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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. 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 you perspective to

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

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Speaker 1: How many are excited about this series that we're in.

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Speaker 1: The series is called Maybe God. The subject is his voice,

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Speaker 1: his will, his ways. How do I know if this

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Speaker 1: opportunity comes from the Lord? Now have a scripture for

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Speaker 1: you today that I think will be a great blessing

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Speaker 1: in your life. It's in First Samuel, chapter fourteen, verse

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Speaker 1: number six. The Bible says Jonathan said to his young

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Speaker 1: armor bearer, Come, let's go over to the outpost of

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Speaker 1: those uncircumcised men. He's talking trash about the Philistines. He

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Speaker 1: calls them a derogatory name. He's talking about their uncircumcision. Wow,

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Speaker 1: he must be fired up about something. He's a little belligerent.

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Speaker 1: He's getting bold now again. Afford to wait around and

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Speaker 1: wait for something to happen from heaven when God has

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Speaker 1: already given him a certain power on the earth. So

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Speaker 1: he turns to who he has available at this point

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Speaker 1: and says, let's go. It's just me and you, but

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Speaker 1: touch somebody. Say let's go now. I want you to

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Speaker 1: me a favor. If you're the only one on your

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Speaker 1: row who praises God today during this sermon. I want

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Speaker 1: you to go and look at somebody next to you

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Speaker 1: and say, well, you go with me. Amen, he said,

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Speaker 1: let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can

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Speaker 1: hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by

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Speaker 1: few in this third installment of Maybe God. My subject

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Speaker 1: in my lesson today is called fifty fifty faith. I

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Speaker 1: want to teach you on this principle that has been

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Speaker 1: so useful in my life as a leader, and it's

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Speaker 1: useful for me as a husband, as a dad, and

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Speaker 1: just as a man. Fifty fifty faith. I believe this

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Speaker 1: principle is going to set you free in some of

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Speaker 1: the areas where indecision has imprisoned you, and you've been

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Speaker 1: waiting around, and God is going to show you something

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Speaker 1: today by the power and virtue of His word and spirit,

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Speaker 1: that only He could show you about fifty fifty faith.

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Speaker 1: Praise the Lord I celebrated my thirty ninth birthday this week.

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Speaker 1: Appreciate your pity. You know that last one with the

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Speaker 1: three in front of it. I'm owning it. I am

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Speaker 1: so owning turning forty. I am so owning these little

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Speaker 1: gray whiskers that are popping up. I'm not dying them

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Speaker 1: or anything like that. Uh huh. I'm gonna tell them

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Speaker 1: to get a close up on these gray these great

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Speaker 1: things on the camera. Just zoom right into the greyest

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Speaker 1: pat you can find in this beard. I'm proud of it.

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Speaker 1: I don't care what my kids say about it, and

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Speaker 1: when they tell me that my jokes are cringy and

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Speaker 1: stuff like that. One of my kids told me that

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Speaker 1: the other day, and I just asked him a question back.

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Speaker 1: He said, your jokes are so cringey. And I just

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Speaker 1: asked him a question. I said, how many people show

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Speaker 1: up to hear you speak? Since I'm so cringey conversational

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Speaker 1: parenting approach, you might want to try it sometime. But

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Speaker 1: one of the things I think keeps happening to me

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Speaker 1: and is really happening to me at this stage of

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Speaker 1: my ministry in life, because I have been doing this

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Speaker 1: as a pastor over thirteen years. Is that I feel

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Speaker 1: so good saying that it felt cool. I've been doing

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Speaker 1: this over thirteen years. That's a long time to do anything. Amen.

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Speaker 1: I've never been less certain and I've never been more confident,

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Speaker 1: all at the same time, all at the same time.

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Speaker 1: And it's a strange thing, how when you give up

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Speaker 1: your need for certainty you can gain a true confidence

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Speaker 1: that is independent of circumstance. Can I preach to somebody

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Speaker 1: today right here in this back left section of Valentine?

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Speaker 1: The passage that I read to you is one of

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Speaker 1: my favorites. If they were giving out an Academy Award

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Speaker 1: for best Old Testament Narrative Scripture, I would want to

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Speaker 1: nominate Jonathan is best Supporting Actor because he's not as

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Speaker 1: famous as David, but he's a pretty good example for me,

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Speaker 1: and it has helped me a lot. This passage has

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Speaker 1: helped me a lot through the years. Every couple of

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Speaker 1: years I preach it, and when I circle back to it,

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Speaker 1: I see a different dimension of faith. I see a

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Speaker 1: different dimension of the kind of confidence that we can

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Speaker 1: have in Christ and in his promises. But I also

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Speaker 1: see all of the uncertainty and self doubt that it

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Speaker 1: also entails and that my faith is not a formula,

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Speaker 1: and it can never be. The more I try to

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Speaker 1: make it into a formula, the less valuable it becomes

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Speaker 1: to me. When life challenges all of my presuppositions, and

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Speaker 1: all of my ideas about what kind of ways God

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Speaker 1: wants to work collapse under the weight of real life,

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Speaker 1: under the weight of real bills, under the weight of

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Speaker 1: real medical reports. And I need the kind of faith

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Speaker 1: that is not dependent on my presuppositions. I need the

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Speaker 1: kind of faith that can deal with some ambiguity. I

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Speaker 1: need a faith, like Richard Rre says, that can be

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Speaker 1: patient with mystery. I need a kind of faith that

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Speaker 1: is not dependent on my plans to prevail. I need

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Speaker 1: the kind of faith that can stand up against the

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Speaker 1: worst thing that happens. I need the kind of faith

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Speaker 1: that can shine when God goes dark, when I don't know,

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Speaker 1: when I can't say it, when I can't see it,

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Speaker 1: when I don't feel like I can make it. I

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Speaker 1: need a faith that can withstand these seasons. Now around

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Speaker 1: the verse that I read you is a little episode,

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Speaker 1: and if you've been tracking with the series, I've used

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Speaker 1: a few different Old Testament passages from Judges and Samuel

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Speaker 1: to try to give us some sort of arc, or

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Speaker 1: to give us give us some kind of context for

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Speaker 1: the way that transition creates opportunity for us to trust God.

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Speaker 1: In this particular transition a negative one for the nation

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Speaker 1: of Israel. King Saul has really lost his way and

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Speaker 1: he's abdicated his leadership because of this. The Philistines who

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Speaker 1: would torment the Israelites all the way until the rule

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Speaker 1: of David, remember Sampson began to deliver them. That's last week.

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Speaker 1: And you need to go on and watch that message

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Speaker 1: about the parentheses and the pivot and how there's a

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Speaker 1: purpose even if I have to leave it blank right now,

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Speaker 1: God is going to do something in this empty space

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Speaker 1: in these parentheses. And I'm gonna put the parentheses there

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Speaker 1: and I'm gonna let God fill them because He's too

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Speaker 1: wise to make a mistake in my life. And that

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Speaker 1: message is online. It's on YouTube and Facebook and elevation

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Speaker 1: app and MySpace, and if they still had my Space,

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Speaker 1: we will put it up there. Roku all of it.

