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Speaker 1: Great to have you on the podcast today. Bet and

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Speaker 1: I are praying for you and just believing for God's

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Speaker 1: very best.

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Speaker 2: I believe that this month is going to be an

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Speaker 2: amazing month for you and your family.

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Speaker 3: Keep that expectation in your heart and see what God

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Speaker 3: will do. Well.

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Speaker 1: God bless you. It's always a joy to come into

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Speaker 1: your homes, and if you're ever in our area, please

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Speaker 1: stop by and be a part of one of our services.

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Speaker 1: I promise you we'll make you feel right at home.

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Speaker 1: But thanks so much for tuning in, and thank you

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Speaker 1: again for coming out. I like to start with something funny,

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Speaker 1: and I heard about this man.

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Speaker 3: He was in a dark restaurant.

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Speaker 1: He said that the lady's sitting next to him, would

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Speaker 1: you like to hear a blonde joke? She said, well,

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Speaker 1: before you tell me, you should know I'm blonde, six

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Speaker 1: foot tall and a professional bodybuilder, and the lady next

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Speaker 1: to me is blonde six foot two and a professional wrestler.

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Speaker 1: And the lady next to her is blonde six foot

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Speaker 1: five and the kickboxing champion of the world.

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Speaker 3: Now do you still want to tell me?

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Speaker 1: He thought about it a moment, said now not if

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Speaker 1: I'm going to have to explain it three times.

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Speaker 2: Help me, Jesus, give me a ride home today. This

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Speaker 2: is my Bible. I am what it says I am.

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Speaker 2: I have what it says I have. I can do

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Speaker 2: what it says I can do. Today I will be

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Speaker 2: taught the word of God. I'll boldly confess. My mind

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Speaker 2: is alert, my heart is recepted. I will never be

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Speaker 2: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk to you today about how Grace

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Speaker 1: is looking for you. So often we think that God

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Speaker 1: is only interested in the quote good people, the people

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Speaker 1: that have it all together, people that never make mistakes,

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Speaker 1: never give into temptation. If your performance is good enough,

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Speaker 1: then you can expect God's goodness. But if you ever

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Speaker 1: get off course, if you ever fail, you ever have doubts,

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Speaker 1: God says, too.

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Speaker 3: Bad, it's your fault.

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Speaker 1: If you don't want me, I'll leave you alone.

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Speaker 3: I won't bother you.

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Speaker 1: The truth is, it's just the opposite. When you blow it,

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Speaker 1: God doesn't turn away from you. He turns to you.

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Speaker 1: His grace comes looking for you. When you have doubts.

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Speaker 1: God doesn't say what's wrong with you?

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Speaker 3: You need to have more faith.

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Speaker 1: No God will even pass over people with faith and

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Speaker 1: come to you the one that has doubts. Jesus told

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Speaker 1: a parable about a shepherd that had one hundred sheep,

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Speaker 1: but one of them went astray. The shepherd left the

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Speaker 1: ninety nine and went looking for the one.

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Speaker 3: What was that?

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Speaker 1: Grace came looking. But we tend to write people off

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Speaker 1: and think God wouldn't have anything to do with them, Joel,

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Speaker 1: they make fun of me for coming to church. She's

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Speaker 1: living the wrong kind of life. He's out there on drugs. Now,

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Speaker 1: do you realize that over half of the New Testament

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Speaker 1: was written by a man that at one time hated believers.

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Speaker 1: Saul was the main enemy of the church. He was

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Speaker 1: havings put in prison. But one day, while he was

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Speaker 1: traveling to Damascus on his way to persecute more believers,

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Speaker 1: a bright light shine down from heaven, knocked him flat

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Speaker 1: on his back. A voice boomed out, Saul, why do

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Speaker 1: you keep persecuting me? Long story short, Saul became the

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Speaker 1: apostle Paul and wrote more of the New Testament than

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Speaker 1: anyone else. What happened, Grace came looking for Saul. Don't

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Speaker 1: ever write anybody off. Your family members, your friends may

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Speaker 1: be making poor choices in the natural. You think they're

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Speaker 1: never going to fulfill their destiny, They're never going to

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Speaker 1: do what's right. Now, you have to remember Grace is

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Speaker 1: looking for them. You may write them off, but God

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Speaker 1: doesn't write them off. God knows how to get their attention.

