard work.

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<v Speaker 1>You understand, I'm not trying to be that way. I

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<v Speaker 1>really I.

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<v Speaker 2>Really just think that I wouldn't have had the faith

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<v Speaker 2>to give Mary the benefit of the doubt on this one,

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<v Speaker 2>on this one. And so it says he had a

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<v Speaker 2>dream and he woke up and he was like, cool. See,

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<v Speaker 2>I wouldn't be cool. But just a dream unless the

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<v Speaker 2>angel was Maury Povich with a paternity task like, no,

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<v Speaker 2>I promise you can show this, then I'm good. If

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<v Speaker 2>we got some DNA on this divine baby in your belly, fine,

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<v Speaker 2>But I'm not so sure because I have crazy dreams.

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<v Speaker 1>This might have been just a crazy dream.

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<v Speaker 2>But he did what the angel had commanded him. That

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<v Speaker 2>the angel said something that is simple on the surface,

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<v Speaker 2>but there's great depth to it.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like you to consider it.

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<v Speaker 2>In verse twenty, what is conceived in her is from

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<v Speaker 2>the Holy Spirit.

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<v Speaker 1>Simplify, what's in her is from Me.

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<v Speaker 2>And sometimes God wants you to know that what is

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<v Speaker 2>packaged as disappointment.

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<v Speaker 1>Is really destiny. Do you see it? What's in her

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<v Speaker 1>is from Me.

0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.040
<v Speaker 2>And sometimes when people cause you pain and when life

0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:42.240
<v Speaker 2>lets you down, it looks on the surface like God

0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:47.080
<v Speaker 2>has left you. But what's in her, what's happening in

0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:51.840
<v Speaker 2>your life, is from me, and he goes with it.

0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.480
<v Speaker 2>And I must have like a really bad version of

0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.360
<v Speaker 2>the Bible. This is a little older Bible that I

0:12:57.440 --> 0:12:59.880
<v Speaker 2>preach from. It's a great bible. It has Billy grahmsy

0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.040
<v Speaker 2>that you're in it. This Bible. He signed this Bible.

0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:04.000
<v Speaker 2>They told me he signed it.

0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:04.559
<v Speaker 1>I wasn't there.

0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.120
<v Speaker 2>I never met him, but could have been Larry Bry

0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:08.160
<v Speaker 2>with some good penmanship.

0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:09.040
<v Speaker 1>Who knows.

0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:11.959
<v Speaker 2>I give him the benefit of the doubt, though, that

0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:13.880
<v Speaker 2>Billy Graham really signed the Bible.

0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:14.880
<v Speaker 1>And in this Bible.

0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.520
<v Speaker 2>I was struggling because I couldn't find anybody else got

0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.160
<v Speaker 2>a Bible. I just want to cross references because my

0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:26.520
<v Speaker 2>Bible must be messed up because in my bible, let's

0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:29.080
<v Speaker 2>see your bible. Your Bible might be better than Mine's

0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:34.840
<v Speaker 2>a smaller Bible's pointing that out. Oh this is the

0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.000
<v Speaker 2>good one. This this might be the King James version

0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:39.880
<v Speaker 2>or something like that. Yeah, this one will have it.

0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.200
<v Speaker 2>I see, I'm looking twenty two version. We've seen give

0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.600
<v Speaker 2>birth to a son cous name Man and Joe being

0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:50.079
<v Speaker 2>raised from sleep. Nope, your Bible's your bible's missing it too.

0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:51.920
<v Speaker 2>I was looking for the part of the story where

0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:59.959
<v Speaker 2>the angel gave Joseph proof, and I couldn't find it

0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.080
<v Speaker 2>in my Bible or yours. Anybody else got a Bible

0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:06.960
<v Speaker 2>because our bibles are are missing stuff. It's disappointing. I

0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:09.160
<v Speaker 2>know they've got new translations. Surely it'll be in a

0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.360
<v Speaker 2>in this bible. What color do you call that, babe?

0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:13.719
<v Speaker 1>That's a.

0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:16.040
<v Speaker 4>Huh?

0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.520
<v Speaker 2>What color is his bible? Surely it'll be in your

0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:20.720
<v Speaker 2>pink bible. She's got tabs on her bible.

0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:26.440
<v Speaker 1>Surely it'll be.

0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:32.800
<v Speaker 2>We'll see this one. This one's problematic too. It's pretty,

0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:37.720
<v Speaker 2>but it's it's problematic because now I'm looking for the

0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 2>part where it tells me how Joseph felt. I can't

0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:50.880
<v Speaker 2>find it. All it says is that God said to Joseph,

0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:59.080
<v Speaker 2>it's me go forward, and he did it. I can't

0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:03.840
<v Speaker 2>find the part where they wrote in the clouds, no, really,

0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.520
<v Speaker 2>this is God's baby, you know, at their gender reveal party,

0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.960
<v Speaker 2>because they also needed to have a divinity revealed party.

0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:17.280
<v Speaker 1>I can't find the clouds. I can't find the sign.

0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.080
<v Speaker 2>It was just the voice of God saying to Joseph

0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:27.160
<v Speaker 2>it's me go through, and I feel like that might

0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.760
<v Speaker 2>be the Lord for someone today. I know you don't

0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.680
<v Speaker 2>have the proof, I know you don't have the feeling,

0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.440
<v Speaker 2>and I know all signs point to stopping.

0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.360
<v Speaker 1>But it's me go through.

0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:47.400
<v Speaker 2>He must have really trusted Mary. But he couldn't trust

0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.880
<v Speaker 2>Mary now, could he. This is an arranged marriage. They

0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:54.040
<v Speaker 2>didn't date three years. He didn't to get to choose her,

0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:59.400
<v Speaker 2>pick her based on her profile Christian Singles dot com,

0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:04.040
<v Speaker 2>Christian Palestinians dot com. He didn't swipe for Mary. He

0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:06.760
<v Speaker 2>just that's the way it worked back then. You just

0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:12.760
<v Speaker 2>got her. He didn't know her like that. He must

0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:18.440
<v Speaker 2>have really trusted God enough to give him the benefit

0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:20.320
<v Speaker 2>of the doubt.

0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:23.160
<v Speaker 1>What is the benefit of the doubt?

0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.640
<v Speaker 2>I asked God how we should define that term, and

0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:28.360
<v Speaker 2>he told me to ask Wikipedia.

0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:29.680
<v Speaker 1>Wikipedia says.

0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.760
<v Speaker 2>That the benefit of the doubt is a favorable judgment

0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.720
<v Speaker 2>in the absence of full evidence.