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Speaker 1: When when I was preaching that it talked about the

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Speaker 1: beginning of deliverance, are partial deliverance and the beginning of

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Speaker 1: deliverance happened through the judges. But now Saul the King

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Speaker 1: was unable to commit himself fully to the ways and

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Speaker 1: the will of the Lord, rather than to engage in

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Speaker 1: a relationship with the living God, he has begun to manipulate.

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Speaker 1: When he begins to manipulate and treat God as some

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Speaker 1: kind of mechanism to get what he wants when he

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Speaker 1: wants it, he loses that unique ability that we have

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Speaker 1: to hear the voice of God. When you lose the

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Speaker 1: ability to hear the voice of God, you waste energy,

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Speaker 1: you waste resources, you waste worry on situations that God

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Speaker 1: didn't even want you to give your attention to. So

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Speaker 1: that's why I need to hear his voice. Saul, having

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Speaker 1: lost that ability, is now surrounded by his enemies, so

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Speaker 1: much so that his people that he was responsible for

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Speaker 1: leading or hiding in rocks, in caves, in thickets. I

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Speaker 1: just wanted to put the word thickets in there, because

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Speaker 1: I don't get to use it on an everyday basis.

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Speaker 1: But we're all hiding in places. Sometimes we find ourselves

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Speaker 1: talked away in mindsets, in patterns, in isolation, away from people,

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Speaker 1: away from life, away from joy, away from risk, away

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Speaker 1: from opportunity. And this was the situation in Fir Samuel L. Fourteen.

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Speaker 1: Pick up verse twenty three from thirteen. Now a detachment

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Speaker 1: of Philistines had gone out to the pass at mcmash.

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Speaker 1: It's always helpful to point out that the enemy always

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Speaker 1: attacks you at the passages. He always attacks you at

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Speaker 1: the places of transition, from what you knew to what

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Speaker 1: you don't know, from where you were to where you're going.

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Speaker 1: And so when he can set up an ambush at

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Speaker 1: the passage, he can keep you from moving forward in

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Speaker 1: those transitional pivotal moments of your life. And then one

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Speaker 1: day somebody shout. One day, one day, Jonathan, son of

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Speaker 1: Saul said to his young armor bearer, come, let's go

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Speaker 1: over to the Philistine outpost on the other side. But

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Speaker 1: he did not hell his father. Be very careful who

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Speaker 1: you talk to about what God is doing inside of you.

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Speaker 1: Be very careful who you communicate with about the impressions

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Speaker 1: that God is stirring inside of you. If you talk

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Speaker 1: to the wrong people about the right idea, your idea

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Speaker 1: will die before it has the opportunity to conceive and

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Speaker 1: give birth to what God is doing in your life.

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Speaker 1: How many know I'm right about that. Saul was staying

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Speaker 1: on the outskirts of Gibea under a pomegranate tree, and

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Speaker 1: migrant with him were about six hundred men, among whom

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Speaker 1: was a Hijah who was wearing an ephod. He was

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Speaker 1: a son of Ichabod. He was a son of Ichabod's brother,

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Speaker 1: rather Ahita, son of Phineas, the son of Eli, the

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Speaker 1: lord's priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan

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Speaker 1: had left. On each side that Jonathan intended to cross

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Speaker 1: to the Philistine outpost was a cliff. One was called Bozez,

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Speaker 1: and the other sinnat. Bozez means slippery, Sinnam means thorny.

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Speaker 1: Nobody told me it would be easy. God didn't promise

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Speaker 1: me that his will would be convenient. Quit thinking that

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Speaker 1: proof positive that you're in the will of God is

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Speaker 1: that it feels good to you. Quit thinking that proof

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Speaker 1: positive that you're in the will of God is that

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Speaker 1: everybody understands it. Quit thinking that proof positive that you're

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Speaker 1: in the will of God is that it just falls

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Speaker 1: into place. No, he had to go through a thorny place,

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Speaker 1: a slippery place, an uncomfortable place, an uncertain place. And

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Speaker 1: just because I'm in an uncertain place doesn't mean I

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Speaker 1: don't have a certain purpose. I'm gonna need somebody to

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Speaker 1: shout on that right there, right there, right there, touch somebody,

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Speaker 1: say I'm in his will. And one of the proofs

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Speaker 1: that you're in his will is that you are experiencing warfare.

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Speaker 1: It could be in terms of an internal resistance that

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Speaker 1: you feel, or even if some things are going crazy

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Speaker 1: in your life. And on each side was a challenge.

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Speaker 1: On each side was a challenge. One cliff stood to

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Speaker 1: the north toward Mickmash, the other to the south toward Gheba.

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Speaker 1: And Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, come let's

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Speaker 1: go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps

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Speaker 1: the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder

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Speaker 1: the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. God,

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Speaker 1: I love your word. I'm gonna take a moment and

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Speaker 1: just talk to him about it. Thank you for putting

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Speaker 1: that one little word in your word. Not the one

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Speaker 1: where he said nothing can hinder the Lord, not the

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Speaker 1: one where he said, come let's go over, But that

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Speaker 1: one low word where he said perhaps because that word

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Speaker 1: gives me hope It gives me hope for my insecurity.

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Speaker 1: It gives me hope for my impossibilities and my uncertainty.

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Speaker 1: It gives me hope to know that sometimes, even in

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Speaker 1: the midst of making progress in my life, even in

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Speaker 1: the midst of obeying the revealed will of God, there

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Speaker 1: are going to be moments where one minute I have

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Speaker 1: great faith and the next moment I'm overcome by great fear.

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Speaker 1: But watch the Armor Bearer, he says back to Jonathan,

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Speaker 1: who had a crazy idea, do all that you have

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Speaker 1: in mind. Go ahead. I am with you heart and soul.

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Speaker 1: And Jonathan said, come on then, since you're talking like that,

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Speaker 1: come on then, since you want to do it too,

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Speaker 1: come on then, since you don't think I'm crazy for

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Speaker 1: wanting to move toward the enemy even though we're outnumbered,

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Speaker 1: come on then, since you don't have any more brain

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Speaker 1: cells or common sense than I do, come on, then,

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Speaker 1: sometimes you need somebody who will help you, even though

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Speaker 1: your plan sounds like a bad plan, to try to

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Speaker 1: find God in it, just so you don't stay stuck

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Speaker 1: in standing still. Come on, then, I like how he

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Speaker 1: talked to him. He's like, come on then, And then

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Speaker 1: the Armor Bear is like, go ahead then, and he's like, well,

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Speaker 1: come on then, and they're pumping each other up. They're

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Speaker 1: chest pumping each other, you know, and they don't have

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Speaker 1: anybody else because watch this, the people who should have

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Speaker 1: had faith have been overtaken by fear. Now, this is

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Speaker 1: the part of the passage that's going to give me

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Speaker 1: the contrast as we look at together two different ways

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Speaker 1: that we try to figure out God's will, and everyone

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Speaker 1: has a way that you try to figure out what

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Speaker 1: the will of God is, even if you don't call

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Speaker 1: it trying to figure out what the will of God is.

