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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victorian. So great to have

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Speaker 1: you listening to the podcast. We have a new resource

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Speaker 1: we'd love to send you. It's the twenty twenty four

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Speaker 1: Devotional Calendar. It's full of inspiration and encouragement. It'll help

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Speaker 1: you to start the day off right. Hope you'll request

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Speaker 1: your copy, but enjoy the podcast today. Well, God bless

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Speaker 1: you and it's great to be with you today. And

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Speaker 1: I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week

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Speaker 1: through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and

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Speaker 1: you can come visit us in person. We'd love to

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Speaker 1: have you be a part of one of our services.

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Speaker 1: I'd like to start with something funny, and I heard

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Speaker 1: about this couple that lived out in the country. They'd

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Speaker 1: been married for fifty years and never had an argument,

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Speaker 1: not one. Someone asked them the secret of their success.

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Speaker 1: The men explained, as they were leaving the church going

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Speaker 1: on their honeymoon, the wife's horse refused to go. She

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Speaker 1: got off, looked the horse in the eyes and said

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Speaker 1: that's one. He went a little further, stopped again. She

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Speaker 1: got off, looked the horse in the eye, said that's two,

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Speaker 1: went a little more and stopped a third time. This

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Speaker 1: time She got off, pulled a revolver out and shout

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Speaker 1: the horse dead. The husband said, what in the world

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Speaker 1: are you doing. You can't just shoot a horse. She

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Speaker 1: looked at him and said, honey, that's one, all right.

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Speaker 1: Y'all say it like you mean it. This is my Bible.

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

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

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Speaker 1: I can do. Today I will be taught the word

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Speaker 1: of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my

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Speaker 1: heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name,

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Speaker 1: God bless you. I want to talk to you today

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Speaker 1: about healthy pressure. Sometimes we think we'll get to this

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Speaker 1: place where there's no pressure, no people getting on our nerves,

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Speaker 1: no traffic, no delays. Everything's falling into place, plenty in

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Speaker 1: our bank account, healthier than ever, children making straight A's

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Speaker 1: Texans undefeated, mother in law moves to China. If we

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Speaker 1: can just endure, we'll get to this utopia, this perfect

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Speaker 1: place where we don't have any more pressure. The truth

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Speaker 1: is not all pressure is bad. There is healthy pressure.

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Speaker 1: If you were comfortable all the time, you couldn't reach

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Speaker 1: your potential. If you didn't have opposition and things you

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Speaker 1: don't understand. Problems not changing, you would never develop endurance

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Speaker 1: and trust and character. That pressure is getting you prepared.

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Speaker 1: You have to have resistance to get stronger. God will

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Speaker 1: allow situations where we're over our head. We don't know

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Speaker 1: how it's going to work out. It's taken longer than

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Speaker 1: we thought. He's not making your life miserable. Those are

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Speaker 1: opportunities to grow. That's when you have to rely on him.

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Speaker 1: When you're pressured, you learn to stretch your faith, pray

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Speaker 1: bold prayers, believe for what looks impossible. Pressure is causing

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Speaker 1: you to get stronger. Quit fighting it and learn to

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Speaker 1: embrace it. God wouldn't have allowed it if he wasn't

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Speaker 1: up to something. Maturity is being at peace in the pressure,

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Speaker 1: trusting in the trouble, staying calm in the conflict. And yes,

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Speaker 1: I know we all love the seasons where there's no

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Speaker 1: pressure and everything's going great, but those seasons are few

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Speaker 1: and far between. There are very few times that we're

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Speaker 1: not dealing with some kind of issue that could have

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Speaker 1: us stress. You can have a dozen things going right,

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Speaker 1: but there's one thing you could easily worry about. But

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Speaker 1: that one thing is what causes you to keep pressing forward.

