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Speaker 1: Right. This is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for

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Speaker 1: listening to the podcast. Twenty twenty four is going to

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Speaker 1: be an amazing year for you and your family though

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Speaker 1: that we're praying for you, So get ready, keep your

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Speaker 1: expectations up. It's going to be a great year. Hope

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Speaker 1: you enjoyed today's message, Well I'd dress you again. And

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Speaker 1: it's always a joy to come into your homes each week.

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Speaker 1: We come with good news. We know God is on

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Speaker 1: your side and He's got good things in store for

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Speaker 1: each one of you. If you're ever in our area,

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Speaker 1: I hope you'll stop by and see us. We give

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Speaker 1: you a personal invitation. I say it often, but these

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Speaker 1: are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right

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Speaker 1: here at Lakewood. So come out and we'll make you

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Speaker 1: feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today.

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Speaker 1: I like to get started each week with something kind

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Speaker 1: of funny, and I heard about these two famous baseball pitchers.

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Speaker 1: They were discussing whether or not there would be any

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Speaker 1: baseball up in heaven, and they agreed that whoever died

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Speaker 1: first would come back and tell the other one if

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Speaker 1: indeed there was any baseball in heaven. And sure enough,

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Speaker 1: A few months later one of the men, and just

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Speaker 1: like he promised, he came back. He said to his friend,

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Speaker 1: I've got good news and I've got bad news. The

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Speaker 1: good news is there is baseball up in heaven. The

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Speaker 1: bad news is you're scheduled to pitch next Thursday. All right,

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Speaker 1: hold your bibles up and say it like you mean

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Speaker 1: that you ready. This is my Bible. I am what

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Speaker 1: it says I am. I have what it says I have.

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Speaker 1: I can do what it says I can do. Today

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Speaker 1: I will be talked the word of God. I boldly confess.

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Speaker 1: My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will

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Speaker 1: never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you.

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Speaker 1: We've been talking about how important it is that we

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Speaker 1: let go of the past. Whether something happened twenty years

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Speaker 1: ago or twenty minutes ago, we've got to learn to

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Speaker 1: just let it go and move on. As long as

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Speaker 1: we're dragging the pains of yesterday over end of this day,

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Speaker 1: we're never going to experience God's best. And what's done

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Speaker 1: is done. You cannot undo what happened yesterday. If you

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Speaker 1: made some mistakes, let it go and do better today.

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Speaker 1: If somebody hurts you forgive them and move on. If

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Speaker 1: you went through a disappointment, some kind of setback, don't

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Speaker 1: stay focused on it. Know that God is still in

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Speaker 1: control of your life. And if you'll let go of

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Speaker 1: the old and quit thinking about it and quit talking

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Speaker 1: about it, God has promised he will bring you a

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Speaker 1: new beginning. And I know some of you have been

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Speaker 1: through a lot of unfair things in life. Maybe somebody

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Speaker 1: walked out of a relationship. That's painful, that's difficult. But

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Speaker 1: if you want God to open up a new door,

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Speaker 1: you've got to forgive them and move forward. Or maybe

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Speaker 1: somebody cheated you in a business deal. We'll let it go.

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Speaker 1: God will make it up to you. Maybe you weren't

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Speaker 1: treated right growing up, the people that raised you weren't

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Speaker 1: very fair. Well, there's nothing you can do about that now.

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Speaker 1: And if we make the mistake of holding on to

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Speaker 1: our hurts and pains, we're going to end up going

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Speaker 1: around with a victim mentality, and that's going to start

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Speaker 1: God from doing anything new. And the scripture says here

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Speaker 1: in Isaiah sixty one, verse three, that God wants to

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Speaker 1: give us beauty for our ashes, joy for our mourning,

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Speaker 1: rejoicing for our heaviness. But here's the key. You've got

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Speaker 1: to let go of the ashes before you will ever

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Speaker 1: receive the beauty. The ashes represent what's left over after

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Speaker 1: something's been burned up. In other words, they represent our

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Speaker 1: broken dreams, our disappointments, our hurts, our failures. And we

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Speaker 1: all have our share of ashes. But in order for

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Speaker 1: God to give us beauty for those ashes and exchange

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Speaker 1: has to take place. You've gotta let go of those

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Speaker 1: shattered dreams. You've got to quit focusing on your disappointments.