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Speaker 1: You have a way that you make decisions that you

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Speaker 1: hope will be most advantageous. You have a way that

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Speaker 1: you try to discertna wisdom, and you can't always get

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Speaker 1: it from a book, and you can't always get it

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Speaker 1: from a class, and you can't always get it. Here's

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Speaker 1: what I figured out. We're all making it up as

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Speaker 1: we go. This part of my sermon is meant to

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Speaker 1: encourage you. All the people that are writing parenting books

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Speaker 1: about fifteen steps to raise a perfect kid, they left

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Speaker 1: out some footnotes, and the bottom line is they just

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Speaker 1: had good luck in the gene pool. Because God can

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Speaker 1: give you a kid that can make you question all

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Speaker 1: of your theories. I love my children. I'm just saying,

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Speaker 1: all of us as parents are making it up as

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Speaker 1: we go, all of us, all of us are trying

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Speaker 1: to figure out with each child, and they're all different.

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Speaker 1: I know Hollywood was faithful to me, but sometimes I'm like,

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Speaker 1: how could they all be so different if it was

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Speaker 1: just a common factor of me and you? But I

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Speaker 1: trust her, But sometimes they're so different, and I'm like, well,

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Speaker 1: you respond like this, and you respond like that, and

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Speaker 1: watch John Nathan's plan. This is the dumbest idea that

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Speaker 1: you can find in the Bible. The only one I

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Speaker 1: can think of as dumber is Moses stretching out his

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Speaker 1: stick over the Red Sea. That's pretty dumb. Or maybe

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Speaker 1: David throwing a rock at a giant who has a sword.

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Speaker 1: That's pretty dumb. Or maybe Jesus commanding the lunch from

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Speaker 1: a little boy in the crowd and trying to feed

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Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people with it. That's pretty dumb. Or maybe

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Speaker 1: Mary going to Joseph and saying I'm pregnant but it

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Speaker 1: wasn't another man, it was the Holy Spirit. That's pretty dumb.

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Speaker 1: Or maybe it was a widow going around borrowing jars

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Speaker 1: from her neighbors when she didn't have any oil and

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Speaker 1: thinking something with That's pretty now that I come to

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Speaker 1: think of it. A lot of the stuff that God

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Speaker 1: did in his word looked like a dumb decision to

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Speaker 1: the people while they were doing it. Listen, how dumb

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Speaker 1: this is. Listen, Listen, how stupid this strategy is. Somebody say,

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Speaker 1: bad idea? All right, come on, then we will cross

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Speaker 1: over toward them and let them see us. I thought

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Speaker 1: you were supposed to sneak up on somebody if you

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Speaker 1: wanted to kill him. But whatever, if they say to us,

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Speaker 1: I'll watch us. He's making this up because I want

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Speaker 1: you to notice one thing about this passage. God gives

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Speaker 1: Jonathan the victory, but God doesn't say a single word.

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Speaker 1: The only people who speak in this passage are Jonathan,

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Speaker 1: his assistant, and his enemies. God doesn't say a word.

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Speaker 1: But Jonathan he makes up this this strategy. He's an innovator.

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Speaker 1: He's like, all right, my dad's under the tree by

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Speaker 1: the threshing floor, and the priest isn't doing anything, and

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Speaker 1: so let's go over and show ourselves and expose ourselves

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Speaker 1: to our enemies. And if they say, wait there until

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Speaker 1: we come up to you, we will stay where we

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Speaker 1: are and not go up to them. But if they

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Speaker 1: say come up to us, we will climb up, because

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Speaker 1: that will be our sign that the Lord has given

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Speaker 1: them into our hands. And just when it can't get

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Speaker 1: any dumber, Verse eleven, both of them showed themselves to

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Speaker 1: the Philistine outpost. Look, sat the Philistines. There's two of

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Speaker 1: them and dozens of us. The Hebrews are crawling out

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Speaker 1: of the holes they were hiding in. The men of

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Speaker 1: the outposts shouted to Jonathan and his armor bearer, come

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Speaker 1: up to us, and we'll teach you a lesson. So

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Speaker 1: Jonathan said to his armor bearer, climb up after me.

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Speaker 1: The Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.

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Speaker 1: How are you gonna speak in past tense about a

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Speaker 1: battle you hadn't even fought yet? Because I know something

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Speaker 1: that is greater than what I know with my mind.

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Speaker 1: I know with my faith. Faith is the substance of

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Speaker 1: things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seem

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Speaker 1: so way it gets dumber. Jonathan climbed up, using his

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Speaker 1: hands and feet. You know how vulnerable you are climbing

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Speaker 1: up something dorny or slippery, using your hands and feet,

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Speaker 1: quick thing just for you. I love y'all. Victory requires vulnerability.

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Speaker 1: Victory requires vulnerability in anything. You have to make yourself

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Speaker 1: vulnerable to experience a great relationship. You have to make

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Speaker 1: yourself vulnerable to step into a new dimension in your business.

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Speaker 1: You have to make yourself vulnerable to connect on any

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Speaker 1: meaningful level with the life that God has given you.

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Speaker 1: And so in this position of vulnerability, Jonathan prophesies a

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Speaker 1: great victory. I feel the Holy Spirit, And it says

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Speaker 1: that his armor bearer was right behind him, and the

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Speaker 1: Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer followed and

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Speaker 1: killed behind him. In that first attack, Jonathan and his

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Speaker 1: armor bearer killed some twenty men in an area of

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Speaker 1: about half an acre, all because Jonathan turned to his

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Speaker 1: armor bearer and said, I got an idea, you know,

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Speaker 1: he said like that. But I'm at the place now

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Speaker 1: where I don't really think that the value is in

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Speaker 1: the idea. The value is in the courage to act

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Speaker 1: on the impulse. When I put it like that, you

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Speaker 1: got to realize how many people say things like this

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Speaker 1: every day. You know. I remember talking to somebody about Uber,

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Speaker 1: and they said, well, I could have thought of that.

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Speaker 1: You know, really, you think thinking of something is the

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Speaker 1: key to success. It's something anybody can think of something.

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Speaker 1: I mean today I was walking out the door and

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Speaker 1: Abby turned me into a dog because of my fuzzy

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Speaker 1: sweater and she said, you want your belly, Rob, Do

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Speaker 1: you want your belly? Rob? I licked her face and

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Speaker 1: I left and came to church to preach. That's what

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Speaker 1: dogs do. But she can think of stuff, I mean,

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Speaker 1: thinking of it. Holly's telling me now they got like

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Speaker 1: uber for photography. I really should find out the name

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Speaker 1: of this and see if I could get a sponsorship.

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Speaker 1: This message goes to a lot of people. But they

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Speaker 1: said that you can go on and get a photographer

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Speaker 1: anywhere in the world that you are, just like you

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Speaker 1: can get a car from Uber, and you can get

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Speaker 1: a photographer anywhere you are. If you're off with your

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Speaker 1: family and you want to get a family picture like

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Speaker 1: that so that you don't have to ask some random

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Speaker 1: stranger who apparently has never used a smartphone in their

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Speaker 1: life and doesn't know the tap to screen to make

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Speaker 1: it lighter, you can get a professional to come out

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Speaker 1: and capture the memory you know, and when she said,

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Speaker 1: I was like, why didn't I think of that? Well,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot more to it than thinking of it. Huh.

