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

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: of you who are here in the room, be seated.

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Speaker 1: Let's get started. And those of you who are a

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Speaker 1: part of our EFAM, our global extended family, or as

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Speaker 1: we call it these days, everybody family, because none of

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Speaker 1: us are really you know, it's kind of been weird.

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Speaker 1: I always have the worship team come back out here

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Speaker 1: and sit with me while I preach. One of my

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Speaker 1: preacher friends was like, why do you have the worship

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Speaker 1: team up there? And I was like, it's lonely up here, man.

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Speaker 1: And especially it's kind of ominous preaching in an empty

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Speaker 1: auditorium because we built this room for, like, I don't

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Speaker 1: know one hundred times the amount of people that we're

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Speaker 1: allowed to put in here right now, so it's kind

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Speaker 1: of it's kind of creepy. I mean, I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: anything bad about those of y'all who are here, but

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Speaker 1: it just looks like the rapture happened, and y'all weren't

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Speaker 1: living right when it did. We all missed it. So

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Speaker 1: it's kind of lonely up here on preaching. Are y'all

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Speaker 1: the only ones coming back today? There's more coming? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: even since the first week of when we went into quarantine.

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Speaker 1: I was like, if y'all could just keep some stools

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Speaker 1: back there, and when you put your mics down, grab

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Speaker 1: a stool and come sit with me, because it'll just

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Speaker 1: help me to not feel lonely. And you wouldn't think

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Speaker 1: the pulpit would be a lonely place, but sometimes it

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Speaker 1: can be because you're bearing your soul for everybody to see,

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Speaker 1: and especially some people have these facial expressions when you're preaching.

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Speaker 1: They look at you with a very I don't want

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Speaker 1: to be judgmental in the way I put this, but

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Speaker 1: they look at you like they never did anything wrong

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Speaker 1: in their life, and they look at you like they

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Speaker 1: might have something better to do. Not not everybody looks

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Speaker 1: at you that way, but sometimes when you're preaching, it's

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Speaker 1: like you're trying to give out a bunch of love,

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Speaker 1: and sometimes you don't get the same amount of love back.

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Speaker 1: So in an empty room. It's different or an almost

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Speaker 1: empty room. I don't know what you can see, but

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Speaker 1: all these seats are empty. It's kind of lonely. You know.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of lonely lately. It's been kind of lonely lately,

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Speaker 1: hadn't it. It's been kind of lonely. And we used

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Speaker 1: to get to come to church, and this was one

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Speaker 1: place where we could come. You know, whether you were

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Speaker 1: going to a rock Hill formerly rock Hill now known

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Speaker 1: as Riverwalk Campus, or whether you were going to our

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Speaker 1: Gaston campus or Blakeney Campus or Valentine here where I preach,

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Speaker 1: or Raleigh Durham or Morrisville or Greenville or Greensboro. We

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Speaker 1: had all these campuses, and the idea was where you

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Speaker 1: could come out and be with others and to know

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Speaker 1: that you're not alone in this thing called faith. You're

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Speaker 1: not alone in this battle called life. Somebody say it

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Speaker 1: in the chat, I'm not alone. I'm not alone, and

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Speaker 1: just make eye contact with somebody, if anybody's there, and

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Speaker 1: tell them you're not alone, You're not alone, You're not alone.

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Speaker 1: But right now it's kind of harder for us to

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Speaker 1: do that because even if you were here, I couldn't

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Speaker 1: have you touch your neighbor. I used to have people

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Speaker 1: touching their neighbor all the time during church, and somebody

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Speaker 1: would say that's obnoxious and touch my neighbor. I am

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Speaker 1: touching my neighbor. I don't touch my neighbor. I don't

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Speaker 1: even know my neighbor's ends have been. I don't know

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Speaker 1: if my neighbor you high five my neighbor. I'm not

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Speaker 1: trying to catch anything. Well, now it's almost illegal to

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Speaker 1: touch have them touch your neighbor is so it's really

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Speaker 1: really different. It's kind of been lonely. Do you all

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Speaker 1: remember when we recorded the Blessing, the song the Blessing.

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Speaker 1: I went to watch the video the other day of

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Speaker 1: the song the Blessing, and it was amazing to me, how, how,

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Speaker 1: what was such a joyful moment when we recorded that

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Speaker 1: song with our church had a little bit of sepia

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Speaker 1: to it, a little bit of sadness, just a little

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Speaker 1: bit of melancholy to it because we didn't know that

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Speaker 1: a couple weeks after we released The Blessing that the

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Speaker 1: buildings where we used to gather would sit empty. And

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Speaker 1: when I watch it back, man, I feel kind of homesick.

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Speaker 1: I was telling Holly that the other night, I said,

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Speaker 1: I feel kind of homesick, I kind of miss some things.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of lonely, and I want to preach to

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Speaker 1: you along those lines today. From Mark chapter one, verse

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Speaker 1: thirty five through forty five. I asked the Lord what

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Speaker 1: I could give you today that would help you, And

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Speaker 1: he knows that I don't know what you need right now,

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Speaker 1: but he's gracious, and so I believe that he gave

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Speaker 1: me something that is beyond my limitations of human understanding,

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Speaker 1: that's going to reach right into your spirit and speak

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Speaker 1: to you. I want to encourage you to share this

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Speaker 1: message with somebody. While we cannot convene physically, It's never

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Speaker 1: been easier for you to share the Word of God

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Speaker 1: with somebody in that awesome So right now, you could

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Speaker 1: click a share button wherever you're watching this, or you

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Speaker 1: could text a link. You could reach out to somebody

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Speaker 1: and say there's a message that's going forth right now,

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Speaker 1: and I want you to be a part of it

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Speaker 1: with me. Just because we are physically alone doesn't mean

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Speaker 1: that we have to be spiritually. And that's why we're here,

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Speaker 1: and that's why we keep coming out every week, no

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Speaker 1: matter how crazy it gets outside. No matter how uncertain

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Speaker 1: it is in the world, We've got to keep coming together.

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Speaker 1: We've got to keep coming together, and it's so important

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Speaker 1: that we do, and it's so important that we continue

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Speaker 1: to come around God's word, which never changes in a

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Speaker 1: world that has never been more unstable. So today's message

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Speaker 1: comes from Mark, chapter one, verse thirty five through forty five,

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Speaker 1: and the Bible says that very early in the morning,

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Speaker 1: while it was still dark, Jesus got up, very early

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Speaker 1: in the morning, while it was still dark. Jesus got up,

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Speaker 1: very early in the morning, while it was still dark.

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Speaker 1: Jesus got up. No, your YouTube is not buffering. I

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Speaker 1: read it three times on purpose. I wonder if that's

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Speaker 1: foreshadowing something that's going to happen later. In the Gospel

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Speaker 1: of Mark, very early in the morning, while it was

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Speaker 1: still dark, Jesus got up. I'm gonna turn my chair

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Speaker 1: around and preach back here and see if anybody knows

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Speaker 1: the Bible back here. I just wondered if if Mark

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Speaker 1: put that in because he was giving a little bit

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Speaker 1: of foreshadowing of what would happen later. Very early, while

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Speaker 1: it was still dark, Jesus got up, and so just

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Speaker 1: pointing that out to you that God knows how this

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Speaker 1: thing ends, that he knows how this thing turns out. Oh,

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Speaker 1: you're not ready for me, Jean Lacky. Very early in

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Speaker 1: the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up,

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Speaker 1: left the house and went off to a solitary place

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Speaker 1: where he prayed. Where he prayed, Simon and his companions

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Speaker 1: went to look for him, and when they found him,

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Speaker 1: they exclaimed, everyone is looking for you, and Jesus replied,

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Speaker 1: let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages, so

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Speaker 1: I can preach there also. That is why I have come.