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Speaker 1: If God can change Saul, the greatest enemy of the church,

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Speaker 1: and turn him into the greatest asset of the church,

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Speaker 1: God can touch your loved one. God can turn your

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Speaker 1: son around. God can change your daughter. This same man,

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Speaker 1: Paul wrote in the Book of Romans about the grace

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Speaker 1: that God freely gives us. If anyone understood grace, it

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Speaker 1: would be Paul. And one translation of the word freely

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Speaker 1: that he specifically used is promiscuous, meaning that God's grace

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Speaker 1: will go to anybody. If someone is promiscuous, they're loose,

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Speaker 1: they're unrestrained. They'll be with anyone, doesn't matter. That's the

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Speaker 1: way God's grace is. You can be high on drugs

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Speaker 1: and Grace is looking for youth. You can be working

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Speaker 1: in the wrong kind of place.

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Speaker 3: Grace is looking for youth.

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Speaker 1: You can be cheating people, dishonest, no integrity, and God

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Speaker 1: will leave the ninety nine and come after you. You

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Speaker 1: can be discouraged, depressed, about to give up on life.

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Speaker 3: The good news is right now, Grace is looking for you.

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Speaker 1: You may have made mistakes, not where you want to

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Speaker 1: be in life. You could easily sit on the sidelines,

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Speaker 1: let the accusing voices convince you that you're all washed up.

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Speaker 3: Nothing good is in your future.

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Speaker 1: No, right now, Grace is coming to you. God is saying,

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Speaker 1: I'm not mad at you. I'm madly in love with you.

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Speaker 1: I'm not holding anything against you. I'm not keeping a

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Speaker 1: record of your mistakes. I'm not even interested in your past.

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Speaker 1: I'm interested in your future. Friends, it doesn't matter to

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Speaker 1: God where you've ben. It matters to God where you're going.

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Speaker 1: That's why he's coming after you. That's why he won't

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Speaker 1: leave you alone. His grace will never give up. He

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Speaker 1: loves you too much to let you miss your destiny.

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Speaker 1: You can turn away again and again and again, but

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Speaker 1: you know what, Grace will keep coming wherever you go.

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Speaker 3: Grace will keep looking.

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Speaker 1: You can't outrun the grace of God. You can't do

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Speaker 1: too much wrong to keep it away. You can't turn

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Speaker 1: away too many times. God's grace will keep coming, saying

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Speaker 1: I've got something better. I've got forgiveness, I've got mercy,

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Speaker 1: I've got restoration.

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Speaker 3: I've got a new beginning. And if you will shake

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Speaker 3: off the.

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Speaker 1: Guilt, the condemnation, start making choices that honor God. God

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Speaker 1: will do for you what he did for Paul. He'll

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Speaker 1: bless you in spite of your mistakes. He'll make something

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Speaker 1: great out of your life, in spite of your past.

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Speaker 1: God never gives up on you. Don't give up on yourself.

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Speaker 1: Receive the grace. Believe that there's something amazing in your future.

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Speaker 3: John chapter four.

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Speaker 1: Jesus was about to leave Judea and travel home to Galilee,

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Speaker 1: but he said to his disciples, I must go through Samaria. Well,

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Speaker 1: Samario wasn't necessarily the shortest route. Not only that, in

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Speaker 1: those days the Samaritans weren't friendly with the Jewish people.

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Speaker 1: His disciples said, Jesus, that's the long way. We will

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Speaker 1: go a better route. Plus we might have some problems

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Speaker 1: with the Samaritans. Jesus said, no, I have to go

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Speaker 1: this way. I have an assignment. There's somebody I need

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Speaker 1: to meet. They got to Samaria. They were tired and hungry,

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Speaker 1: and Jesus sat down by a well. He asked his

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Speaker 1: disciples to go into town and get some food. In

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Speaker 1: a little while, this Samaritan woman came out to draw

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Speaker 1: water from the well. She had been married five times,

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Speaker 1: been through a lot of heartache and pain in life.