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Speaker 1: People call me all the time and they'll be like,

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Speaker 1: I heard this thing, there's a sermon in that somewhere,

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Speaker 1: and so to that, I'm like, where like just because

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Speaker 1: they could think of it? You know, I read this

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Speaker 1: headline you should preach about that. You suhoul to write

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Speaker 1: a song about that, and I'm like, you should shut

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Speaker 1: up until you can write one of your own. I

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Speaker 1: know you mean, well, but the hard part isn't thinking

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Speaker 1: of it. The hard part isn't thinking of it. And

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Speaker 1: this is why when they give you advice sometimes in marriage,

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Speaker 1: like be the first to say you're sorry. It's not

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Speaker 1: the thought that counts. Can I upset conventional wisdom for

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Speaker 1: a moment? One thing that was really really striking to

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Speaker 1: me in the text was not what Jonathan did, but

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Speaker 1: what the people who should have been leading were doing

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Speaker 1: at the time when Jonathan had to act on something

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Speaker 1: that was partial and imperfect. When the Bible says that

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Speaker 1: Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibea under a

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Speaker 1: pomegranate tree with six hundred men. I always skipped this

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Speaker 1: verse because the names were hard to pronounce. I was

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Speaker 1: preaching this passage when I was seventeen years old, and

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Speaker 1: I didn't know how to pronounce these names, and I

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Speaker 1: still don't. But then I figured out, you don't know

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Speaker 1: how to pronounce them either, So if I just say

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Speaker 1: it with enough confidence, we'll move on. But in skipping it,

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Speaker 1: I missed something that became very important to me about

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Speaker 1: the ephod. It says that the Lord's priest was wearing

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Speaker 1: the ephod under the pomegranate tree. Now, the ethod was

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Speaker 1: more than just an article of clothing. It was an

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Speaker 1: instrument for seeking the will of God. On the ephod,

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Speaker 1: the high priest would wear a breastplate. On the breastplate

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Speaker 1: would be twelve stones with the names of the tribes

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Speaker 1: of Israel, representing their special presence in the presence of God.

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Speaker 1: When he would wear the breastplate into the most holy

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Speaker 1: place to make atonement for the sins of the people

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Speaker 1: so that they could be forgiven. Once a year, the

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Speaker 1: instruction was given to the priest about what to make

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Speaker 1: sure he kept close to his heart. It started with

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Speaker 1: Aaron in Exodus chapter twenty eight. If you could give

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Speaker 1: me this text that he will bear the names of

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Speaker 1: the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastplate

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Speaker 1: of decision. In the literal translation, it's the breastplate of judgment.

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Speaker 1: It was what he wore when the judgment of God

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Speaker 1: was conferred on the sacrificial animal that took the sins

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Speaker 1: of the people away from the camp. It was the

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Speaker 1: breastplate of judgment. But here it has translated the breastplate

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Speaker 1: of decision as a continual memorial for the Lord. And

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Speaker 1: here's why. Next verse, please also put Urrem and Themim,

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Speaker 1: which are two special stones that would go not on

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Speaker 1: the breastplate, but behind the breastplate. When the priest wore

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Speaker 1: the ephant, which was like a kitchen apron where he

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Speaker 1: would keep the vestments that were appropriate for his duty.

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Speaker 1: And on that ephant was the breastplate, and behind the

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Speaker 1: breastplate was Eurrem and themm. Whether these were stones or

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Speaker 1: some other sort of special object, we are dependent on

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Speaker 1: the incomplete records of archaeologists to make known to us.

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Speaker 1: But one thing we know. It was one of the

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Speaker 1: ways that God spoke about his will to his people.

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Speaker 1: He spoke through the prophets. He spoke through dreams, and

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Speaker 1: he spoke through these stones. I'm gonna call them stones

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Speaker 1: because that's the closest thing we can know to what

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Speaker 1: they were. One represented yes and one represented no. That

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Speaker 1: was the meme. Eurreme was a little different. It was

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Speaker 1: said to be a stone that would light up. And

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Speaker 1: watch this. You are to put it behind the breast

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Speaker 1: piece or in the breast piece, so that they may

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Speaker 1: be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of

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Speaker 1: the Lord. Thus Erin will always bear the means of

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Speaker 1: making decisions. I love that little phrase, the means of

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Speaker 1: making decisions in the presence of the Lord. Everybody has

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Speaker 1: a means of making decisions. Everyone has a way that

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Speaker 1: they try to figure out, where is this going? Can

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Speaker 1: I trust this person? And I like this method a

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Speaker 1: lot because all the priest had to do was take

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Speaker 1: out the stones the meme it stands for perfection or decision,

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Speaker 1: and then he would take urreem, which represents light, which

429
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,320
Speaker 1: always represents revelation, which always represents knowledge. And when God

430
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,440
Speaker 1: would speak through these stones, you would inquire of him,

431
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,800
Speaker 1: and if the answer was affirmative, Urreme would light up,

432
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 1: and you would know God wants us to do it.

433
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,480
Speaker 1: Like when David was facing a battle at zick Lag

434
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,880
Speaker 1: and he had to go back and recover his family

435
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,560
Speaker 1: and the families of his men, and he asked the

436
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,119
Speaker 1: priest bring me an ephod, because I need to seek

437
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 1: the Lord, because if I go into this battle and

438
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:16,680
Speaker 1: God doesn't want me to go in this battle, if

439
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,960
Speaker 1: I do this venture, if I go after this thing

440
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,680
Speaker 1: and God doesn't want me to do this thing, I'll

441
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,480
Speaker 1: be defeated. But if he says yes, no power in

442
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,160
Speaker 1: Hell can stand against me. Nothing can hinder the Lord

443
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,760
Speaker 1: from saving, whether by many or by few. So David said,

444
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 1: bring me the ephod, because if God gives me light

445
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,400
Speaker 1: on this situation, I can fight this battle. If God

446
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,560
Speaker 1: gives me light on this situation, I can stand the trial,

447
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 1: I can stand the test, I can pass it. I

448
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 1: can do it if God says yes. But sometimes God

449
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:52,280
Speaker 1: would say no, and then sometimes the stone would do nothing.

450
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,040
Speaker 1: And what that meant was God doesn't want to answer

451
00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,200
Speaker 1: this right now. In other words, if I can take

452
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,879
Speaker 1: you back to middle school, I love you, do you

453
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:11,400
Speaker 1: love me? Check yes or no? And sometimes I would

454
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:16,160
Speaker 1: put a third box called maybe. And sometimes they would

455
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 1: ask God, you know should we go? Should we stay?

456
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,920
Speaker 1: Should we do it? Should we not? And the son

457
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,640
Speaker 1: would do nothing? What do you do with them? Maybe

458
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,000
Speaker 1: because a lot of times in our life, don't you

459
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,520
Speaker 1: wish you had a urim and at the meme in

460
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,840
Speaker 1: your closet? Come on, right next to your belts. I'd

461
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:38,880
Speaker 1: rather have a urim and at the meme than a Rolex.

462
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,320
Speaker 1: I mean I'd rather have I would, I would love

463
00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,360
Speaker 1: if I could. What a what a what a blessing

464
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,440
Speaker 1: it would be? You know how many? You know, how

465
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: many staff members I never would have hired to begin with?

