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Speaker 1: It's so great to have you with us today. We

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Speaker 1: love you, guys. We're praying you're going to have a

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Speaker 1: beautiful month of March, and just speaking blessings in favor

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Speaker 1: of each one of you.

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Speaker 2: This time of year is just new beginnings, new spring seasons,

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Speaker 2: and so if we are believing that this will be

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Speaker 2: a newness of joy in your heart, so no today

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Speaker 2: we are praying for you and we love you.

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Speaker 1: God bless you. It is always a joy to come

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Speaker 1: into your homes each week, and we come with good news.

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Speaker 1: We come with a smile on our face because we

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Speaker 1: know that God is a good God. When you serve him,

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Speaker 1: when you draw out of him, God will draw out

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Speaker 1: of you. He's got great things in store for your lives,

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Speaker 1: and we're gonna be talking about some of that today.

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Speaker 1: And if you're ever in our area, though, I hope

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Speaker 1: they'll stop by and see us. We'd love to have

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

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Speaker 1: thanks so much for tuning in today. I like to

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Speaker 1: get started each week with something kind of funny. And

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Speaker 1: somebody sent me this email and I might mention it

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Speaker 1: was from a woman, but it says, according to the

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Speaker 1: Alaska Department of fish and game. While both male and

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Speaker 1: female reindeer grow antlers in the summer, Male reindeer drop

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Speaker 1: their antlers at the beginning of winter in late November.

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Speaker 1: Female reindeer keep their antlers until the spring. This means

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Speaker 1: all of Santa's reindeer, from Rudolph to Blitzen had to

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Speaker 1: be female. She goes on to say, we should have

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Speaker 1: known only women would be able to drag around a

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Speaker 1: fat man in a red velvet suit all around the

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Speaker 1: world in one night and not get lost. All right,

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

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Speaker 1: Are 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 taught 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 of out staying in the right environment.

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Speaker 1: How important it is that we surround ourselves with good influences.

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Speaker 1: We have to realize that we are constantly feeding ourselves,

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Speaker 1: not physically, of course, but spiritually. Everything we watch, everything,

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Speaker 1: we listen to, the people we choose to be around,

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Speaker 1: the thoughts we choose to dwell on. All of these

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Speaker 1: things are feeding our inner man. Just like a computer,

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Speaker 1: we are continually being programmed, and we can either feed

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Speaker 1: ourselves life or we can feed ourselves death. If you're

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Speaker 1: watching a bunch of junk on television, people that are

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Speaker 1: not respectful, people that have no integrity, no morals, unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: you're just feeding yourself death. Well, hey, you say, Joel,

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Speaker 1: it's just entertainment. It's not hurting anything. Now. The fact is,

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Speaker 1: if you put garbage in, you're going to get garbage out.

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Speaker 1: If you hang around people that are negative and critical,

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Speaker 1: before long, you're going to be negative. It's because you're

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Speaker 1: feeding yourself the wrong things. We've all heard that saying

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Speaker 1: you will become what you eat. That's why the Bible

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Speaker 1: tells us to guard our hearts. You have to guard

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Speaker 1: what you take in because it's going to affect everything

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Speaker 1: about you. See, our ears and our eyes are the

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Speaker 1: gates to our souls. Everything we watch, everything we listen to,

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Speaker 1: gets down on the inside. It's being permanently stored. And

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Speaker 1: if you're feeding yourself a bunch of trash, watching the

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Speaker 1: wrong things, hanging around the wrong people or even dwelling

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Speaker 1: on the wrong thoughts, whether you realize it or not,

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Speaker 1: that is affecting you. And I'm challenging us today to

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Speaker 1: be extremely careful what we put in, because eventually it

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Speaker 1: is going to come out. For instance, if you make

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Speaker 1: the mistake of getting up every morning dwelling on negative,

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Speaker 1: discouraging thoughts, thinking about your problems, thinking about what allows

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Speaker 1: the day it's going to be, all you're really doing

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Speaker 1: is feeding yourself death. You are programming yourself to have

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Speaker 1: a lousy day. On the other hand, if you'll get

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Speaker 1: up and say this is gonna be a great day,

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Speaker 1: I know God's favor surrounds me like a shield, and

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Speaker 1: I am excited about this day. When you do that,

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Speaker 1: you are feeding yourself life, and you're gonna draw in

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Speaker 1: the good things of God. You attract what you continually

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Speaker 1: think about, just like a magnet. You are gonna draw

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Speaker 1: in what you're always dwelling on. And the Bible tells

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Speaker 1: us in the Book of Joshua that night and day

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Speaker 1: we should meditate on God's word all through the day.