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Speaker 1: She wasn't a respected woman, wasn't considered a good woman,

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Speaker 1: a moral woman. She was looked down on and seen

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Speaker 1: a second class. No doubt, when some of the people

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Speaker 1: in town saw her, they would snicker, there's that lady,

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Speaker 1: been married five times.

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Speaker 3: Stay away from her.

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Speaker 1: Yet the whole reason Jesus said I must go through

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Speaker 1: Samaria was to meet this woman. Jesus struck up a

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Speaker 1: conversation with her older all about her life. Then he

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Speaker 1: revealed himself as the Messiah to her. When the disciples

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Speaker 1: came back from buying food saw Jesus talking to this woman,

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Speaker 1: the scripture says they were amazed and bewildered. Not only

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Speaker 1: was Jesus talking to a woman, not only a Samaritan,

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Speaker 1: but of all people this lady. Everybody knew she had

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Speaker 1: a bad reputation.

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Speaker 3: She came from the.

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Speaker 1: Wrong side of the tracks. She was making poor choices.

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Speaker 1: But this is what grace is all about.

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Speaker 3: It's promiscuous.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't just come to the people that you might

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Speaker 1: think the quote good people, the fine, upstanding people. No,

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Speaker 1: it goes to people like this lady that have made mistakes,

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Speaker 1: people that have gone through heartache and pain, people that think, Joel,

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Speaker 1: it's too late, I've blown it. I don't deserve it.

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Speaker 1: This is what Grace is all about. That day was

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Speaker 1: a turning point in her life. Well, Joel, my coworkers,

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Speaker 1: they don't even believe in God.

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Speaker 3: That's all right.

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Speaker 1: Grace is looking for them. Well, Joel, he's out selling drugs.

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Speaker 1: God doesn't have anything to do with him.

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Speaker 3: Sure he does. Grace is looking for him.

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Speaker 1: Well, she's working in the clubs.

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Speaker 3: That's okay. Grace can go into a club.

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Speaker 1: God's Grace knows no boundaries, has no limitations. Well, they

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Speaker 1: don't worship like me, Joel. They come from a different faith.

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Speaker 1: That doesn't stop God. Grace is looking for them. Our

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Speaker 1: titles don't set a boundary for the creator of the universe.

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Speaker 1: Well they're Muslim, their Buddhists, their Hindu. That doesn't stop God.

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Speaker 1: Our God is all powerful. Our religious names, our different affiliations,

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Speaker 1: I can't stop the creator of the universe. This woman

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Speaker 1: was a Samaritan. They came from a different faith, yet

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Speaker 1: she was the first one that God revealed himself to

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Speaker 1: as Messiah. Not to the Jewish leaders, not to the

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Speaker 1: rabbis in the synagogue in today's language, not to the pope,

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Speaker 1: not to the minister on television, but to the girl

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Speaker 1: working in the clubs, to the young man that's never

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Speaker 1: been to church. The longer I live, the more I realize.

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Speaker 1: God will save who he wants to save. God will

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Speaker 1: have mercy on who he wants to have mercy. His

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Speaker 1: grace is looking for people that don't have the best reputation,

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Speaker 1: for people that have blown it and failed, for people

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Speaker 1: that have made a mess.

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Speaker 3: It can penetrate any situation. Are you writing.

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Speaker 1: Someone off thinking that they're too far out there they're

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Speaker 1: never going to change, Or are you writing yourself off

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Speaker 1: thinking you've made too many mistakes, You've missed too many opportunities.

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Speaker 1: Now you have to sit on the sidelines.

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Speaker 3: No grace is coming to you.

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Speaker 1: No mistake you've made is too much for the mercy

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Speaker 1: of God. Nothing you've done has canceled your destiny. You

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Speaker 1: can still become who God's created you to be. Now,

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Speaker 1: quit listening to those lies telling you that you've seen

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Speaker 1: your best days, and you had your chance. Now God

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Speaker 1: is the god of another chance.

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Speaker 3: He will never give up on you.

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Speaker 1: His call on your life is irrevocable. His grace is

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Speaker 1: going to keep coming to you. You may ignore it today,

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Speaker 1: but it'll be there tomorrow and the next week, and

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Speaker 1: next month.

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Speaker 3: Even next year. This is what Jonah did. In the scripture.