466
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:53,439
Speaker 1: Come on, this is a big church. Can I be

467
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,000
Speaker 1: real with you? Do you know how many staff members

468
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:57,919
Speaker 1: i'd just be if I could have just had that

469
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,680
Speaker 1: special stone pull it out? Wouldn't that be cool? Can

470
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,600
Speaker 1: you imagine how many how many things would you have

471
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:09,160
Speaker 1: done differently? And how helpful would it be when you're

472
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: making decisions if you could just have a stone just

473
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,680
Speaker 1: to light up and tell you, yes, this is God.

474
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:17,879
Speaker 1: You know how your kids start hanging out with friends

475
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,359
Speaker 1: and you're wondering, like, I don't know about these parents.

476
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 1: They seem kind of like, I don't know I smelled

477
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:24,960
Speaker 1: something on their clothes smell like it might have been weed,

478
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:27,960
Speaker 1: or maybe it was something else, but I'm not sure. Lord,

479
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,399
Speaker 1: should I let my kids hang out with these kids?

480
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,879
Speaker 1: And God says yes, and you could get some sleep?

481
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,880
Speaker 1: Or you know, God, should I take this job? It's

482
00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,719
Speaker 1: got more pay, but it's gonna mean more hours. I

483
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,560
Speaker 1: just think it would be so cool if it would

484
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,040
Speaker 1: light up and tell me. And yet, God, God, God

485
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: knows something about me that I don't know about me.

486
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,440
Speaker 1: Is that even if He gave me the light to

487
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,480
Speaker 1: know what to do, a lot of times I wouldn't

488
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:56,640
Speaker 1: have the faith to do it. You're gonna make me

489
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 1: preach by myself and sit there looking at me like

490
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:03,720
Speaker 1: I'm an entertainer. You know, the truth is that even

491
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,840
Speaker 1: sometimes when you know what to do, even sometimes when

492
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,440
Speaker 1: you know this as God. And they had these stones.

493
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 1: They had these stones. It was behind the breastplate, and

494
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,640
Speaker 1: the breastplate was under the pomegranate tree, and the priest

495
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 1: was doing nothing with it. They had the means of

496
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: making decisions to know the will of God, but their

497
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,280
Speaker 1: fear had put them in a place, and their complacency

498
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 1: had put them in a place. Because when you have

499
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,240
Speaker 1: the instruments, but you don't use them. How can God

500
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:40,080
Speaker 1: speak to you when you can't find this between Sundays?

501
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:49,720
Speaker 1: How can God give you his wisdom? And the important

502
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 1: thing about it was Jonathan said, we don't have the

503
00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,880
Speaker 1: ephod Ahijah has the ephoon. We don't have a complete

504
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 1: clarity on this situation. But what he had that was

505
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: so that's important. He had the right person to turn

506
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:07,360
Speaker 1: to and talk about it. I need you to understand

507
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,720
Speaker 1: the value not only of what God says to you

508
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,840
Speaker 1: in your life, but about who you say it to.

509
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:18,000
Speaker 1: After God says it to you, the right people will

510
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,840
Speaker 1: give you the go ahead. The right people will say,

511
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,000
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm gonna help you as you do this.

512
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,960
Speaker 1: I know the addiction has got you about three different

513
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,280
Speaker 1: cycles now and it looks like this one won't be

514
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,840
Speaker 1: any different. But whether or not you make it, I'm

515
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 1: gonna be here with you on it. So let's go

516
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 1: ahead and do this dumb thing, this impossible thing, this

517
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:41,600
Speaker 1: crazy thing. And then sometimes they got to turn and

518
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 1: tell you that ain't got at all. But it's who

519
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 1: you say it to and who you say it. It's

520
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: a fifty to fifty thing. It's not just my relationship

521
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:58,800
Speaker 1: with God. It's my relationship with others, and a lot

522
00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,520
Speaker 1: of us are suffering and in our relationship with God

523
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:04,280
Speaker 1: because we're living in bitterness with our relationship with others.

524
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,720
Speaker 1: You can't hear God just like this. I guarantee you

525
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,320
Speaker 1: if Jonathan would have had an armor bearer who told him,

526
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,520
Speaker 1: you know what, man, let me know how that turns out.

527
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 1: I'm praying for you signed the cross. I guarantee you

528
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 1: the battle wouldn't have moved on beyond Bethe even that

529
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:31,960
Speaker 1: day like it did, and even for me. I can

530
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,960
Speaker 1: say this when people say, how did you know God

531
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,960
Speaker 1: wanted you to start a church? I read a book.

532
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:44,520
Speaker 1: I felt inspired. I got up and preached. It seemed

533
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:48,760
Speaker 1: to help people read a book. I got a wife.

534
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 1: We were doing our thing. One day she looked at me.

535
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: In the mountains of Tennessee. We're at some youth camp.

536
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,720
Speaker 1: Carl CARTI was leading worship. We came back to the room.

537
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 1: People say, when, how did you know? How did God

538
00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:07,760
Speaker 1: speak to you it was time for you to start

539
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,440
Speaker 1: the church because I wanted to start it when I

540
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 1: was forty. The church wouldn't even be here right now

541
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 1: if Holly didn't turn to me, not God she was

542
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:26,920
Speaker 1: my yorem. God used her like that. She said, it's

543
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 1: time for you go start this church. I said, when

544
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:37,880
Speaker 1: I'm forty. She said, no. Now, look, JJ, if you

545
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: hear me saying on this message, you know God's calling

546
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 1: you to go. You know how many people I've seen

547
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,440
Speaker 1: go start coffee shops because they like coffee and they

548
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,520
Speaker 1: hear a message like this and abuse it and they

549
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,240
Speaker 1: think that the whole point of the message is just

550
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 1: go do the dumbest thing you can think of that

551
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:52,880
Speaker 1: you have a halfway interest in, and then blame the

552
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:54,880
Speaker 1: devil when it doesn't work out. Because it was spiritual

553
00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,920
Speaker 1: warfare and attack and nobody believed in my dream and

554
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,040
Speaker 1: I'm nothing but Jesus on the cross some guard and

555
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 1: I guess so many squeeze like the olives and the

556
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:02,760
Speaker 1: oils coming out. All of that is dumb because I'm

557
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,959
Speaker 1: not even talking about that. I'm talking about who you

558
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:10,200
Speaker 1: talk to, about what God is saying to you. And

559
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,160
Speaker 1: now now I get to return the favor. I mean

560
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 1: the other day she she turned to me and was like, Hey,

561
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 1: I'm about to tell you something that I think God

562
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,040
Speaker 1: is speaking to me. Because it's always a fifty to

563
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 1: fifty thing always always so. So I'm confident, but I'm

564
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,680
Speaker 1: not certain, you know. And she was like, don't laugh

565
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:38,720
Speaker 1: at me. I'm like, why would I laugh at you?

566
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:42,000
Speaker 1: Tell me? And what she told me, I said, not

567
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 1: only have you got to do that, but you got

568
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,479
Speaker 1: to do this, this and this and this and this

569
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,120
Speaker 1: because that's awesome. Then I think she was sorry that

570
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:50,959
Speaker 1: she told me because she didn't want to do this, this, this,

571
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: and this and this. She just wanted to do that.