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Speaker 1: In the back of your mind, you should be thinking,

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Speaker 1: I am strong in the Lord. I can do all

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Speaker 1: things through Christ. I am a victor and not a victim.

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Speaker 1: My children are gonna fulfill their destinies. See that's more

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Speaker 1: than just positive thinking. That's feeding your inner man life

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Speaker 1: and victory. You're feeding your inner man the right things.

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Speaker 1: And this is just what my mother did. Back in

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Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

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Speaker 1: She got about fifty eight scriptures that had to do

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Speaker 1: with healing, and she began to meditate on them. I'd

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Speaker 1: hear her going all through the house quoting those scriptures

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Speaker 1: under her breath. She even put them up so she

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Speaker 1: could see them on the refrigerator. She saw with long life,

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Speaker 1: God satisfies me on the bathroom mirror. God is restoring

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Speaker 1: health undo men. On the back door. I will live

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Speaker 1: and not die. See, she was feeding her inner man life,

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Speaker 1: meditating on God's work. And she could have so easily

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Speaker 1: sunk down into that dark hold of depression. She only

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Speaker 1: weighed eighty nine pounds. The doctors gave her no hope,

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Speaker 1: but mother chose not to dwell on that. Instead, she

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Speaker 1: chose to dwell on the fact that the things that

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Speaker 1: are impossible with men are possible with God. And not

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Speaker 1: only that, she put up pictures of herself when she

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Speaker 1: was very healthy. She had a picture of herself riding

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Speaker 1: a horse in Montana. She had that in the kitchen.

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Speaker 1: She put up several of her wedding pictures all over

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Speaker 1: the house. Everywhere she looked, she saw herself strong and healthy.

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Speaker 1: She saw herself full of life and energy. She saw

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Speaker 1: those scriptures that reinforced her faith. What was she doing

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Speaker 1: feeding her inner man life? She was feeding her self hope, faith, victory.

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Speaker 1: I'm challenging you do the same thing. Get up every

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Speaker 1: morning and feed yourself life, feed yourself hope, feed yourself victory.

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Speaker 1: Everywhere you look, you should see things that inspire you.

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Speaker 1: Put up scriptures around your house, in your office, in

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Speaker 1: your car. Put up pictures that inspire you. What you

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Speaker 1: see is going to get down in you. I have

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Speaker 1: pictures up all over my office of things that remind

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Speaker 1: me of victory. I have that big key that the

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Speaker 1: city gave us to the Compact Center, and when I

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Speaker 1: look at that, that inspires me. That reminds me that

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Speaker 1: God can do more than we can even ask or think.

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Speaker 1: I have a plaque that our publisher sent us when

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Speaker 1: we sold our first million books that inspires me. When

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Speaker 1: I look at that, that tells me that there are

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Speaker 1: no limits with our God. We have scripture verses up

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Speaker 1: all over our house. I recognize what we see is

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Speaker 1: going to get down in us. Well, you said, Joel,

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Speaker 1: I don't have anything like that. Man, if you only

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Speaker 1: knew my life. No, you can find something. At least

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Speaker 1: get up in the morning and go look at God's creation.

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Speaker 1: Look at the sunrise, look at the trees, look at

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Speaker 1: the flowers. Take in God's beauty. Find something that inspires you.

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Speaker 1: You got to feed yourself life and victory. I know

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Speaker 1: I like to start my day the first thirty minutes

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Speaker 1: or so just thanking God for what He's done in

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Speaker 1: my life. Just meditating on his promises, taking in his beauty.

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Speaker 1: That helps to start the day off right. See, don't

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Speaker 1: just rush out of your house in a hurry, running late,

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Speaker 1: pressured by work. No, take time to feed yourself life.

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Speaker 1: Pay more attention to what you're putting in. I know

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Speaker 1: some people when they get up in the morning, first

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Speaker 1: thing they do is turn on the news. They filled

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Speaker 1: their mind with all the killings from last night, all

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Speaker 1: the accidents, all the tragedies. That doesn't do anything positive.

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Speaker 1: And yes, I like to watch the news, but I

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Speaker 1: don't believe it's healthy to start our days off like that.