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Speaker 1: You've got to forgive the people that have hurt you,

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Speaker 1: release all that bitterness. Then God will give you the beauty. Hey,

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Speaker 1: you say, Joel, man, I just can't forgive them. They

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Speaker 1: hurt me too badly. Friends, that's a heavy heavy price

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Speaker 1: to pay. If you don't let go of the old,

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Speaker 1: God can't bring the new well, Joel, I pray, maid

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Speaker 1: and prayed, but my plan still didn't work out. I

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Speaker 1: prayed and prayed, and my loved one still didn't get healed.

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Speaker 1: I just don't understand why. No, you may not ever

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Speaker 1: understand why. Just turn loose of the ashes, learn to

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Speaker 1: trust God. He wants to restore back to you. He

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Speaker 1: wants to give you a new beginning, but you cannot

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Speaker 1: make the mistake of being trapped in the past, going

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Speaker 1: around with that victim mentality. I know this man, he

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Speaker 1: lost his wife over ten years ago. It was very tragic.

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Speaker 1: She was killed in an automobile accident. And of course

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Speaker 1: it's normal to go through a period of grieving. That's

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Speaker 1: the way God made us. And if you've lost something

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Speaker 1: a job, a marriage, a loved one, I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: that you should never feel any kind of sorrow or

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Speaker 1: never feel any kind of discouragement. No, that's normal. In fact,

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Speaker 1: grieving is a part of the healing process. And if

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Speaker 1: you just try to bury that on the inside and

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Speaker 1: ignore it and you never properly grieve over it, it's

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Speaker 1: going to be very difficult to overcome. It's okay to grieve.

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Speaker 1: When my father went to be with the Lord. The

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Speaker 1: first several months, there were many mornings I got up

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Speaker 1: and just wept, and I could feel that weeping healing me.

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Speaker 1: I could feel that pain getting less and less. And see,

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Speaker 1: proper grieving has a way of cleansing us from our hearts.

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Speaker 1: It has a way of healing us. But the problem

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Speaker 1: with this gentleman was that he was still grieving some

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Speaker 1: ten years later. He had allowed a season of mourning

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Speaker 1: to turn into a lifetime of morning, and he ended

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Speaker 1: up a very angry, bitter man. When I saw him,

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Speaker 1: I'd do my best to encourage him, let him know

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Speaker 1: there're gonna be good days up ahead, But he would

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Speaker 1: never receive that. He was always making excuses, blaming God,

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Speaker 1: blaming other people. He'd say, Joel, you don't know what

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Speaker 1: I've been through. You don't understand it. It's just so unfair,

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Speaker 1: on and on, and I don't mean to sound harsh,

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Speaker 1: but over a period of time I realized he didn't

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Speaker 1: really want to get well. He enjoyed walling around in

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Speaker 1: that self pity. And the sad thing is, even to

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Speaker 1: this day, he is living a very negative, defeated life.

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Speaker 1: What's his problem. He's holding on to the ashes. God

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Speaker 1: wants to give him the beauty. God wants to give

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Speaker 1: him a new beginning, but until he lets go of

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Speaker 1: the old, God can't bring the new. And when you

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Speaker 1: and I are tempted to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves,

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Speaker 1: thinking about how unfair our life is, we need to

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Speaker 1: ask ourselves, do we really want to get well or

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Speaker 1: have we gotten kind of comfortable in that self pity. No,

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Speaker 1: don't fall into that trap. And one good thing to

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Speaker 1: always remember is, no matter how much you've been through,

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Speaker 1: no matter how unfair your life seems, somebody somewhere has

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Speaker 1: it a whole lot worse than you do. You may

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Speaker 1: have gone through a whole lot, but I guarantee you

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Speaker 1: some people would love to have your life. Some people

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Speaker 1: would gladly trade places with you. And why don't you

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Speaker 1: quit focusing on what you've lost and start focusing on

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Speaker 1: what you've got left. Quit looking at everything wrong in

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Speaker 1: your life, and start looking at what's right in your life.

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Speaker 1: You may have lost your home, you may have lost

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Speaker 1: your home in this recent hurricane, but you can thank

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Speaker 1: God that you're still alive. You may have walked out

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Speaker 1: with nothing but the clothes on your back, but you

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Speaker 1: can thank God at least you were able to walk

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Speaker 1: out of there. And friends, I'm challenging you today to

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Speaker 1: shake off that self pity, shake off that victim mentality.

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Speaker 1: You got to shake off the past. If you weren't

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Speaker 1: treated right growing up, if I can be very blunt

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Speaker 1: with you, you got to get over it. Quit talking

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Speaker 1: about it. Quit thinking about it. If you went through

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Speaker 1: a bitter divorce, somebody walked out on you, let it go.

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Speaker 1: When one door closes, God will always open up another door.