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Speaker 1: It's healthy tension. God knows how to put just the

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Speaker 1: right amount of pressure. So we don't get complacent. We

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Speaker 1: don't put our faith on autopilot. But we keep stretching,

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Speaker 1: we keep growing. Years ago, fishing for codfish in the

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Speaker 1: Northeast had become a huge commercial business. There was a

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Speaker 1: demand for codfish all over the States, but they had

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Speaker 1: a problem with distribution. At first, they tried freezing the

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Speaker 1: fish and shipping it out like the rest of their products,

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Speaker 1: but for some reason, the codfish didn't have any taste

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Speaker 1: after it was frozen. Next, they tried shipping the codfish

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Speaker 1: alive in these big tanks. They put them on trains

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Speaker 1: and had them shipped across the country in regular seawater.

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Speaker 1: They thought for sure this would solve the issue, but

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Speaker 1: it only made it worse. Because the fish were sitting

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Speaker 1: in the water inactive, they became soft and mushing, once

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Speaker 1: again lost their taste. Someone came up with an interesting idea.

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Speaker 1: They decided to put some catfish in the tank with

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Speaker 1: the codfish. The catfish is the natural enemy of the codfish,

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Speaker 1: so the whole time they were being shipped, the codfish

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Speaker 1: had to stay alert and active and be on the

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Speaker 1: lookout for the codfish. Well, that solved the problem. When

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Speaker 1: the codfish arrived, they were as fresh and tasty as

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Speaker 1: they were on the East Coast. Sometimes what we think

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Speaker 1: is an enemy is really an asset, that person at

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Speaker 1: work that gets on your nerves. You've been praying twenty

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Speaker 1: seven years for God to take them away. They're a catfish.

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Speaker 1: God's using them to grow you up, to trust him,

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Speaker 1: to be your vindicator, to be good to someone that's

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Speaker 1: not good to you, to learn to forgive, not let

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Speaker 1: people steal your joy. You wouldn't be who you are

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Speaker 1: without them. Next time you see them, instead of being upset,

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Speaker 1: just smile, say good morning, mister catfish. You don't know it,

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Speaker 1: but God's using you. Some of the things that we're

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Speaker 1: asking God to take away that make us uncomfortable, causing pressure.

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Speaker 1: If he removed them right now, we would get stuck.

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Speaker 1: He's using them to keep us fresh, keep us growing,

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Speaker 1: keep us stretching. That's why you can't pray away everything

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Speaker 1: you don't like the catfish. You may not like that pressure,

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Speaker 1: but it's working for you. It's healthy pressure. A minister

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Speaker 1: friend of mine was very well known and influential. He

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Speaker 1: was loved by people all over the world, but in

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Speaker 1: his hometown, the local newspaper didn't like him. For forty years,

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Speaker 1: they never wrote a positive article. It's always something demeaning,

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Speaker 1: something out of context, where they were putting in down,

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Speaker 1: showing him in a bad light. It would get him

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Speaker 1: so riled up, so passionate. This went on for years.

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Speaker 1: At the end of his life, a reporter asked him

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Speaker 1: who had helped him the most. What were the pivotal

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Speaker 1: events that kept him going? He said, what helped me

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Speaker 1: more than anything else was my local newspaper. They were

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Speaker 1: so biased against me, so determined to make me look bad.

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Speaker 1: They didn't realize they caused me to pray, boulder, to

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Speaker 1: work harder, to believe bigger, to go further. He said,

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Speaker 1: I want to publicly thank them for what they've done

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Speaker 1: to build my ministry. What was that? A catfish? God

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Speaker 1: could have changed the newspaper's mind. He could have put

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Speaker 1: someone in that loved his ministry. But God's uses pressure.

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Speaker 1: He uses opposition, things that are not fair, things that

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Speaker 1: make us uncomfortable. If we'll have the right perspective like him,

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Speaker 1: instead of being sour, discouraged, trying to straighten them out.

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Speaker 1: We use that as fuel for our faith, to pray,

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Speaker 1: to stretch, to believe. Then instead of stopping us, it

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Speaker 1: will propel us. I've learned you can't pray away the catfish.