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Speaker 1: Start your day off in an attitude of thanksgiving. Start

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Speaker 1: the day off in a positive frame of mind, thanking

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Speaker 1: God for what he's done in your life. That's gonna

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Speaker 1: help set the tone for your whole day, even when

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Speaker 1: you drive to work. Learn to feed yourself good things.

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Speaker 1: Don't just flip on any station. Why don't you put

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Speaker 1: on a good praise CD. Why don't you put on

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Speaker 1: music and let that life and victory that's on the

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Speaker 1: inside get down in you. I found most of the

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Speaker 1: time we're gonna be feeding ourselves something. We might as

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Speaker 1: well feed ourselves the right things. I know. The other day,

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Speaker 1: I was in a restaurant and this song came on,

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure the men meant well, but it was

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Speaker 1: so pitiful. He was so sad. He was singing about

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Speaker 1: how his wife had just left him and now he

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Speaker 1: was all broken hearted, so lonely, he didn't have anywhere

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Speaker 1: to go, and he's just about to ride off into

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Speaker 1: the sunset, all broken and defeated. About halfway through, I thought, man,

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Speaker 1: I'm about to go with you. I found myself starting

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Speaker 1: to get the press hanging my head, and I thought later,

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Speaker 1: who in the world listens to that junk? All that's

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Speaker 1: doing is ministering death to you. I heard somebody say,

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Speaker 1: if you play a country Western song backwards, the man

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Speaker 1: gets his wife back, his truck back, and his dog back.

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Speaker 1: Put on good praise music. Put on music that's gonna

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Speaker 1: build you up, music that's gonna inspire you and not

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Speaker 1: drag you down. I know when I used to get

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Speaker 1: in my car, first thing I do is turn on

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Speaker 1: the news. Do you know what I do now? I

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Speaker 1: put on I am a friend of God. I put

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Speaker 1: on Lord, you are good, Your mercy endures forever. You

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Speaker 1: gotta be careful what you listen to. Your ears are

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Speaker 1: not garbage cans to fill with a bunch of trash.

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Speaker 1: Take care of your temple. Every day you should listen

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Speaker 1: to good music. Put it on in your car, put

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Speaker 1: it on at your house. Feed yourself life In Victory,

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Speaker 1: I read where the average American spends four hundred hours

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Speaker 1: a year in their car driving back and forth to work,

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Speaker 1: and I thought, how many people use that time to

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Speaker 1: feed themselves the wrong things. They feed themselves things, and

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Speaker 1: they're just going to drag them down. And maybe you

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Speaker 1: don't particularly like listening to music, but you should at

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Speaker 1: least listen to something that's going to help you grow.

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Speaker 1: That is very valuable time, and you should use it

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Speaker 1: to increase and improve yourself. In fact, one study said

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Speaker 1: that if we'd spend that same drive time listening to

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Speaker 1: teaching tapes over a three year period, that would be

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Speaker 1: the equivalent of spending two years in college. I think

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Speaker 1: about how many people just go year after you're feeding

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Speaker 1: themselves junk, and they wonder why they're depressed, why they're negative,

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Speaker 1: why they have no joy. Now you've got to check

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Speaker 1: up on what you're feeding yourself. Had a man tell

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Speaker 1: me just the other day how he had struggled with

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Speaker 1: depression and just being negative year after year. But he said, Joel,

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Speaker 1: I got your CD on not Losing your Joy, and

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Speaker 1: I started listening to that in my car every day

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Speaker 1: driving back and forth to work. He said, I've probably

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Speaker 1: heard that message a thousand times. I can almost quote

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Speaker 1: it verbatim, but I just keep listening to it. See,

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Speaker 1: he was taking that time to feed his inner man life.

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Speaker 1: He recognized the importance of what he was putting in.