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Speaker 1: God told him to go to the city of Nineveh,

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Speaker 1: but he didn't want to go there. He went the

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Speaker 1: other direction. He ended up being thrown overboard into the middle.

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Speaker 3: Of the ocean. He should have drowned.

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Speaker 1: It should have been the end, but Grace showed up

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Speaker 1: in the form of a well. This big fish swallowed

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Speaker 1: him three days later, spit him out on the dry ground.

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Speaker 3: What am I saying?

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Speaker 1: You can't outrun God's grace. Wherever you go, Grace is

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Speaker 1: going to come looking for you. Moses, when he was

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Speaker 1: a young man, he murdered a man.

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Speaker 3: He had to.

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Speaker 1: Flee for his life, spent years on the back side

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Speaker 1: of the desert. Looked like he had missed his destiny.

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Speaker 1: But forty years later Grace came looking for him. God said, Moses,

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Speaker 1: I have not forgotten about my calling on your life.

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Speaker 1: You may have delayed it, but you didn't cancel it.

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Speaker 1: You're still going to fulfill what I put you here

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Speaker 1: to do. And like Moses, you may have made choices

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Speaker 1: that have delayed your destiny, but God is saying you

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Speaker 1: have not canceled your destiny. You can still fulfill your purpose.

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Speaker 1: You can still accomplish your dreams. You need to get ready.

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Speaker 1: God is going to bring opportunities back across your path

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Speaker 1: that you missed out on.

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Speaker 3: You're going to still become.

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Speaker 1: Who God's created you to be a pastor. Friend of

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Speaker 1: mine and stopped by a small convenience store one evening

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Speaker 1: to pick up some milk. There was a young man

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Speaker 1: in line behind him that was buying cigarettes and alcohol.

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Speaker 1: He looked very distraught. You could tell that he was

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Speaker 1: on drugs. This pastor knew he was supposed to reach

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Speaker 1: out to him, talk to him, pray for him, encourage him,

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Speaker 1: and he was going to do it after they both

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Speaker 1: had paid outside the store, But when the clerk turned

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Speaker 1: his back, the young man ran out the store, jumped

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Speaker 1: in his car, and sped off stole those items. The

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Speaker 1: pastor's family was out in the car waiting. They saw

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Speaker 1: all this take place. They said, Dad, he went that

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Speaker 1: way in a blue car. This pastor felt so compelled

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Speaker 1: that he had to find that man. They got in

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Speaker 1: the car and started driving through the community looking for

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Speaker 1: that blue car.

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Speaker 3: What was that grace? Looking for that young man tracking

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Speaker 3: him down?

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Speaker 1: The scripture says God came to seek and to save

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Speaker 1: those that are lost, means to go after to pursue

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Speaker 1: to track down. About twenty minutes later, one of the

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Speaker 1: kids said, Dad, there it is. They spotted the blue

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Speaker 1: car at another grocery store. The pastor went in. The

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Speaker 1: young man had another basket of alcohol and cigarettes. He

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Speaker 1: was going to steal them again. When he saw the pastor,

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Speaker 1: he nearly passed out. The pastor said, young man, God's

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Speaker 1: hand is on your life. This is not the way

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Speaker 1: you're supposed to be living. You're better than this, So

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Speaker 1: I's got real big He said. Who are you? He said,

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Speaker 1: I'm a pastor here in town. God sent me to

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Speaker 1: track you down to let you know you have a

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Speaker 1: destiny to fulfill. He began to tremble and tears came

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Speaker 1: down his cheeks. He said, I'm a heroin addict. I've

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Speaker 1: gone to rehab again and again and again, but I

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Speaker 1: just can't quit. The pastor said, tonight is your night.

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Speaker 1: If you're willing to walk away, the power of those

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Speaker 1: addictions are going to be broken. He put the cigarettes back,

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Speaker 1: put the alcohol away, and that night was his new beginning.

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Speaker 3: That was his turning point.

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Speaker 1: Today he's totally free, living a clean, sober life. The

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Speaker 1: scripture says God so loved the world. It doesn't say

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Speaker 1: God so loved the good people. God so loved people

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Speaker 1: that have it all together. No, God loves people with addictions.