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Speaker 1: God's not going to remove what he's using to keep

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Speaker 1: your growing and stretching and believing. What's interesting is a

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Speaker 1: few weeks before this man passed, the local newspaper did

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Speaker 1: this huge front page glowing story on how amazing his

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Speaker 1: ministry was and how he had done so much good

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Speaker 1: for the city. He said, if they had done that

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Speaker 1: forty years earlier, he would have never accomplished what he did.

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Speaker 1: Don't fight the catfish. Don't fight the pressure. Embrace it.

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Speaker 1: Use it as fuel to go further, to believe bigger,

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Speaker 1: to trust that God is in control. But practically, at

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Speaker 1: every stage of life, there're going to be some catfish.

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Speaker 1: People that are not for you. Neighbor that gets on

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Speaker 1: your nerve, a problem that's not going away. That catfish

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Speaker 1: is not really your enemy. It's a tool that God

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Speaker 1: allowed to keep you fresh and growing. Potential is released

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Speaker 1: when you're under pressure. It's nice to be comfortable, not

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Speaker 1: have any opposition, know where all the funds are coming

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Speaker 1: from all the people lined up. That's appealing, but it's limiting.

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Speaker 1: The greatness God put in you is going to come

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Speaker 1: out by stretching, by going beyond what you're used to,

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Speaker 1: by being good to people that are not good to you,

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Speaker 1: by not letting that pressure cause you to shrink back,

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Speaker 1: but instead you dig down deeper, knowing that God is

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Speaker 1: getting you prepared for something greater. When my father went

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Speaker 1: to be with the Lord, I knew I was supposed

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Speaker 1: to pastor the church. I had never ministered. I was nervous.

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Speaker 1: I didn't have the training, but I took that step

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Speaker 1: of faith. A few weeks later, one Sunday morning, after church,

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Speaker 1: I just finished ministering. I was in the front lobby

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Speaker 1: walking behind these two ladies and they didn't know I

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Speaker 1: was there. I overheard one of them say he's not

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Speaker 1: as good as his father. The other answered a back, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I don't think the church is going to make it.

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Speaker 1: You know what those ladies were no disrespect. They were catfish.

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Speaker 1: Have you noticed catfish have a big mouth. You can't

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Speaker 1: become who you were created to be without resistance. That

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Speaker 1: resistance is not worth and against you. It's healthy pressure

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Speaker 1: it's designed to make you stronger, but you have to

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Speaker 1: handle it the right way. Pressure can defeat you or

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Speaker 1: pressure can propel you. At first, what those ladies said

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Speaker 1: discourage me. I thought, you know what, They're probably right.

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Speaker 1: But then something rose up on the inside. I thought,

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Speaker 1: they don't determine my destiny. They didn't know me before

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Speaker 1: I was formed in my mother's womb. They didn't call me,

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Speaker 1: anoint me, crown me with favor, plant out my days

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Speaker 1: for good. Instead of defeating me, I turned it around

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Speaker 1: and used that pressure as fuel to go further, to study, harder,

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Speaker 1: to pray, bolder, to be more determined, more passionate, more disciplined.

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Speaker 1: David said in Sawm for God enlarged me in my distress.

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Speaker 1: He didn't get in large with good breaks, open doors,

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Speaker 1: the right people showing up. Those were the good times.

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Speaker 1: He was enlarged When his father didn't believe in him,

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Speaker 1: when his brothers were making fun, when King Saul was

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Speaker 1: jealous and trying to kill him. He had a lot

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Speaker 1: of catfish, a lot of things. He didn't understand, situations

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Speaker 1: that weren't fair. Family turned on him, a son that

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Speaker 1: tried to take the throne. Here's the key. He used

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Speaker 1: that pressure as fuel for his faith. He didn't get bitter,

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Speaker 1: He didn't try to pay people back, prove to his

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Speaker 1: father who he was. He didn't give up in the

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Speaker 1: shepherd's fields when it didn't look like his dreams would

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Speaker 1: ever come to pass. He saw it as healthy pressure.