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Speaker 1: You don't have to listen to my CDs. You can

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Speaker 1: listen to somebody else's. They're not as good as mine,

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Speaker 1: but you can still listen. But find something least, I'm honest,

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Speaker 1: find something that feeds you life, something that's going to

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Speaker 1: deld you up. And if you're struggling in a certain area,

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Speaker 1: do what he did. Find something to target that area,

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Speaker 1: and just listen to it over and over again. But

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Speaker 1: every chance we get, we should be putting things in

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Speaker 1: that's going to help us in wheaze, things that are

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Speaker 1: going to help us grow. All through the Bible, it

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Speaker 1: compares our life to the life of an eagle. And

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Speaker 1: if you study the eagle, you'll find that the eagle's

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Speaker 1: strength is found in its diet. And what's interesting is

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Speaker 1: the eagle won't eat anything dead. The eagle only feeds

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Speaker 1: off of live foods Now. Other birds in the same

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Speaker 1: category somewhat like a vulture or a buzzard, they'll eat

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Speaker 1: anything they can get. In fact, their whole existence is

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Speaker 1: based off of other dead animals. But not the eagle.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't take the easy way out. He flies upstream

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Speaker 1: to look for salmon. He has incredible vision. He can

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Speaker 1: spot that salmon up to half a mile away. He

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Speaker 1: sweeps down there and grabs that salmon, and he'll have

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Speaker 1: that fresh fish for dinner. But see the eagle, unless

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Speaker 1: he's in captivity, he only feeds off of live foods.

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Speaker 1: And the Bible tells us we are to mount up

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Speaker 1: with wings as the eagle, not a buzzard, not as

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Speaker 1: the vulture, not as the chicken. And just like that eagle,

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Speaker 1: our strength is going to be found in our diet.

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Speaker 1: It's going to be found in what we're putting in.

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Speaker 1: You can't go around eating a bunch of dead junk

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Speaker 1: and expect to stay strong and healthy. And this is

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Speaker 1: true physically, but I'm talking, of course today about spiritually.

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Speaker 1: If you're hanging around with people that gossip, you need

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Speaker 1: to recognize what they're feeding you is dead. If you

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Speaker 1: eat it long enough, it's gonna get down in you.

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Speaker 1: If you're watching a bunch of junk on television, a

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Speaker 1: junk on the internet, you're feeding yourself dead things. And

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Speaker 1: here's the thing. You can live off that dead food.

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Speaker 1: An eagle can survive eating with the vultures and the

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Speaker 1: chickens and the buzzards. But here's the problem. He's never

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Speaker 1: gonna soar. He's never gonna become what God created him

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Speaker 1: to be. And in the same way, if you're dwelling

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Speaker 1: on the wrong thoughts, filling your mind with a bunch

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Speaker 1: of trash, sure you'll survive, but you'll never sore, You'll

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Speaker 1: never experience God's abundant life. And I'm asking us today

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Speaker 1: to take inventory of what we're feeding ourselves. What kind

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Speaker 1: of movies do you watch, what kind of music do

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Speaker 1: you listen to? What kind of friends do you choose

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Speaker 1: to hang around? All these things are feeding us. Now.

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Speaker 1: I really believe some of you would go to a

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Speaker 1: whole new level if you just quit feeding yourself dead things.

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Speaker 1: You shouldn't hang around with people that are negative, people

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Speaker 1: that compromise, people that gossip all the time. That junk

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Speaker 1: can rub off on you. Do you know spirits are transferable.

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Speaker 1: You get around somebody that's jealous all the time, and

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Speaker 1: that old jealous spirit can get off on you. You

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Speaker 1: hang around people that are negative and critical, and you

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Speaker 1: just watch and see if over time you don't start

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Speaker 1: to become more negative and critical. That's why it's so

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Speaker 1: important to surround yourself with people that have what you want.

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Speaker 1: I do my best to surround myself with people that

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Speaker 1: are givers and not takers, people that are happy, people

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Speaker 1: that have a dream for their I recognize that spirit

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Speaker 1: can come off on me even when we listen to music.

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Speaker 1: The words may seem good, the beat may be kind

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Speaker 1: of catchy, but what we really need to know is

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Speaker 1: who is this person that's feeding my inner man? What

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Speaker 1: do they believe, what do they stand for, what kind

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Speaker 1: of life do they live? Their spirit can come through

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Speaker 1: that music and get off on me and young people,

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Speaker 1: you have to be extremely careful because there's so much

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Speaker 1: out there today that's destructive. And you may not think

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Speaker 1: it's hurting anything and you're just having fun. But no,

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Speaker 1: this is a spiritual principle. It's getting in you. When

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Speaker 1: you say, Joe, everybody's doing it. Everybody listens to this group,

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Speaker 1: everybody watches these movies. Now listen, You're not everybody. You

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Speaker 1: are a child of the most High God. You have

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Speaker 1: a destiny to fulfill. The enemy would love to drag

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Speaker 1: you down and get your computer all messed up, program

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Speaker 1: with a bunch of junk to where you don't make

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Speaker 1: good choices in life. No, don't fall into that trap.