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Speaker 1: But you've got to quit mourning over something you can't change.

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Speaker 1: Quit being depressed over something that's over and done. Too

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Speaker 1: many people are holding on to their ashes. I talked

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Speaker 1: to a young lady a couple of years ago. She

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Speaker 1: was so sour because her parents weren't able to send

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Speaker 1: her to college, and she was hoping to get a

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Speaker 1: scholarship and unfortunately it just all fell through at the

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Speaker 1: last moment and get the finance, and she wanted. Now

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Speaker 1: she's working at a job she doesn't like. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you could feel the poison coming out of her. She

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Speaker 1: was so negative and bitter, and I told her just

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Speaker 1: what I'm telling you. You've got to change your attitude,

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Speaker 1: be grateful for what you have. Then God will give

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Speaker 1: you a new beginning. And see, the enemy would love

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Speaker 1: for us to spend our whole lifetimes sitting in the ashes,

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Speaker 1: being depressed over a job we didn't get, being bitter

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Speaker 1: over a relationship that didn't work out, feeling sorry for

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Speaker 1: ourselves because a loved one died. No turn loose of

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Speaker 1: the ashes today can be a new beginning. Our attitude

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Speaker 1: should be, I refuse to live my life looking in

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Speaker 1: my rear view mirror anymore. That is over and done.

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Speaker 1: I'm forgetting what lies behind, and I am pressing forward

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Speaker 1: to the great things God has in store. If you

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Speaker 1: do that, God will give you beauty for your ashes.

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Speaker 1: God will give you joy for your morning. And this

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Speaker 1: is just what the prophet Samuel had to do. He

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Speaker 1: had invested a lot of time and effort into his

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Speaker 1: relationship with Saul. When Saul was just a young man,

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Speaker 1: Samuel chose him, at God's direction, to be the next

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Speaker 1: king of Israel. And Samuel took Saul under his wing,

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Speaker 1: and little by little he helped train him and teach him.

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Speaker 1: Samuel did his best to make Saul a success and

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Speaker 1: a pleasing king under God, but unfortunately Saul just wouldn't

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Speaker 1: walk in obedience. You know the story. Eventually God rejected

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Speaker 1: him as being the king. And you can imagine how

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Speaker 1: Samuel must have felt. Here. He's put all this time

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Speaker 1: and effort and energy into Saul, treated him just like

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Speaker 1: he were his own son, and now it looks like

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Speaker 1: it was a great, big waste. Of time. Maybe some

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Speaker 1: of you feel that same way today. You did your

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Speaker 1: best to make that relationship work out. You put your

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Speaker 1: heart and soul into it, But now it looks like

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Speaker 1: you've spent years and years building something that's not going

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Speaker 1: to last. And that's just how Samuel felt. He was heartbroken.

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Speaker 1: But God said something very interesting to him in First

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Speaker 1: Samuel sixteen, verse one. He said, Samuel, how long are

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Speaker 1: you gonna mourn over Saul? I believe God's asking us

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Speaker 1: that today. How long are you going to mourn over

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Speaker 1: what you've lost? How long are you gonna mourn over

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Speaker 1: those broken dreams? Friends? There's a problem with excessive mourning.

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Speaker 1: There's a problem with continually staying focused on your disappointments.

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Speaker 1: It stops God from bringing the new. God went on

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Speaker 1: to say, Samuel, fill your horn with oil and be

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Speaker 1: on your way, for I am sending you to the

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Speaker 1: house of Jesse. I've chosen one of his sons to

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Speaker 1: be the next king. Notice, God said, in effect, Samuel,

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Speaker 1: if you'll quit mourning and instead get up and be

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Speaker 1: on your way, I'll give you another king. In other words,

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Speaker 1: God always has another plan. Yes, Saul was God's first choice,

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Speaker 1: but just because Saul wouldn't be obedient. God didn't say sorry, Samuel.

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Speaker 1: Saul blew it, and that ruins everything. No, God had

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Speaker 1: another plan. And if you'll quit focusing on your disappointments

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Speaker 1: and quit going around feeling sorry for yourself, and instead

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Speaker 1: do what the scripture says, fill your horn with oil,

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Speaker 1: that simply means put a smile on your face, change

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Speaker 1: your attitude, let the past be the past, start moving forward.