572
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,320
Speaker 1: But we started talking. You see how important it is

573
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,520
Speaker 1: not only what God says to you. It's not only

574
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,560
Speaker 1: this be of the cross. What is this one too?

575
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:15,880
Speaker 1: So I don't have uremn the meme, but I got Eugene.

576
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,280
Speaker 1: I needed a rhyme. It was it was a stretch

577
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 1: at best, and Irene and I got people. Now this

578
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 1: is so, this is so key. It's a fifty fifty faith.

579
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 1: It's a fifty to fifty. That means it is a

580
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 1: divine partnership where Jonathan says, you know, there is something

581
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,120
Speaker 1: that God can do, and then there is something that

582
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:43,240
Speaker 1: God will not do that only we can do. Faith

583
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:47,200
Speaker 1: is fifty to fifty. James proves it clearly. Not only

584
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,960
Speaker 1: does Jonathan exemplify it. James explains it when he says,

585
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:56,120
Speaker 1: faith without works is it takes two? This is a

586
00:34:56,280 --> 00:35:00,120
Speaker 1: fifty to fifty proposition. Why would God do for you

587
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,399
Speaker 1: you what he gave you the strength to do for you?

588
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,239
Speaker 1: It is a fifty fifty faith. It is not my

589
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,719
Speaker 1: faith that saves me, and I'm grateful for that. How

590
00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,320
Speaker 1: many are grateful that your faith in Christ for salvation

591
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 1: is not fifty to fifty. Come on, because if it was,

592
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 1: I would be in hell before Monday at three pm

593
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:26,759
Speaker 1: Eastern Standard time. But because he is my great High Priest, y'all,

594
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,440
Speaker 1: I'm about to get happy on this sermon. And because

595
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,880
Speaker 1: he took the breastplate of his own righteousness into the

596
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,320
Speaker 1: most holy place and shed his blood on the mercy seat,

597
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 1: I don't ever have to doubt if he wants to

598
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,720
Speaker 1: see me or hear me, or love me, or throw

599
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:45,080
Speaker 1: his arms around me. He is my Righteousness and I

600
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:48,160
Speaker 1: am his child, and he is my great high Priest.

601
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,479
Speaker 1: Come on, shout about it, like you got the good

602
00:35:51,520 --> 00:36:01,160
Speaker 1: sens to know. This thing doesn't depend on me. Foundational

603
00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:03,400
Speaker 1: faith even that faith is the gift of God, so

604
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 1: that no one can boast but watch this, Jonathan say,

605
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 1: perhaps perhaps the Lord will it is fifty to fifty.

606
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,960
Speaker 1: I know he can. I think he will. Fifty to fifty.

607
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,120
Speaker 1: I know God is with me, and I think this

608
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,600
Speaker 1: is where he's leading me. It's fifty to fifty. I'm

609
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,960
Speaker 1: a fifty to fifty leader. I pull seventy staff into

610
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:28,640
Speaker 1: this Monday and say this is what I think God's doing.

611
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:29,759
Speaker 1: And I can't put a bow on it. But we're

612
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,479
Speaker 1: gonna find out together why Because God won't reveal truth

613
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:39,080
Speaker 1: if I don't move toward it ever. And the issue

614
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:44,200
Speaker 1: is this experience is the friend of wisdom, but it

615
00:36:44,239 --> 00:36:50,360
Speaker 1: can be the enemy of faith. You need me to

616
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:56,480
Speaker 1: run that back. Experience is the friend of wisdom, but

617
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,400
Speaker 1: if you get like Saul in a hyda and keep

618
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,879
Speaker 1: the e fot under the pomegranate tree, Jonathan said, We're

619
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,200
Speaker 1: going to have to be our own ethought. We're gonna

620
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:05,359
Speaker 1: have to put ourselves out there and see if God will.

621
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:11,239
Speaker 1: And when Eugenie Peterson he had this idea, right, he

622
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,120
Speaker 1: was trying to preach the Bible. He's in heaven now,

623
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,000
Speaker 1: but he was trying to preach the Bible to his church.

624
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,719
Speaker 1: He realized that they weren't really getting it, so he

625
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 1: sat down to write a translation of the Bible in

626
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:26,920
Speaker 1: a way they could understand. You know that little version

627
00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:30,239
Speaker 1: on your Bible on your phone. I hope you got

628
00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:32,640
Speaker 1: the Bible on your phone. I hope you got the

629
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:36,440
Speaker 1: Bible up above Facebook on your phone, because you need

630
00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:40,160
Speaker 1: that one to start your day. You really do, you

631
00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:42,480
Speaker 1: really do. You'll need to know what's going on in

632
00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,040
Speaker 1: Russia every second, but you need to know what's happening,

633
00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:48,759
Speaker 1: what God intends for your life. And if you click

634
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 1: on it, there will be one version that says MSG

635
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,040
Speaker 1: and it has nothing to do with the Chinese restaurant.

636
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,520
Speaker 1: Is the message translation. And it was written by a

637
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:00,920
Speaker 1: man who was just see. He had an idea, what

638
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,640
Speaker 1: if I write the Bible in the language that's common

639
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:08,279
Speaker 1: to the people, and he ended up translating the whole

640
00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:15,759
Speaker 1: Bible that way. The message translation all because maybe God

641
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,080
Speaker 1: will use this, you know, if you act on it.

642
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,040
Speaker 1: If you act, it's fifty to fifty. It's fifty to fifty.

643
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,000
Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I don't know. Look what he said

644
00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:30,960
Speaker 1: when he translated for Samuel fourteen six, my favorite verse

645
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,520
Speaker 1: about faith in the Old Testament. Look what he said

646
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,480
Speaker 1: that Jonathan said to his armor bearer, come on, now,

647
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:41,880
Speaker 1: come on, now, let's do it now. Not when the

648
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,919
Speaker 1: priest gets his act together, not when the government gets

649
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,600
Speaker 1: his act together, not when, but now, we got to

650
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:51,280
Speaker 1: do this now. Now, come on, now, let's go across

651
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:55,280
Speaker 1: to these uncircumcised pagans. And then he said the title

652
00:38:55,320 --> 00:39:08,640
Speaker 1: of my series, maybe God will work for us. Maybe

653
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:18,879
Speaker 1: maybe faith is being able to move on a maybe.

654
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:21,360
Speaker 1: And you know what that means. It's fifty to fifty.

655
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:29,759
Speaker 1: It might not work, but God is always working. I'm

656
00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:33,440
Speaker 1: confident in the second, even when I'm not certain in

657
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:38,440
Speaker 1: the first. And it takes the time of faith church

658
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:46,640
Speaker 1: to say maybe maybe if I do this, maybe and

659
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,359
Speaker 1: maybe it won't and maybe God will use this thing

660
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,040
Speaker 1: that I think I'm supposed to do to lead to

661
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:56,239
Speaker 1: something that I was really supposed to do, so that

662
00:39:56,440 --> 00:40:00,680
Speaker 1: even if the first thing fails, at least I'm sitting

663
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:06,120
Speaker 1: still in fear. But it takes faith to move on

664
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:09,319
Speaker 1: a maybe. When Yurim has gone dark and Saul is

665
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:11,759
Speaker 1: under a tree and you don't know what to do

666
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,000
Speaker 1: but to move toward it. God says, move toward it.