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Speaker 1: Stay on the high road, you say, Joel, I know

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Speaker 1: This movie has a few bad scenes, got a little

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Speaker 1: bit of bad language, just a little bit of nudity,

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Speaker 1: but overall it's pretty good. No, let me tell you

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Speaker 1: are made for more than that. That's like digging around

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Speaker 1: in a garbage can trying to find a good biscuit

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Speaker 1: to eat. Sure, you may find something, but what about

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Speaker 1: all that other junk that's gonna get off on you? Now,

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Speaker 1: be selective, feed yourself only things that are gonna build

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Speaker 1: you up. Proverbs fifteen fourteen says, only a fool feeds

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Speaker 1: on trash. And I know some people they've been sitting

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Speaker 1: around for the last twenty two years watching soap operas

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Speaker 1: every day, and they're convinced it's not affecting them. They

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Speaker 1: tell me, oh, Joel, I know the difference between right

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Speaker 1: and wrong. It's just entertaining. And yes, it may be

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Speaker 1: entertaining you, but it's also filling your mind with all

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Speaker 1: kinds of wrong values. And if you watch people over

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Speaker 1: and over again being unfaithful in relationships, stavving somebody in

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Speaker 1: the back over here, laying somebody over here, well, little

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Speaker 1: by little, that's chipping away at your values. The more

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Speaker 1: you watch, the more comfortable you're gonna get and before long,

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Speaker 1: if you're not careful, you'll think it's okay to do

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Speaker 1: what they're doing. What's happened very subtly, very cleverly. You've

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Speaker 1: been deceived into lowering your standards. Friends, you will become

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Speaker 1: what you eat. You've got to be selective as to

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Speaker 1: what you allow in your temple. Your ears and your

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Speaker 1: eyes are gates, and only you can control what you

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Speaker 1: allow in. You know as well as I do. In

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Speaker 1: this society that we're living in, sex is what sells.

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Speaker 1: If you're going to keep your mind pure, if you're

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Speaker 1: gonna keep your temple holy, you've got to stay on guard.

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Speaker 1: You've got to be on the offensive. I know, even

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Speaker 1: at our house we get these catalogs in the mail,

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Speaker 1: and you know what some of the catalogs look like. Well,

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Speaker 1: you can either feed off that dead stuff and let

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Speaker 1: your mind get polluted, or you can choose to just

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Speaker 1: walk away. The scripture tells us we should think on

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Speaker 1: things that are pure, things that are wholesome. And what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying today is if we put trash in, we're

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Speaker 1: gonna get trash out. May not happen overnight, but sooner

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Speaker 1: or later you will reap the seeds that you've been sowing.

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Speaker 1: And I know some people they think they can get

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Speaker 1: away with hanging around with the wrong crowd or dwelling

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Speaker 1: on negative, discouraging thoughts, but it always catches up to them.

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Speaker 1: And you know what happens when we continually watch things

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Speaker 1: that we know are not right, it is desensitizing us

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Speaker 1: to it. In other words, we see it so much

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Speaker 1: that it's no big deal. We're not alarmed by it anymore.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if you watch somebody cheat on their spouse

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Speaker 1: long enough, you'll begin to think it's okay. You watch

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Speaker 1: somebody cheating a business deal or stab somebody in the

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Speaker 1: back long enough, after a period of time, you kind

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Speaker 1: of think, man, that's just business, that's just life. Many times,

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Speaker 1: not all the times, but TV glamorizes the wrong things.

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Speaker 1: Many times, people that are happy in relationships are owned

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Speaker 1: by people that are only not married. It's very subtle.

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Speaker 1: It's saying, in a roundabout way, if you want to

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Speaker 1: be happy, if you want to really have fun, you

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Speaker 1: got to cheat, you got to play around. If you

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Speaker 1: watch that junk long enough, you're being programmed to accept it,

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Speaker 1: even if it's subconsciously. Remember everything is going in, and

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Speaker 1: Jesus said there in Matthew twelve, verse thirty five, a

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Speaker 1: good man, out of the good treasure of his heart,

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Speaker 1: brings forth good things, but an evil man brings forth

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Speaker 1: evil things. Notice it's talking about what we've been putting in.