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Speaker 1: That is why I have come. So he traveled throughout Galilee,

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Speaker 1: preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. A man

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Speaker 1: with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees,

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Speaker 1: if you're willing, you can make me clean. Jesus was indignant.

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Speaker 1: He reached out his hand and touched the man. I

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Speaker 1: am willing, he said, be clean. Immediately the leprosy left

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Speaker 1: him and he was cleansed. Jesus sent him away at

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Speaker 1: once with a strong warning. See that you don't tell

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Speaker 1: this to anyone, but go show yourself to the priests

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Speaker 1: and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing

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Speaker 1: as a testimony to them. Instead, he went out and

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Speaker 1: began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result,

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Speaker 1: Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed

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Speaker 1: outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to

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Speaker 1: him from everywhere. That's my title today. It says Jesus

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Speaker 1: could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside

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Speaker 1: in lonely places. I want to talk to you about

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Speaker 1: lonely places today. Lonely places. Let's pray. God, you inhabit

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Speaker 1: all things. You inhabit the praise of your people. You

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Speaker 1: inhabit the broken and the contrite heart. Today, Lord, I

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Speaker 1: pray that you would fill every kitchen where this word

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Speaker 1: is going forth. That you would fill every bedroom where

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Speaker 1: this word is going forth, every living room, every condo,

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Speaker 1: every back deck, every car, every hospital room, every prison

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Speaker 1: cell where this word is going forth. And everybody in

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Speaker 1: this room is here to agree with me that you

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Speaker 1: are filling all spaces right now with your glory. And

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Speaker 1: we thank you that you are here. We thank you

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Speaker 1: that we are never forsaken, never abandoned. We pray this

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Speaker 1: and believe this because we have your word on it,

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Speaker 1: a guarantee from Heaven that never will you leave us

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Speaker 1: or forsake us. And we stand on that promise right

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Speaker 1: now in Jesus' name. Amen, Amen in the chat. Amen,

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Speaker 1: in the chat. Jesus is hiding from his disciples. Jesus

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Speaker 1: is hiding from his disciples. Let's make all of a

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Speaker 1: Catholic church for a minute and have a confession. All right,

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Speaker 1: Let's turn this into a confession booth in the chat.

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Speaker 1: How many parents have hiding places where you go to

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Speaker 1: get away from your kids. There's a few hands going

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Speaker 1: up in the room. Raise your hand in the chat.

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Speaker 1: And I know y'all don't have kids yet. You don't

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Speaker 1: have kids. You don't have kids, so you're judging this

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Speaker 1: whole situation right now. Oh, if I had kids, I

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Speaker 1: would be emotionally available so that they could see the

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Speaker 1: heart of my good, good Father whose arms are open wide.

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Speaker 1: But we have this workout, little workout room in my house.

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Speaker 1: I'm grateful for it. Sometimes I go in there for

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Speaker 1: six hours, six hours and do ten bicep curls. It's

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Speaker 1: really like a second office for me. I go in

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Speaker 1: there to hide and I go in there, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I'd be seven times bigger if I was actually lifting

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Speaker 1: weights in there. But I go in there just to hide.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes I have a whole desk right beside my pre

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Speaker 1: workout is a and then a notebook. Especially in these

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Speaker 1: last few weeks, I've had how many of you, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I see it in the chat from Jessica and Ivy

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Speaker 1: and Jesse, all the hands raising, and all of you

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Speaker 1: that are judging me with the captions because your kids

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Speaker 1: are only six months old right now, and I just

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Speaker 1: let this none of them all the time. And I

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Speaker 1: speak this as a prophetic declaration into your future. If

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Speaker 1: you watch this message, in five years, you will have

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Speaker 1: nests within your home. If you parent long enough, you

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Speaker 1: will do drive bys on your own house. When you

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Speaker 1: come home from work. You will go to work to

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Speaker 1: hide and rest from your children. Praise the Lord. And

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Speaker 1: it's interesting because, like I was saying, some of the

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Speaker 1: places that we used to go to get away are

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Speaker 1: now places where we can no longer go. And it's

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Speaker 1: forced us to deal with some of the things in

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Speaker 1: our own hearts that we used to be able to

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Speaker 1: run from. Y'all didn't come to help me preach today.

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Speaker 1: It's lonely in this elevation pulpit today. And Jesus, I

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Speaker 1: don't feel so bad about hiding from my kids every

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Speaker 1: now and then. And I really am a very very

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Speaker 1: present dad. I don't want you to get the wrong

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Speaker 1: idea every once in a while, like Jesus I got

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Speaker 1: to get away from Peter. I thought it was so

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Speaker 1: ironic because we talk about spending time with Jesus. I

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Speaker 1: see all on Instagram, with your coffee mug and your

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Speaker 1: journal and your amplified Bible, study scripture, three different translations,

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Speaker 1: devotion books talking about spending it, you know, just spending

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Speaker 1: some time with Jesus. And I thought it was cool

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Speaker 1: that even Jesus needed to spend time with Jesus. This

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Speaker 1: is really important because if you never spend any time

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Speaker 1: disconnected from the external, you will always be driven by

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Speaker 1: agendas that come from the outside. The life of Jesus

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Speaker 1: models in so many ways the ability to live from within.

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Speaker 1: What he's teaching us here is not just the importance

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Speaker 1: of getting up early. And thank God, because I'm not

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Speaker 1: a morning person. I think it's hilarious that I have

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Speaker 1: to preach these messages in the morning, because a lot

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Speaker 1: of mornings, I don't even feel like a Christian until

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Speaker 1: about eleven AM. It takes me that long to get

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Speaker 1: saved again. It takes me a cup of coffee and

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Speaker 1: a diet coke just to feel the Holy Spirit in

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Speaker 1: the morning. But Jesus got up early why to pray,

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Speaker 1: to align himself with his purpose. And it's never been

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Speaker 1: more important because Jesus is at the height of his popularity,

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Speaker 1: and he understood that popularity and purpose don't often work together.

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Speaker 1: In fact, in fact, can I preach like I did

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Speaker 1: to the young people? Can I preach like I did

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Speaker 1: to the young people? I was telling them not to

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Speaker 1: confuse fame with fruitfulness, not to confuse being noticed with

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Speaker 1: being known. When I came and preached to the young

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Speaker 1: people on Friday to close youth X, I was telling

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Speaker 1: them how Jesus refused to be controlled by popular opinion

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Speaker 1: or external agendas. And for this reason, the Bible says

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Speaker 1: that he snuck away from Peter James, John Andrew Bartholomew

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Speaker 1: went to a solitary place. The Bible calls it. It's

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Speaker 1: the same phrase that you would see to mean wilderness

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Speaker 1: or wasteland or desert. Jesus apparently had a secret spot

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Speaker 1: that he liked to go and recharge and spend time

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Speaker 1: with Jesus. Jesus had to go spend some time with

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Speaker 1: Jesus and with his father, and the Bible calls this

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Speaker 1: prayer not just a time for him to read through

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Speaker 1: his list of things that he'd like God to do

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Speaker 1: for him, but a place for him to get his

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Speaker 1: orders on the inside what God wanted him to do

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Speaker 1: that day. Now, if you do not have this place

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Speaker 1: in your life where you go and you are willing

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Speaker 1: to be alone for a little while, you will spend

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Speaker 1: your entire life scrolling through screenshots of everybody else's idea

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Speaker 1: of purpose. But Jesus understood that it is important to

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Speaker 1: get alone sometimes, to get alone sometimes. And I found

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Speaker 1: out that we're living in a time where it's never

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Speaker 1: been more difficult to really be alone. I mean really alone.