0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.280
<v Speaker 1>The benefit of the doubt.

0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.400
<v Speaker 2>It means that when it doesn't add up, the variable

0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:49.080
<v Speaker 2>is God for me.

0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 1>And so it means that when.

0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:56.960
<v Speaker 2>I don't have evidence to support my conclusion that God

0:16:57.080 --> 0:17:00.480
<v Speaker 2>is good, that He is with me, and that He

0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.400
<v Speaker 2>is for me. Let's say those three things. God is good,

0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.680
<v Speaker 2>he is with me, he is for me. I want

0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:10.080
<v Speaker 2>you to say it again, and I'm looking all the

0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:11.760
<v Speaker 2>way to the back to the people with that little

0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.160
<v Speaker 2>Christmas attitude, say God is.

0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:18.240
<v Speaker 1>Good, he is with me, he is for me.

0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.520
<v Speaker 2>Now I have reached that verdict, not by the process

0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.800
<v Speaker 2>of deduction and looking at my life to see if

0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.000
<v Speaker 2>it lines up with that assertion. I reached that conclusion

0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:33.000
<v Speaker 2>by revelation. And once I came to believe that God

0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.800
<v Speaker 2>is good, he is with me, and he is for me,

0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.760
<v Speaker 2>I now live by that verdict and I collect the

0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.240
<v Speaker 2>evidence to support the verdict that I have already come to.

0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.800
<v Speaker 2>This is not how you reach a conclusion in a

0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.760
<v Speaker 2>court of law, but in the realm of faith. It

0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:57.679
<v Speaker 2>works like this verdict. First evidence, Second, what.

0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:58.240
<v Speaker 1>Does that mean.

0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:01.960
<v Speaker 2>I don't look to my bank account or my doctor's

0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:05.679
<v Speaker 2>report to see if God is a provider or a healer.

0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.520
<v Speaker 2>I've already come to the conclusion that he is Jehovah

0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:16.480
<v Speaker 2>Chirah and Jehovah Rafica. He is my provider and my healer.

0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:20.719
<v Speaker 2>That's the verdict. So now, no matter what the evidence says,

0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.959
<v Speaker 2>I can find greater evidence in the death of Jesus Christ.

0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:28.600
<v Speaker 2>See when he hugged for me. That's settled it out

0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.119
<v Speaker 2>of court. I don't need to take it before a

0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:32.760
<v Speaker 2>judge or a jury.

0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.040
<v Speaker 4>I already know he loves me this much.

0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:46.359
<v Speaker 2>I believe it. Not on always see it, but I

0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:52.399
<v Speaker 2>believe it. I doubt it sometimes, but I believe it.

0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:55.560
<v Speaker 2>You can't say both. You can't say both. You're not

0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.360
<v Speaker 2>allowed to say both in church. You can't say that

0:18:57.440 --> 0:18:59.080
<v Speaker 2>in church. You can't talk about doubt in church.

0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:01.239
<v Speaker 1>Because James Jap says, let him not doubt, let him

0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:01.560
<v Speaker 1>leave me his.

0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:02.960
<v Speaker 2>Heart, he should have aways say if he doubts like

0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:04.159
<v Speaker 2>way to see he Thos driven with.

0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:06.000
<v Speaker 1>Let let that man thank you see anything for the

0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:13.320
<v Speaker 1>Lord and staiment. I know that Bible verse bro, but.

0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:19.560
<v Speaker 2>I think it's confusing for people who think that faith

0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.480
<v Speaker 2>is the absence of doubt.

0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:26.760
<v Speaker 1>The Bible doesn't say that Joseph didn't doubt.

0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:30.760
<v Speaker 2>It just said that he did what he had to

0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:34.040
<v Speaker 2>do even with the doubt in his heart.

0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.320
<v Speaker 1>Means he didn't let the doubt stop him. Don't let

0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:41.040
<v Speaker 1>him stop you.

0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.280
<v Speaker 2>Of course you'll have doubts, just don't let them be dead.

0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:47.800
<v Speaker 1>Ends, and a lot.

0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:49.960
<v Speaker 2>Of people stand at the dead end of a destiny

0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:53.000
<v Speaker 2>that God is bringing them into because they will not

0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:54.359
<v Speaker 2>walk through the doubt to get.

0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:54.880
<v Speaker 1>To the promise.

0:19:57.280 --> 0:19:59.399
<v Speaker 2>I meet these people and they say things to me

0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:04.080
<v Speaker 2>because of my profession. I guess they make assumptions about

0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.440
<v Speaker 2>me because there's a reve in front of my name.

0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:11.840
<v Speaker 2>They make assumptions about me that I don't have real doubts.

0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:15.760
<v Speaker 2>One gentleman that I was doing business with, he put

0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:20.280
<v Speaker 2>it this way. He was like, I envy you because

0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:24.520
<v Speaker 2>I would love to have faith. I always wanted to

0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.680
<v Speaker 2>believe in God, but I just always am the kind

0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:30.479
<v Speaker 2>of person that doubts a lot, and I envy you

0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:32.240
<v Speaker 2>that you don't have those doubts.

0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:36.080
<v Speaker 1>Now here's what I should have said back to him.

0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:37.639
<v Speaker 2>It only took me four months to come up with this,

0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:46.439
<v Speaker 2>because he is assuming that faith is the absence of doubt.

0:20:49.800 --> 0:20:51.880
<v Speaker 2>For me, faith has never been the absence of doubt.

0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.080
<v Speaker 2>Faith is not the absence of doubt. It is the

0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:58.480
<v Speaker 2>means to overcome it. Do you hear what I'm saying.

0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:02.240
<v Speaker 2>We get in church and we just all go into

0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:08.000
<v Speaker 2>this walking, dead, willing suspension of disbelief, and we just

0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:11.000
<v Speaker 2>believe things that have no impact on our everyday life,

0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:13.960
<v Speaker 2>just like we're binge watching Netflix, like I'm just gonna

0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:15.920
<v Speaker 2>watch this for a little while and hear this little

0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:19.119
<v Speaker 2>comforting word. But then we go out into the world

0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:21.280
<v Speaker 2>and we doubt the stuff.

0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:22.160
<v Speaker 1>But we can't say we.

0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:25.320
<v Speaker 2>Doubt the stuff because doubt is bad, because isn't doubt bad.

0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.320
<v Speaker 2>One time, I even had a keptist pastor who was

0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:33.520
<v Speaker 2>giving an invitation like, we will give in a moment

0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:36.200
<v Speaker 2>for people who want to place their faith in Christ.