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Speaker 1: King Saul was chasing him. David had done nothing but

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Speaker 1: good for Saul, so loyal and honoring. But Saul was

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Speaker 1: a catfish. He wasn't there to destroy David, but to

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Speaker 1: develop David so David could show God what he was

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Speaker 1: made of. One time, out in the desert, Saul and

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Speaker 1: his men were sleeping, David snuck up on him. This

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Speaker 1: was his big chance. He could have killed Saul, but

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Speaker 1: he wouldn't do it. He knew Saul was anointed as king,

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Speaker 1: and God said to touch not the anointed. Even though

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Speaker 1: Saul was trying to kill David, David wouldn't kill Saul.

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Speaker 1: All that pressure wasn't defeating David. It was developing David.

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Speaker 1: He was growing with greater character, proving to God that

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Speaker 1: he was ready to lead the people. Saul looked like

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Speaker 1: an enemy, really, he was an asset. You don't really

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Speaker 1: know who you are until you're put under pressure. You

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Speaker 1: don't know your true character until it's tested in the

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Speaker 1: fire of affliction adversity. You're not getting your way. Maybe

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Speaker 1: you're dealing with a catfish at worker, catfish at the gem,

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Speaker 1: a catfish at your school. Perhaps you're married to a catfish.

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Speaker 1: We're not gonna go there. But quit letting that pressure

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Speaker 1: defeats you, make your sour, give up on your dream.

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Speaker 1: Do like David, keep the right perspective. You'll be able

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Speaker 1: to say. God enlarged me in my distress. He took

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Speaker 1: what was meant to stop me and turned it around

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Speaker 1: and used it to increase me. The catfish is a tool.

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Speaker 1: It's an opportunity to come up higher in our character.

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Speaker 1: Anyone can treat people the way they treat us. Anyone

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Speaker 1: can take revenge, talk bad about who's talking bad about you.

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Speaker 1: That's the easy way out. But to reach your destiny

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Speaker 1: you have to do some hard things. You have to

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Speaker 1: take the high road stretch when you want to stay comfortable,

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Speaker 1: be more determined than what's trying to stop you. You

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Speaker 1: have to ignore the negative voices and do what God

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Speaker 1: put in your heart. When you do this, God will

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Speaker 1: enlarge you in your distress won't be the good breaks,

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Speaker 1: the people cheering your own, the doors that open that

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Speaker 1: cause you to see new levels. It will be the catfish,

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Speaker 1: the saws, the local paper that wouldn't acknowledge you, the

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Speaker 1: two ladies that said you couldn't take that pressure and

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Speaker 1: turn it into power. Our mindset should be I will

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Speaker 1: not shrink back, be talked out of my dreams, settle

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Speaker 1: for mediocrity. I'm gonna stand stronger, believe bigger, pray boulder,

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Speaker 1: be more determined. Yes, this catfish looks like an enemy,

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Speaker 1: but I know the truth is an asset. When we

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Speaker 1: were trying to acquire this building, the former Compact Center,

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Speaker 1: there was this very influential business leader here in town

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Speaker 1: that everyone knew, and he was against us. He was

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Speaker 1: very vocal about it. He did not want a church

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Speaker 1: in the Compact Center, and especially Lakewood. A friend of

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Speaker 1: mine was at a business lunch in downtown with several

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Speaker 1: hundred people. He was seated at a table with this man.

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Speaker 1: The subject of the Compact Center came up. He didn't

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Speaker 1: know this man was my friend. He laughed and said, sarcastically,

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Speaker 1: it will be a cold day in hell before Lakewood

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Speaker 1: gets the compact center. This man minute to be discouraging, degrading,

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Speaker 1: but God knew I needed that as fuel for my fire.