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Speaker 1: God loves people that have gotten off course. God loves

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Speaker 1: people that have made mistakes. His grace is unrestrained. In fact,

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Speaker 1: Paul said, where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.

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Speaker 1: You would think the further you got away from God,

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Speaker 1: the less interested he would be.

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Speaker 3: But it's just the opposite.

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Speaker 1: God leaves the ninety nine and comes searching for you

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Speaker 1: when you go the wrong way, like Jonah.

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Speaker 3: God's going to descend a well when.

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Speaker 1: You get off course, like this young man with addictions.

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Speaker 1: God's gonna have somebody come track you down. When you

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Speaker 1: make a mess of your life, like the lady at

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Speaker 1: the well. God's gonna say, I must go through Samaria,

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Speaker 1: I must let you know, I have a new beginning.

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Speaker 1: I read a story about an older gentleman that was

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Speaker 1: on his death bed. He was in a small hospital

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Speaker 1: all alone in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains in California.

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Speaker 1: It was close to midnight, and just as he was

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Speaker 1: about to pass one of the nurses called her minister,

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Speaker 1: Father O'Malley, and ask if he would come.

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Speaker 3: And pray for the man.

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Speaker 1: There was a big storm taking place outside when rain

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Speaker 1: streets were flooded. He said he'd get there as quickly

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Speaker 1: as he could. What should have been a thirty minute

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Speaker 1: drive took him over two hours. Father O'Malley showed up

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Speaker 1: at the hospital three o'clock in the morning. The nurse said,

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Speaker 1: we don't know much about this man. He has no family,

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Speaker 1: no friends come to see him. Been in and out

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Speaker 1: of the hospital the last two years, but.

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Speaker 3: He won't open up to anyone. It's not friendly at all.

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Speaker 1: Father O'Malley went in and said, hello, sir, I was

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Speaker 1: passing by tonight and I thought i'd stop in and

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Speaker 1: see how you're doing. The man said, very gruffly, you

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Speaker 1: weren't passing by. It's three o'clock in the morning. You

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Speaker 1: know I'm about to die. Father O'Malley prayed for him

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Speaker 1: for a few minutes, and he said, is there anything

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Speaker 1: you'd like to talk about? Anything you need to make right?

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Speaker 1: The men wouldn't say a word, so Father O'Malley started

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Speaker 1: talking about the big storm outside, about the football season,

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Speaker 1: on and on. Eventually the man opened up joined in

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Speaker 1: the conversation. About three hours later, close to daybreak, he said,

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Speaker 1: Father O'Malley, there is one thing I have to get

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Speaker 1: off my chest. I've never told anyone, and it's haunted.

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Speaker 3: Me my whole life.

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Speaker 1: He told how he had worked as a switchman at

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Speaker 1: the railroad his whole career. One night thirty one years earlier,

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Speaker 1: two days before Christmas, he and the crew.

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Speaker 3: Were drinking heavily.

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Speaker 1: There was a big storm outside that night as well,

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Speaker 1: a lot of wind, hardly any visibility. They needed somebody

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Speaker 1: to go out and make the switch for the overnight

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Speaker 1: freight train. He was drunk, so he volunteered to do it.

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Speaker 1: He accidentally hit the wrong button and that freight train

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Speaker 1: slammed into a passenger car, killing a young couple and

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Speaker 1: their two daughters. He said, nobody has ever known what

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Speaker 1: really happened that night, I've lived with the guilt and

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Speaker 1: the shame. I haven't ever been big enough to even

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Speaker 1: admit to the family that it was my fault and

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Speaker 1: to tell them how sorry I really am.

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Speaker 3: There was a long, long pause.

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Speaker 1: Father O'Malley eventually gently took the man's hand, said, sir,

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Speaker 1: the people in that car were my parents and my sisters.

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Speaker 1: And if I can forgive you, you can be certain

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Speaker 1: God forgives you as well. What is that Grace came

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Speaker 1: looking for him. That's how good God is. Even when

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Speaker 1: we run away, God runs to us, even when we

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Speaker 1: don't measure up. God says, that's okay, I forgive you anyway. Well, Joel,

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Speaker 1: he doesn't deserve it. It was his fault. He brought

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Speaker 1: the trouble on himself. That's what grace is all about.

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Speaker 3: You can't earn it.

