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

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: today is going to be amazing. Yeah. So this is

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Speaker 1: like not my iPad. This is like not my iPad cover.

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Speaker 1: This is a feminine iPad cover, so that can only

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Speaker 1: mean one thing. And the table is even marble, so

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Speaker 1: that can only mean one thing. Holly Ferdick is bringing

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Speaker 1: the word today. Come on, look at this artesian Bible cover.

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Speaker 1: That must mean Holly Ferdick is preaching the word. Look

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Speaker 1: at this hand drawn Bible study Philippians. Come on, let's

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Speaker 1: thank God for Holly. I'm gonna leave her by herself

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Speaker 1: in a minute. Last week I preached to her, and

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Speaker 1: now you owe me pay backtime you got to preach

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Speaker 1: to me. So I'm gonna go sit in my seat

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Speaker 1: and I know that you're excited to hear God's word

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Speaker 1: from this woman. You should be, because who preaches to

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Speaker 1: you today lives a better sermon than anything that ever

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Speaker 1: comes from her lips. Trust me. I live with her

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Speaker 1: and the stuff that she doesn't show on Instagram is

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Speaker 1: the best stuff. People say to me. I just love Holly.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, no, you don't. I love Holly because I

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Speaker 1: know it and I know how deepro authenticity really is,

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Speaker 1: and so I thank God for you. But I also

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Speaker 1: want to say this, Rebecca Summers. Where's Rebecca. I bet

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Speaker 1: she's around the building somewhere doing a chat host or

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Speaker 1: something like that, probably praying for somebody, or casting out

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Speaker 1: a devil online something like that, doing a digital exorcism.

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Speaker 1: She was saying at the Rhythm night that our team

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Speaker 1: has been doing a great job for our youth. Make

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Speaker 1: sure you subscribe to Elevation Youth on YouTube, Okay, so

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Speaker 1: you can get the word. But she was saying I

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Speaker 1: heard them do a panel one day and they were

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Speaker 1: saying who's influenced you the most? And she said you.

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Speaker 1: I think she said a few other people, but you

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Speaker 1: were in the top three. She said, Da Da Da

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Speaker 1: Da Da and Holly Ferdick. And I was like, if

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Speaker 1: you only knew, She's one of these people that the

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Speaker 1: closer that you get, the better that she looks. Some

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Speaker 1: people can impress from a distance, but impartation happens up close.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, so right now I want you to take

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Speaker 1: this pulpit and minister to the people. I'm excited. I

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Speaker 1: got a preview of the word, and I'm gonna sit down,

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Speaker 1: just the two of us, just the one of you.

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Speaker 1: Let's give it up today. Everybody's saying the Chad, welcome, Holly, well, hello, elevation.

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Speaker 1: We're here together. Worshiping again is what we do every week.

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Speaker 1: If this is super assignment, sure you come back, because

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Speaker 1: we're here over and over again all day to day.

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Speaker 1: If the message minister's to you, share it with someone

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Speaker 1: and tell them, hey, you can catch it again. I'm

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Speaker 1: thirty eleven, thirty two, five, ten, Hey, all of them,

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Speaker 1: we're here. We want to see you, and we want

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Speaker 1: to be able to minister to you every week. I

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Speaker 1: am just really excited that you have set aside the

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Speaker 1: time today to worship with us. I know that God

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Speaker 1: is going to speak to you as you focus your

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Speaker 1: attention on Him for just the next few moments that

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Speaker 1: we have together. You guys that are in the room

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Speaker 1: can go ahead and be seated. This has been a

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Speaker 1: really incredible season of ministry. For our church. I just

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Speaker 1: every time I get up on this stage, I just

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Speaker 1: I'm so proud of our teams. And one of the

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Speaker 1: teams at Elevation that has really risen to the occasion

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Speaker 1: over the past six months is our E groups teams.

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Speaker 1: It's one of my favorite teams. This is a small team.

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Speaker 1: They're not nearly as big as our worship team. And

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Speaker 1: maybe you've been worshiping with us for a while and

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Speaker 1: you've heard us talk about E groups but you're not

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Speaker 1: exactly sure what they are. E groups are away for

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Speaker 1: the people of Elevation Church to gather together in small

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Speaker 1: groups and just support each other and go through life

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Speaker 1: together and just offer a place for you to continue

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Speaker 1: to grow in your faith. And thanks to technology, we

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Speaker 1: have people from all over the world who come together

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Speaker 1: each week. Sometimes they're in home, sometimes they're on Zoom.

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Speaker 1: And I really want you to be a part of

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Speaker 1: an E group. So if you're a part of an

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Speaker 1: E group, though, help me out. Tell the people in

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Speaker 1: the chat what are they missing out on? Tell them

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Speaker 1: how amazing your eGroup is, and just a few words,

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Speaker 1: because nobody wants to read a whole lot of stuff.

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Speaker 1: You know, the Bible says that the gates of Hell

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Speaker 1: will not prevail against God's Church, and I believe that

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Speaker 1: we are stronger than ever. And so I just wanted

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Speaker 1: to take a minute because I have the stage, and

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Speaker 1: just officially invite you to join an E group because

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Speaker 1: now is the time, because over the sixth the past

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Speaker 1: six months, I have been working with our teams on

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Speaker 1: a study on the Book of Philippians. Isn't it beauty full? Too?

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Speaker 1: You can get a copy of the study and join us.

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Speaker 1: Philippians is the most joyful book in the Bible, but

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Speaker 1: yet did you know that it was written from a

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Speaker 1: prison cell? And so over the next five weeks, our

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Speaker 1: groups are going to be setting aside time to read

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Speaker 1: through the Book of Philippines together and just learn. We

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Speaker 1: called it Philippians the Art of Contentment because Paul. How

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Speaker 1: was it possible that Paul was able to have so

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Speaker 1: much joy in the midst of a literal lockdown? And

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Speaker 1: We're gonna study God's word together and we're going to

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Speaker 1: talk about it. And I believe that God wants to

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Speaker 1: speak to you through E groups in this season of

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Speaker 1: your life. We are not waiting for a virus to

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Speaker 1: go away, to have church. We are the church. The

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Speaker 1: church is not a building. The church is just a

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Speaker 1: group of imperfect people coming together on a journey of faith.

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Speaker 1: And we're not waiting until we can pack out a building.

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Speaker 1: We're going to pack out homes and we're gonna pack

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Speaker 1: out zoom. We have over one thousand groups signed up

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Speaker 1: to do this study because you were not meant to

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Speaker 1: go through life alone. So that's my commercial. Don't miss

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Speaker 1: out on this opportunities. Only five weeks, we have the

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Speaker 1: perfect group for you. Go to philippianstudy dot com to

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Speaker 1: find out more. But don't go right now because I

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Speaker 1: have a message that I want to bring to you

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Speaker 1: that I'm really really excited on because God has laid

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Speaker 1: this one on my heart. Actually, it sparked in my

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Speaker 1: heart years ago while I was leading any group for

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Speaker 1: married women. I was teaching and we were studying, and

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Speaker 1: I came across this verse in the Bible that said

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Speaker 1: that wives could win their husbands over without words. And

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Speaker 1: I was so intrigued by this idea of winning someone

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Speaker 1: over without words because I love words. If you know me,

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Speaker 1: I am a very talkative person. Now, don't ask me

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Speaker 1: how my weekend was unless you really want to hear

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Speaker 1: every detail of the sleepover that we had this past

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Speaker 1: weekend for Graham's thirteenth birthday, and how I had middle

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Speaker 1: school boys and they're dirty socks and all over my house.