0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:39.240
<v Speaker 2>And when we do it at our church, we have

0:21:39.320 --> 0:21:42.520
<v Speaker 2>people repeat a prayer. It's just a means of allowing

0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:44.639
<v Speaker 2>them to express their heart to God so that they

0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:46.960
<v Speaker 2>can have a moment that they look back on and

0:21:47.000 --> 0:21:51.240
<v Speaker 2>say I placed my trust in Christ. And to me,

0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:54.280
<v Speaker 2>that prayer is a very sacred moment. It's not a

0:21:54.320 --> 0:21:56.159
<v Speaker 2>time for people to get their person get out and

0:21:56.160 --> 0:22:00.080
<v Speaker 2>beat the parking, and it's not a time for someone

0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:03.760
<v Speaker 2>who's preaching to start sharing their opinions. That is a

0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:05.480
<v Speaker 2>time to present the gospel and get out of the

0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:10.960
<v Speaker 2>way because only God can save a person. And now, well,

0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:15.240
<v Speaker 2>I believe this campus pastor mintwell, but what he said

0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:16.680
<v Speaker 2>I had to correct him on later.

0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.160
<v Speaker 1>And I'm not a mean guy, and I make mistakes.

0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:21.640
<v Speaker 2>Up here too, But to me, he made a really

0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.199
<v Speaker 2>big mistake when he was praying the prayer because he

0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:25.840
<v Speaker 2>was inviting the people to pray, and he said, if

0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:28.119
<v Speaker 2>you want to give your heart to Christ today and

0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:30.600
<v Speaker 2>know for sure that you have a relationship with him,

0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:34.000
<v Speaker 2>pray this. You know, Lord Jesus, I believe that I'm

0:22:34.000 --> 0:22:38.080
<v Speaker 2>a sinner in need of a savior, and I believe without.

0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:42.240
<v Speaker 1>A doubt that's the part he should have left out.

0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.440
<v Speaker 2>I believe without a doubt that Jesus Christ, the Son

0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:46.920
<v Speaker 2>of God and the.

0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:49.680
<v Speaker 1>Savior of the world. Today, I give you my life.

0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:52.320
<v Speaker 2>All of it was good, all of it was appropriate,

0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:54.560
<v Speaker 2>and there is no other way to be saved but

0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:56.919
<v Speaker 2>to confess with your mouth Jesus's Lord, believe in your

0:22:56.920 --> 0:22:58.200
<v Speaker 2>heart God raised him from the dead.

0:22:58.400 --> 0:22:59.520
<v Speaker 4>You shall be saved.

0:23:00.680 --> 0:23:05.640
<v Speaker 2>But that one parenthetical insert, without a doubt, I told him,

0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:07.520
<v Speaker 2>never again.

0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:09.480
<v Speaker 1>When you stand in.

0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:12.400
<v Speaker 2>The pulpit at elevation, do I want you to put

0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:15.160
<v Speaker 2>people in a position where you're telling them to pray

0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:20.040
<v Speaker 2>something that they can't honestly pray. As a matter of fact,

0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:23.040
<v Speaker 2>don't put them in a position to pray something that

0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:27.320
<v Speaker 2>you can't honestly pray because there is not one of

0:23:27.359 --> 0:23:30.440
<v Speaker 2>you in the room, even with tabs in your pink Bible,

0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:37.720
<v Speaker 2>that can honestly say without a doubt, not a.

0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:38.239
<v Speaker 1>One of you.

0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:42.560
<v Speaker 2>And if you can hang on, you hadn't had teenagers.

0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:45.800
<v Speaker 2>Yet somebody to my backside backed me up on this.

0:23:51.680 --> 0:23:55.840
<v Speaker 2>The triumph of my faith is not the absence of doubt.

0:23:57.280 --> 0:23:59.760
<v Speaker 4>The triumph of my faith.

0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:04.359
<v Speaker 2>Is the ability for the light to shine in the deepest,

0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:07.120
<v Speaker 2>darkest recesses.

0:24:06.760 --> 0:24:07.560
<v Speaker 4>Of my heart.

0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:15.800
<v Speaker 2>I got doubts, but I trust him anyway. So my

0:24:15.960 --> 0:24:19.960
<v Speaker 2>faith can say, even though I walk through the valley

0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.240
<v Speaker 2>of the shadow of death and the shadow of doubt.

0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:25.159
<v Speaker 4>And the shadow of dysfunction.

0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:27.720
<v Speaker 1>I will fear no evil. It's not that I don't

0:24:27.720 --> 0:24:31.399
<v Speaker 1>go through valleys. I don't die there, even.

0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:32.160
<v Speaker 4>Though I walk.

0:24:32.040 --> 0:24:34.760
<v Speaker 2>Through the valley of the shadow of death. This is

0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:36.000
<v Speaker 2>Christmas preson people.

0:24:36.560 --> 0:24:37.680
<v Speaker 1>Even though.

0:24:39.760 --> 0:24:42.719
<v Speaker 2>Throw us in the fire, our God is able to

0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:46.760
<v Speaker 2>deliver us. But even if he doesn't, we will not

0:24:46.920 --> 0:24:49.160
<v Speaker 2>bow our knee to you, O King.

0:24:49.440 --> 0:24:50.480
<v Speaker 1>Never conness her.

0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:57.199
<v Speaker 2>I know Lazarus is dead, but if Jesus is on

0:24:57.240 --> 0:25:01.760
<v Speaker 2>the scene, every dead end is a destiny waiting to begin.

0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:14.160
<v Speaker 4>Even now, I have my doubts.

0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:18.960
<v Speaker 2>I don't believe this because I don't doubt it.

0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:21.760
<v Speaker 1>If you don't doubt.

0:25:21.600 --> 0:25:22.720
<v Speaker 4>It, you're not reading.

0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:34.399
<v Speaker 2>It, or you're reading it with no intent to live it.

0:25:34.680 --> 0:25:38.600
<v Speaker 1>My doubt is the evidence of my growth.

0:25:39.119 --> 0:25:39.560
<v Speaker 4>Amen.

0:25:42.320 --> 0:25:45.280
<v Speaker 1>The closer I get, the more questions I have.

0:25:48.520 --> 0:25:54.439
<v Speaker 2>I struggle to believe it that I'm forgiven, that he

0:25:54.560 --> 0:25:57.439
<v Speaker 2>forgives me not only for what I did before I

0:25:57.480 --> 0:25:58.400
<v Speaker 2>accepted him.

0:25:58.400 --> 0:25:59.720
<v Speaker 1>But for what I still do.

0:26:00.800 --> 0:26:02.880
<v Speaker 2>Oh, y'all are gonna look at me like that on Christmas?