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Speaker 1: He didn't realize it, but he was a catfish upon

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Speaker 1: in the hand of God. I don't even blame him.

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Speaker 1: God used him as healthy pressure, and God caused my

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Speaker 1: friend to hear that this was a setup not meant

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Speaker 1: to defeat us, but to empower us. But it all

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Speaker 1: depends on whether you recognize the purpose of the catfish.

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Speaker 1: If you take the pressure the opposition, the setback is negative. Man,

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Speaker 1: we don't have a chance. It's not going to work out.

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Speaker 1: I'm so overwhelmed. Then the pressure is going to defeat you.

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Speaker 1: You have to realize that catfish is there for one

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Speaker 1: reason to stir your faith up. The right attitude is God,

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Speaker 1: I know you're bigger than what we're facing. You being

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Speaker 1: for us is more than the world being against us.

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Speaker 1: We may not see away, but we know you have

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Speaker 1: a way. Let that pressure fuel your bath to where

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Speaker 1: you stretch and grow and believe. But there were plenty

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Speaker 1: of times during our three year battle trying to get

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Speaker 1: enough council members to vote for us, and dealing with

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Speaker 1: a lawsuit opposition from a huge company. I was tempted

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Speaker 1: to get discouraged, think it wasn't going to work out.

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Speaker 1: Every time I did, I would hear those words a

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Speaker 1: cold day in hell. I would see that man's face.

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Speaker 1: I would pray harder, stand stronger, be more determined. He

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Speaker 1: doesn't realize it, but he's a big reason we got

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Speaker 1: this building. If I ever see him, I'm gonna buy

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Speaker 1: him dinner, some fried catfish. But I made myself laugh.

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Speaker 1: I wonder if there's some catfish in your life that

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Speaker 1: you're not recognizing. You're seeing the pressure the wrong way,

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Speaker 1: thinking it's too much. The problem's too big, it's been

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Speaker 1: too long. You're letting it defeat you, causing you to

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Speaker 1: lose your passion. Have a new perspective. It's healthy pressure.

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Speaker 1: God's going to use it to enlarge you in your distress.

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Speaker 1: He's about to do something new. He's getting you prepared

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Speaker 1: for something you've never seen. Paul said in Romans five,

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Speaker 1: let us rejoice in our trials knowing that the pressure

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Speaker 1: is producing unswerving endurance. Endurance is developing maturity of character,

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Speaker 1: and character is producing hope, confident expectations of God's goodness.

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Speaker 1: Paul was saying, if you'll see the pressure the right way,

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Speaker 1: the difficulties, the delays, the sauls. If you'll stay full

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Speaker 1: of joy and not get bitter, then that pressure is

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Speaker 1: making you stronger. It's doing something on the inside, getting

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Speaker 1: you prepared for what God has in store. Here's the key.

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Speaker 1: Pressure is going to produce something either faith, hope, endurance,

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Speaker 1: or it's going to produce discouragement. Weakness can't do it.

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Speaker 1: My question is what is the pressure in your life producing.

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Speaker 1: Are you seeing it as negative, not fair, letting it

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Speaker 1: defeat you have a new perspective, see it as healthy pressure.

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Speaker 1: God wouldn't have allowed it if it was going to

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Speaker 1: stop you. That catfish may be annoying, you don't like it,

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Speaker 1: but it's serving a purpose. It's there to help you grow,

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Speaker 1: to stay fresh, to build your faith. And every time

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Speaker 1: you get rid of one catfish, God brings you through

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Speaker 1: with a victory. You get rid of saw and you

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Speaker 1: take the throne. Those two ladies are gone and you're

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Speaker 1: up ministry. The cold day in hell has happened because

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Speaker 1: you have the compact center, and the catfish has to

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Speaker 1: drive by and see it on the way to work.