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Speaker 1: I can't help it. I like stories, I like description.

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Speaker 1: I just I like talking. I've been this way my

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Speaker 1: whole life. One of the nicest things that anybody ever

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Speaker 1: said to me was I was in the middle of

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Speaker 1: telling a story and they said, Holly, this story is

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Speaker 1: so good, do not leave one detail out. Tell me everything.

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Speaker 1: And I was like, I love you, You're my best friend.

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Speaker 1: Here we go. Someone actually said that to me. Now

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Speaker 1: sometimes I say that to other people because I don't know.

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Speaker 1: Maybe doesn't mean that much people, but I love it.

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Speaker 1: People have been telling me to stop talking my entire life.

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Speaker 1: When I was a child, on my report card, there

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Speaker 1: was this common theme. When I was a kid, the

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Speaker 1: teachers actually hand wrote our report cards, and on the

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Speaker 1: back of it there were these little boxes where they

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Speaker 1: could leave some personal thoughts and comments, and there was

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Speaker 1: a theme all throughout my childhood that said something like this,

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Speaker 1: Holly is a bright child who would do better to

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Speaker 1: talk less. I can't help it. I'm a woman of

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Speaker 1: many words. And you know, actually sometimes this comes in

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Speaker 1: handy when you have to talk to thousands of people

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Speaker 1: from a practically empty room, right, But in normal settings,

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Speaker 1: I have had to really learn how to rain this in.

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Speaker 1: And one of the greatest lessons that I have had

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Speaker 1: to learn in the area of being an over talker

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Speaker 1: is that you don't have to say everything you think.

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Speaker 1: This is really hard for me. I know it's not mean.

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Speaker 1: Some of you may be better at this, but I've

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Speaker 1: really had to learn this lesson the hard way. One

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Speaker 1: time when we were in college. I know my husband's

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Speaker 1: told you how we traveled on a ministry team in

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Speaker 1: this van in the summertime, and we traveled all through

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Speaker 1: these small towns in South Carolina. And one particular day,

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Speaker 1: we were driving through this really small town and I

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Speaker 1: just blurted out, this town is really trashy looking. I

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Speaker 1: would hate to live here. And the girl behind me

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Speaker 1: and the seat behind me, she just quietly said she

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Speaker 1: was like, my whole family's from this town. I was like, oh,

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Speaker 1: can I get this shoe emoji in the chat? If

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Speaker 1: you're like me and you put your foot in your mouth,

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Speaker 1: it's time or two or three or four in your life.

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Speaker 1: I just I talk too much. I talk when I

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Speaker 1: get excited. I talk when I'm nervous. Sometimes I talk

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Speaker 1: because I'm bored. Sometimes I talk because I'm uncomfortable. I'm

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Speaker 1: uncomfortable with silence. Actually, I just I don't I don't

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Speaker 1: like silence, and so I just will. If you don't talk,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna talk. And if I'm by myself, I even

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Speaker 1: have my aarpods in with an audiobook playing because somebody

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Speaker 1: needs to be talking. I talk too much my whole life.

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Speaker 1: I have been trying to learn how to shut my

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Speaker 1: mouth and think before I talk. Is there anyone out

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Speaker 1: there who can relate to me? Please let me know

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Speaker 1: that I'm not alone. I know that no one likes

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Speaker 1: to be around someone who just dominates every space with

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Speaker 1: the sound of their voice. And I'm trying to fix that. Okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm working on it. The Bible actually has a lot

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Speaker 1: to say about talkers. Proverbs eighteen twenty one says the

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Speaker 1: power of life and death is in the tongue. The

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Speaker 1: psalmist prayed for God to put a guard over his

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Speaker 1: mouth and James one of my favorite Bible verses, well,

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't say favorite, but one that I've really had

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Speaker 1: to tell myself over and over again. He says, be

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Speaker 1: quick to listen and slow to speak. And I think

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Speaker 1: all of us, no matter how talkative we are, have

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Speaker 1: experienced these moments where we realize the power of our words.

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Speaker 1: Have you ever said something that you realize hurts someone deeply?

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Speaker 1: Maybe unintentional, and it's not always a direct insult. I

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Speaker 1: know we all have a time that we can remember

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Speaker 1: when somebody directly insulted us, Like you know, I don't know.

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Speaker 1: Lots of people have a story where their father said

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Speaker 1: You're never gonna amount to anything. Yeah, we all have

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Speaker 1: times like that. But a lot of times we can

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Speaker 1: hurt those that we love also with what we don't say,

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Speaker 1: or or the thing the ways that we don't encourage them.

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Speaker 1: I remember one particular time several years ago, and my

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Speaker 1: husband's first book was finally finished, and they mailed a

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Speaker 1: case of the books to our house, and I remember

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Speaker 1: walking into the room and seeing this big box and

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Speaker 1: Stephen was there. He just cut it open and he

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Speaker 1: reached out and he pulled out a copy of Son

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Speaker 1: Stands Still by Steven Ferdick, and I picked up the

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Speaker 1: book and I fanned through it and I said, really,

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Speaker 1: big huh? And I saw my husband's shoulders visibly droop,

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Speaker 1: and I was like, oh God, oh no, Can I

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Speaker 1: get a rewind? I mean, it's amazing. Can I get

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Speaker 1: a do over? Because as I thought, that's not what

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Speaker 1: I meant to say, I realized that I had spent

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Speaker 1: the last eighteen months watching this man agonize over every

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Speaker 1: word that was in that book. He went through revision

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Speaker 1: after revision, He changed the cover ten times. This was

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Speaker 1: his first book, This was his story. Did I say,

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Speaker 1: my man, you're a published author. Nope. Did I say

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Speaker 1: this book is gonna change people's lives? Nope? I just

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Speaker 1: said the first thing that popped into my head. The

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Speaker 1: font's kind of big huh hustle. Words hold weight, and

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Speaker 1: what you choose to say and what you whoose not

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Speaker 1: to say is important. That's why we have to learn

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Speaker 1: to pay attention to everything that comes out of our mouths.

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Speaker 1: Can we talk about this today? We are living in

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Speaker 1: a time where people do not consider the weight of

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Speaker 1: their words. Now, some of us may be better at

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Speaker 1: not saying everything that we think, but what about typing

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Speaker 1: Our thumbs can sometimes cause more damage than our tongue.