0:26:03.240 --> 0:26:04.720
<v Speaker 1>That's what you brought me, that face.

0:26:09.480 --> 0:26:12.600
<v Speaker 2>Maybe he could forgive the past stuff, but what about

0:26:12.640 --> 0:26:13.479
<v Speaker 2>the present stuff?

0:26:15.960 --> 0:26:16.560
<v Speaker 1>What about that?

0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:18.960
<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

0:26:19.160 --> 0:26:23.000
<v Speaker 1>I have my doubts. I have my faith, but I

0:26:23.040 --> 0:26:23.880
<v Speaker 1>have my doubts.

0:26:25.119 --> 0:26:28.199
<v Speaker 2>My man thought he couldn't come to Christ because he

0:26:28.280 --> 0:26:32.800
<v Speaker 2>had the doubts. He thought that belief was the absence

0:26:32.840 --> 0:26:33.280
<v Speaker 2>of doubt.

0:26:34.920 --> 0:26:35.680
<v Speaker 1>He didn't have.

0:26:35.640 --> 0:26:40.160
<v Speaker 2>The revelation that real belief is the willingness to stand

0:26:40.200 --> 0:26:43.000
<v Speaker 2>on it even when you can't see it, feel it.

0:26:43.280 --> 0:26:44.119
<v Speaker 4>Or explain it.

0:26:46.960 --> 0:26:48.200
<v Speaker 1>I have my doubts.

0:26:48.640 --> 0:26:51.000
<v Speaker 2>I read that if any man is in Christ, he's

0:26:51.000 --> 0:26:53.880
<v Speaker 2>a new creation and the oldest gone and the newest come.

0:26:54.080 --> 0:26:57.000
<v Speaker 2>But that versus still in progress in my life, there's

0:26:57.040 --> 0:27:00.840
<v Speaker 2>still some old stuff in me comes down out in traffic.

0:27:00.960 --> 0:27:01.440
<v Speaker 1>Hello.

0:27:03.240 --> 0:27:10.240
<v Speaker 4>I have my doubts. I have my doubts. I have

0:27:10.400 --> 0:27:11.000
<v Speaker 4>my doubts.

0:27:11.040 --> 0:27:14.560
<v Speaker 2>I've read that whom the sun sets free is free indeed,

0:27:14.840 --> 0:27:17.480
<v Speaker 2>but sometimes I feel bound by stuff.

0:27:18.560 --> 0:27:21.760
<v Speaker 4>I have my dows Is that all right?

0:27:22.840 --> 0:27:25.600
<v Speaker 2>Do you need to find another church now that you

0:27:25.720 --> 0:27:27.160
<v Speaker 2>know that the dude with.

0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:30.120
<v Speaker 4>The mic has some dowts. I have my doubts.

0:27:36.680 --> 0:27:37.680
<v Speaker 1>I have my doubts.

0:27:39.320 --> 0:27:41.960
<v Speaker 2>And Abby is already doing the thing that we all

0:27:42.080 --> 0:27:43.800
<v Speaker 2>do at some point in our life if we try

0:27:43.800 --> 0:27:44.600
<v Speaker 2>to be religious.

0:27:45.000 --> 0:27:45.800
<v Speaker 1>Where she's going?

0:27:46.080 --> 0:27:48.840
<v Speaker 2>Well, she said the other day, where did God come from?

0:27:48.920 --> 0:27:53.359
<v Speaker 2>And I'm like, you're six? Can he just have always

0:27:53.400 --> 0:27:56.000
<v Speaker 2>been there at age six? Do we really have to

0:27:56.040 --> 0:27:59.480
<v Speaker 2>start this now? But that was about the same time

0:27:59.520 --> 0:28:01.280
<v Speaker 2>I did it. She said it so funny. It was

0:28:01.320 --> 0:28:03.120
<v Speaker 2>like she had me on a witness stand or something.

0:28:03.200 --> 0:28:05.880
<v Speaker 2>She said she was waiting for me to get home

0:28:05.880 --> 0:28:08.880
<v Speaker 2>from work because she asked Holly, and Holly said, you're gonna.

0:28:08.720 --> 0:28:11.560
<v Speaker 1>Ask your dad about that. He'll be home in a

0:28:11.680 --> 0:28:12.480
<v Speaker 1>couple hours.

0:28:12.960 --> 0:28:15.520
<v Speaker 2>And she said, Abby's got a question for you, And

0:28:15.560 --> 0:28:18.000
<v Speaker 2>Abby said, where did God come from?

0:28:18.400 --> 0:28:20.720
<v Speaker 1>And who made him? And don't just say he's always

0:28:20.720 --> 0:28:26.160
<v Speaker 1>been there? And I'm going.

0:28:25.960 --> 0:28:33.480
<v Speaker 2>Already, yeah, already. This is the first gift of mystery

0:28:33.560 --> 0:28:38.239
<v Speaker 2>that Heaven is giving to my daughter. It is the

0:28:38.280 --> 0:28:42.160
<v Speaker 2>beginning of a lifetime of learning the art of.

0:28:42.120 --> 0:28:48.360
<v Speaker 5>Faith, which Richard Roh suggests is patience with mystery, not

0:28:48.520 --> 0:28:54.560
<v Speaker 5>the absence of it. Patience with it to take Mary home,

0:28:55.520 --> 0:28:59.040
<v Speaker 5>even when you don't know where this is headed. So

0:28:59.120 --> 0:29:03.760
<v Speaker 5>I did not give her a cookie cutter answer, partially

0:29:03.760 --> 0:29:04.880
<v Speaker 5>because she's smarter.

0:29:04.680 --> 0:29:09.040
<v Speaker 2>Than me and would have seen right through it. And said,

0:29:09.080 --> 0:29:10.880
<v Speaker 2>I welcomed the mystery. And I said, I used to

0:29:10.920 --> 0:29:12.840
<v Speaker 2>lay awake in my bed too thinking about that when

0:29:12.880 --> 0:29:14.800
<v Speaker 2>I was a little boy. I was probably seven or eight,

0:29:14.800 --> 0:29:20.360
<v Speaker 2>because boys are two years behind, but I had that

0:29:20.440 --> 0:29:22.320
<v Speaker 2>same thing. I just couldn't never make sense of it,

0:29:22.360 --> 0:29:23.240
<v Speaker 2>and I still haven't.

0:29:24.120 --> 0:29:28.040
<v Speaker 1>I have my doubts, but I believe it.

0:29:30.560 --> 0:29:33.240
<v Speaker 2>I believed that while I was watching my dad die

0:29:33.720 --> 0:29:35.680
<v Speaker 2>and I had to preach my stuff back to myself,

0:29:37.280 --> 0:29:39.600
<v Speaker 2>and I didn't have the protective insulation.