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Speaker 1: If you do that, God will lead you to the

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Speaker 1: new beginnings he has in store. Samuel could have said, well, God,

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Speaker 1: I just can't do it. I'm too heartbroken. I've spent

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Speaker 1: too much time with Saul. Nor if he'd done that,

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Speaker 1: he would have missed out on choosing King David, one

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Speaker 1: of the greatest kings in the Bible. And in the

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Speaker 1: same way, when we waller around in our disappointments, we're

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Speaker 1: going to miss out on the new things God wants

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Speaker 1: to do. We got to get up and get going,

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Speaker 1: be on our way. God has another plan. I love

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Speaker 1: the story of Ruth in the Bible. She went through

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Speaker 1: a great disappointment. One day, her husband and her brother

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Speaker 1: in law were killed in a battle, and as you

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Speaker 1: can imagine, Ruth was devastated. Her whole world was turned

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Speaker 1: upside down. But it's interesting Ruth didn't get bitter. She

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Speaker 1: didn't go around blaming God. She knew God could give

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Speaker 1: her a new beginning. And Ruth's mother in law, Naomi,

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Speaker 1: was already a widow, and when this all happened, she

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Speaker 1: decided to move back to her homeland. And she encouraged

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Speaker 1: these two daughters in law, the ones that had just

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Speaker 1: lost their husbands, to move back to their homeland go

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Speaker 1: their separate ways as well. And this one daughter in

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Speaker 1: law took Naomi's advice and she went back home. And

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Speaker 1: I don't know, but maybe she left there a little

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Speaker 1: bit bitter and angry. Here her dreams have been shattered,

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Speaker 1: she's just lost her husband. I can imagine she's going

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Speaker 1: home very broken, defeated, bitter, But not Ruth. She had

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Speaker 1: a different attitude. She said, no, Naomi, I'm not gonna

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Speaker 1: leave you. I'm gonna go wherever you go, and I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna help take care of you. Notice Ruth, in her

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Speaker 1: time of need, she didn't sit around feeling sorry for herself.

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Speaker 1: She didn't take the easy way out and go home

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Speaker 1: defeated and depressed. She got her mind off of herself,

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Speaker 1: and she went out and helped somebody else in me.

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Speaker 1: She helped Naomi. He knew if she could let go

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Speaker 1: of the old, God would bring her the new. She

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Speaker 1: and Naomi moved to this other city. They didn't have

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Speaker 1: any kind of provision, nothing to eat, and so Ruth

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Speaker 1: would go out into the fields early in the morning

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Speaker 1: and gather up the leftover grain that the reapers had missed.

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Speaker 1: This is how they survived. The man that owned those

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Speaker 1: fields was named bo As. He was one of the

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Speaker 1: wealthiest and most influential men in that area, and he

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Speaker 1: loved God. And he noticed Ruth out there every day,

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Speaker 1: working so diligently gathering up the grain. The more he

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Speaker 1: watched her, the more he liked her. Long story short,

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Speaker 1: They fell in love and eventually they got married. God

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Speaker 1: gave Ruth a new beginning. He gave Ruth beauty for

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Speaker 1: her ashes. Here's what I always think about. Bo As

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Speaker 1: wasn't just one of the workers, and that would have

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Speaker 1: been great. He wasn't just the supervisor. He was the

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Speaker 1: man that owned that whole area. God did more than

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Speaker 1: Ruth could even ask her think. He gave her joy

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Speaker 1: for her morning. God wants to do the same for

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Speaker 1: every one of you. And if you've been through some

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Speaker 1: kind of loss, some kind of broken relationship, you need

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Speaker 1: to know God has another bow as out there. He

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Speaker 1: still has somebody great he wants to bring into your life.

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Speaker 1: Too many people today they're living with this victim mentality,

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Speaker 1: and they're so focused on what they've been through and

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Speaker 1: who hurt them and how unfair it was. They don't realize.

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Speaker 1: But all they're doing is dragging the pains of yesterday

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Speaker 1: into the present, just like they get up every morning

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Speaker 1: and go get this big boatload of junk and bring

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Speaker 1: it into today. Now, don't do that. Let the past

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Speaker 1: be the past. You should not let your past poison

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Speaker 1: your future. You may have been through a lot, maybe

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Speaker 1: one of your dreams has died, but you've got to

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Speaker 1: know God has another dream. He's got a bright future

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Speaker 1: in store for every one of you. Now. Of course,

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Speaker 1: recently we've seen all the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. We've

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Speaker 1: seen so much of the suffering and so many of

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Speaker 1: the people that are affected. I know some of you

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Speaker 1: are even here. I talked to some earlier. A lot

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Speaker 1: of you watch by television and how our hearts go

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Speaker 1: out to you, praying and raising money, doing everything we can.