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Speaker 1: Solomon wrote the power of life and death is in

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Speaker 1: the tongue, But I wonder if he'd lived in twenty twenty,

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Speaker 1: he might have said, the power of life and death

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Speaker 1: is in the thumbs. There is so much noise going

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Speaker 1: on in the world today, and it is hard to

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Speaker 1: separate the truth from the fiction. It's hard to know

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Speaker 1: when you have a feed coming through, and now we

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Speaker 1: all know that our feed is just feeding us what

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Speaker 1: we want to be fed. And it's so hard to

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Speaker 1: even have a voice when it feels like everyone is

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Speaker 1: just shouting at each other are and not listening at all.

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Speaker 1: I want to learn how to be part of the

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Speaker 1: solution to the things that are going on around me,

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Speaker 1: not just another person who's just adding to the noise.

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Speaker 1: So today, since our groups are kicking off a study,

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Speaker 1: remember you're going to join run Philippianstudy dot com. It's

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Speaker 1: not too late. I wanted to preach from Paul's words

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Speaker 1: as well. God has been speaking to me so much

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Speaker 1: about this topic and I'm just really excited to bring

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Speaker 1: it to you today. So as we open up God's word,

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Speaker 1: I just want us to all say a prayer together

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Speaker 1: out loud, so you don't have to close your eyes.

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Speaker 1: We'll just all collectively. If you're in your living room

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Speaker 1: or in your car, it's okay, out loud, let's all

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Speaker 1: say this. Lord, speak to me. I am listening. Amen.

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Speaker 1: All right. If you have a Bible, look with me.

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Speaker 1: At Philippians, chapter two, verse fourteen. Because Paul has so

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Speaker 1: much that he is going to teach us about our words.

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Speaker 1: Says this, do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that

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Speaker 1: you may become blameless and pure children of God, without

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Speaker 1: fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will

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Speaker 1: shine among them like stars in the sky as you

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Speaker 1: hold firmly to the word of life. Do everything without

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Speaker 1: grumbling or arguing, then you will shine. If you're looking,

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Speaker 1: if you're sitting with someone, I want you to look

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Speaker 1: at them. Tell them my sermon title say this, shut

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Speaker 1: up and shine. Go ahead and put that in the chat.

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Speaker 1: Don't worry. It comes right from the Bible. It's okay

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Speaker 1: to say shut up, shut up, and shine. So on

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Speaker 1: the surface here it looks like Paul is giving us

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Speaker 1: a pretty impossible command with the promise, But it's a

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Speaker 1: promise that we're never going to achieve because out in

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Speaker 1: the world are we supposed to do everything without grumbling

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Speaker 1: or arguing. But if you dig into this, these three

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Speaker 1: small verses, I want to show you that Paul is

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Speaker 1: trying to teach us that how the things that he's

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Speaker 1: trying to teach just how the things that you do

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Speaker 1: not say can sometimes have just as much power as

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Speaker 1: the things that you do say. He's giving us if

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Speaker 1: you look back at it, he's giving us two things

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Speaker 1: to not do and two things to do. So he

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Speaker 1: begins by telling us to do everything without grumbling or arguing.

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Speaker 1: Maybe you're like me and you read it and you're like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's not going to happen. Everything like zero tolerance policy.

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Speaker 1: This is gonna be hard because sometimes complaining is really

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Speaker 1: fun and sometimes arguing is just necessary. Of some of

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Speaker 1: the married people, give me an amen and the chat.

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Speaker 1: When you read the Bible, though, it's important to understand

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Speaker 1: who is writing these words, and where was he when

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Speaker 1: he wrote them, and who was he writing them to,

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Speaker 1: because when you put all of that together, the words

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Speaker 1: become more than just commands of dues and don'ts and

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Speaker 1: this and that. They have context and they come alive.

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Speaker 1: And the Book of Philippians is a letter written by

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Speaker 1: Paul to the people at the Church of Philippi, a

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Speaker 1: church that he planted, and a lot of scholars believe,

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Speaker 1: based on Paul's words and his tone, that the people

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Speaker 1: of the Church of Philippi, they were Paul's secret favorites.

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Speaker 1: These were his true friends, the people that he considered

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Speaker 1: almost like family, because these people supported him as he

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Speaker 1: traveled around and as he ministered and started churches all over.

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Speaker 1: And now he's found himself in a Roman prison and

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Speaker 1: the Philippians have just sent him a good old fashioned

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Speaker 1: care basket and a love offering, and so he's sending

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Speaker 1: them back a letter. And not only is he giving

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Speaker 1: them words and an update on how things are going,

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Speaker 1: but he's living out what he's saying to them from

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Speaker 1: a prison cell. And really he's warning them. He's saying

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Speaker 1: in a way that you have to to approach a

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Speaker 1: difficult circumstance, the way to approach it is not to complain,

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Speaker 1: and the way to have lasting arguments is not to argue.

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Speaker 1: Complaining and arguing are our default responses, but they can

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Speaker 1: be extremely counterproductive in our lives. You see, complaining rarely

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Speaker 1: improves my circumstances. Now, obviously there are times when it's

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Speaker 1: right to make a complaint, Like I have a friend

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Speaker 1: who hates to bother her landlord, Like if she has

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Speaker 1: a leak or something's broken, she doesn't want to bother her.

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, that's like the one perk of renting.

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Speaker 1: You don't have to fix stuff. It's okay to complain

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Speaker 1: to your landlord. But someone once gave me a rule

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Speaker 1: of thumb, and it's this, never complain about a situation

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Speaker 1: to a person who's powerless to change it. The kind

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Speaker 1: of complaining that Paul is talking about here is the

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Speaker 1: kind that keeps us stuck blaming something that's outside of

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Speaker 1: our control. Have you ever tried to keep track of

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Speaker 1: every time you complain? If you've been through missus better half,

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Speaker 1: you've done this because we have this one week where

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Speaker 1: we try to see how much negativity and how much

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Speaker 1: complaining that we're putting out into the world. And I

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Speaker 1: stole this little challenge from a book that I had

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Speaker 1: read and because it meant so much to me. And

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Speaker 1: you wear a little bracelet or a hair tie or

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Speaker 1: whatever on your wrist, and every time you catch yourself complaining,

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Speaker 1: you switch the bracelet over to the other hand. And

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Speaker 1: every time that I do this challenge, which I've done

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Speaker 1: it a lot, because I've taught many many rounds of

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Speaker 1: missus better half. I keep thinking, maybe I'm going to

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Speaker 1: be better at it this time, maybe I'll have complain less.

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Speaker 1: But I always just amazed at how much I complain

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Speaker 1: and I don't even realize. And by the end of

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Speaker 1: the challenge, my bracelet is falling apart, and I'm starting

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Speaker 1: to like punish myself because I'm so mad at them.