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Speaker 1: It's talking about what we've been feeding ourselves, what's in

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Speaker 1: our heart. And I'm not preaching against television today, but

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Speaker 1: when something comes on that you know is not right,

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Speaker 1: that's why God created the remote control. You can change

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Speaker 1: the channel, but you cannot sit there night after night

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Speaker 1: and watch things that you know are not right and

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Speaker 1: not expect it to affect you. We have to realize,

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Speaker 1: even subconsciously, it's going in the mind is extremely incredible.

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Speaker 1: It can take in things that we're not even aware of.

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Speaker 1: And that's why you shouldn't just leave your TV on

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Speaker 1: as background noise during the day. Don't just leave any

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Speaker 1: radio station on at home or at work. You may

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Speaker 1: not even be paying attention, and yet things can be

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Speaker 1: going in that you're not aware of. We have to

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Speaker 1: be on guard. We have to be diligent. If we're

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Speaker 1: going to keep the junk out of our temple and parents,

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Speaker 1: we need to be especially careful about the video games

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Speaker 1: that we allow our children to play. Many of them

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Speaker 1: are so violent, so graphic today that by the time

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Speaker 1: they're ten or eleven years old, they think nothing of death,

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Speaker 1: they think nothing of killing, they think nothing of fighting.

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Speaker 1: It's slowly lowering their standards. It's desensitizing them to it.

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Speaker 1: I was reading about this teenage student several years ago.

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Speaker 1: He shot and killed four of his fellow classmates. The

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Speaker 1: community and his parents they were shocked. He was a

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Speaker 1: model student. We ask him how he could possibly do it,

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Speaker 1: and he said, oh, it's not hard. I kill every

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Speaker 1: day talking about his video games. You will become what

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Speaker 1: you eat. And if you program your computer with a

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Speaker 1: bunch of junk, it's going to cause you all kinds

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Speaker 1: of problems. And parents, God is going to hold us

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Speaker 1: responsible for our children. We can't just drop our teenagers

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Speaker 1: off at the mall and let them watch any movie

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Speaker 1: that they want to. There needs to be some guidelines.

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Speaker 1: There needs to be some boundaries. And don't use the

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Speaker 1: television as a babysitter for your little children. If you

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Speaker 1: plant them in front of the TV, they may very

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Speaker 1: well grow into something that you don't like. And I

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Speaker 1: know this takes time. We're all busy these days, but

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Speaker 1: we have one chance to raise our children. Let's make

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Speaker 1: sure that we do it right. Let's be careful. What

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00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,880
Speaker 1: we allow into them is helping to form who they are.

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Speaker 1: And I know some of these things we don't really

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Speaker 1: have a choice. It seems like almost everywhere we look

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Speaker 1: these days, on a billboard, the magazine stand, at the

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00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,520
Speaker 1: grocery store, there's some kind of bad influence. But what

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00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:06,359
Speaker 1: I'm saying today is we got to just learn to

402
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,480
Speaker 1: turn away. Our attitude should be I am not going

403
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Speaker 1: to poison my mind. If you're watching a ball game

404
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,480
Speaker 1: and a commercial comes on that's not wholesome, just flip away.

405
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Speaker 1: Be an eagle. Don't feed off the dead stuff. Your

406
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:20,879
Speaker 1: friends ask you to go see a movie and you

407
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 1: know it's not right, you don't feel good about it

408
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,480
Speaker 1: down in here, Just be bold enough to say no thanks.

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Speaker 1: If they want to feed on that junket's up to them.

410
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,920
Speaker 1: But your attitude should be I'm staying on the high road.

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Speaker 1: I'm only going to feed off of good things so

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Speaker 1: I can stay strong and healthy. You know, a few

413
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Speaker 1: years ago, Victoria and I went to a Broadway play.

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Speaker 1: It was one of the top rated shows during that time,

415
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,520
Speaker 1: and somebody had given us very expensive tickets right up front,

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Speaker 1: and so we showed up. But the first ten minutes

417
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,520
Speaker 1: or so, the language was really terrible. I mean every

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00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,000
Speaker 1: other word was a curse word, and some of the

419
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,000
Speaker 1: scenes were very questionable, and I kept thinking that it

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00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,359
Speaker 1: was going to get better, but it never did. And

421
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Speaker 1: finally I Victoria, Man, I don't want to feed myself

422
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Speaker 1: this junk. I know people are gonna think I'm a

423
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,720
Speaker 1: stick in the mud, but I value who I am.