0:29:40.840 --> 0:29:47.680
<v Speaker 1>Of this to stand behind or this to hold. Yeah, So.

0:29:50.880 --> 0:29:53.959
<v Speaker 2>It's a real problem because a lot of people are

0:29:53.960 --> 0:29:55.360
<v Speaker 2>waiting for the doubt to disappear.

0:29:56.480 --> 0:29:58.720
<v Speaker 1>Let's take the next step the faith.

0:30:01.320 --> 0:30:04.440
<v Speaker 2>If the absence of doubt was a prerequisite for being

0:30:04.520 --> 0:30:07.400
<v Speaker 2>used by God, Mary could not have been.

0:30:07.320 --> 0:30:09.880
<v Speaker 1>The mother of Jesus.

0:30:10.800 --> 0:30:14.040
<v Speaker 2>Over here, the Angel is talking to Joseph, but before

0:30:14.040 --> 0:30:19.040
<v Speaker 2>he came to Joseph, he spoke to Mary. He spoke

0:30:19.080 --> 0:30:23.960
<v Speaker 2>to them separately, because you have to experience faith for yourself.

0:30:25.440 --> 0:30:29.440
<v Speaker 2>You have to make your own decision as to who

0:30:29.520 --> 0:30:32.680
<v Speaker 2>God is and what he means to you. So while

0:30:32.680 --> 0:30:35.560
<v Speaker 2>he was speaking to Joseph, who had to endure the

0:30:35.600 --> 0:30:38.320
<v Speaker 2>embarrassment of walking through this.

0:30:39.680 --> 0:30:43.040
<v Speaker 1>Next season, he was speaking to Mary.

0:30:44.920 --> 0:30:47.840
<v Speaker 2>And you're familiar with the story, but just put it

0:30:47.880 --> 0:30:52.320
<v Speaker 2>on the screens real quick. This is Luke one where

0:30:52.360 --> 0:30:55.560
<v Speaker 2>he said to Mary, greetings, you who are highly favored.

0:30:56.320 --> 0:31:00.560
<v Speaker 1>The Lord is with you. That's the verdict.

0:31:01.360 --> 0:31:06.720
<v Speaker 2>Before I give you the particulars of the situation, I

0:31:06.760 --> 0:31:08.280
<v Speaker 2>want to bring you back to the thing that you

0:31:08.320 --> 0:31:10.400
<v Speaker 2>can always know in every season of your life, if

0:31:10.440 --> 0:31:11.040
<v Speaker 2>you choose to.

0:31:11.000 --> 0:31:11.480
<v Speaker 1>Believe it.

0:31:13.440 --> 0:31:17.680
<v Speaker 2>Your verdict, should you choose to accept it, God is

0:31:17.720 --> 0:31:22.120
<v Speaker 2>with me. God is for me. You are highly favored.

0:31:22.760 --> 0:31:26.040
<v Speaker 2>God is for you, and He is with you in

0:31:26.080 --> 0:31:28.680
<v Speaker 2>this moment. Now, I got something I got to tell you.

0:31:29.600 --> 0:31:33.280
<v Speaker 2>The angel starts off by reminding Mary of his presence,

0:31:33.440 --> 0:31:36.880
<v Speaker 2>and it says that Mary was greatly troubled at his words. Now,

0:31:36.880 --> 0:31:39.160
<v Speaker 2>what's there to be troubled about? All he said was Hello,

0:31:39.240 --> 0:31:46.080
<v Speaker 2>God likes you. It seemed like YadA high fived him fistbalm.

0:31:46.120 --> 0:31:50.760
<v Speaker 2>But she wondered what this greeting might be. Often the

0:31:50.800 --> 0:31:54.080
<v Speaker 2>first impulse when God really shows up in your life

0:31:54.240 --> 0:31:57.920
<v Speaker 2>is fear, and it is only in pushing through the

0:31:57.960 --> 0:32:01.080
<v Speaker 2>fear that you find the love of God on the

0:32:01.120 --> 0:32:02.800
<v Speaker 2>other side of your fear.

0:32:05.360 --> 0:32:07.400
<v Speaker 1>What's this all about? But the Angel said to her.

0:32:07.320 --> 0:32:13.520
<v Speaker 2>Don't be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

0:32:14.920 --> 0:32:18.840
<v Speaker 2>You have found favor with God, and I got an

0:32:18.840 --> 0:32:20.560
<v Speaker 2>assignment for you. Because I find favor with God. You

0:32:20.560 --> 0:32:22.040
<v Speaker 2>will be with child and give birth to a son,

0:32:22.160 --> 0:32:24.960
<v Speaker 2>and you are to give him the name Jesus. And

0:32:24.960 --> 0:32:26.560
<v Speaker 2>he will be great and will be called the Son

0:32:26.600 --> 0:32:28.360
<v Speaker 2>of the Most High. And the Lord God will give

0:32:28.400 --> 0:32:31.040
<v Speaker 2>him the throne of his father David, and he will

0:32:31.040 --> 0:32:33.400
<v Speaker 2>reign over the House of Jacob forever.

0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:36.040
<v Speaker 1>His kingdom will never end.

0:32:36.200 --> 0:32:39.760
<v Speaker 2>Now watch Mary's response, well, praise the Lord, and glory

0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:42.480
<v Speaker 2>to God in the highest, and peace on earth, and

0:32:42.520 --> 0:32:44.680
<v Speaker 2>good will to men on whom his favor rest.

0:32:44.760 --> 0:32:47.480
<v Speaker 1>And your words to me are like drops of gold assurance.

0:32:47.680 --> 0:32:49.520
<v Speaker 2>In a heart of no Mary said first thing out

0:32:49.560 --> 0:32:56.160
<v Speaker 2>of her mouth was, how I know how pregnancy works?

0:32:56.520 --> 0:33:00.840
<v Speaker 2>How am I pregnant? I promise God? And Joseph been

0:33:01.000 --> 0:33:04.000
<v Speaker 2>keeping it clean? I promise God. We have nothing in

0:33:04.040 --> 0:33:06.920
<v Speaker 2>the back seat of a camel ac, I promise God.

0:33:08.880 --> 0:33:14.160
<v Speaker 2>How her first.

0:33:13.880 --> 0:33:18.360
<v Speaker 4>Instinct is not yes, it's how.