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Speaker 1: My wrist is red. We say things all day long

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Speaker 1: that we're not even aware of. Can you help me

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Speaker 1: out if I'm my alone out here? Okay, let me

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Speaker 1: know in the chat if you have said in the

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Speaker 1: last twenty four hours any of the following things, just

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Speaker 1: you know, give me the little hand raising emoji. All right,

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Speaker 1: I'm tired. I hate the car line at school, or

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Speaker 1: some of you are like, I wish I missed the

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Speaker 1: car line at school. Or did you say wearing a

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Speaker 1: mask is so uncomfortable, or it's so hot, or it's

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Speaker 1: so cold, or what an ugly day? My back hurts,

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Speaker 1: I have nothing to wear, there's nothing to eat. Why

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Speaker 1: doesn't anyone listen to me in this house? This I

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Speaker 1: think I said all of those this week. Sometimes I

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Speaker 1: can get really creative with my complaints too. I can

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Speaker 1: dress them up, make them all nice and cute, say

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Speaker 1: something like I just I wish I had more time,

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Speaker 1: or it must be young to be able to eat

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Speaker 1: whatever you want, or maybe some of you have said

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Speaker 1: this one this week? When is fall going to get here? Right?

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Speaker 1: Sometimes I'll take my complaints and I'll focus them on

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Speaker 1: another person. I might say something like I just I

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Speaker 1: wish my friend would call me more, or I wish

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Speaker 1: my kids were more respectful. I found that as I

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Speaker 1: have identified my complaints, they didn't really It didn't really

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Speaker 1: make me feel better. I felt increasingly worse about my situation.

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Speaker 1: Like when I wish that my kids were more respectful,

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Speaker 1: it actually happened because one of them had a friend

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Speaker 1: over and the friend was all like, yes, ma'am, and

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Speaker 1: missus verdick, where's the garbage can? I don't even think

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Speaker 1: my own kids know where the garbage can is in

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Speaker 1: my house, And so I'm like, I wish my kids

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Speaker 1: were like that, you know, And now I'm like, God,

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Speaker 1: I'm a terrible mom. It's my own fault. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I'm their mother. I pick up their trash and don't.

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Speaker 1: And so it started as wishing that a person in

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Speaker 1: my life was different turned in to making myself out

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Speaker 1: to be a bad mother, because complaining will spiral out

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Speaker 1: of control so fast, and on the surface, it just

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Speaker 1: seems like a statement of the fact. But now my

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Speaker 1: focus is on the negative, and so is everyone else's

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Speaker 1: that's around me. And it's so easy to identify complaining

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Speaker 1: in others. It's so easy to be like, yeah, my

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Speaker 1: husband needs to stop complaining, but it's harder to see

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Speaker 1: it when I'm the one that's doing it. Oh, I'm

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Speaker 1: not complaining, I'm reviewing. I'm not saying that reviews aren't helpful.

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Speaker 1: Actually they aren't helpful because usually the only people who

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Speaker 1: review products are the people who aren't happy with the product. Like,

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Speaker 1: if you're happy with the product, you're not gonna go

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Speaker 1: back and te ipe out a review. We live in

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Speaker 1: a world, though, where people actually consider themselves professional complainers,

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Speaker 1: professional yelpers. This is so messed up because negativity slows

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Speaker 1: down your progress, it diverts your attention. And Paul is

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Speaker 1: warning us that complaining is a slippery slope that can

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Speaker 1: distract us from the things that we can actually control

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Speaker 1: in our lives, like my attitude. I can control my attitude.

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Speaker 1: But watch how Paul doesn't only give us a command,

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Speaker 1: but he gives he leads the way. He gives us

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Speaker 1: an example, back in chapter one, Paul says this verse

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Speaker 1: twelve Philippians one, verse twelve. Now, I want you to know,

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Speaker 1: brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has

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Speaker 1: actually served to advance the Gospel. As a result, it

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Speaker 1: has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to

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Speaker 1: everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And

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Speaker 1: because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters

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Speaker 1: have become confident in the Lord and dare all the

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Speaker 1: more to proclaim the Gospel without fear. It blows my

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Speaker 1: mind that nowhere in the Book of Philippians will you

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Speaker 1: find Paul describing his prison conditions. Nowhere does he say

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Speaker 1: it's cold, I'm hungry, they're terrible. I got whipped the

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Speaker 1: other day. He never even asks the Philippians to pray

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Speaker 1: for his release. He says, I must be in change

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Speaker 1: for Christ, because revival is breaking out inside of my prison,

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Speaker 1: and revival can break out wherever you are if you

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Speaker 1: change your perspective Paul gives us throughout the book. He

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Speaker 1: weaves in the antidote to complaining, and you know what

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Speaker 1: that is, rejoice. Sixteen times in the Book of Philippians,

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Speaker 1: Paul uses the word joy or rejoice. He says it

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Speaker 1: over and over again again. I will say rejoice, rejoicing

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Speaker 1: the Lord. Always again I will say rejoice. And if

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Speaker 1: Paul can look for the opportunity in a hard place,

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Speaker 1: so can I. The minute that I catch myself complaining,

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Speaker 1: I've gotta flip it. I have got to find something

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00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,680
Speaker 1: to rejoice about. So now I'm gonna use my over

429
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,439
Speaker 1: talking for my own benefit. If I'm gonna if I'm

430
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 1: gonna talk, I'm gonna talk about the good things. I'm

431
00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,320
Speaker 1: gonna find something. I'm gonna call myself back to joy

432
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:36,080
Speaker 1: over and over and over again. I'm not complaining. I'm

433
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,640
Speaker 1: just saying, well, you know what, if you're just saying,

434
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,680
Speaker 1: if what you're just saying is keeping you stucked, and

435
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:48,360
Speaker 1: you should probably stop saying. Stop saying I wish our

436
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,560
Speaker 1: kids were young again. Stop saying I wish we had

437
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,640
Speaker 1: more money. Stop saying this house is too small, Stop

438
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,119
Speaker 1: saying it is what it is. No you know the

439
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,600
Speaker 1: Israelites spent so much of the focused complaining about the

440
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 1: wilderness and wishing that they were back in Egypt, that

441
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,639
Speaker 1: they missed out on the promise that was right in

442
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 1: front of them. So Paul warns us he's got two things,

443
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:20,879
Speaker 1: complaining and arguing, because complaining keeps me suck in my circumstances,

444
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:26,679
Speaker 1: and arguing keeps me from experiencing true connection with those

445
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,159
Speaker 1: that I love. Can I find another honest person in

446
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,679
Speaker 1: the chat? I'm saying that a lot today because I

447
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,120
Speaker 1: just I'm kind of burying my soul and I want

448
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: to make sure that I'm not alone. But am I alone?