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Speaker 1: I realize that it's being recorded on the inside. And

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Speaker 1: so we just very quietly stepped away. And yes, the

426
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 1: tickets were very expensive, Yes they were very valuable, but

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00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,600
Speaker 1: you know what's more valuable the temple that God's given me.

428
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,960
Speaker 1: And I refuse, I refuse to allow anybody to just

429
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,280
Speaker 1: dump a whole bunch of garbage in me. I don't

430
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,320
Speaker 1: want that spirit being transferred often to me. I know

431
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,560
Speaker 1: some people think, well, Joe, you're just stiff men, that's

432
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 1: not hurting anything. But no, if you put garbage in somewhere,

433
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 1: in some way, shape or form, that garbage is gonna

434
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,240
Speaker 1: come out. It's gonna affect you. If people are telling

435
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,000
Speaker 1: off colored jokes around you. You don't have to be rude.

436
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,200
Speaker 1: I'm not saying to condemn them and try to beat

437
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 1: them down, but I am saying you should care enough

438
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,879
Speaker 1: about your temple to walk away. If you're going to

439
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,439
Speaker 1: be an ego, you've got to stay away from dead things.

440
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:00,880
Speaker 1: And let me tell you, you may not be able

441
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,679
Speaker 1: to watch everything your peers watch. You may not be

442
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 1: able to listen to everything your friends listen to. There's

443
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,919
Speaker 1: a price to pay for living in victory. But if

444
00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,400
Speaker 1: you'll stay on that high road and only feed off

445
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,960
Speaker 1: of good things, you'll continue to rise higher, while many

446
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 1: of them just flounder around in mediocrity. But there is

447
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 1: a price to pay. We have to keep our temple pure.

448
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,359
Speaker 1: I think it about Sampson. He had a supernatural birth.

449
00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,879
Speaker 1: His mother had never had any children, and the angel

450
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,440
Speaker 1: appeared unto her and said, you're going to have a son,

451
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,720
Speaker 1: and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand

452
00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:39,280
Speaker 1: of the Philistines. God had a divine purpose for Samson's life.

453
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 1: He was chosen and set apart. And you remember how

454
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,199
Speaker 1: he had that supernatural strength and power. But Sampson had

455
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,560
Speaker 1: a major weakness in his character. He didn't exercise restraint

456
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,639
Speaker 1: over what he looked at. He allowed his mind to

457
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,760
Speaker 1: become polluted. It's interesting the first words recorded in the

458
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,320
Speaker 1: Bible out of Samson's mouth, where I saw a woman

459
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,640
Speaker 1: and in a nutshell. That was the story of his life.

460
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,000
Speaker 1: He couldn't keep his eyes focused on the right things.

461
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 1: Little by little that led him off of God's best path.

462
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 1: And if you study his life, although he was called

463
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,760
Speaker 1: to do great things, he spent most of his time

464
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 1: in mediocrity, hanging out with prostitutes, posing riddles to the Philistines,

465
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,480
Speaker 1: all because he didn't control what he looked at. He

466
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 1: just kept feeding himself a bunch of jump. When the

467
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,359
Speaker 1: Philistines finally captured him, the first thing they did was

468
00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,240
Speaker 1: to gouge out his eyes. They even knew that was

469
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,679
Speaker 1: his big problem. They knew that was the gateway to

470
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,480
Speaker 1: his lust. And really it's a sad story. When Sampson

471
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,920
Speaker 1: should have been delivering the people of God, he ended

472
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 1: up as a slave, blind, grinding at the mill, all

473
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 1: because he didn't keep his thought. Life Here and friends,

474
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,359
Speaker 1: just like Sampson, every one of you has a divine destiny.

475
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 1: God has chosen you. He has called you. He's put

476
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,720
Speaker 1: seeds of greatness in you, but you have to do

477
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 1: your part and keep your temple pure. And I'm challenging

478
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,680
Speaker 1: you today to take inventory of what you're feeding yourself,

479
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:14,480
Speaker 1: your thoughts, your friends, your entertainment. Is it building you up?