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Speaker 1: I don't mean that there's no other human bodies around.

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Speaker 1: That's pretty easy right now, but I mean to really

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Speaker 1: just be alone and to really seek God. What do

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Speaker 1: you want me to do? That's hard to do because

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Speaker 1: I'm bombarded. It's hard to do because you know, if

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Speaker 1: I'm reading my Bible or if i'm watching a sermon

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Speaker 1: on the same phone where I have my Bible app,

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Speaker 1: there's all these other apps. It's never been harder to

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Speaker 1: be alone. Have you noticed this? Even when we're alone,

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Speaker 1: we are flooded with voices. Even when we are alone,

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Speaker 1: there is an abundance of noise. And so Jesus had

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Speaker 1: a spot, and you have to have a spot. And

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Speaker 1: I wish they made an airplane mode switch on my mind.

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Speaker 1: You know how they have it on the phone where

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Speaker 1: you can turn off the connection and just be with

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Speaker 1: what's really on the device. I wish there was one

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Speaker 1: for my mind, but I can't find it in my mind.

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Speaker 1: And I find that even when I'm all alone physically emotionally,

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Speaker 1: it's a crowded space. Right now, one of the issues

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Speaker 1: of our day is going to be that we are

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Speaker 1: going to become numb to the things that really matter,

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Speaker 1: because we are so bombarded and constantly connected to the

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Speaker 1: things that are peripheral that buy for our attention that

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Speaker 1: are not really essential. I'm preaching Caroline, I'm preaching Melissa,

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Speaker 1: I'm preaching nel Yes, I am. Jesus got alone. He

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Speaker 1: chose to go get along. Now. It wasn't easy for

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Speaker 1: him in fact, the Bible says that Peter came looking

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Speaker 1: for him. Peter came looking for him. You know all

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Speaker 1: my kids have started doing now, They started facetiming me

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Speaker 1: in my own house. Yes, they have face time in

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Speaker 1: me in my own house, looking for me, like I'm

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Speaker 1: on their payroll. So Peter tracks Jesus down. And listen

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Speaker 1: the Greek. You can look this up on a study

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Speaker 1: Bible if you want to. The Greek where it says

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Speaker 1: that he went looking for Jesus. When Jesus went to

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Speaker 1: his little spot. You know, Jesus had a little spot

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Speaker 1: where he could get along, just be alone, hear what

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Speaker 1: the father says, and get away from all the distractions,

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Speaker 1: and get away from all the opinions, and get away

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Speaker 1: from all the twenty four hour cycle of depression and

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Speaker 1: anxiety and craziness that they feed to us. And they

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Speaker 1: give us our fear in the form of entertainment, and

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Speaker 1: we didn't even realize we're hooked on stuff that is

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Speaker 1: designed to keep us in a state of needing, the

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Speaker 1: very thing that is killing us. Jesus got away and

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Speaker 1: here comes Peter. Here comes Peter. The Greek says he

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Speaker 1: tracked him down, almost like he was a stalker, almost

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Speaker 1: like how the devil will track you down, almost like

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Speaker 1: how anxiety will track you down, almost how something that

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Speaker 1: happened two years ago will track you down and try

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Speaker 1: to keep you from enjoying this present moment. And Peter's

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Speaker 1: like a rabbi. Everybody's looking for you, as if Jesus

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Speaker 1: was going to conform to the expectations of others when

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Speaker 1: he came from God for a purpose that was innate

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Speaker 1: to his very nature. They're looking for you. Man. You

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Speaker 1: gotta get out there. Do some more of this exorcisms,

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Speaker 1: these demons casting out. This is playing really well in

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Speaker 1: the polls. People say that they'd be more likely to

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Speaker 1: vote for you if you would do more of these exorcisms.

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Speaker 1: You know, Jesus is at the height of his popularity,

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Speaker 1: but he chooses to be alone and watch what he

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Speaker 1: does next. And this is what you can do when

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Speaker 1: your intention is set from within. Here's what I mean

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Speaker 1: by that, seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.

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Speaker 1: Here's what I mean from that, you operate from a

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Speaker 1: place of peace, not a place of pressure. Here's what

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Speaker 1: I mean by that. You let the world be as

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Speaker 1: crazy as it wants to be. But you have something

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Speaker 1: that transcends understanding to guard your heart and mind in Christ, Jesus,

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Speaker 1: here's what I mean by that. You set up boundaries

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Speaker 1: and you say, this is the scope of what I'm

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Speaker 1: willing to give my attention to. You set your focus

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Speaker 1: and your eyes on what is eternal, not what is temporal,

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Speaker 1: and Jesus saying, I'm glad they're looking for me, but

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Speaker 1: right now I need to be alone, So let's go.

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Speaker 1: This is what he said to Peter, to some of

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Speaker 1: the other villages in towns, because this is what I

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Speaker 1: came for. This is what I came for. Somebody in

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Speaker 1: the chat say, this is what I came for. This

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Speaker 1: is what I came for. When you know what goes

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Speaker 1: on the other side of that, this is what I

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Speaker 1: came for. Like, Okay, to church today, what did you

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Speaker 1: come for? What did you come for? What did you

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Speaker 1: log on for? What is your purpose in being here?

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Speaker 1: My purpose today is to preach the word of God

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Speaker 1: to you. I'm not able to change you. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I'm just a person, so I'm not even able to

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Speaker 1: give you the illumination to the issues that plague humanity

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Speaker 1: is to be. But I know what I'm here for

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Speaker 1: I am here to speak a word from God, and

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Speaker 1: I believe that He has given me a tongue to

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Speaker 1: sustain the weary. And the Lord sent me today for

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Speaker 1: an assignment for somebody who's been in a lonely place.

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Speaker 1: I wanted you to notice that Jesus chose to go

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Speaker 1: to a lonely place. Jesus chose for a season to

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Speaker 1: separate himself from all of the stress. Jesus chose to

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Speaker 1: separate himself from all of the drama. Jesus chose to

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Speaker 1: separate himself from all of the demands that were surrounding him,

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Speaker 1: and he had to save the world. And maybe in

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Speaker 1: this season, the reason that some of us have been

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Speaker 1: so stressed out is because we don't know why God

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Speaker 1: put us here. We have been so busy chasing after

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Speaker 1: things like popularity, status, achievement, recognition. We have been so

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Speaker 1: busy chasing after those things. But Jesus withdrew to a

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Speaker 1: lonely place so he could be reminded of his assignment

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Speaker 1: and aligned with the reason that God sent him. He said,

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Speaker 1: let's go to some of the other towns. He said,

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Speaker 1: I didn't come to impress people. I didn't come just

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Speaker 1: to do spectacular things so people would see how great

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Speaker 1: I am. I didn't come for that. Let me go

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Speaker 1: do what I came to do. Everybody in this room,

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Speaker 1: do what you came to do today. You shouldn't need

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Speaker 1: an instrument. If you came to worship him, then worship him.