449
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,399
Speaker 1: Am I the only person that likes to have the

450
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: last word? Sometimes I feel like I have multiple personalities

451
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 1: because on one hand, I'm a total people pleaser, like

452
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:56,919
Speaker 1: I will go to great links to avoid conflict. But

453
00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:02,639
Speaker 1: then there are a few people and a few topics,

454
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: then well if you I'm just gonna put my boxing

455
00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,480
Speaker 1: gloves on. And my husband is looking at me right

456
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 1: now because he knows that I have this one particular trigger,

457
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,120
Speaker 1: Like you can talk about politics, you can talk about policies,

458
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,199
Speaker 1: you can talk about theology, and I will cool as

459
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,440
Speaker 1: a cucumber. But if you bring up this one topic

460
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna tell you what it is, because

461
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 1: I'll just go off. It's kind of a hot topic anyway,

462
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 1: and probably shouldn't say it on camera, But I'm just saying,

463
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 1: there's just there's certain topics that I can't not argue about,

464
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:38,399
Speaker 1: and then there's certain people. Lord knows, the three of

465
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,120
Speaker 1: my favorite people on the planet are Elijah, Graham, and Abby.

466
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: But those three people, they are professional button pushers, and

467
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,719
Speaker 1: I will stoop to their level and I will argue

468
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 1: with them, and I will lose my cool, and I

469
00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:02,560
Speaker 1: will keep going and going and going because I am

470
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 1: the adult and therefore I have the last word. The

471
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,399
Speaker 1: problem is that when I keep doing that, I'm not

472
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,199
Speaker 1: actually proving my authority to them. I'm more compromising, and

473
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,159
Speaker 1: I'm down on their level. And any time that we

474
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,639
Speaker 1: need to win an argument with another person, we compromise

475
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:27,920
Speaker 1: the relationship somehow. So what I'm learning is that if

476
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:33,760
Speaker 1: my goal is purely to win, I lose. Well. I

477
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,240
Speaker 1: may win the argument, I may walk away feeling proud

478
00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,480
Speaker 1: I was right I put them in their place, but

479
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,960
Speaker 1: I have no concern for how the other person feels,

480
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,400
Speaker 1: and in the process of me winning, I've lost a

481
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,880
Speaker 1: small piece of the relationship that I have, and over time,

482
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:56,880
Speaker 1: piece by piece, I chip away at the opportunity to

483
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,960
Speaker 1: have a right relationship with a person in my life

484
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: that I love. See, when you argue with an attacking stance,

485
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 1: you automatically put the other person in a defensive position.

486
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,800
Speaker 1: And when someone is defending, they're most likely not even

487
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,000
Speaker 1: hearing a word that you say because they are in

488
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:24,400
Speaker 1: protection mode. They're in defense mode. James said, Remember, be

489
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,720
Speaker 1: quick to listen, slow to speak. This means that while

490
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 1: the other person is talking, I am paying attention to

491
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 1: what they're saying. I'm not planning what I'm going to

492
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 1: say next. I'm actually seeking to understand. I'm not just

493
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:46,240
Speaker 1: airing out my own opinions. And then when I do speak,

494
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,560
Speaker 1: when it's my turn to speak, I choose words that

495
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,760
Speaker 1: are not abrasive or accusing. I told you that I

496
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:55,920
Speaker 1: have put my foot in my mouth way too many

497
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,240
Speaker 1: times to count, and so years ago I came across

498
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,480
Speaker 1: this verse and immediately put it to memory. It meant

499
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,840
Speaker 1: so much to me. It's Colossians four to six, and

500
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 1: it says, let your conversation. Always be full of grace,

501
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,400
Speaker 1: seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to

502
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,680
Speaker 1: answer everyone. This verse is talking about how to defend

503
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,480
Speaker 1: the gospel to those who don't believe in Yes, we

504
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,160
Speaker 1: absolutely need to be passionate about the Gospel and the

505
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,880
Speaker 1: values that we have as believers in Christ. But if

506
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,960
Speaker 1: you come out the gate accusing and demeaning and come

507
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 1: across like you are the enlightened one, you're never going

508
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:35,280
Speaker 1: to win anyone over. Put a little salt on those words.

509
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,160
Speaker 1: Let the person know that you love them and that

510
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 1: you hear them, and that you're listening to their side.

511
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 1: If you are, if you do. Our pastor teaches us

512
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,960
Speaker 1: this all the time. I mean, God, he has been

513
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:55,720
Speaker 1: on fire the last few weeks, like absolutely. I told

514
00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 1: him that his message last week is in the top three,

515
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,800
Speaker 1: my top three messages of all times. Never ever in

516
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: twenty years of marriage have I suggested that he preach

517
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 1: on a passage of scripture. And he actually did until

518
00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: last week. So that was a win for me, and

519
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,520
Speaker 1: I got my own personal sermon. If you miss it,

520
00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:17,440
Speaker 1: you have to go back and watch it, because that's

521
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 1: not my point. My point is that the last several

522
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,960
Speaker 1: sermons that he have preached have been sent around this

523
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:27,600
Speaker 1: idea about the questions that Jesus asked, and he told

524
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:32,240
Speaker 1: us that everything begins with a question, and buried deep

525
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: in my notes, as I was flipping through, I came

526
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 1: across this one line that I had written, where he

527
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: said questions create access. Questions create access, but accusations close hearts.

528
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,520
Speaker 1: If we're going to be quick to listen and slow

529
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:54,800
Speaker 1: to speak, we must learn how to ask questions, and

530
00:31:54,840 --> 00:32:00,200
Speaker 1: we have to ask good questions. For instance, what are

531
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:05,160
Speaker 1: you thinking? That's not a good question Just because it

532
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 1: has a little punctuation mark doesn't mean that it works,

533
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,240
Speaker 1: because you might as well tack on the word idiot

534
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 1: to that. What were you thinking? You idiot? But if

535
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: you say something like can you help me understand? It

536
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:25,440
Speaker 1: communicates care, It communicates concern. It says I want to

537
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 1: hear what you have to say, and I care more

538
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:35,680
Speaker 1: about us than I do about making my point. And

539
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:40,240
Speaker 1: Paul models this again for us back in chapter one.

540
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,240
Speaker 1: Let's see. He says, if you go to Philpy chapter one,

541
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 1: verse seventeen, he's talking about the people who were preaching

542
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 1: Christ for selfish gain, and he doesn't go around crusading

543
00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,160
Speaker 1: after them and putting them all in their places. I

544
00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,760
Speaker 1: want you to look at what he says. This is

545
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:03,520
Speaker 1: verse seventeen. Preached Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely

546
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,200
Speaker 1: supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while

547
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 1: I am in chains. But what does it matter? In

548
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:15,280
Speaker 1: every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.

549
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 1: And because of this I rejoice. There are times where

550
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:28,200
Speaker 1: I have to ask myself does this really matter? Is

551
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,680
Speaker 1: this argument worth the damage that it might have on

552
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,600
Speaker 1: our relationship? And can I have the humility to let

553
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,000
Speaker 1: it go? In those moments, I have to learn to

554
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:45,920
Speaker 1: take a second and think, quick to listen, slow to speak.