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Speaker 1: But I would encourage you especially to don't fall into

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Speaker 1: that trap of getting bitter and going around feeling sorry

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Speaker 1: for yourself. Listen, you are not a victim. You are

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Speaker 1: a victor. God says he always causes you to trial.

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Speaker 1: God said he would take this negative and somehow, some

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Speaker 1: way turn it around and use it to your advantage. Now,

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Speaker 1: I would just challenge you, don't let this set back

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Speaker 1: be a stumbling block to cause you to get bitter

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Speaker 1: and weaken your faith. Let this setback be a stepping

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Speaker 1: stone for God to do greater things in your life.

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Speaker 1: We're believing you're not only gonna come out, but God's

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Speaker 1: gonna bring you out better off than you were before.

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Speaker 1: If you lost your home, we're believing you're not gonna

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Speaker 1: come out with the same house, but you're gonna come

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Speaker 1: out with a better house, a bigger house, a brand

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Speaker 1: new house. We're believing you're not gonna come out with

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Speaker 1: the same level job, but you're gonna come out with

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Speaker 1: a better job, with better benefits, in a better environment,

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Speaker 1: making more money. If you lost your car, we're believing

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Speaker 1: God's gonna bring you out with a better car, brand

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Speaker 1: new car. Why don't you get a vision for it.

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Speaker 1: Don't sit around in self pity and pour on me.

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Speaker 1: Life's not fair. No, life may not be fair, but

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Speaker 1: God is fair, and God has you in the palm

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Speaker 1: of his hand. He said, A little sparrow never even

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Speaker 1: falls without God noticing it. You can rest assured God

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Speaker 1: sees what you've been through. He's closely watching you, and

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Speaker 1: his dream is to not only bring you out, but

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Speaker 1: to bring you out stronger, healthier, happier, better off than

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Speaker 1: you were before. Your attitude should be This may be difficult,

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Speaker 1: it may not be fair, but this is the hand

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Speaker 1: I've been dealt, and I am not gonna sit around

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Speaker 1: feeling sorry for myself. I know God is in control

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Speaker 1: and in the end, He's gonna use all this to

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Speaker 1: my advantage. And understand this, Here's what I found. The

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Speaker 1: enemy always fights you the hardest when he knows God

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Speaker 1: has something great in store for you. So if you're

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Speaker 1: in tough times, you're in difficult times, no doubt, your

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Speaker 1: camp right next door to your promised land. Don't get bitter,

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Speaker 1: don't go around all sour. You got to shake off

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Speaker 1: that victim mentality and start having that warrior mentality. See,

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Speaker 1: a warrior is a fighter. A warrior knows how to

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Speaker 1: endure hardships. And a warrior may get knocked down, but

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Speaker 1: he doesn't stay down. He gets back up again. And

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Speaker 1: I know some of you today you're discouraged because of

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Speaker 1: the negative circumstances in your life, and you're kind of

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Speaker 1: waiting for God or somebody to cheer you up. But really, friends,

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Speaker 1: God is waiting on you. The scripture says in Isaiah

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Speaker 1: sixty verse one, Arise from the depression in which the

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Speaker 1: circumstances have kept you. Rise to a new life. Notice,

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Speaker 1: if you want a new life, if you want a

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Speaker 1: new beginning, there's something you're gonna have to do. You

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Speaker 1: got to rise up out of that. In other words,

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Speaker 1: you've got to change your attitude. Put the smile back

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Speaker 1: on your face. Quit mourning over something you can't do

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Speaker 1: anything about. Quit going around focused on your disappointments, and

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Speaker 1: instead dig your heels in and make the most with

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Speaker 1: what you've got. See, God told Joshua to go in

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Speaker 1: and possess the promised land. That word possess implies action.

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Speaker 1: If you want God to restore back to you, if

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Speaker 1: you want to really live in victory. You cannot sit

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Speaker 1: around thinking about how unfair your life is and how

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Speaker 1: badly somebody has treated you. You got to be aggressive,

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Speaker 1: You got to be energetic, be on the offensive. Really,

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Speaker 1: this is one of the main things that kept the

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Speaker 1: children of Israel from ever going into their promised land.

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Speaker 1: They had been through all that slavery for years and

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Speaker 1: years over in Egypt. God miraculously brought them out. But

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Speaker 1: their whole problem was they never got rid of their

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Speaker 1: slave mentality. When times got tough and things didn't go

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Speaker 1: their way, instead of standing strong and fighting the good

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Speaker 1: fight of faith, they just easily gave up. They had

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Speaker 1: that poor, pitiful meat attitude. And here they were camped

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Speaker 1: right next door to their promised land. Because they were

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Speaker 1: so focused on what they had been through and so

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Speaker 1: focused on their enemies, they never did make it. In.