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Speaker 1: If you came to worship him, I don't want a

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Speaker 1: single guitar or a kick drum or an organ. In fact,

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Speaker 1: right now in your home, do what you came to do.

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Speaker 1: If you logged onto this sermon today just to be entertained,

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Speaker 1: then sit there. But if you came to praise the

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Speaker 1: Lord and you don't care how it looks or how

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Speaker 1: it feels, but you know that real worshipers can worship

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Speaker 1: him anywhere, anytime, with anything, then let everything that asks

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Speaker 1: for id praise the Lord. Ten seconds to do what

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Speaker 1: you came to do. Five seconds to do what you

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Speaker 1: came to do. I came to praise you, Lord, I

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Speaker 1: came to magnify you. I came into somebody's home today

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Speaker 1: on this stream to remind them that you are with

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Speaker 1: them in the lonely place, that you are with them

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Speaker 1: in the dark place, that you are rising right now

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Speaker 1: in the spirit of everyone who will set their intention

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Speaker 1: in the direction of their destiny and not the distraction

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Speaker 1: of this moment. Jesus said, let's go do what I

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Speaker 1: came to do. So let's see what he came to do.

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Speaker 1: I know what I came to do. Come on, tell

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Speaker 1: somebody next to you. I don't know what you came

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Speaker 1: to do, but I came to glorify God. I don't

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Speaker 1: know what you think your life is about, but God

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Speaker 1: put me here so the world could have a picture

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Speaker 1: of him. I am made in the image of God.

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Speaker 1: I have a purpose from Almighty God. He said, let's

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Speaker 1: go do what I came to do, not what others

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Speaker 1: expect me to do, but what I came to do.

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Speaker 1: And then the Bible says that in verse forty, a

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Speaker 1: man with leprosy came to Jesus. He said, let's go

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Speaker 1: do what I came to do. And then a man

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Speaker 1: with leprosy came to Jesus. Did the man come to

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Speaker 1: Jesus or did Jesus come to the man? Jesus said,

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Speaker 1: let me show you what I came to do. And

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Speaker 1: a man with leprosy came to him and begged him

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Speaker 1: on his knees. A man in a desperate situation, a

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Speaker 1: man who had a skin condition that the dermatologists couldn't fix,

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Speaker 1: a man who had been quarantined outside the camp. See

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Speaker 1: a lot of things we can go through. We think

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Speaker 1: they're new. So most of us just found out about

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Speaker 1: social distancing a few months ago. Social distancing is in

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Speaker 1: Mark chapter one and Leviticus thirteen. The challenges we face

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Speaker 1: are nothing new to God. They're new to us. The

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Speaker 1: thing you're dealing with right now is nothing new to God.

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Speaker 1: What you think you have some some struggle or some

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Speaker 1: sin that's just so innovative. You think you're like that

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Speaker 1: creative of a sinner, that God has never seen your

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Speaker 1: sin before. Man, we often forget that He came for

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Speaker 1: the things that we try to hide. That's why I came.

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Speaker 1: He said, let me do what I came to do. Jesus,

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Speaker 1: everybody's looking for you. You got a book signing it one.

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Speaker 1: Joe Rogan's got you on the podcast today. This is big, Jesus.

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Speaker 1: This could be a big moment for your ministry. And

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Speaker 1: a leper came to Jesus. A leper came to Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Before we gloss over the power of that sentence, I

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Speaker 1: want you to understand that Jesus had the legal right

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Speaker 1: to pick up the first stone that he saw and

429
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,840
Speaker 1: throw it at the leper, because according to vitical law,

430
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,080
Speaker 1: if a leper gets within fifty paces of someone who

431
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,600
Speaker 1: has been deemed clean, the clean has the right to

432
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:13,160
Speaker 1: throw at the unclean a stone. So when it says

433
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,760
Speaker 1: a leper came to Jesus, I want you to pause

434
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,679
Speaker 1: and think about the tremendous risk that was represented in

435
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,160
Speaker 1: this man's decision. He had a way that he could

436
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:29,320
Speaker 1: live with leprosy, and we are given no detail to

437
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:36,240
Speaker 1: how the condition appeared or when it spread. It's kind

438
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,720
Speaker 1: of interesting that we don't even know this man's name,

439
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 1: just his issue. We don't know his hopes, his dreams,

440
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:55,199
Speaker 1: just this issue. We don't know his children's names, or

441
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,080
Speaker 1: how long it may have been since he got to

442
00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:02,320
Speaker 1: hold his daughter in his arms, just as issues. We

443
00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 1: don't get to know all the people that he had

444
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,600
Speaker 1: helped at one point in his life that would no

445
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,680
Speaker 1: longer come near him anymore, because to do so would

446
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: to be exposed himself to a disease that was deemed

447
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,960
Speaker 1: very contagious at this time. We just know him by

448
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,520
Speaker 1: his issue. Isn't it awful to be defined by your issues?

449
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 1: Isn't it terrible when something takes over your life to

450
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,480
Speaker 1: the point where it seems to overshadow all the good

451
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,560
Speaker 1: things about you, and now all you're known by is

452
00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 1: your issues. Isn't it a horrible thing when you go

453
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:39,520
Speaker 1: to try to think about something good, but all of

454
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 1: the issues of everything that is wrong clouds out all

455
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 1: the things that are right. It's a horrible thing to

456
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 1: be known by your issues. And some people will define

457
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:56,280
Speaker 1: you by your issues to hide the fact that they

458
00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:03,960
Speaker 1: don't have issues. They have a whole subscription. Love Dad

459
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,880
Speaker 1: jokes in my sermon, just to lighten the mood. It's

460
00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:12,040
Speaker 1: a horrible thing to be known by your issues and

461
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,560
Speaker 1: to have your issue come into the room before you do.

462
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,000
Speaker 1: That's what it was like to be a leper. If

463
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: you were a leper, you were required by law to

464
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 1: walk into a space where you were intending to get

465
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 1: in the distance or vicinity of anyone who was not

466
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,440
Speaker 1: a leper. You could live in a leper colony. You

467
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,680
Speaker 1: could live with other people who had the same skin

468
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,480
Speaker 1: condition as you, but you were confined to that place.

469
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,680
Speaker 1: If you wanted to come out of that place, you

470
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 1: had to say this at least two times. Unclean, unclean.

471
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,600
Speaker 1: You don't get to announce yourself by your name. You

472
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,520
Speaker 1: don't get to announce yourself by the fact that you

473
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,560
Speaker 1: have a good heart. How lonely would it be if

474
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 1: you were only known by your issue and nobody really

475
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,360
Speaker 1: ever saw the real you. Now there's a there's a

476
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:05,040
Speaker 1: contrast here. Jesus was becoming known by his gift. The

477
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:09,000
Speaker 1: man was known by his issue. I've met a lot

478
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 1: of famous people who are known by their gift, but

479
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,800
Speaker 1: they are never accepted for their personhood. So they are

480
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 1: lonely because they are only known for what they do,

481
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 1: not who they are. Jesus resisted that, But here comes

482
00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:29,680
Speaker 1: a man who's willing to say, I got oppressed past

483
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,360
Speaker 1: my issue. I want to be touch, I want to

484
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,680
Speaker 1: be known. I want to feel again. I don't want

485
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 1: to live like this on the outside. I don't want

486
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 1: to have to scream every time I walk in a

487
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 1: room unclean, unclean, unclean, unclean. What if you had to

488
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,760
Speaker 1: announce in the chap what you struggle with to keep

489
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:59,400
Speaker 1: streaming this sermon? Would you say? What if y'all had

490
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 1: to come in here to and before they let you

491
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:06,720
Speaker 1: in to record this worship. They didn't just take your

492
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 1: temperature with that little gun they put in tested your temperature?