555
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,480
Speaker 1: And did you notice what Paul did? He called himself

556
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:53,280
Speaker 1: back to joy. He said, I'm going to fix my

557
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,880
Speaker 1: focus on the things that do matter. And what matters

558
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,440
Speaker 1: is that Christ is being preached. What matters is the person,

559
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:06,480
Speaker 1: not my point if the person matters to you, because

560
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,480
Speaker 1: the world does not need another opinion, but the world

561
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:20,640
Speaker 1: desperately needs some better examples. Paul says, do everything without

562
00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:25,520
Speaker 1: grumbling or arguing, so that you may be become blameless

563
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:29,160
Speaker 1: and pure children of God. Without fault and a warped

564
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:33,120
Speaker 1: and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like

565
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,880
Speaker 1: stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the

566
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,840
Speaker 1: word of life. Crooked means bent in the wrong direction.

567
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:46,400
Speaker 1: But the way to redirect someone is not to shout,

568
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,520
Speaker 1: it's to shine. See I'm a talkative person. But not

569
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,600
Speaker 1: only am I a talkative person, I'm also a really

570
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: loud talker. Again, this kind of comes in handy in

571
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 1: this sort of setting, but in day to day it

572
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,320
Speaker 1: can be really annoying. I don't know why I'm allowed talker.

573
00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,440
Speaker 1: Maybe it's because I'm a middle child and I wanted

574
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,680
Speaker 1: to be heard in my family. Maybe it's because I

575
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,200
Speaker 1: have I actually do have a sister who's hearing impaired,

576
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,839
Speaker 1: and maybe my whole family talks loud. I don't know.

577
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,960
Speaker 1: I don't know why, and I don't even realize it.

578
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,400
Speaker 1: Sometimes I have an out of body experience where I'm like,

579
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,120
Speaker 1: oh God, I'm yelling at this person and they're standing

580
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:25,439
Speaker 1: right in front of me. The thing that I'm learning, though,

581
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:30,640
Speaker 1: is that my life speaks louder than my voice ever can.

582
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,480
Speaker 1: When Paul says you will shine like stars in the sky,

583
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,280
Speaker 1: he's referring to a prophecy from the Book of Daniel.

584
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,360
Speaker 1: Somebody sent me this card this summer and they wrote

585
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 1: this Bible verse on it, and I liked it because

586
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,279
Speaker 1: we do talk about shining like stars and missus better

587
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,200
Speaker 1: half as well. And so I put it up on

588
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 1: my desk, and I was sitting at my desk working

589
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,200
Speaker 1: and I looked up and I read this verse. I

590
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:00,800
Speaker 1: want to read it to you. It's in Daniel chapter twelve,

591
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,840
Speaker 1: verse three. Those who are wise will shine like the

592
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:09,400
Speaker 1: brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to

593
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 1: righteousness like the stars forever and ever. Daniel was amongst

594
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:21,239
Speaker 1: a people who did not worship God, and it was

595
00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:25,279
Speaker 1: the life that he lived that impacted an entire nation.

596
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 1: Remember he's the one that knelt to pray every day,

597
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,360
Speaker 1: even though the king had made an order prohibiting prayer.

598
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:36,360
Speaker 1: It was his actions that made an impact, not his words.

599
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,240
Speaker 1: Have you ever watched a friend go through something, maybe

600
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,160
Speaker 1: a divorce or an illness, or maybe watch them try

601
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 1: to navigate a difficult situation with their child. We all

602
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,719
Speaker 1: experience difficult situations that we didn't expect that come up

603
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:55,440
Speaker 1: along the way. But have you ever watched someone just

604
00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:01,840
Speaker 1: absolutely shine under the hardest circumstances. My friends, she had

605
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,399
Speaker 1: one of the most horrific years last year. I mean

606
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:10,399
Speaker 1: we joke about twenty twenty, but she lost her job,

607
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,279
Speaker 1: she had to move across the country, away from her

608
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,719
Speaker 1: home where she had lived for almost forty years, and

609
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 1: try to rebuild her life. And then about a month

610
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:22,840
Speaker 1: after moving, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.

611
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:28,400
Speaker 1: And every time we talked, she was just she was real.

612
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,320
Speaker 1: She would tell me how she was scared. She was

613
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,840
Speaker 1: obviously alone in the way that she felt she was

614
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:41,480
Speaker 1: physically alone because her family was so far away, But

615
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:45,080
Speaker 1: somehow she would just always bring the conversation back to

616
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,279
Speaker 1: all the ways that God was working. And one day,

617
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:53,359
Speaker 1: through tears, she said, Holly, I know that God has this.

618
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,080
Speaker 1: I know that I'm going to get through it. Everywhere

619
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:58,920
Speaker 1: I go I see glimpses of him. Scott spoke to

620
00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 1: me today through the lady who checks me out at CBS.

621
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:04,960
Speaker 1: I just know I'm gonna make it to the other

622
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,960
Speaker 1: side of this. Then you will shine among them like

623
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,840
Speaker 1: stars in the sky as you hold fast to the

624
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 1: word of life. How do you shine? How do we

625
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,239
Speaker 1: do this? Well? One you refuse to dwell on the

626
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,960
Speaker 1: negative and you let go of the need to be right,

627
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:28,320
Speaker 1: and then you hold firm to the word of life.

628
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:33,400
Speaker 1: What is God speaking to you in this season? Maybe

629
00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,600
Speaker 1: you have no idea, You're like, I don't know. Okay,

630
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 1: Well go back. Think what was the last thing that

631
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,160
Speaker 1: God spoke to you. Maybe he whispered very softly to

632
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:47,680
Speaker 1: you about your attitude at work. Maybe it was something

633
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,360
Speaker 1: that had to do with doing things for others without

634
00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:53,879
Speaker 1: having to be noticed. Maybe it was about focusing on

635
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 1: all the things that you have to be grateful for

636
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,719
Speaker 1: in a season where things just really aren't turning out

637
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,040
Speaker 1: the way that you think. Maybe, like Daniel, he just

638
00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:08,040
Speaker 1: called you to spend time praying every day. And sometimes

639
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:12,880
Speaker 1: what we miss is that the best way to impact

640
00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:16,359
Speaker 1: the people around you is to make a change in

641
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:22,920
Speaker 1: yourself in life. The most difficult lesson of all for

642
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:28,000
Speaker 1: me has been to understand that at the end of

643
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:33,160
Speaker 1: the day, the only person that I can really change

644
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,319
Speaker 1: is me. But it's not fun to change me. It's

645
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:40,560
Speaker 1: easier to try and change others and hope that when

646
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:45,040
Speaker 1: others change, my life will improve. Right. But when I focus,

647
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 1: when I place my focus on all the things that

648
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:53,120
Speaker 1: everyone else needs to change. What happens is I become

649
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 1: someone I don't want to be. I become a nagging

650
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:59,520
Speaker 1: and manipulative woman, and then sometimes I give up on

651
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,120
Speaker 1: the nagging in the manipulation that I just become stubborn

652
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 1: and withdrawn. And then I wonder why I'm never really

653
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:09,160
Speaker 1: making any progress in my relationships or in my personal life,

654
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,839
Speaker 1: because when I blame others' actions for my problems, I

655
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:17,759
Speaker 1: can never experience real change in my life. I love

656
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,040
Speaker 1: to tell this story about Graham and Abby. Years ago.