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Speaker 1: You don't have to be good enough.

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Speaker 3: It's a free gift. All you have to do is

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Speaker 3: receive it.

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Speaker 1: Don't go your whole lifetime like this man, living guilty, condemned,

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Speaker 1: beating yourself up for past mistakes, thinking that you have

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Speaker 1: to pay God back by giving up your peace, your joy,

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Speaker 1: your happiness. Listen, the price has already been paid. Two

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Speaker 1: thousand years ago. It's not our goodness, it's God's goodness.

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Speaker 3: God has made us worthy.

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Speaker 1: But we think, oh, God's never gonna help me. I

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Speaker 1: brought this trouble on myself. But think of it as

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Speaker 1: a father. Imagine our son Jonathan, maybe five years old.

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Speaker 1: I hear him screaming, Daddy, come help me in. I

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Speaker 1: look outside, and he's hanging from a tree branch, kind

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Speaker 1: of high in the air, holding on for dear life.

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Speaker 1: If he falls, he's going to get hurt. I wouldn't say,

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Speaker 1: hang on, Jonathan. Let me think about how good you've

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Speaker 1: been lately.

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Speaker 3: And Victoria. Has Jonathan been cleaning his room? Has he

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Speaker 3: been treating his sister?

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Speaker 4: Right?

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Speaker 1: Dad? Hurry, come help me Just second, Jonathan, I got

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Speaker 1: to check your report card. That wouldn't even enter into

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Speaker 1: my mind.

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Speaker 3: That's my son. I'm gonna do.

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Speaker 1: Anything I can to help him. That's the way our

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Speaker 1: heavenly father is. Even when you make the mistake, even

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Speaker 1: when you bring the trouble on yourself, God is so merciful,

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Speaker 1: he says, I'll still help.

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Speaker 3: You to get out.

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Speaker 1: That's why it's called amazing grace. Don't it You didn't

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Speaker 1: earn it. It's just the goodness of God. One time

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Speaker 1: in the scripture, Jesus was traveling through a town and

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Speaker 1: there was a man named Zachias, the chief of the

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Speaker 1: tax collectors. He wanted to see Jesus, but he was

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Speaker 1: a small man. The streets were packed so crowded he

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Speaker 1: decided to climb up into a tree to get a

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Speaker 1: better view.

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Speaker 3: As Jesus came passing.

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Speaker 1: By, out of the hundreds and hundreds of people screaming, waving,

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Speaker 1: trying to get his attention, Jesus stopped, looked up in

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Speaker 1: the tree and said, Zachias, come down. I want to

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Speaker 1: go to your house and have dinner. They had never

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Speaker 1: met before, but Jesus knew his name. The religious leaders,

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Speaker 1: the Pharisees, they got very upset. They couldn't understand why

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Speaker 1: Jesus would want to associate with Zachias, a tax collector.

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Speaker 1: They were known for being dishonest, cheating people, taking advantage

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Speaker 1: of them. They had a bad reputation, and they thought

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Speaker 1: if Jesus were for real, he would know he was

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Speaker 1: going to dinner with the wrong kind of person. The

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Speaker 1: scripture says they were displeased that he was the guest

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Speaker 1: of a notorious sinner. Isn't it interesting out of all

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Speaker 1: the people there that day, Jesus went home with the

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Speaker 1: most notorious sinner. This didn't line up with the Pharisees theology.

400
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Speaker 1: They thought that Jesus would rebuke Zacheus or at least

401
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Speaker 1: ignore him, but certainly not go home with him.

402
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Speaker 3: But this is where grace shows off.

403
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Speaker 1: Grace comes to the least likely to those that don't

404
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Speaker 1: deserve it, to those that have made a mess. Religion says,

405
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Speaker 1: stay away, man, you're bad. God says, I'm coming to

406
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Speaker 1: see you. I'm gonna make you better. Jesus didn't preach

407
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Speaker 1: to Zacheus. He didn't beraate him, say you lousy sinner

408
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Speaker 1: that kiss, What do you mean cheating people? You ought

409
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Speaker 1: to be ashamed of yourself. He simply loved him, He

410
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: showed him, He became his friend, and zach kias of.