493
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 1: What did they put a little thermometer to see? What

494
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,240
Speaker 1: was your biggest temptation that you gave into last week?

495
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:23,000
Speaker 1: Would you come in if they could scan you for that?

496
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 1: Would you come in? Elijah was asking me the other

497
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 1: day if every thought that you had went on the

498
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,720
Speaker 1: screen during worship, like the lyrics to the song, would

499
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: you still have a job. I said, nope. I wouldn't

500
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,600
Speaker 1: have any friends. I wouldn't have a job, I wouldn't

501
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,080
Speaker 1: have anything. I said, how about you, would you have

502
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:40,920
Speaker 1: any friends? Would you put it on the screen? He

503
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 1: said nope. He said, I said what would what would

504
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:46,480
Speaker 1: come on the screen if we could see your thoughts?

505
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,120
Speaker 1: He said, I'm not telling you. I'm gonna telling you either.

506
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,240
Speaker 1: And we just kept kept moving right along. But Jesus,

507
00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,160
Speaker 1: when the man came to him, y'all think this is

508
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: dangerous because we're supposed to be social distancing, punishable by death.

509
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: Here comes this man who all of his life has

510
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,600
Speaker 1: had to walk around identified by his issue. Or maybe

511
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,400
Speaker 1: it wasn't all his life, Maybe it's more recent nobody

512
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 1: really knows. When you got to spoil on your skin

513
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,600
Speaker 1: as a leopard, you had to come to the priests,

514
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:19,720
Speaker 1: the sons of Aran, and you had to show them

515
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 1: the spot that was developing on your skin. And when

516
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 1: you show them the spot that was developing on your skin,

517
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 1: if it was if it was just on the skin,

518
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 1: that was a scab. And if it was just a scab,

519
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,920
Speaker 1: then you could stay integrated into society. But if it

520
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,920
Speaker 1: had gotten into the skin, or if the coloration continued

521
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,400
Speaker 1: to spread all across your skin, then they would confine

522
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,719
Speaker 1: you for seven days and check you out again. So

523
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,880
Speaker 1: when this man first saw a spot, maybe it was

524
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 1: something he could cover up for a little while, because

525
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 1: you know how it is when when something first starts

526
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 1: in your life, you could cover it up for a

527
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,600
Speaker 1: little while and transfer something and checking in savings and

528
00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 1: Peter and Paul and all of that and not really

529
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,520
Speaker 1: have to identify it. But the thing about it is,

530
00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 1: eventually it had spread to the point where the man

531
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,080
Speaker 1: could no longer cover it and live normally because it

532
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,680
Speaker 1: began to cover more and more of his skin, until

533
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,600
Speaker 1: the point where it had spread so far on his

534
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 1: skin that it had pushed him out of the spaces

535
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 1: where people tended to live. And I thought that this

536
00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:33,000
Speaker 1: might be for some of us, how shame operates for

537
00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:35,240
Speaker 1: a lot of us. What keeps us isolated is and

538
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:43,600
Speaker 1: something on our skin, it's something in our souls. When

539
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:48,200
Speaker 1: I was reading about the lepre coming to Jesus, I

540
00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:53,600
Speaker 1: started to see myself. See, my spots aren't on my skin.

541
00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:00,520
Speaker 1: My spots aren't visible to you. It be better if

542
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:07,000
Speaker 1: they were, because usually we address what others can see.

543
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,839
Speaker 1: So we get really good at fixing stuff. Whether it's

544
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,960
Speaker 1: a hairline, you know, whether it's a whether it's an

545
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 1: external cosmetic sequence of events that are designed to restore

546
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 1: your youth, or whether it's a way that you dress

547
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:26,759
Speaker 1: to impress people. We're usually pretty good at covering up

548
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: the outside stuff. But what do you do when the

549
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:33,600
Speaker 1: spots aren't on your skin, rather they're on your soul.

550
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:44,239
Speaker 1: This man broke through shame, This man broke through excuses.

551
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:49,239
Speaker 1: This man broke through tradition and came all the way

552
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:55,040
Speaker 1: to Jesus and fell down at his feet and said,

553
00:34:55,120 --> 00:35:01,799
Speaker 1: if you are willing, you can heal me. Now, a

554
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,799
Speaker 1: surface reading of this text, let me teach you I'll

555
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:06,359
Speaker 1: make me feel like I got to close right now,

556
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,440
Speaker 1: and I don't want to close. In this text, we

557
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 1: know too much. We know that Jesus ends up healing

558
00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 1: the man and goes on to have a great ministry.

559
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,440
Speaker 1: But if you put yourself in the original context, this

560
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,560
Speaker 1: is not only a risky move for the leper, it's

561
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,319
Speaker 1: a risky move for Jesus. And I want to make

562
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,400
Speaker 1: sure we understand why, because this is really going to

563
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,760
Speaker 1: help somebody. The levitical law prescribed that not only should

564
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:35,560
Speaker 1: the leper stay away, but if a priest touch something

565
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 1: that is deemed unclean, then the clean becomes unclean. Essentially,

566
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:46,960
Speaker 1: the leper is saying to Jesus, if you are willing

567
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:52,239
Speaker 1: to be dirty by association with me, it's going to

568
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:56,040
Speaker 1: cost you. But if you are willing, see, he's not

569
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,319
Speaker 1: just moving this man out of the way to get

570
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:02,080
Speaker 1: to something more important. Remember what he just said, Let's

571
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,759
Speaker 1: do what we came to do. So this is not

572
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:11,320
Speaker 1: an interruption. This is the assignment. This is not an interruption.

573
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,160
Speaker 1: This is the assignment. Sometimes we get confused and we

574
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,879
Speaker 1: start pushing away the very thing that God brought to

575
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,000
Speaker 1: us that we could do, the thing that we came

576
00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,879
Speaker 1: to do. So we're pushing to the side the very

577
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,040
Speaker 1: thing that is our purpose. But you said, this is

578
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:30,360
Speaker 1: what I came for. I am willing be clean. I

579
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:35,600
Speaker 1: speak that over every shameful heart today, be clean. I

580
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:40,800
Speaker 1: speak that over every sorrowful past. Today, be clean, be healed,

581
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,600
Speaker 1: be washed, be sprinkled with the water of this word,

582
00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 1: be clean. But Jesus didn't just speak it. See, he

583
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,239
Speaker 1: could have healed him just with a word. He did

584
00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,239
Speaker 1: it for the official son. He sent his word and

585
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:00,520
Speaker 1: healed him. Jesus didn't even have to be in the

586
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:05,440
Speaker 1: same neighborhood to healing. He could have spoken to the leprosy.

587
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,280
Speaker 1: But he didn't just want to speak it. He wanted

588
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:14,400
Speaker 1: to show it. And he did something so dramatic. He

589
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:20,040
Speaker 1: did something so costly, He did something so dangerous. Hear

590
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:21,640
Speaker 1: me today, I don't know who this is for. You've

591
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:28,799
Speaker 1: been in a lonely place. It's a lonely place, not

592
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:34,720
Speaker 1: just a little bored a lonely place, A lonely place.