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Speaker 1: All those victories are fuel for your faith. Next time

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Speaker 1: you face pressure, the next time a saw shows up,

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00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,359
Speaker 1: you're tempted to be overwhelmed, look back and say, God,

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Speaker 1: you brought me through in the past. I know you're

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Speaker 1: gonna bring me through this time. You heal my mother

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Speaker 1: of terminal cancer. You change that city council member's mind

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Speaker 1: and gave us the compact center. You caused me to

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Speaker 1: walk into a jewelry store and meet Victoria. You taught

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Speaker 1: me how to minister one. Others said I couldn't now

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Speaker 1: when those voices whisper it's never going to work out.

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Speaker 1: My answer is I'm sorry you got here too late.

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Speaker 1: I've come too far to not believe. I've seen too

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Speaker 1: much of God's goodness to be talked out of it.

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Speaker 1: Too many doors have opened, too many giants have fallen,

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Speaker 1: too many divine connections, too many ways where we didn't

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Speaker 1: see away. And I know none of us like pressure,

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Speaker 1: But your potential is released when you're under pressure. You

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Speaker 1: really don't know what you can do until you're put

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Speaker 1: under greater pressure. I saw a man on a video.

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Speaker 1: This car had fallen off the jacks onto his friend.

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Speaker 1: This man was just average size. He ran over and

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Speaker 1: lifted the car by himself so his friend could get out.

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Speaker 1: He never dreamed he could lift a car, but something

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Speaker 1: happened under pressure. Sometimes God will let you be under

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Speaker 1: more pressure than you think you can handle. It's not

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Speaker 1: to discourage you, but so you'll discover what's in you.

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Speaker 1: God created you. He's the one that put the potential,

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Speaker 1: the gifts, the talents, the greatness in you. The only

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Speaker 1: way it's going to fully come out is through pressure.

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Speaker 1: Don't fight the pressure. Embrace it. It's not the time

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Speaker 1: to get bitter, live overwhelmed. This is too much for me.

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Speaker 1: Quit talking like that. You're defeating yourself. When you're under pressure,

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Speaker 1: your declaration should be I can handle this, I am

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Speaker 1: well abled, I have strength for all things. I am

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Speaker 1: strong in the Lord. That's what's going to cause you

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Speaker 1: to stand strong and endure. My father told him this

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00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,760
Speaker 1: man out in the country that was walking home at night.

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Speaker 1: He took the shortcut through the cemetery. He didn't realize

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Speaker 1: they had dug a hole for a grave in the

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00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,159
Speaker 1: path that he normally walked. It was so dark he

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00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,680
Speaker 1: couldn't see it, and he fell in the hole. It's

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Speaker 1: about ten feet deep. For two hours, he hollered and

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Speaker 1: screamed and kicked and clawed, but nobody heard him. He

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Speaker 1: tried grabbing onto the sides, climbing out, but he fell

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Speaker 1: back again and again. Finally, he just sat in the

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00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,280
Speaker 1: corner realized he'd have to wait till morning. About midnight,

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00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,960
Speaker 1: this drunk man came wandering through the cemetery and he

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Speaker 1: fell in the same hole. He didn't see the other man.

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Speaker 1: He just sat there watching, silently, watching it all take place,

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Speaker 1: and the drunk man began to panic. He started hollering

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Speaker 1: and screaming at the top of his lungs. The man

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Speaker 1: sitting in the corner decided to have some fun. He

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Speaker 1: said in a real deep, scary voice. You can't get

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Speaker 1: out of here, but you know what he did. You

355
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:07,560
Speaker 1: don't know what you can do until you're put under pressure. Well, Joel,

356
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,440
Speaker 1: you can't take over your father's church and minister for

357
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Speaker 1: in the thousands of people. You don't have the training,

358
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,439
Speaker 1: but you know what I did. You can't raise one

359
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Speaker 1: hundred million dollars to renovate the Compact Center. You don't

360
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Speaker 1: have that experience, but you know what we did. Dody.