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Speaker 1: Their negative mindset kept them from God's best. And I

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Speaker 1: know plenty of you are here today and you have

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Speaker 1: a thousand good reasons to live your life with a

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Speaker 1: chip on your shoulder. I know, like these people, you've

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Speaker 1: been through a lot of unfair things, and you could

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Speaker 1: give me a thousand excuses why it's okay for you

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Speaker 1: to feel sorry for yourself. But friends, I'm asking you

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Speaker 1: to let all that go. I'm asking you to choose

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Speaker 1: to be a victor and not a victim. And I

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Speaker 1: think about David. He's one of my favorite people in

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Speaker 1: the Bible. He knew how to let go of the ashes.

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Speaker 1: One day, while he and his men were out protecting

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Speaker 1: the borders of Israel, their hometown was attacked and destroyed.

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Speaker 1: When they came back and saw all the devastation, they

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Speaker 1: were heartbroken. The city was totally burned down, their possessions

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Speaker 1: were stolen, and on top of that, all of the

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Speaker 1: women and children had been kidnapped. It was the darkest

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Speaker 1: day of David's life. The Bible says that David wept

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Speaker 1: until he could not weep anymore. And I'm sure David

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Speaker 1: was just like you and I. He was tempted to

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Speaker 1: get negative and bes. I'm sure he was tempted to say, God,

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Speaker 1: I don't understand this, this doesn't seem fair. I was

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Speaker 1: out doing what you asked me to do. How could

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Speaker 1: you allow this to happen? But understand, just because we're

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Speaker 1: in God's will doesn't mean we're not gonna have some

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Speaker 1: obstacles to overcome. Doesn't mean we're not gonna have some

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Speaker 1: battles to fight here. David was not down, But the

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Speaker 1: whole key is he didn't stay down. He had that

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Speaker 1: warrior mentality. And as he sat there among the ruins

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Speaker 1: of his city, watching the smoke and ashes filled the air,

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Speaker 1: David did something that none of those other six hundred

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Speaker 1: men would do. The Scripture says that David encouraged himself

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Speaker 1: in the Lord his God. In other words, he made

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Speaker 1: a decision, I'm not gonna sit here in the ashes

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Speaker 1: of defeat feeling sorry for myself. I am gonna rise

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Speaker 1: up out of this. Sure enough, he dusted himself off,

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Speaker 1: he washed his face, and he said, come on, men,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna go attack the enemy. The Bible says they

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Speaker 1: rose up and they recovered every single thing that had

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Speaker 1: been stolen. They got their wives and children back, they

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Speaker 1: got their flocks and herds, all their possessions. And you know, really,

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Speaker 1: if this were the end of the story, it'd be

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Speaker 1: a pretty happy ending. But no, God always brings you

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Speaker 1: out better. He never brings you out the same way.

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Speaker 1: David looked around and he saw all the enemies flocks

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Speaker 1: and herds, and all the enemies gold and silver. He

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Speaker 1: told his men to gather that up as well, and

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Speaker 1: then when they left out of there, they walked out

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Speaker 1: with twice what they had before. And see, the very

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Speaker 1: thing that comes against you to try to destroy you

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Speaker 1: could be the very thing God uses to increase you

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Speaker 1: and take you to a whole new level of the dream.

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Speaker 1: But friends, this is not gonna happen if you're sitting

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Speaker 1: around in defeat, mourning over what you've lost. It's not

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Speaker 1: gonna happen. If you're going around with the sour attitude,

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Speaker 1: complaining all the time. You got to let go of

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Speaker 1: the ashes if you want God to give you the beauty.

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Speaker 1: If you'll quit mourning over what you've lost and instead

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Speaker 1: put on that war your mentality, God will not only

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Speaker 1: bring you out, he'll bring you out better off than

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Speaker 1: you were before. Like that scripture, weeping may endure for

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Speaker 1: a night, but joy is coming in the morning. I

428
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,640
Speaker 1: have this friend of mine. A couple of years ago,

429
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,960
Speaker 1: he lost his job. He worked for a good company,

430
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,639
Speaker 1: and he'd been there for a long time. He was

431
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,359
Speaker 1: making good money, a very good position, and I thought

432
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,000
Speaker 1: for sure he would be very upset and very distraught

433
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,479
Speaker 1: about it. But when he came up. Man, he had

434
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,320
Speaker 1: a smile on his face. He was as happy as

435
00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:25,359
Speaker 1: can be. He said, Joel, I don't know if you've heard,