0:33:19.360 --> 0:33:24.280
<v Speaker 2>That is always the response when God really knocks. How

0:33:25.320 --> 0:33:28.760
<v Speaker 2>how can I really be forgiven by someone who died

0:33:28.960 --> 0:33:31.520
<v Speaker 2>on a cross before I was ever born? How can

0:33:31.600 --> 0:33:34.080
<v Speaker 2>somebody else's death really affect my life?

0:33:34.200 --> 0:33:36.880
<v Speaker 1>How that's a good starting place?

0:33:37.720 --> 0:33:41.120
<v Speaker 2>How can you really use me? Look at me? I'm nobody,

0:33:41.360 --> 0:33:47.240
<v Speaker 2>I'm nothing. How How how can I move forward after this?

0:33:47.640 --> 0:33:51.080
<v Speaker 2>How can I believe that I still will see the

0:33:51.120 --> 0:33:54.360
<v Speaker 2>goodness of the Lord in the land of the living?

0:33:54.640 --> 0:33:56.000
<v Speaker 1>How? How?

0:33:56.040 --> 0:33:59.960
<v Speaker 2>How see the greatest gifts that God ever gives? Are

0:34:00.080 --> 0:34:03.280
<v Speaker 2>on the other side of your How on the other

0:34:03.440 --> 0:34:06.600
<v Speaker 2>side of your question, on the other side of your

0:34:06.920 --> 0:34:09.200
<v Speaker 2>I don't get it. On the other side of your

0:34:09.400 --> 0:34:12.319
<v Speaker 2>I don't understand, on the other side of who me,

0:34:12.719 --> 0:34:15.080
<v Speaker 2>on the other side of what now, on the other

0:34:15.160 --> 0:34:16.160
<v Speaker 2>side of why.

0:34:16.080 --> 0:34:17.960
<v Speaker 1>This, that's where the gift is.

0:34:18.280 --> 0:34:22.160
<v Speaker 2>And you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes

0:34:22.480 --> 0:34:26.080
<v Speaker 2>and lying in the manger. God wrapped his son in

0:34:26.200 --> 0:34:29.239
<v Speaker 2>something that looked so common that you would walk by

0:34:29.320 --> 0:34:32.520
<v Speaker 2>it if you weren't looking for it. Because the greatest

0:34:32.600 --> 0:34:47.440
<v Speaker 2>gifts that God gives are wrapped in doubt. And the

0:34:47.520 --> 0:34:51.719
<v Speaker 2>promise is wrapped in doubt for a reason, because if

0:34:51.719 --> 0:35:00.520
<v Speaker 2>He gave you proof, you wouldn't need faith. So he

0:35:00.600 --> 0:35:04.239
<v Speaker 2>hides it. He hides his promise in the darkness to

0:35:04.320 --> 0:35:08.440
<v Speaker 2>protect you. And this will not make sense in an

0:35:08.480 --> 0:35:11.759
<v Speaker 2>Instagram generation. But sometimes God needs to work on the

0:35:11.760 --> 0:35:17.759
<v Speaker 2>big picture of your life in the dark room to

0:35:17.840 --> 0:35:23.920
<v Speaker 2>let it develop. Doubt is where faith develops. Doubt is

0:35:23.920 --> 0:35:28.319
<v Speaker 2>where faith matures. Doubt is where faith gets hardened past

0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:31.520
<v Speaker 2>Christian cliches that fit on a bumper sticker or a pinterest.

0:35:35.040 --> 0:35:38.920
<v Speaker 2>Let it develop, Let patience have its perfect work in you,

0:35:39.000 --> 0:35:41.000
<v Speaker 2>that you may be perfect and complete, lacking not.

0:35:41.000 --> 0:35:45.239
<v Speaker 1>That it's the dark room. In fact, Isaiah, who was

0:35:45.320 --> 0:35:47.360
<v Speaker 1>quoted to Joseph also said.

0:35:47.120 --> 0:35:50.520
<v Speaker 2>In Isaiah chapter nine, verse one, Nevertheless, there will be

0:35:50.560 --> 0:35:54.319
<v Speaker 2>no more gloom. I want to write a song one

0:35:54.360 --> 0:35:57.520
<v Speaker 2>day called nevertheless. It's one of my favorite Bible words.

0:35:58.160 --> 0:35:59.879
<v Speaker 2>It means it looks one way, but it's really another.

0:36:01.360 --> 0:36:03.360
<v Speaker 2>It means give it time, let it unfold. God is

0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:08.360
<v Speaker 2>up to something. It means that the that the verdict

0:36:08.440 --> 0:36:11.479
<v Speaker 2>has already submitted, Just give the evidence time.

0:36:12.200 --> 0:36:12.960
<v Speaker 1>You will see it.

0:36:13.320 --> 0:36:16.360
<v Speaker 2>Nevertheless, no matter what you see right now, it means

0:36:16.360 --> 0:36:18.719
<v Speaker 2>that the ruling on the field can be overturned at

0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:21.960
<v Speaker 2>any time. It means that there is a review booth

0:36:22.000 --> 0:36:24.319
<v Speaker 2>called Heaven. Y'all didn't come to have church today. Y'all

0:36:24.360 --> 0:36:26.480
<v Speaker 2>come to just check it out the list and stock

0:36:26.560 --> 0:36:31.960
<v Speaker 2>us stuffing with some cute little stuff. Nevertheless, there will

0:36:32.000 --> 0:36:34.640
<v Speaker 2>be no more gloom for those who were in distress.

0:36:35.600 --> 0:36:38.279
<v Speaker 2>In the past, he humbled the land of Zebulin in

0:36:38.320 --> 0:36:40.520
<v Speaker 2>the land of Neftali. But in the future he will

0:36:40.520 --> 0:36:44.839
<v Speaker 2>honor Galilee of the Gentiles by the way of the

0:36:44.840 --> 0:36:47.719
<v Speaker 2>sea along the Jordan. Oh. I need to insert this

0:36:47.840 --> 0:36:50.879
<v Speaker 2>because Galilee means valley of shade.

0:36:51.560 --> 0:36:53.600
<v Speaker 1>Now watch what happens in the darkest valley.

0:36:54.160 --> 0:36:58.080
<v Speaker 2>The prophet says, the people walking in darkness have seen

0:36:58.120 --> 0:37:01.200
<v Speaker 2>a great light. And I would confused at this point

0:37:01.239 --> 0:37:03.319
<v Speaker 2>because I thought he was talking about something that would

0:37:03.320 --> 0:37:08.400
<v Speaker 2>happen seven hundred years later. The prophet Isaiah prophesied seven hundred.

0:37:08.120 --> 0:37:09.720
<v Speaker 1>Years before the birth of Christ.