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Speaker 1: You can't be terminal cancer with no treatment available, but

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Speaker 1: you know what she did. Look back over your life

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Speaker 1: at all the things you did under pressure. You defied

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Speaker 1: the odds, You broke barriers in your family. You raised

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Speaker 1: that child that people didn't think you could raise. You

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00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,439
Speaker 1: reached goals you never dreamed you'd reach. You overcame obstacles that,

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Speaker 1: even surprise you now, would have never happened without the pressure.

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Speaker 1: The pressure was necessary to release your potential. The pressure

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Speaker 1: is what God used to bring out of you, what

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Speaker 1: he put in you. The catfish had a big mouth,

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Speaker 1: but it was necessary. You need his soul to be jealous.

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00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,199
Speaker 1: You needed those people to not believe in you. You

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00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,200
Speaker 1: needed to not feel qualified to not have the training.

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Speaker 1: That pressure prepared you. It developed you. That's what's caused

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00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,080
Speaker 1: you to blossom into who you are. God enlarged you,

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00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,240
Speaker 1: not in the good times, but under pressure. In that distress,

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00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 1: the people of Israel had been in slavery for many years.

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Speaker 1: God told Moses to go tell the Pharaoh to let

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Speaker 1: the people go. Well, Moses was intimidated, insecure, He had

380
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,240
Speaker 1: a problem with stuttering. He was already under enough pressure,

381
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,480
Speaker 1: way over his head going to do something he didn't

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Speaker 1: feel qualified to do. The scripture says God hardened the

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00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,080
Speaker 1: pharaoh's heart so he would not let the people leave. Here.

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Speaker 1: God just told Moses, tell him to let the people go.

385
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Speaker 1: But God caused the Phaiaraoh to bet and say no.

386
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Speaker 1: What was that? The pharaoh was a catfish. God was

387
00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,480
Speaker 1: using the Pharaoh to create the right environment so he

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00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,040
Speaker 1: could show his power in a greater way. The pressure

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00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,680
Speaker 1: was a setup. God wanted there to be more opposition,

390
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,480
Speaker 1: more adversity, so when he turned it around, it would

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00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 1: be a greater miracle. There are times God will tell

392
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,520
Speaker 1: you to do something. He'll lead you down a path,

393
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,400
Speaker 1: open a door. You know it's his hand to favor.

394
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,920
Speaker 1: Then he'll increase the pressure. People come against you. I

395
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 1: set back in your business, a betrayal, a closed door.

396
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,040
Speaker 1: Now you're right where Moses was. God, where are you.

397
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,480
Speaker 1: I did what you said, but it didn't work out.

398
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:49,160
Speaker 1: The people said no. The pressure is intensified. You could

399
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,000
Speaker 1: give up on that dream, get discouraged, lose your passion.

400
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,879
Speaker 1: But the increased pressure is a sign that God is

401
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,760
Speaker 1: about to show out in a greater way. He would

402
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,119
Speaker 1: cause the pharaoh to say no if he wasn't about

403
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,640
Speaker 1: to do something unusual and uncommon. God did miracle after

404
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,679
Speaker 1: miracle not only changed the Pharaoh's mind, but the Israelites

405
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,520
Speaker 1: left with abundance. Pharaoh's people gave them all their treasures.

406
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,400
Speaker 1: They saw the Red Sea parted, they saw their enemies drowned.

407
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,680
Speaker 1: All that pressure was ordained by God to bring them

408
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 1: out of captivity into a victorious, abundant life. Don't fight

409
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:32,440
Speaker 1: the pressure, embrace it. You don't know what God is

410
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 1: up to telling Pharaoh to say no. God, we need

411
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 1: him to say yes. No. The pressure is a setup.

412
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,480
Speaker 1: It's getting you in position for God to do something

413
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,720
Speaker 1: that you've never seen. You may be under a lot

414
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:51,000
Speaker 1: of pressure now, you could feel overwhelmed, discouraged. God has

415
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,680
Speaker 1: you in the palm of his hand. He did not

416
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,280
Speaker 1: bring you this far to fail you. Now stay in faid.