436
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,920
Speaker 1: but I just lost my job. But I can't wait

437
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,880
Speaker 1: to see what God has in start. See. He had

438
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,040
Speaker 1: been knocked down, but he didn't stay down. He had

439
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,879
Speaker 1: that warrior mentality. His attitude was, this thing is not

440
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,240
Speaker 1: going to defeat me. I know I'm a victoria, not

441
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,639
Speaker 1: a victim. I know when one door closes, God always

442
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 1: opens up a bigger and a better door. That's the

443
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,919
Speaker 1: kind of people God's looking for. People that have that

444
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,760
Speaker 1: never say die spirit, People that know God always causes

445
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,199
Speaker 1: us to try out. Our attitude should be even if

446
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,200
Speaker 1: the enemy does his best, his best will never be enough.

447
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 1: He may knock me down, but he can't knocked me out.

448
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,240
Speaker 1: When it's all said and done, the smoke settles and

449
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,440
Speaker 1: the dust clears, I'm still gonna be standing strong. Amen.

450
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,640
Speaker 1: I heard a story about these two frogs. They fell

451
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,360
Speaker 1: into this bowl of cream, and the sides were so

452
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,480
Speaker 1: slick that they couldn't climb up out of it, and

453
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,159
Speaker 1: so they had to paddle and paddle and paddle to

454
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,479
Speaker 1: just try to stay alive. And this went on and

455
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 1: on and on, and finally this one frog got so

456
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,679
Speaker 1: tired he just gave up. He said to his buddy, man,

457
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,160
Speaker 1: it's not worth it. We're never gonna get out. We're

458
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,040
Speaker 1: just wasting our time. I'm giving up. And sure enough

459
00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,120
Speaker 1: under he went. You didn't see any more of him.

460
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,040
Speaker 1: But this other frog was a little more determined. He

461
00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:41,000
Speaker 1: had that warrior mentality I'm talking about, and he just

462
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,359
Speaker 1: kept paddling and paddling and paddling, trying his best to

463
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,720
Speaker 1: stay alive. Well, after about thirty minutes went by, he

464
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,960
Speaker 1: noticed that that cream was getting harder and harder. It

465
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,399
Speaker 1: was more and more difficult, but he just kept at

466
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 1: it and kept at it. Well another fifteen or twenty minutes.

467
00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,280
Speaker 1: Did you know he had paddled so much that that

468
00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:01,080
Speaker 1: cream had turned to butter, and now he could just

469
00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,280
Speaker 1: step on top of it and hop on out. And

470
00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,439
Speaker 1: sometimes that's what we've got to learn to do in life.

471
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,040
Speaker 1: When it looks like there's no way out, you got

472
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,120
Speaker 1: to just keep on keeping on, keep on shaking off

473
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,320
Speaker 1: the past, keep on pressing forward, keep on shaking off

474
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,080
Speaker 1: self pity. And you know when those whole negative thoughts

475
00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 1: come telling you, it's never gonna get better. Mine as well.

476
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 1: Give up. It's never gonna change. You're never gonna get

477
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: out of that situation. No, don't believe that junk. With

478
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 1: every right decision you make, every time you shake off

479
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,439
Speaker 1: the disappointment, every time you press forward, every time you

480
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,320
Speaker 1: overlook an the fence, God is watching that. You are

481
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:39,240
Speaker 1: passing the test, and you're getting one step closer to

482
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,439
Speaker 1: seeing it all turn around. But I'm convinced these days,

483
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,920
Speaker 1: really we give up too easily. I was reading about

484
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,920
Speaker 1: the apostle Paul, and he went through so many hardships,

485
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,560
Speaker 1: so many unfair things, but I love what he said

486
00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,200
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians four, verse eight. He said, we are troubled

487
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:59,520
Speaker 1: on every side, but we're not crushed. We're perplexed. We

488
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,959
Speaker 1: don't under stand why these things happen to us, but

489
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,880
Speaker 1: we don't give up and quit. We get knocked down,

490
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,480
Speaker 1: but we get back up again and keep on going.

491
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,880
Speaker 1: Not as Paul said, a warrior may get knocked down,

492
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 1: but a warrior is not going to get knocked out.