667
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 1: It may work. And even if it doesn't I will.

668
00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:23,560
Speaker 1: It is the power to move on a maybe, to

669
00:40:23,719 --> 00:40:27,160
Speaker 1: know that God is mystery, but he is revealed, his

670
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:31,719
Speaker 1: character is trustworthy. I can move on a maybe. Father.

671
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,480
Speaker 1: I don't want to do this, but nevertheless, not my will,

672
00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:37,880
Speaker 1: but yours be done. So I'm gonna go see about

673
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:42,960
Speaker 1: this and maybe somebody shout. Maybe maybe I've got a

674
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,319
Speaker 1: maybe faith enough faith to do it and not know

675
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,920
Speaker 1: the conclusion, but trust God in the process. It's a

676
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:56,759
Speaker 1: maybe faith. I'm confident. I'm not certain, but I'm confident.

677
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:02,680
Speaker 1: And you will find yourself many times in your life

678
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 1: in a maybe moment. Some of you are there right now.

679
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:10,240
Speaker 1: It's a maybe moment for you. Maybe you are giving

680
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:12,960
Speaker 1: yourself to a marriage that you don't know if it

681
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,400
Speaker 1: can live. Like Ezekiel in the Valley of Bones, you

682
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:17,560
Speaker 1: don't even know if anything's going to happen, but you're

683
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,920
Speaker 1: prophesying and speaking forth and believing God to send the winds,

684
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:28,040
Speaker 1: and you're living in the maybe moment. Maybe if we

685
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:35,880
Speaker 1: start a church, maybe maybe I know who God is

686
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:38,560
Speaker 1: and I know nothing can stop him. But it's fifty

687
00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:45,520
Speaker 1: to fifty. Man, you want to do it anyway. Maybe

688
00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:51,720
Speaker 1: the miracle is in the maybe. I wish I could

689
00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:57,680
Speaker 1: preach this to every discouraged heart today. God lives in

690
00:41:57,719 --> 00:42:03,440
Speaker 1: a place called maybe. Faith lives in a place called maybe.

691
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:11,560
Speaker 1: So if you are in a maybe moment today, that's

692
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:20,560
Speaker 1: where God lives. Stand up when you're in that maybe moment,

693
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,759
Speaker 1: and if you are, you know it. And if you're not,

694
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:27,160
Speaker 1: you will need this message within the next six weeks

695
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:34,680
Speaker 1: because life is full of maybe moments. You will feel

696
00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:40,920
Speaker 1: in that moment the coexistence of uncertainty and confidence, and

697
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:42,600
Speaker 1: you'll feel like you're making it up as you go.

698
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,279
Speaker 1: I like that image because Jonathan said, climb up after me,

699
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,799
Speaker 1: climb up after me. I was thinking about how they

700
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:53,279
Speaker 1: made it up as they win. But I had to go.

701
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,600
Speaker 1: I had to. I had to do it. I had

702
00:42:56,600 --> 00:43:00,239
Speaker 1: to I had to trust God in a in a

703
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 1: maybe moment. Maybe moments are like the moment where you

704
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:10,000
Speaker 1: could look stupid. Maybe moments are the moments where you

705
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:13,080
Speaker 1: could be rejected. Most of us aren't facing philistines and thorny,

706
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:17,680
Speaker 1: slippery cliffs and geographical obstacles. Most of us are facing

707
00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:20,640
Speaker 1: things that are on the inside of us that seem insurmountable.

708
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:27,239
Speaker 1: And God is in the maybe moment of your life

709
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:32,080
Speaker 1: when you move forward. Anyway, when I stopped by my

710
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:35,799
Speaker 1: dad's house and gave him the letter on Father's Day

711
00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:40,120
Speaker 1: after we had not spoken in months because I moved

712
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:42,959
Speaker 1: him to Charlotte when his health got bad with my mom,

713
00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,279
Speaker 1: because he asked me to, and I told him, I said, Dad,

714
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,120
Speaker 1: I want to do this for you. You're my dad.

715
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:50,560
Speaker 1: I want to take care of you. And we didn't

716
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:52,799
Speaker 1: know that he had als yet. We just knew that

717
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:54,719
Speaker 1: he was very sick, and because he was a self

718
00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:57,719
Speaker 1: employed barber, I didn't know, you know, if he was

719
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,919
Speaker 1: just honestly, my dad at that point in his life

720
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:05,239
Speaker 1: was so illogical and irrational. I didn't know if it

721
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:06,640
Speaker 1: was a good idea or not. But I knew my

722
00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,000
Speaker 1: dad was asking me for help, and I knew that

723
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,160
Speaker 1: something was wrong, and when he asked me to do it,

724
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:14,319
Speaker 1: I knew something inside of me knew like this could

725
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:17,200
Speaker 1: turn out really bad, you know. Like I told my dad,

726
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,239
Speaker 1: I said, you live three and a half hours away

727
00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:21,399
Speaker 1: from me right now, and that works pretty good for us.

728
00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:24,319
Speaker 1: If you come up and we're all up in each

729
00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:29,640
Speaker 1: other's face, you know, it might not be good. And

730
00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:31,840
Speaker 1: he said, I need you to do this for me,

731
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,239
Speaker 1: and I said, I'll never forget telling him. You know,

732
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:38,799
Speaker 1: I don't even think this is a good idea, but

733
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:41,040
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do it. You asked me to, and I

734
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,240
Speaker 1: love you. But please, when you come up here, please,

735
00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:45,879
Speaker 1: when you come live in Charlotte. I knew my mom

736
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,400
Speaker 1: would be fine, she's great, but I was like, you, please,

737
00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:53,799
Speaker 1: don't do any of this crazy stuff. And honest to God, no,

738
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:56,680
Speaker 1: sooner than I sent the moving company to give him

739
00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:00,400
Speaker 1: an estimate, he chased the moving company out of the

740
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,680
Speaker 1: yard with his walking cane. I mean this guy, he

741
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 1: was a good dad for a lot of my life,

742
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:09,120
Speaker 1: but by this point his medications as well as his

743
00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,440
Speaker 1: physical condition, he was starting to really lose his mind.

744
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:16,200
Speaker 1: But I knew I needed to move him anyway, and

745
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:19,080
Speaker 1: it didn't make sense at that point. In fact, when

746
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:23,440
Speaker 1: he got here, when he finally moved after running off

747
00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,000
Speaker 1: the moving company, after he finally found a moving company

748
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,480
Speaker 1: that was fit to move him, and I went to

749
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:30,600
Speaker 1: go see him and check on him in the house

750
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:34,200
Speaker 1: that we had found for them. First thing he did

751
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,240
Speaker 1: when I walked in the door was complain about the house.

752
00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:40,200
Speaker 1: When I tell you that, I said, some Hebrew words

753
00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:45,560
Speaker 1: and some Greek words, some monks corner words, some compound

754
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:51,320
Speaker 1: cuss words. And it was like, over the next few months,

755
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:53,360
Speaker 1: every bad thing that I thought was going to happen,

756
00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:55,280
Speaker 1: if I tried to do the right, things start happening.