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Speaker 3: His own free will, said from this day forward.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna give half my income to the poor, and

413
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Speaker 1: if I've harmed or cheated anybody, I'm gonna make things right.

414
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Speaker 1: He changed his ways not because he was shamed into it,

415
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Speaker 1: but because he was loved into it. The scripture says,

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Speaker 1: it's the goodness of God.

417
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Speaker 3: That leads to repentance.

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Speaker 1: For some people, all they've heard about is how mad

419
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Speaker 1: God is at them, how they need to do better,

420
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Speaker 1: how they don't measure up. But when you really understand

421
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Speaker 1: the grace of God, the fact that God is for you,

422
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Speaker 1: and even if you're a most notorious sinner, God is

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Speaker 1: not holding that against you. If Jesus were here on

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Speaker 1: earth today, he would say, I want to come over

425
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Speaker 1: and hang out.

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Speaker 3: With you today. Grace is looking for you, and.

427
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Speaker 1: If you'll receive it, quit beating yourself up, living guilty

428
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Speaker 1: and condemned, then you'll have the power to break strongholds

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Speaker 1: anything that's holding you back. When Jesus spoke to the

430
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Speaker 1: woman that was caught in adultery, all the men wanted

431
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Speaker 1: to stone her, but Jesus said, you that are without

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Speaker 1: sin cast the first stone, and everybody walked away. Jesus

433
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Speaker 1: said to the lady, neither do I condemn you. Now

434
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Speaker 1: go and sin no more. He didn't say, go and

435
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,480
Speaker 1: sin no more than I won't condemn you. Lady, get

436
00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,960
Speaker 1: your act together, start making better choices. Then I'll forgive you. No,

437
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:31,320
Speaker 1: he said, I.

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Speaker 3: Don't condemn you. Now go and change your ways.

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00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,080
Speaker 1: See the principle is if people feel condemned, they feel berated,

440
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,080
Speaker 1: told that they don't measure up, then they don't change.

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00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,320
Speaker 1: They live guilty, feeling bad about themselves, weighted down by life.

442
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 1: But when you know you're not condemned, you know God's

443
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:54,040
Speaker 1: not holding your mistakes against you. When you realize God

444
00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:56,679
Speaker 1: is saying, I want to come to your house, I

445
00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 1: want to be your friend. Other people may have written

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00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,919
Speaker 1: you off, but I don't write you off. I know

447
00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,240
Speaker 1: what you have to offer. I know how amazing you are.

448
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: That's when you'll have the power to really change. You

449
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,760
Speaker 1: may have made mistakes, you're not where you want to be.

450
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: Those accusing voices, they'll remind you of all your shortcomings,

451
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,840
Speaker 1: everything that you've done wrong. But by faith, you've got

452
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,160
Speaker 1: to hear God saying to you, I don't condemn you.

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00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,359
Speaker 1: I'm not holding anything against you. I'm not keeping a

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00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 1: record of your mistakes. Friends, Grace is coming to you today.

455
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,440
Speaker 1: I'm asking will you receive it? Will you shake off

456
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 1: the guilt and condemnation. Will you put your shoulders back,

457
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 1: hold your head up high. Nothing you've done has canceled

458
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 1: your destiny. Some of you are kind of down on

459
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,640
Speaker 1: yourself focused on all the ways that you don't measure up.

460
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: Just like Jesus said, I must go through Samaria to

461
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 1: meet that woman that's been beaten down by life. God

462
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,000
Speaker 1: is saying, get to you and let you know my

463
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: mercy is bigger than any mistake. I'm not interested in

464
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,360
Speaker 1: your past. I'm interested in your future. I must let

465
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 1: you know that you are forgiven, you are redeemed.

466
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:16,640
Speaker 3: It's not the end. I have a new beginning. Your

467
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,520
Speaker 3: best days are still out in front of you.

468
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:19,120
Speaker 4: Now.

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00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 1: You may not deserve this, you may be the least likely.

470
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,000
Speaker 1: That's what grace is all about.

471
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 3: It's promiscuous, it's unrestrained. It goes to anyone.