493
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:15,880
Speaker 1: And some of you today you may feel like you've

494
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: been knocked down, you've been through some tough times, but

495
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 1: I would just challenge you. Don't stay down, don't develop

496
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,600
Speaker 1: that victim mentality, don't walla around in self pity, get

497
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 1: back up, dust yourself off, and do like David, press

498
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 1: forward to the good things God has in store. I

499
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 1: was thinking about Job when he went through all of

500
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,280
Speaker 1: that trouble and he lost his family, he lost his health,

501
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,320
Speaker 1: he lost his business. The scripture says that Job sat

502
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 1: down among the ashes, and that's the mistake many of

503
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,119
Speaker 1: us make today when trouble comes and life deals us

504
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,960
Speaker 1: a blow. Instead of having that warrior spirit like David,

505
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,480
Speaker 1: like the Apostle Paul, we just give up and get

506
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:58,200
Speaker 1: down and discouraged. And it's interesting. Job's situation didn't change

507
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 1: until he changed his attitude. Then God showed up and

508
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,320
Speaker 1: intervened and turned everything around. Let me ask you today,

509
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 1: are you sitting in any ashes? Are you holding on

510
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 1: to things that you know you need to turn loose up?

511
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 1: Are you allowing your past to poison your future? Now?

512
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,520
Speaker 1: If that's you, let me challenge you to make a

513
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,879
Speaker 1: decision to rise up out of that. Today can be

514
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,159
Speaker 1: a new beginning. You've got to quit mourning over something

515
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,440
Speaker 1: that you can't change. If you're gonna go forward, you

516
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,840
Speaker 1: gotta quit looking backwards. Friends, I believe your best days

517
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: are right out of head. I know God has a

518
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,639
Speaker 1: great plan in store for every one of you, and

519
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,800
Speaker 1: no matter what you've been through, no matter how unfair

520
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:39,200
Speaker 1: it seems, if you'll do your part and shake off

521
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 1: the self pity, shake off the disappointments, and instead have

522
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,840
Speaker 1: this war your mentality, and I can promise you God

523
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,160
Speaker 1: will do his part. He's promised he'll give you beauty

524
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,639
Speaker 1: for your ashes, joy for your morning, rejoicing for your heaviness.

525
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 1: You'll experience the life of victory he has in store. Amen,

526
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,879
Speaker 1: how many of em receive it today? We never like

527
00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,159
Speaker 1: to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to

528
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,920
Speaker 1: make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray

529
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,800
Speaker 1: with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins.

530
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 1: Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends,

531
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,040
Speaker 1: if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got

532
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,000
Speaker 1: born again. Get in a good Bible based churn. Keep

533
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,760
Speaker 1: God first place. He's going to take you places that

534
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:29,160
Speaker 1: you've never dreamed of. It's January. Time to renew my faith.

535
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 1: It's January. It's time to start a new season. It's January.

536
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,119
Speaker 2: There is no better time than now to set the

537
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:40,280
Speaker 2: course of our year ahead.

538
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,560
Speaker 1: The beginning of the year is a great time to

539
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,879
Speaker 1: start afresh and anew, to let go of negative things

540
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,040
Speaker 1: of the past, and to get ready for the new

541
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,959
Speaker 1: things God has in store. Every January we create a

542
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,240
Speaker 1: new devotional calendar that will help you throughout the year.

543
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 1: When you start the day off in faith, grateful for

544
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,640
Speaker 1: what God thanks don making positive declarations over your future,

545
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,679
Speaker 1: you're setting the tone for a blessed day and a

546
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 1: victorious year. This devotional will help you get your mind

547
00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,200
Speaker 1: going in the right direction so you can go out

548
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,200
Speaker 1: each day in faith knowing that God is in control

549
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,400
Speaker 1: that His plans for you are for good. I'd love

550
00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:19,960
Speaker 1: to send you.

551
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,040
Speaker 2: A copy as our way of saying thank you for

552
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:25,840
Speaker 2: your gift of any amount this first month of the year.

553
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 2: We would like to send you a copy of our

554
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 2: brand new twenty twenty four three hundred and sixty five

555
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,760
Speaker 2: day devotional calendar. Do you want to set a faith

556
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 2: course for your life in twenty twenty four? Do you

557
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 2: want to see your life take off in new directions

558
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 2: of influence, favor, and for vision in the year ahead.

559
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,400
Speaker 2: Using this devotional calendar is as easy as one, two, three.

560
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,640
Speaker 2: One Wake up with an expectancy in your heart. Two

561
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,320
Speaker 2: reflect on the daily scripture, verse and devotional from Joel.

562
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 2: Three Capture God's promises to you on journaling lines for

563
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,480
Speaker 2: writing and reflection. Be sure to request your copy of

564
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,200
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty four devotional calendar available this month by

565
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 2: simply visiting us at Joelostein dot com or calling eight

566
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,920
Speaker 2: eight eight five six seven Joel