757
00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:58,640
Speaker 1: And what was the weird contrast was my ministry was

758
00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:03,520
Speaker 1: going so great and the church was growing, and my

759
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,040
Speaker 1: dad and the way he treated my mom, and eventually

760
00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:10,040
Speaker 1: he left, he went to go live by himself. It

761
00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:13,520
Speaker 1: was like culminated in this horrible thanks like the worst

762
00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:16,240
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving ever where we went to see him. The only

763
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:20,080
Speaker 1: place he would live was in this nursing home and

764
00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,560
Speaker 1: they had him calling Bingo in the nursing home and yeah,

765
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:25,600
Speaker 1: it's okay, you can laugh about it, because it was like,

766
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:27,920
Speaker 1: how did we come to this? Like how can they

767
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:29,799
Speaker 1: not even live together? How do we spend all this

768
00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:31,880
Speaker 1: money and all this time and he raised me all

769
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,560
Speaker 1: this time and coach my teams and all this, and

770
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,120
Speaker 1: then it's going to end like this. When we would

771
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:37,280
Speaker 1: try to talk on the phone, he would end up yelling.

772
00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 1: I would end up yelling, and then I'd end up preaching.

773
00:46:39,560 --> 00:46:41,320
Speaker 1: And then I go back and talk to my dad

774
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:43,280
Speaker 1: and I'd end up yelling and he would end up yelling.

775
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 1: But when I went by his house on Father's Day,

776
00:46:49,239 --> 00:46:52,440
Speaker 1: I thought, well, maybe maybe if I write down. I

777
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 1: took a notebook and I told Holly, can you drive

778
00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:58,920
Speaker 1: for me for a minute. We were coming back from

779
00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:00,960
Speaker 1: a family trip, and I said, I need to do

780
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:03,000
Speaker 1: something real quick. Can you drive from me and can

781
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:05,400
Speaker 1: we stop by my dad's house. He was living all

782
00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:10,719
Speaker 1: alone at that time, by his own choice. And I

783
00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:14,040
Speaker 1: sat there while Holly drove, and I wrote down a

784
00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:17,160
Speaker 1: memory for every year that I had been alive of

785
00:47:17,239 --> 00:47:20,759
Speaker 1: him being my dad. Because I knew we couldn't talk,

786
00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:22,640
Speaker 1: but I thought, well, maybe if we could just communicate

787
00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,200
Speaker 1: in writing. And when we showed up at the house

788
00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,279
Speaker 1: and he opened the door, I kind of like threw

789
00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:34,480
Speaker 1: the list at him, you know, like happy fun made

790
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:40,560
Speaker 1: a list for you, because maybe maybe this is a

791
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:44,319
Speaker 1: dumb idea, but maybe it could open a door for

792
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:49,160
Speaker 1: us to have a relationship. It's the maybe moments, you know.

793
00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:51,320
Speaker 1: If I'm going to tell you about my maybe moments

794
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:54,480
Speaker 1: that result in starting a church that reaches the world,

795
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:56,880
Speaker 1: I think I owe it to you to tell you

796
00:47:56,920 --> 00:48:04,840
Speaker 1: about my maybe moments that were messy to it's not

797
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:07,319
Speaker 1: always so clear, it's not always so perfect, it's not

798
00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:10,319
Speaker 1: always so brilliant, it's not always so strategic. Life has

799
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:15,360
Speaker 1: lived in those maybe moments. And so I got to

800
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:20,479
Speaker 1: sit beside him as he breathed his last breath after

801
00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:23,120
Speaker 1: three days that hospice had been in much later, after

802
00:48:23,239 --> 00:48:25,840
Speaker 1: a progression where my mom graciously let him back in

803
00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:28,279
Speaker 1: the house and cared for him until he died, and

804
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:30,840
Speaker 1: I got to be there, reading to him from Charles

805
00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:33,840
Speaker 1: Spurgeon sermon The Peaceful Sleep of the Beloved. After I

806
00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:35,960
Speaker 1: sang to him the Old Rugged Cross, and I thought

807
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:38,480
Speaker 1: he was going to pass quickly, but he stayed around

808
00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:40,080
Speaker 1: like three days, and I ran out of hymns and

809
00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:43,560
Speaker 1: started having to sing James Taylor and Hoodie and the Blowfish.

810
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:46,759
Speaker 1: I mean, I was there for all of it in

811
00:48:46,800 --> 00:48:53,920
Speaker 1: that moment because of moving forward with a maybe, I

812
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,719
Speaker 1: believe God sent me with this message today and I'm overtime.

813
00:48:56,760 --> 00:48:58,600
Speaker 1: I'm so overtime. It's going to be awful in the

814
00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:00,959
Speaker 1: parking lot in the rain, give me and please smile

815
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:02,279
Speaker 1: at people on the way out and tell it's going

816
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:05,479
Speaker 1: to be worth it. But please listen to me listen

817
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:08,040
Speaker 1: to me. You're in a maybe moment. You're in a

818
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:10,279
Speaker 1: maybe moment, slipper on one side, thorny on the other.

819
00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:13,359
Speaker 1: Don't have everybody with you thought you'd have with you,

820
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:17,200
Speaker 1: just got a armor bearer. Father, I pray today for

821
00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:21,840
Speaker 1: the faith for your people to move forward on a

822
00:49:21,920 --> 00:49:28,680
Speaker 1: maybe in this moment. You're the God of all wisdom.

823
00:49:28,719 --> 00:49:30,960
Speaker 1: You are the God who sees all, knows all, and

824
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,080
Speaker 1: can do anything. I thank you, Lord that there are

825
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:38,560
Speaker 1: miracles emerging even now as I speak, in bodies, in relationships,

826
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:44,280
Speaker 1: in careers, in families. God, I thank you that ministry

827
00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:46,680
Speaker 1: is birth out of maybe. We thank you God for

828
00:49:47,719 --> 00:49:50,759
Speaker 1: giving us the Holy Spirit inside of us. We thank

829
00:49:50,800 --> 00:49:53,040
Speaker 1: you for giving us the finished work of your son,

830
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:55,360
Speaker 1: to let us know that you are good, and you

831
00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:57,680
Speaker 1: do good, and all things work together for the good

832
00:49:57,719 --> 00:50:01,400
Speaker 1: of them that love. You speak over every maybe situation.

833
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:06,680
Speaker 1: Give your people now, by your grace the kind of

834
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:09,880
Speaker 1: faith that it takes to move forward and it maybe

835
00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:14,800
Speaker 1: for we believe that nothing can hinder you from saving,

836
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:21,799
Speaker 1: whether by many or by few. Thank you for joining us.

837
00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:24,560
Speaker 1: Special thanks to those of you who give generously to

838
00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:28,120
Speaker 1: this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.

839
00:50:28,560 --> 00:50:30,759
Speaker 1: You can click the link in the description to give

840
00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:35,000
Speaker 1: now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more

841
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:38,800
Speaker 1: information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

842
00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:41,160
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends. You can click

843
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:43,440
Speaker 1: the share button, take a screenshot and share it on

844
00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:46,319
Speaker 1: your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks

845
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:52,759
Speaker 1: again for listening. God bless you.