472
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,080
Speaker 1: If you'll receive this grace, God will do for you

473
00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,239
Speaker 1: what he did for Paul. He will bless you in

474
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:40,119
Speaker 1: spite of your mistakes. He will still make something great

475
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,680
Speaker 1: out of your life, in spite of your past. Like Jonah,

476
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,440
Speaker 1: even when you bring the trouble on yourself, God will

477
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,679
Speaker 1: be there to help you get out. Like with a

478
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,880
Speaker 1: young man with addictions, God is going to track down

479
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 1: your loved ones.

480
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:54,960
Speaker 3: He's going to search out your.

481
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,080
Speaker 1: Relatives that are off course, set them free, cause them

482
00:26:58,119 --> 00:26:59,600
Speaker 1: to fulfill their destinies.

483
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,880
Speaker 3: Believe and declare. Grace is coming our way.

484
00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:06,440
Speaker 1: If you receive it, Can you say amen today? But

485
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,159
Speaker 1: we never like to close our broadcast without giving you

486
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 1: an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life.

487
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 1: Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I'll

488
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 1: repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make

489
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 1: you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that

490
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in

491
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,360
Speaker 1: a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's

492
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,520
Speaker 1: going to take your places that you've never dreamed of.

493
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,600
Speaker 4: It starts with just a tiny seed. From it tender

494
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,520
Speaker 4: bud sprout the miracle of new life blooms and thrives.

495
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,440
Speaker 4: But how do you experience the same miraculous and extraordinary

496
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:48,159
Speaker 4: growth in your own life?

497
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,880
Speaker 1: Sometimes our life is limited because we're believing too small.

498
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:53,640
Speaker 3: Faith is like a sea.

499
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 1: When you believe all things are possible, that's when you'll

500
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: see new growth, opportunity, and we don't.

501
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 3: Have to figure out how it's going to happen. All

502
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 3: we have to do is believe.

503
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,199
Speaker 1: There may not be a way in the natural, but

504
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,679
Speaker 1: our God is supernatural. We'd like to send you this

505
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,159
Speaker 1: time next year, Believe Big Journal. It will help you

506
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,760
Speaker 1: to enlarger vision and stretch your faith. Where would you

507
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 1: like to be a year from now? Who knows what

508
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,160
Speaker 1: God will do in twenty twenty four if you'll take

509
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,680
Speaker 1: the limits off of Him and believe for the great

510
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:27,240
Speaker 1: things He's placed in your heart.

511
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 4: As our thank you for your gift of any amount

512
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,840
Speaker 4: this month, we want to send you that this time

513
00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,640
Speaker 4: next year, Believe Big Journal, along with our new Believe tea.

514
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,160
Speaker 4: As you begin to Believe Big, you'll see God move

515
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:45,680
Speaker 4: in powerful ways, the impossible made possible. Growth, provision, and

516
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,320
Speaker 4: new opportunities will burst forth above and beyond which you

517
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 4: can ask or imagine. Also, for the first time ever,

518
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 4: we want to present you with our new Believe t shirt,

519
00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:00,320
Speaker 4: created exclusively by our friends at Copperfeed for the viewewers

520
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,960
Speaker 4: and partners of Joe Lostein. We invite you to wear

521
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 4: and declare which you are believing God for in twenty

522
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 4: twenty four. It's a gift from Copperfit as they extend

523
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 4: their support of the message of Hope.

524
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 1: Many of you have watched us a long time, but

525
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:16,360
Speaker 1: you've never been to Lakewood.

526
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 3: We have a perfect time.

527
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:22,080
Speaker 1: We're calling it Homecoming weekend April thirteenth and fourteenth. We'd

528
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,720
Speaker 1: love to meet you. I'll introduce you to my family.

529
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,840
Speaker 1: You can see the facility and enjoy a service. We'd

530
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,200
Speaker 1: be honored to have you. We'll make you feel right

531
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,400
Speaker 1: at home. Remember you can watch the services live online

532
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 1: every Sunday, download our podcast watch on YouTube. We'll keep

533
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,480
Speaker 1: you inspired and encouraged.

534
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 4: Be sure to request your copy of This Time next year.

535
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,520
Speaker 4: Believe Big Journal and the Copperfit Believe t shirt as

536
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,560
Speaker 4: our gift of thanks Today, visit jolostein dot com or

537
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,280
Speaker 4: call us toll free