593
00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:39,200
Speaker 1: You think this message is just for single people. It's not.

594
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:43,680
Speaker 1: I think it's the loneliest thing in the world to

595
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:45,960
Speaker 1: have people around you. But you can't really touch them

596
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:50,000
Speaker 1: and connect with them for who you really are, because

597
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:51,600
Speaker 1: you just keep trying to give them who you think

598
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 1: you're supposed to be. That's a lonely place. You think

599
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:00,080
Speaker 1: I'm talking about people who don't have followers on in,

600
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:07,440
Speaker 1: I'm not. I think we all have spots. I think

601
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:10,359
Speaker 1: we all have spots. I used to not think that.

602
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 1: I used to think certain people didn't. I used to

603
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,600
Speaker 1: be embarrassed because I thought I was the weird one.

604
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,839
Speaker 1: But I think we all have spots. I think we

605
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,719
Speaker 1: all have insecurities. We don't wear them on the outside,

606
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,920
Speaker 1: so the priests can't see them. We don't wear them

607
00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:34,080
Speaker 1: on the outside, so sometimes even the people who love

608
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,520
Speaker 1: us can't see what we really wrestle with. We all

609
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,640
Speaker 1: have spots. And now here you are in a pandemic

610
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,719
Speaker 1: and you can't even come to church like you used to.

611
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,279
Speaker 1: That used to be the one time every week where

612
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,359
Speaker 1: you could get around other people and sing and let

613
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:55,040
Speaker 1: somebody's fathe carry you. And now you're even having to

614
00:38:55,120 --> 00:39:01,160
Speaker 1: have church in your lonely place. But God gave me

615
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:07,040
Speaker 1: a word for you today in the lonely place. He said,

616
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:15,080
Speaker 1: I will, I will, And then he did. He didn't

617
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:19,640
Speaker 1: just speak it. He didn't just say it, He demonstrated it.

618
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,200
Speaker 1: Be clean and put the verse on the screen if

619
00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: you can, and he touched the man. Remember what I

620
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:34,799
Speaker 1: told you if the clean touches the unclean, what did

621
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:39,080
Speaker 1: I say? That the clean becomes unclean? But this is

622
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:45,680
Speaker 1: not just any priest. We don't come to a high

623
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,080
Speaker 1: priest who is unable to be touched by the feeling

624
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,720
Speaker 1: of our infirmity. One of the first things that leprosy

625
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,840
Speaker 1: would attack was your ability to feel. One of the

626
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:58,600
Speaker 1: first indications that you had leprosy wasn't on your skin.

627
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 1: It was the fact that you lost the ability to feel.

628
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,719
Speaker 1: It's a bacterial infection that touches the nerve system. So

629
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 1: now this man who is unable to feel is being

630
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 1: touched by a priest who is feeling for him. Splug

631
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,399
Speaker 1: needs some eidh. The Bible says, Jesus felt for him.

632
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:19,800
Speaker 1: He feels for you. He sympathizes with you, He sits

633
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:22,600
Speaker 1: with you, he lives with you, he weeps with you,

634
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,560
Speaker 1: he walks with you, he gets angry with you. He

635
00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:30,239
Speaker 1: feels what you feel. He said, I will, and he

636
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,040
Speaker 1: touched the man. Now here's the interesting thing about the text.

637
00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:38,920
Speaker 1: We expect now that Jesus the Great High Priest, becomes

638
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: unclean and is disqualified because he touched something that was defiled.

639
00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:50,120
Speaker 1: But since this isn't just any priest, since this priest

640
00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,920
Speaker 1: does not originate from men, since this priest did not

641
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:57,960
Speaker 1: come from earth, since this priest is without sin, the

642
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:02,560
Speaker 1: thoughtless lamb of God, since this is not just any priest.

643
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,840
Speaker 1: When the unclean touches the clean, the clean does not

644
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:13,120
Speaker 1: become unclean. The unclean becomes clean. And immediately that man

645
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:17,680
Speaker 1: slept forcy fell off, And immediately shame is broken off

646
00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:22,480
Speaker 1: your life. And immediately what used to hold you doesn't

647
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:31,719
Speaker 1: hold you anymore. Give God praise if you know Touch

648
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 1: them God, Touch them. God, They've been a lonely place. God.

649
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,800
Speaker 1: They don't even like themselves anymore. But touch them God.

650
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:44,200
Speaker 1: They're so sick of this God. But touch them. They're

651
00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:47,040
Speaker 1: wondering how much longer? God, Well, my kids ever go

652
00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,360
Speaker 1: back to school? Will I ever be able to go

653
00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:52,319
Speaker 1: out again? Touch them like you touch that man, Touch

654
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:56,279
Speaker 1: them beyond the issues that they face, and remind them

655
00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:01,120
Speaker 1: that you came to touch what others would push away.

656
00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:06,759
Speaker 1: And you are not intimidated by our spots. Oh God,

657
00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:13,640
Speaker 1: whatever has been keeping them at a distance, I prayed

658
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 1: that they would have the courage to come close to

659
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:22,080
Speaker 1: you today. You've been in a lonely place because we

660
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:28,080
Speaker 1: all got spots. We all got spots. We've all got insecure,

661
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:37,480
Speaker 1: insecure places, inadequate places. We've all got spots. When he

662
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,400
Speaker 1: touched that man, this is so beautiful. When I was

663
00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:45,040
Speaker 1: texting my friend about it, I started to cry. I

664
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:49,320
Speaker 1: was just texting the idea, how when this passage started,

665
00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:53,920
Speaker 1: the leper was in a lonely place. I'm going to

666
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 1: imagine thousands of people who are living in a lonely

667
00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:02,880
Speaker 1: place today, and maybe nobody even knows that you. You know,

668
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,960
Speaker 1: in the Bible, the lepers had to stay outside in

669
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:15,359
Speaker 1: the camps. Leviticus thirteen forty five says that anyone who

670
00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:19,480
Speaker 1: has this defiling disease on their skin has to wear

671
00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:24,600
Speaker 1: torn clothes. We do that by choice. Now for fashion,

672
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:28,800
Speaker 1: all these little worship leaders with their skinny jeans and

673
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,000
Speaker 1: the holes. But when you dressed in these clothes, it

674
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 1: was to identify you from a distance as somebody who

675
00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:40,040
Speaker 1: couldn't come close. You identify yourself as someone who can't

676
00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:42,000
Speaker 1: get close. Some of You can't get close to others,

677
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,080
Speaker 1: you can't get close to God. You can't really pray

678
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:46,080
Speaker 1: because you're not even praying about the real things. You're

679
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:48,480
Speaker 1: pretending to be somebody in God's presence that you're not.

680
00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:55,600
Speaker 1: And he can't touch that. He can't touch that. But

681
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:58,600
Speaker 1: these lepers, see, they were identifiable from a distance because

682
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,279
Speaker 1: their clothes were torn, and the Bible says that they

683
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:05,000
Speaker 1: had to have unkempt hair. I was like, dang, this

684
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:08,439
Speaker 1: is like it was written in twenty twenty. You see,

685
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:13,239
Speaker 1: you see it. All the barbershops were closed, and the

686
00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:15,840
Speaker 1: Bible says that these lepers. This gives us a picture

687
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:20,000
Speaker 1: of what the man had to live like. Unkempt hair,

688
00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 1: torn clothes, and they had to cover the lower part

689
00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:33,440
Speaker 1: of their face. The Bible's not relevant, is it? The Bible?