417
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,680
Speaker 1: That pressure is doing a work on the inner side.

418
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,520
Speaker 1: It's getting you prepared. Piro said no a few times,

419
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,920
Speaker 1: but your yes is coming. That catfish was ordained by God.

420
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,840
Speaker 1: It's causing you to stretch, to believe, to trust, to

421
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:17,399
Speaker 1: dig down deeper. God sees your faithfulness. He sees you

422
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,439
Speaker 1: doing the right thing when it's hard. Being at peace

423
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:24,680
Speaker 1: in the pressure, staying calm in the conflict. You are

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Speaker 1: passing the test. Now, I believe and declare that pressure

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Speaker 1: is about to be turned into power. God's about to

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00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:37,040
Speaker 1: launch you to a new level of your destiny. Like Moses,

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00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,920
Speaker 1: You're going to see red seaze, part doors open, enemies defeated.

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00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:47,680
Speaker 1: The pressure is releasing your gifts, your potential talents. Favor

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Speaker 1: the fullness of your destiny in Jesus's name, and if

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Speaker 1: you receive it, may just say amen. I'd like to

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Speaker 1: give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of

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Speaker 1: your life. Would you play with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus,

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Speaker 1: I'll repent of my sins, Come into my heart. I'll

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Speaker 1: make you my Lord and savior. If you prayed that

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00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,880
Speaker 1: simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We love

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00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 1: to send you some free information on your new walk

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Speaker 1: with the Lord. You can text the number on the

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Speaker 1: screen or go to the website. But I hope you'll

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00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,359
Speaker 1: get into a good Bible based church and keep God

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00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:25,399
Speaker 1: first place.

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00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,919
Speaker 2: Do you have a dream that's waiting to happen but

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00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,960
Speaker 2: it often feels like you'll never get there? Is your

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00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,320
Speaker 2: dream to start a business, to see a loved one

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00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,520
Speaker 2: come to the Lord? Are you asking God? Will it

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00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:39,159
Speaker 2: ever happen.

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00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,960
Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels like our dream is so far off,

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00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,280
Speaker 1: but I believe you're closer than you think.

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00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,600
Speaker 3: You're on the verge of seeing things change in your favor,

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00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 3: new doors opening, the right people showing up.

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Speaker 1: I'd love to send you are New Hopes and Dreams

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00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,840
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four Planner. It's not only a calendar, but

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00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,959
Speaker 1: it has scriptures, an inspiration, a place to journal.

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00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:02,920
Speaker 3: It'll help you stay focused and encouraged so you can

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00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:04,520
Speaker 3: see your dreams come to pass.

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Speaker 2: As you support the Ministry this month with a special

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00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,760
Speaker 2: end of year gift of any amount, we would like

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Speaker 2: to bless you with the Hopes and Dreams twenty twenty

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Speaker 2: four Planner. With the New Planner, you will start the

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Speaker 2: new year with fresh ideas, fresh hope, and endless possibilities.

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Speaker 2: You'll find monthly calendars and plenty of space to plan

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00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,159
Speaker 2: for a better day ahead. Plus there are inspiring scriptures

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00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,400
Speaker 2: and thoughts that will encourage you to believe for your dreams.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your prayer and support your

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00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,320
Speaker 1: year in giving, you're making a difference around the world.

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00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,880
Speaker 1: And a special thank you to our Champion of Hope

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00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,280
Speaker 1: partners for your monthly gift. If you're not a partner,

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Speaker 1: I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember you can watch

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00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: the services online every Sunday morning, see all the music

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00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: and ministry, and you can download our daily podcast.

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Speaker 3: We hope you and your family have a very blessed

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Speaker 3: Christmas season and a healthy active favor Field twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of the Hopes and

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Speaker 2: Dreams twenty twenty four Planner Today. Visit Joeloustein dot com

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Speaker 2: or call us toll free