0:37:10.360 --> 0:37:12.600
<v Speaker 2>But now he is speaking about something that has yet

0:37:12.640 --> 0:37:15.479
<v Speaker 2>to be, as if it already happened. This is called

0:37:15.480 --> 0:37:18.640
<v Speaker 2>the prophetic perfect. You see it often in scripture. It's

0:37:18.680 --> 0:37:22.560
<v Speaker 2>when God, who stands outside of time, knows exactly what

0:37:22.600 --> 0:37:25.399
<v Speaker 2>you're going through, how long you're going to go through it,

0:37:25.560 --> 0:37:28.239
<v Speaker 2>and what he's going to do. On the other side

0:37:28.520 --> 0:37:31.200
<v Speaker 2>is the God who spoke, Let there be light, and

0:37:31.360 --> 0:37:36.400
<v Speaker 2>molecules and particles rearranged themselves to spread out into the universe,

0:37:36.640 --> 0:37:38.239
<v Speaker 2>to talk in every corner.

0:37:37.960 --> 0:37:39.600
<v Speaker 1>Of this splode.

0:37:42.000 --> 0:37:44.239
<v Speaker 2>My faith gives me the ability to stand in the

0:37:44.320 --> 0:37:51.160
<v Speaker 2>darkest valley believing that the light has already come. If

0:37:51.200 --> 0:37:58.200
<v Speaker 2>I let it develop. Faith is developed now. Faint always

0:37:58.239 --> 0:38:02.680
<v Speaker 2>develops in doubt. If faith learns to depend.

0:38:02.440 --> 0:38:06.520
<v Speaker 1>On God because of doubt. If you never doubted God,

0:38:06.560 --> 0:38:09.239
<v Speaker 1>you would be him. Before long.

0:38:09.239 --> 0:38:12.600
<v Speaker 2>You would start worshiping yourself and singing, how great Thou

0:38:12.680 --> 0:38:14.440
<v Speaker 2>art in your full length mirror, and God is not

0:38:14.480 --> 0:38:16.440
<v Speaker 2>going to allow you to become so arrogant that you.

0:38:16.440 --> 0:38:17.760
<v Speaker 1>Never have doubts.

0:38:18.560 --> 0:38:20.680
<v Speaker 2>If he removed the doubt, he would remove the need

0:38:20.719 --> 0:38:23.239
<v Speaker 2>for him for you to know that He is God

0:38:23.280 --> 0:38:25.839
<v Speaker 2>and you are not. That's why you doubt. There are

0:38:25.880 --> 0:38:29.799
<v Speaker 2>benefits to the doubt. There's a benefit to having to

0:38:29.840 --> 0:38:32.680
<v Speaker 2>wrestle with God and wrestle with where you are, and

0:38:32.760 --> 0:38:35.600
<v Speaker 2>wrestle with yourself and wrestle like Jacob did.

0:38:35.880 --> 0:38:38.279
<v Speaker 1>That's where you find the revelation of.

0:38:38.239 --> 0:38:42.840
<v Speaker 2>The goodness of God, not in your self confidence, but

0:38:42.960 --> 0:38:44.000
<v Speaker 2>in your self doubt.

0:38:45.200 --> 0:38:47.320
<v Speaker 1>Mary said, how will this be? I am a virgin.

0:38:47.920 --> 0:38:50.319
<v Speaker 2>The angel said, the power of the most High will

0:38:50.320 --> 0:38:55.760
<v Speaker 2>overshadow you. But you must make the decision to believe

0:38:55.920 --> 0:39:01.000
<v Speaker 2>God in the face of evidences. SEMs to contradict his

0:39:01.600 --> 0:39:04.240
<v Speaker 2>promise to believe God.

0:39:04.280 --> 0:39:05.320
<v Speaker 1>That every dead end.

0:39:06.040 --> 0:39:09.080
<v Speaker 2>Is a doorway if you decide to go through it,

0:39:11.400 --> 0:39:13.200
<v Speaker 2>and there is someone here who is standing at a

0:39:13.239 --> 0:39:18.200
<v Speaker 2>doorway today called doubt, and if you will walk through

0:39:18.200 --> 0:39:21.840
<v Speaker 2>it and make the decision to trust God in this situation,

0:39:22.040 --> 0:39:25.280
<v Speaker 2>you will find on the other side a greater glory

0:39:25.320 --> 0:39:27.279
<v Speaker 2>revealed to you than you have ever known.

0:39:28.400 --> 0:39:31.839
<v Speaker 1>But if you stop here. If you stop with how

0:39:32.840 --> 0:39:35.960
<v Speaker 1>and why and when and what?

0:39:37.080 --> 0:39:38.960
<v Speaker 2>If you wait till you have all the evidence to

0:39:38.960 --> 0:39:43.839
<v Speaker 2>trust God, you will never take Mary home, and you

0:39:43.880 --> 0:39:47.880
<v Speaker 2>will never see the promise of God come to pass.

0:39:49.880 --> 0:39:54.240
<v Speaker 2>All of the greatest faith is on the other side

0:39:55.280 --> 0:39:58.880
<v Speaker 2>of your deepest out. I want to ask, with no

0:39:58.960 --> 0:40:02.320
<v Speaker 2>one leaving, please don't leave in this moment.

0:40:03.760 --> 0:40:05.399
<v Speaker 1>This is that invitation moment that.

0:40:05.400 --> 0:40:08.960
<v Speaker 2>I spoke about earlier that is so sacred to us,

0:40:09.440 --> 0:40:11.000
<v Speaker 2>and I want to ask at every campus that you

0:40:11.040 --> 0:40:14.200
<v Speaker 2>would stand to your feet right now, because this is

0:40:14.200 --> 0:40:25.280
<v Speaker 2>a moment of decision for many, for those who say

0:40:26.200 --> 0:40:29.560
<v Speaker 2>what one man said to Jesus, who needed the gift

0:40:29.600 --> 0:40:35.920
<v Speaker 2>of healing. I want to believe. Help my unbelief. I

0:40:36.000 --> 0:40:41.600
<v Speaker 2>want to believe, but I feel unworthy. I want to believe,

0:40:41.640 --> 0:40:47.360
<v Speaker 2>but I have my doubts. God has a grace that

0:40:47.480 --> 0:40:51.319
<v Speaker 2>is greater than every doubt, and all he requires is

0:40:51.360 --> 0:40:53.120
<v Speaker 2>the next step in the light that you do have.

0:40:53.840 --> 0:40:56.520
<v Speaker 2>I believe there are many here today who need to

0:40:56.520 --> 0:40:58.920
<v Speaker 2>receive the gift of salvation, but you can't receive it

0:41:00.520 --> 0:41:05.920
<v Speaker 2>uppear You can't receive it with these and you can't

0:41:05.960 --> 0:41:07.160
<v Speaker 2>receive it with your own effort.