690
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:38,840
Speaker 1: The Bible is very relevant to the moment where you

691
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,000
Speaker 1: got to cover your face and cry out with your

692
00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:45,920
Speaker 1: mouth unclean, unclean, and as long as they have the disease,

693
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:54,960
Speaker 1: they remain unclean. They must live alone. When this passage started,

694
00:44:55,880 --> 00:45:00,480
Speaker 1: the leper was in a very lonely place, identify by

695
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,560
Speaker 1: his issues. And that's where some of you have been.

696
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,680
Speaker 1: What brought a tear to my eye. Is how the

697
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:14,000
Speaker 1: passage ended. Because the Bible said that when Jesus healed

698
00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,880
Speaker 1: the man, he told him, don't tell anyone what I

699
00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:20,959
Speaker 1: did for you. That's the opposite of what we teach

700
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,279
Speaker 1: you in church. We tell you click share and if

701
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:26,520
Speaker 1: you have a testimony, and praise the Lord and what

702
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:29,960
Speaker 1: has he done for you. But Jesus was governed by purpose,

703
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:33,759
Speaker 1: and he knew that if people started coming to him

704
00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:37,960
Speaker 1: just to perform external miracles, it would miss the intention

705
00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:41,080
Speaker 1: for which he came. When he told the man not

706
00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,520
Speaker 1: to tell anyone, the Bible says he gave him a

707
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:47,680
Speaker 1: strong warning. And the Hebrew image here is that his

708
00:45:47,960 --> 00:45:52,360
Speaker 1: nostrils flared. Y'all ever heard a savage Jesus? How about

709
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 1: snorting Jesus. I know y'all saw sweet Jesus, sweet little

710
00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:59,920
Speaker 1: baby two six d eight pounds six ounds Jesus. You know,

711
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,680
Speaker 1: superstitious Jesus, Little stitious Jesus. I know you've seen all

712
00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:07,640
Speaker 1: of those Jesuses. But this is snorting Jesus. And he

713
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,200
Speaker 1: gave the man a warning. He said, don't tell anybody

714
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:15,200
Speaker 1: what I did. The first thing the man did after

715
00:46:15,239 --> 00:46:18,759
Speaker 1: he got healed, was go tell everyone, And I thought, well, now,

716
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:21,560
Speaker 1: come on, Jesus, you know the future. You knew the

717
00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:24,040
Speaker 1: man was gonna go tell everybody, and it was gonna

718
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 1: cause you to have to go out, and it was

719
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:27,400
Speaker 1: going to cause you to have to move on. And

720
00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:30,239
Speaker 1: he went and did exactly what you told him not

721
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,439
Speaker 1: to do. You knew he was going to be disobedient.

722
00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:35,360
Speaker 1: Why did you heal him? And he said, I wanted

723
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:40,279
Speaker 1: to let you know. I'll do it anyway. Come on, now,

724
00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:43,000
Speaker 1: I need you to know this. You think when God

725
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:45,680
Speaker 1: saved you, he didn't know what you were still going

726
00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:48,799
Speaker 1: to struggle with. But I got news for somebody in

727
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:52,799
Speaker 1: this chat today. He did it anyway. If you know

728
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,240
Speaker 1: that God saved you and you still struggle with some things,

729
00:46:56,520 --> 00:46:59,520
Speaker 1: but you can still come close to him and depend

730
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:02,600
Speaker 1: on how just put this in the chap right now.

731
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:07,480
Speaker 1: He did it anyway. He called my name, he gave

732
00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:11,200
Speaker 1: me grace, He filled me with his spirit. He did

733
00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:15,239
Speaker 1: it anyway. He didn't have to. I couldn't buy it,

734
00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:19,000
Speaker 1: I couldn't earn it. I don't deserve it. But he

735
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:25,640
Speaker 1: did it anyway. Come on, let's give him anyway grace.

736
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:37,160
Speaker 1: He did it anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, come on,

737
00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:40,319
Speaker 1: This is a message for the levers. This is a

738
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:44,680
Speaker 1: message for the levers. How do you get to Jesus? Anyway?

739
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:49,600
Speaker 1: You can whatever it takes. I'm going forward. I'm not

740
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:54,120
Speaker 1: backing up. I'm not dying alone. I'm not going down.

741
00:47:54,640 --> 00:48:05,560
Speaker 1: I'm coming alive anyway. Anyway. I know I'm not supposed

742
00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,000
Speaker 1: to touch you, but I'm gonna touch you anyway. I

743
00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:11,279
Speaker 1: know i'm not supposed to use you, but I'm gonna

744
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:14,319
Speaker 1: use you anyway. I'm gonna do it anyway. I hear

745
00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:17,360
Speaker 1: God saying about twenty twenty. I know it's been a

746
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:20,600
Speaker 1: live in hell, but I'm gonna grow your faith anyway.

747
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:25,000
Speaker 1: I'm gonna raise you up anyway. I'm gonna get disgustbel

748
00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:35,640
Speaker 1: out anyway anyway, WHOA. I know it's only forty people

749
00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:42,759
Speaker 1: in the room, but I'm about to preach anyway. He

750
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:47,799
Speaker 1: did it anyway. I'm not perfect, buddy. He likes me anyway.

751
00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:52,760
Speaker 1: Now I've got some obnoxious parts of my personality. Buddy, Buddy,

752
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:57,480
Speaker 1: he likes he likes me with rough edges. He's a carpenter.

753
00:48:57,880 --> 00:49:01,799
Speaker 1: He's gonna do it. You missed it, you missed it.

754
00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:05,600
Speaker 1: He's a carpenter. He needs something to work on. He

755
00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:09,920
Speaker 1: needs an object lesson. He needs something that looks so unclean.

756
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:14,640
Speaker 1: He needs somebody so messy, he needs a six awation

757
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:20,560
Speaker 1: so desperate that he can say, this is what I

758
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:24,359
Speaker 1: came to do, This is what I came to do.

759
00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:44,080
Speaker 1: When the Passage started, the leper was in a lonely place.

760
00:49:47,760 --> 00:49:51,600
Speaker 1: This man runs around, running his mouth telling everybody about Jesus,

761
00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:57,200
Speaker 1: and now everybody wants to go see it. But Jesus

762
00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:03,960
Speaker 1: didn't come for that. He came for something deeper. He

763
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:09,840
Speaker 1: didn't come just to fix what's on the surface level.

764
00:50:11,239 --> 00:50:17,640
Speaker 1: So he look at verse forty five. He could no

765
00:50:17,719 --> 00:50:24,160
Speaker 1: longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely

766
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:33,319
Speaker 1: places when the passage started. Josh, this is what got me.

767
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:37,920
Speaker 1: When the passage started, the leper was in a lonely place.

768
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:51,239
Speaker 1: But when the passage was over, Jesus was in a

769
00:50:51,280 --> 00:51:00,720
Speaker 1: lonely place. It's not just that he touched that man,

770
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:11,640
Speaker 1: is that he traded places with him. You've been in

771
00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:15,319
Speaker 1: a lonely place. I know you have. God showed it

772
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:19,480
Speaker 1: to me in the spirit. He didn't have to show

773
00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:25,920
Speaker 1: me your lonely place, because I know mine. Preachers get lonely.