657
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:23,799
Speaker 1: I asked them to go pack their lunches. It was

658
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:27,640
Speaker 1: the school night, and in our house, pack your lunch

659
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:32,160
Speaker 1: means grab a juice box and a lunch box and

660
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,319
Speaker 1: get some prepackaged snacks and then bring it to me

661
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:37,719
Speaker 1: and I'll put your sandwich in it. Okay, So no

662
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,920
Speaker 1: little beautiful little binto boxes or anything like that. So

663
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,120
Speaker 1: on this particular night, I said, Graham and Abby go

664
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:50,800
Speaker 1: fix your lunch, and I hear Graham yelling at Abby, Abby,

665
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:57,840
Speaker 1: pack your lunch, Abby, Mom said, pack your lunch. Abby,

666
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,239
Speaker 1: You need to do it. Mom said, I just went

667
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,319
Speaker 1: on and on, and the kids have like the most

668
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:05,560
Speaker 1: incredible amount of patience and saying something over and over again,

669
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:08,759
Speaker 1: while I got tired of it, and I said, Graham,

670
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,239
Speaker 1: come here, come into the kitchen, and he comes in

671
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:16,239
Speaker 1: empty handed. He's a buddy, where's your lunch? And he goes, Oh,

672
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:22,960
Speaker 1: I forgot. Graham was so busy picking a fight with

673
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,239
Speaker 1: his sister and telling her what she needed to do,

674
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:29,360
Speaker 1: that he neglected to pack his own lunch. And what

675
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,040
Speaker 1: I want to tell you today is pack your own lunch.

676
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 1: You determined to be kind no matter how you're treated.

677
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,000
Speaker 1: You'd be the first one to apologize, even if you

678
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,080
Speaker 1: were only ten percent wrong, which you probably weren't ten

679
00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:45,479
Speaker 1: percent wrong, but you'll be the first one to say

680
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:49,440
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. What does it matter? You determine that I'm

681
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,120
Speaker 1: gonna bow out of a conversation if it gets ugly somehow,

682
00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,120
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get out of there. I'm not gonna I'm

683
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:56,560
Speaker 1: not gonna go there talking about other people. You be

684
00:41:56,680 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 1: generous with your time and your money, rich, expecting nothing

685
00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:04,000
Speaker 1: in return, because God has the work that he wants

686
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,520
Speaker 1: to do in you. And if you say hyper focused

687
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: on others and how they need to change and what

688
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:14,640
Speaker 1: they need to do, you might end up complaining that

689
00:42:14,719 --> 00:42:20,000
Speaker 1: you don't have any lunch, You're gonna be hungry. Sometimes,

690
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:23,760
Speaker 1: the greatest impact that you will have on the people

691
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 1: of your life will not be with the words that

692
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:30,040
Speaker 1: you say. It will be with the life that you live.

693
00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:37,239
Speaker 1: So can we just collectively all decide stop shouting at

694
00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:43,840
Speaker 1: each other and just start shining brighter. I'm not saying

695
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,080
Speaker 1: that we can't be a voice for the voiceless. I'm

696
00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:49,560
Speaker 1: not saying that we don't speak up against injustice. I'm

697
00:42:49,719 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 1: just pointing out first John three eighteen. I learned this

698
00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:55,680
Speaker 1: verse when I was a little girl. There was a song.

699
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:57,440
Speaker 1: I'm not going to sing the song, but it says this,

700
00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,360
Speaker 1: let us not love with words or speech, but with

701
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:05,360
Speaker 1: actions and in truth. I told you that last week's

702
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:08,439
Speaker 1: sermon was in my top three Stievelfredick sermons of all times.

703
00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:10,399
Speaker 1: And if you miss it, it's called Just the Two

704
00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:12,239
Speaker 1: of Us, you have to go back and watch it.

705
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:15,040
Speaker 1: But he preached about the Shunamite woman. So I'm hoping

706
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:18,560
Speaker 1: the most of you heard it, because the Shunamite woman,

707
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:23,600
Speaker 1: she was the epitome of knowing how to keep her

708
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:28,000
Speaker 1: mouth shut and go to the one who could fix

709
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:31,240
Speaker 1: her son. There was only one person who could fix him.

710
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:35,879
Speaker 1: So you remember, the child died and she placed him

711
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,880
Speaker 1: on the bed, the prophet's bed that was in her home,

712
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 1: and she set out to find Elisha. And she did

713
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:45,560
Speaker 1: not waste time arguing with her husband about how he

714
00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:47,480
Speaker 1: should have brought the boy to her sooner, and this

715
00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,440
Speaker 1: was his fault. She did not knock on her neighbor's

716
00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:54,680
Speaker 1: door and request prayer. When Elisha's servant came out to

717
00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:57,439
Speaker 1: her and he asked her if everything was all right,

718
00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,319
Speaker 1: she did not complain to him. She said, I'm fine,

719
00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:03,960
Speaker 1: everything's fine, and she kept going where she knew she

720
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:09,560
Speaker 1: needed to be. But when she reached the prophet, the

721
00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:14,480
Speaker 1: verse says that she actually knelt down, and it says

722
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:20,080
Speaker 1: she took hold of his feet, and she poured out

723
00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:24,520
Speaker 1: her soul to him, to let go of what you

724
00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:28,719
Speaker 1: cannot fix, and you hold firm to what you know,

725
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:31,920
Speaker 1: then you will shine among them like stars in the sky,

726
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:35,319
Speaker 1: as you hold firmly to the word of life. She

727
00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:37,719
Speaker 1: knew that she had to get to the one who

728
00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:41,560
Speaker 1: had spoken life to her. Beautiful. He said, you're gonna

729
00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:43,880
Speaker 1: have a son, and that was the promise that she

730
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,000
Speaker 1: was clinging to He said, I was gonna have the sun,

731
00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:49,440
Speaker 1: so he did this, so he's the only one that

732
00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:52,080
Speaker 1: can fix it. She was quiet when it came to

733
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:54,560
Speaker 1: speaking to others, but when she got in the presence

734
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:58,560
Speaker 1: of the Prophet, she poured out her soul to him,

735
00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:03,440
Speaker 1: and she i refused to leave his presence because when

736
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,400
Speaker 1: you go to the source, you're never alone in your problem,

737
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:10,000
Speaker 1: no matter how lonely you feel. So she stuck with them,

738
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,360
Speaker 1: and as they journeyed back to her home, she stayed close.

739
00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:17,640
Speaker 1: And when they got back to her house, the Prophet

740
00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:21,400
Speaker 1: went into the room with her child and shut the door.