0:41:08.080 --> 0:41:11.400
<v Speaker 1>It is by grace you are saved through faith. I

0:41:11.440 --> 0:41:12.600
<v Speaker 1>know you have your doubts.

0:41:13.520 --> 0:41:16.920
<v Speaker 2>When Peter walked towards Jesus on the water, he had faith,

0:41:16.960 --> 0:41:18.880
<v Speaker 2>but it flipped so quick. The next thing you know,

0:41:18.960 --> 0:41:22.520
<v Speaker 2>he was sinking, and Jesus asked him a question, why

0:41:22.560 --> 0:41:24.280
<v Speaker 2>did you doubt?

0:41:26.080 --> 0:41:27.879
<v Speaker 1>And when he asked him that question, he didn't push

0:41:27.920 --> 0:41:29.840
<v Speaker 1>him back under the water to teach him a lesson.

0:41:30.719 --> 0:41:33.000
<v Speaker 2>He reached out his hand to bring him back to

0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:36.800
<v Speaker 2>the boat and to show him who he was all along.

0:41:38.200 --> 0:41:42.000
<v Speaker 2>So this message is for the doubters. We often sing

0:41:42.040 --> 0:41:46.319
<v Speaker 2>it Christmas, Oh come all ye faithful. Today the invitation is,

0:41:46.680 --> 0:41:52.879
<v Speaker 2>come all ye doubtful, with questions and dysfunctions and conflicts,

0:41:53.960 --> 0:41:58.160
<v Speaker 2>to place your faith in the God who is the Great.

0:41:58.160 --> 0:41:59.959
<v Speaker 1>I am with you. Bow your head and close your eyes.

0:42:00.080 --> 0:42:00.920
<v Speaker 1>At every location.

0:42:01.760 --> 0:42:03.440
<v Speaker 2>I want to pray a prayer right now for those

0:42:03.480 --> 0:42:07.200
<v Speaker 2>who want to come into a relationship with Christ. Receive

0:42:07.280 --> 0:42:10.440
<v Speaker 2>forgiveness by faith because of his finished work on the cross,

0:42:11.160 --> 0:42:13.000
<v Speaker 2>and live a new life in his name, because of

0:42:13.040 --> 0:42:16.680
<v Speaker 2>his resurrection from the dead, and make a decision of

0:42:16.719 --> 0:42:20.600
<v Speaker 2>faith today to put your hope in him.

0:42:20.800 --> 0:42:22.720
<v Speaker 1>We're going to pray a prayer right now out loud.

0:42:24.200 --> 0:42:26.320
<v Speaker 2>Our whole church family will pray it for the benefit

0:42:27.160 --> 0:42:29.080
<v Speaker 2>of those who are coming to God for the first

0:42:29.160 --> 0:42:32.759
<v Speaker 2>time or are coming back to God. And if this

0:42:32.800 --> 0:42:34.440
<v Speaker 2>is the prayer of your heart, God will hear you

0:42:34.480 --> 0:42:37.839
<v Speaker 2>from heaven and will save you from your sin. Let's

0:42:37.880 --> 0:42:42.200
<v Speaker 2>pray together right now, repeat after me, Heavenly Father. I

0:42:42.280 --> 0:42:47.600
<v Speaker 2>believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and

0:42:47.640 --> 0:42:52.240
<v Speaker 2>the Savior of the world. And today I make Jesus

0:42:53.160 --> 0:42:57.560
<v Speaker 2>the Lord of my life. I believe he died for

0:42:57.680 --> 0:43:03.080
<v Speaker 2>me to forgive my sin. I believe he rose again

0:43:04.000 --> 0:43:09.560
<v Speaker 2>to give me life. I receive this new life. I

0:43:09.560 --> 0:43:14.800
<v Speaker 2>will follow you from this stay forward. I received your grace.

0:43:16.160 --> 0:43:21.160
<v Speaker 2>This is my new beginning. Had still bowed, eyes still closed.

0:43:21.160 --> 0:43:23.080
<v Speaker 2>If you just prayed that prayer, shoot your hand up

0:43:23.120 --> 0:43:25.919
<v Speaker 2>in the air on the count of three, one two three,

0:43:26.040 --> 0:43:27.359
<v Speaker 2>no hesitation.

0:43:27.440 --> 0:43:29.520
<v Speaker 1>All over this room and all of our campuses.

0:43:29.600 --> 0:43:33.239
<v Speaker 2>God, bless you, God, bless you, God, bless you.

0:43:33.760 --> 0:43:36.719
<v Speaker 1>What a wonderful thing. Come on, I think we can

0:43:36.760 --> 0:43:41.440
<v Speaker 1>celebrate better than that. What a wonderful thing to witness

0:43:41.480 --> 0:43:42.799
<v Speaker 1>souls being reborn.

0:43:43.880 --> 0:43:47.240
<v Speaker 2>Come on, Church, can we celebrate the goodness of God.

0:43:48.320 --> 0:43:50.359
<v Speaker 2>I think we ought to sing with the angels a

0:43:50.360 --> 0:43:53.920
<v Speaker 2>little while. If the angels in heaven rejoiced when one

0:43:54.040 --> 0:43:58.600
<v Speaker 2>senter repents, let the people of God proclaim Christ is

0:43:58.600 --> 0:44:02.760
<v Speaker 2>born this day in your mind, in your mind.

0:44:10.440 --> 0:44:11.560
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining us.

0:44:11.880 --> 0:44:14.319
<v Speaker 2>Special thanks to those of you who give generously to

0:44:14.400 --> 0:44:15.120
<v Speaker 2>this ministry.

0:44:15.480 --> 0:44:17.880
<v Speaker 1>Is because of you that this ministry is possible.

0:44:18.320 --> 0:44:20.839
<v Speaker 2>You can click the link in the description to give now,

0:44:21.400 --> 0:44:25.280
<v Speaker 2>or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information

0:44:25.840 --> 0:44:28.400
<v Speaker 2>and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

0:44:28.880 --> 0:44:30.200
<v Speaker 1>You can share it with your friends.

0:44:30.480 --> 0:44:32.759
<v Speaker 2>You can click the share button, take a screenshot and

0:44:32.800 --> 0:44:34.920
<v Speaker 2>share it on your social stories and tag us at

0:44:34.960 --> 0:44:35.799
<v Speaker 2>Elevation Church.

0:44:35.880 --> 0:44:37.520
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again for listening. God bless you.