774
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:31,000
Speaker 1: Pastors get lonely, parents get lonely, kids get lonely. Married

775
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:38,320
Speaker 1: people get lonely. Jesus chose his loneliness. The leopard didn't

776
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:43,960
Speaker 1: choose his, And so some of you are sitting in

777
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:48,120
Speaker 1: a loneliness that was not chosen in this season of

778
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:53,279
Speaker 1: your life. The Lord wanted me to tell you. Give

779
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:55,680
Speaker 1: them the scripture again from verse forty five. This is

780
00:51:55,760 --> 00:52:03,080
Speaker 1: my message today. He stayed in lonely places, yet the

781
00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:08,520
Speaker 1: people still came to him from everywhere. God said to

782
00:52:08,560 --> 00:52:12,160
Speaker 1: tell you He'll meet you in your lonely place. Lift

783
00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:17,560
Speaker 1: your hands, he said, you don't have to hide that

784
00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:24,520
Speaker 1: from me. I'm willing to touch you. You don't have

785
00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:26,840
Speaker 1: to stay away from me. You might be having to

786
00:52:27,280 --> 00:52:29,399
Speaker 1: distance from people right now, but you can just come

787
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:34,600
Speaker 1: closer to me. He's near to the broken heart. He

788
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:39,759
Speaker 1: gave us a gospel lesson that he went outside the

789
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:43,399
Speaker 1: camp so we could come in. That he became sin,

790
00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:45,640
Speaker 1: who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness

791
00:52:45,680 --> 00:52:50,960
Speaker 1: of God. So he said, he wants to meet you

792
00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:58,239
Speaker 1: in your lonely place. You know that place. You know

793
00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:02,840
Speaker 1: that spot. You know that thing you keep trying to

794
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:05,600
Speaker 1: fix and you can't. He is how I'll meet you

795
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:13,760
Speaker 1: in your lonely place, God of all comfort, Spirit of grace.

796
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:16,640
Speaker 1: I thank you for what you showed us in the

797
00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:22,600
Speaker 1: text today, that Jesus traded places with the leper who

798
00:53:22,719 --> 00:53:26,080
Speaker 1: was lonely, and God, I thank you right now that

799
00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:28,439
Speaker 1: you invite us into your presence so that we never

800
00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:33,560
Speaker 1: have to be alone. This building right now has a

801
00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:38,800
Speaker 1: lot of empty seats in it, and it's good because

802
00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:42,960
Speaker 1: now it forces us to put this message into the

803
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:49,719
Speaker 1: lonely places, the lonely places as they lift their hands God,

804
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:52,719
Speaker 1: whether they're one of the few in this room or

805
00:53:54,239 --> 00:53:56,440
Speaker 1: one of the hundreds of thousands all over the world

806
00:53:56,600 --> 00:54:01,040
Speaker 1: who are receiving this message today. I asked that you

807
00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:07,600
Speaker 1: would fill every lonely place, and that we would have

808
00:54:07,640 --> 00:54:12,240
Speaker 1: the courage to come close to you, real self, true self,

809
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:16,840
Speaker 1: honest self, let you into our emotions and let you

810
00:54:16,960 --> 00:54:22,120
Speaker 1: into our situation. That the clean would touch the unclean,

811
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:26,920
Speaker 1: and that just like that man's leprosy fell off of

812
00:54:27,040 --> 00:54:29,920
Speaker 1: his skin, I pray that shame would fall off of

813
00:54:29,960 --> 00:54:34,480
Speaker 1: your sons and daughters right now, in the name of Jesus,

814
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:37,680
Speaker 1: I break the power of shame off of the life

815
00:54:37,960 --> 00:54:41,480
Speaker 1: of everyone who is lonely in the shadows, hair, unkempt,

816
00:54:42,160 --> 00:54:45,520
Speaker 1: dressed in torn clothes, known by their issue. Speak to

817
00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:50,120
Speaker 1: that identity that is not sullied by shame, with no

818
00:54:50,239 --> 00:54:52,960
Speaker 1: layers of pretension. We come before you in your presence,

819
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:56,600
Speaker 1: God is fullness of joy. Help us to be here

820
00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:01,920
Speaker 1: and just write in that space, right into that home,

821
00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:04,719
Speaker 1: if they're the only one there, if they're surrounded by

822
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:10,600
Speaker 1: people and they're feeling lonely. God fill the lonely places.

823
00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:22,400
Speaker 1: Let's we worship you now. Cheez geez, oh, geez cheez

824
00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:27,520
Speaker 1: its would you mean to here? It came to them

825
00:55:27,520 --> 00:55:30,719
Speaker 1: in a lonely place. You meet me here. Now you

826
00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:35,719
Speaker 1: could come to them in a lonely place with your

827
00:55:35,719 --> 00:55:44,600
Speaker 1: clothes torn. Unless you come, Will you meet me? He said,

828
00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:47,719
Speaker 1: will you? If you're willing, you can make it. You

829
00:55:47,719 --> 00:55:50,680
Speaker 1: can make it stop. You can stop the spread, because

830
00:55:54,480 --> 00:56:04,480
Speaker 1: is all you. Will you meet me? Okay, So you

831
00:56:04,640 --> 00:56:16,600
Speaker 1: are naughty unless you come. You need me here, okay,

832
00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:23,320
Speaker 1: he said. I took your place, I took your shall want.

833
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:28,759
Speaker 1: This is what I came for. He's all you Come on,

834
00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:31,000
Speaker 1: bring it all into my presence. This is what I

835
00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:36,440
Speaker 1: came here. Okay, this is what I came for. That

836
00:56:36,600 --> 00:56:38,400
Speaker 1: part of you, this is what I came for it.

837
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:46,520
Speaker 1: Thank you Lord. Unless you come where you meet me here,

838
00:56:56,000 --> 00:57:02,120
Speaker 1: he's really I hope that it hit home for you too,

839
00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:04,879
Speaker 1: just to know that Jesus is with you in your

840
00:57:04,920 --> 00:57:08,680
Speaker 1: lonely place, that God is able to be accessed anywhere,

841
00:57:09,160 --> 00:57:11,440
Speaker 1: and there's no part of you that is too shameful

842
00:57:11,480 --> 00:57:15,000
Speaker 1: to bring into His presence. You're not alone. And I

843
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:16,800
Speaker 1: hope you know that our ministry is here for you.

844
00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:20,520
Speaker 1: It's been a lot different, not gonna lie. We never

845
00:57:20,560 --> 00:57:23,680
Speaker 1: really imagined that we would be ministering in such a

846
00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,880
Speaker 1: unique time, but God knew, and I believe He placed

847
00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:29,840
Speaker 1: this ministry here for you and for others and also

848
00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:33,000
Speaker 1: share the message. Subscribe, you know, so you can get

849
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:35,880
Speaker 1: these messages every week. We need to keep God's word coming,

850
00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:38,440
Speaker 1: not just once in a while. But you know, we

851
00:57:38,480 --> 00:57:40,600
Speaker 1: can't live off bread alone. We got to live off

852
00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:42,560
Speaker 1: everywhere that comes from the mouth of God. So make

853
00:57:42,560 --> 00:57:45,200
Speaker 1: sure you subscribe so that we can continue to remind

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Speaker 1: you of the truths that God has spoken over your life.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to leave you for now, but thank you forgiving.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying for me and Holly and Elijah

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Speaker 1: and Graham and Abbey in our family. We pray for

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Speaker 1: your family as well, that God would show up in

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Speaker 1: amazing ways in your life this week. For supporting this ministry,

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Speaker 1: I see Sue