480
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,879
Speaker 1: Is it causing you to grow and increase? If not,

481
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 1: why don't you make some changes. Life is too short

482
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,200
Speaker 1: to go around in mediocrity. Be an ego. Stay away

483
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,040
Speaker 1: from dead things. It's got to guard your eyes. Guard

484
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,639
Speaker 1: your ears, they're the gateway to your souls. Learn to

485
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,920
Speaker 1: get up every morning and dwell on good thoughts. Start

486
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,880
Speaker 1: your day off thanking God for what He's done. Put

487
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,840
Speaker 1: things up around you that inspire you. Listen to good

488
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,639
Speaker 1: music and all day long meditate on God's word. And

489
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 1: if you will continually feed yourself good things, let me

490
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:49,359
Speaker 1: tell you you'll be an ego. You'll have God's strength

491
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,000
Speaker 1: and power, and you'll begin to soar and really live

492
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,480
Speaker 1: that life of victory that God has in story. Amen,

493
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,679
Speaker 1: you receive it today, Well, I know you do. We

494
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,760
Speaker 1: never like to close our podcast without giving you an

495
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,080
Speaker 1: opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would

496
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 1: you pray with me? Just say Lord Jesus, I repent

497
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: of my sins. Come into my heart. I'll make you

498
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:18,320
Speaker 1: my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer,

499
00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 1: we believe you got born again. Get in a good

500
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to

501
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 1: take your places you've never dreamed of.

502
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,320
Speaker 3: It starts with just a tiny seed. From it, tender

503
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,280
Speaker 3: bud sprout, the miracle of new life blooms and thrives.

504
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,160
Speaker 3: But how do you experience the same miraculous and extraordinary

505
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:40,959
Speaker 3: growth in your own life?

506
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,640
Speaker 1: Sometimes our life is limited because we're believing too small.

507
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,640
Speaker 1: Faith is like a sea. When you believe all things

508
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 1: are possible, that's when you'll see new growth, opportunity, and healing.

509
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 2: We don't have to figure out how it's going to happen.

510
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 2: All we have to do is believe there may not

511
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,639
Speaker 2: be a way in the natural, and our God is supernatural.

512
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,040
Speaker 1: We'd like to send you this time next year. Believe

513
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 1: big journal. It will help you to enlarge your vision

514
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,040
Speaker 1: and stretch your faith. Where would you like to be

515
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,960
Speaker 1: a year from now? Who knows what God will do

516
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,600
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four. If you'll take the limits off

517
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,399
Speaker 1: of him and believe for the great things He's placed

518
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 1: in your heart.

519
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,000
Speaker 3: As our thank you for your gift of any amount

520
00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:25,560
Speaker 3: this month, we want to send you that this time

521
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,720
Speaker 3: next year Believe Big Journal along with our new Believe tea.

522
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,880
Speaker 3: As you begin to Believe Big, you'll see God move

523
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:38,479
Speaker 3: in powerful ways, the impossible made possible. Growth, provision, and

524
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,040
Speaker 3: new opportunities will burst forth above and beyond which you

525
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,800
Speaker 3: can ask or imagine. Also, for the first time ever,

526
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,000
Speaker 3: we want to present you with our new Believe t shirt,

527
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,080
Speaker 3: created exclusively by our friends at Copperfeit for the viewers

528
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,920
Speaker 3: and partners of Jolstein. We invite you to wear and

529
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,160
Speaker 3: declare which you are believing God or in twenty twenty

530
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,360
Speaker 3: for It's a gift from Copperfit as they extend their

531
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 3: support of the message of Hope.

532
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 1: Many of you have watched us a long time, but

533
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 1: you've never been to Lakewood. We have a perfect time.

534
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,840
Speaker 1: We're calling it homecoming weekend April thirteenth and fourteenth. We'd

535
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,440
Speaker 1: love to meet you. I'll introduce you to my family.

536
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 1: You can see the facility and enjoy a service. We'd

537
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,960
Speaker 1: be honored to have you. We'll make you feel right

538
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,080
Speaker 1: at home. Remember You can watch the services live online

539
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:30,440
Speaker 1: every Sunday, download our podcast watch on YouTube. We'll keep

540
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:32,240
Speaker 1: you inspired and encouraged.

541
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 3: Be sure to request your copy of This Time next year.

542
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,240
Speaker 3: Believe Big Journal and the Copperfit Believe T shirt as

543
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:43,320
Speaker 3: our gift of thanks Today, visit Joelostein dot com or

544
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 3: call us tool free