741
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:26,400
Speaker 1: I like to think about how she thought she was

742
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:29,680
Speaker 1: going to go in with him and he shut the door.

743
00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:33,680
Speaker 1: And when my husband said that sometimes you have to

744
00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:36,480
Speaker 1: stand outside the door while God goes in with your problems,

745
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,480
Speaker 1: I knew that that was a picture that I would

746
00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:43,560
Speaker 1: never forget because I don't know about you, but I've

747
00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:46,800
Speaker 1: had a few times in my life. I've had enough

748
00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,920
Speaker 1: times in my life where I've had to stand outside

749
00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:55,040
Speaker 1: the door and just like God handle my situation. And

750
00:45:55,160 --> 00:46:01,760
Speaker 1: she stood there. She was quiet, and she was alone

751
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,200
Speaker 1: because sometimes the things that you go through, they're just

752
00:46:04,239 --> 00:46:07,239
Speaker 1: they're too personal to share in the moment. And so

753
00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,279
Speaker 1: she just stood there while the prophet was behind the

754
00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:15,560
Speaker 1: door with her child. And I keep wondering what could

755
00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:18,080
Speaker 1: have possibly been going through her mind, because as a woman,

756
00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:21,799
Speaker 1: it's like, I can fix this, I need to fix this.

757
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,600
Speaker 1: But she couldn't fix it. She had to stand outside

758
00:46:25,640 --> 00:46:31,440
Speaker 1: the door and wait and hold firm to the promise

759
00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:37,240
Speaker 1: that God had given her. Because the thing that enables

760
00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:42,040
Speaker 1: us to shine bright in the darkness, it's not only

761
00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:45,480
Speaker 1: what we don't say, because that's a start, but it's

762
00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:52,560
Speaker 1: what we cling to. You can cling to the promise

763
00:46:53,160 --> 00:46:56,879
Speaker 1: that he will never leave you or forsake you. You

764
00:46:56,920 --> 00:47:00,400
Speaker 1: can cling to the promise that the same Holy Spirit

765
00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:04,239
Speaker 1: that lives inside of you, that he lives inside of

766
00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:06,879
Speaker 1: the people that you love, and he's working on them,

767
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,680
Speaker 1: just like he's working on you. He's working on them.

768
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:12,120
Speaker 1: You can believe that if he speaks to you, he

769
00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:16,319
Speaker 1: can speak to them without without your mouth, he can

770
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,000
Speaker 1: speak to them, and you can cling to that promise.

771
00:47:19,040 --> 00:47:24,520
Speaker 1: I have a friend whose son is just doing everything

772
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:27,279
Speaker 1: that he wants to do right now, and she's clinging

773
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 1: to the promise that God has given her about her son.

774
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,560
Speaker 1: You can cling to the promise that he sees every

775
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:37,880
Speaker 1: tear that you cry, and he hears every prayer that

776
00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:41,319
Speaker 1: you pray, because he does, so you cling to that.

777
00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:45,480
Speaker 1: You cling to the promise that you serve a God

778
00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:52,200
Speaker 1: who really does turn everything for good. He does, He's

779
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:56,640
Speaker 1: done it before, he'll do it again. He really does

780
00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:02,720
Speaker 1: turn graves into gardens. And the grave part is not fun,

781
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:07,479
Speaker 1: but the garden part you look back and can only

782
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:11,960
Speaker 1: have been God. And cling to that. And when you

783
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:16,279
Speaker 1: cling to that, your life will shine so bright that

784
00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:24,560
Speaker 1: people can't help but see God glorified in your life. So, Lord,

785
00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:29,280
Speaker 1: we just we open up our hands to you today.

786
00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:36,280
Speaker 1: Pray for the person who's watching this alone. Just whisper

787
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:43,000
Speaker 1: to them, tell them that they're not pray for the

788
00:48:43,040 --> 00:48:46,800
Speaker 1: person who has been praying for their child for years

789
00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:52,040
Speaker 1: and years and years, because just speak to them. Tell

790
00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:54,759
Speaker 1: them that you love their child more than they do.

791
00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:05,960
Speaker 1: We cling to you today, which you reveal to us

792
00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:10,080
Speaker 1: the things that we need to let go of, and

793
00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:13,640
Speaker 1: then which you just remind us, like you do, of

794
00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:20,120
Speaker 1: the promises that you have spoken over our lives. Your

795
00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:26,239
Speaker 1: promises are good and precious. Your promises are yes and

796
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:35,120
Speaker 1: amen with buff you Lord, thank you saying Jesus name.

797
00:49:35,160 --> 00:49:49,880
Speaker 1: I pray amen oooh that sermon. I know I'm biased,

798
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:54,520
Speaker 1: but I think what Holly just preached was the most

799
00:49:54,719 --> 00:49:58,239
Speaker 1: relevant thing that she could have said. You know, we

800
00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:02,000
Speaker 1: always talk about how hers and teaching is bringing the

801
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,480
Speaker 1: Word practically, but there was a prophetic element to that

802
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:08,240
Speaker 1: message today. And God gave her that message months ago,

803
00:50:08,719 --> 00:50:10,960
Speaker 1: and I believe he wanted you to hear it right now.

804
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:13,520
Speaker 1: He wanted us to experience it together in this moment.

805
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:16,759
Speaker 1: So I pray you received it today, and I want

806
00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:19,320
Speaker 1: to thank you. Thanks to all of you who support

807
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:26,000
Speaker 1: this incredible, worldwide, thriving ministry that is bearing fruit all

808
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:29,760
Speaker 1: over this planet. And the Bible says that we shouldn't

809
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:34,160
Speaker 1: just love in word, but indeed action. And some of

810
00:50:34,200 --> 00:50:38,200
Speaker 1: you who who give financially and who pray and share

811
00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:41,560
Speaker 1: the Gospel and serve, you're just You're the best. So

812
00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:44,440
Speaker 1: thank you. I want to thank you for continuing in

813
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,279
Speaker 1: your generosity in this time. And I also wanted to

814
00:50:47,719 --> 00:50:49,520
Speaker 1: encourage you to stay in touch. Those of you who

815
00:50:49,840 --> 00:50:52,799
Speaker 1: attend a local elevation church, you know, check in with

816
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:55,479
Speaker 1: your campus pastor your campus team, make sure you're getting

817
00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:59,040
Speaker 1: updates on in person worship experiences as more of those

818
00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:02,360
Speaker 1: become a available hopefully in the days ahead, and for

819
00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:04,040
Speaker 1: our EPM around the world, we're going to be right

820
00:51:04,080 --> 00:51:07,120
Speaker 1: here for you every step of the way as we

821
00:51:07,200 --> 00:51:11,320
Speaker 1: navigate this moment in time together. Well, you heard the word,

822
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:14,320
Speaker 1: and now I want to make sure that you're subscribed

823
00:51:14,360 --> 00:51:17,200
Speaker 1: to the channel. Thank you for your partnership in the gospel.

824
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:17,840
Speaker 1: I love you.