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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to

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Speaker 1: our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you

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Speaker 1: enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and

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Speaker 1: share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray

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Speaker 1: for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you.

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Speaker 1: It's always a joy to come into your homes, and

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Speaker 1: if you're ever in our area, please stop by and

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Speaker 1: be a part of one of our services. I promise

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Speaker 1: you we'll make you feel right at home. I like

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Speaker 1: to get started with something funny each week, and of

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Speaker 1: course these little jokes are not doctrinally correct. They're just

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Speaker 1: to make us laugh. But I heard about this cat

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Speaker 1: and mouse. They died on the same day and went

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Speaker 1: to heaven. After a couple of weeks. Peter asked the

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Speaker 1: mouse how he liked it so far, and he said, all, Peter,

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Speaker 1: it's great, but it's so big. Do you think I

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Speaker 1: could get some roller skates. Peter said, no problem, got

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Speaker 1: the mouse some roller skates. A couple of weeks later,

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Speaker 1: he saw the cat and ask him how he liked it.

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Speaker 1: He said, all, Peter, I love it, And just when

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Speaker 1: I thought it couldn't get any better. I discovered the

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Speaker 1: meals on wills. All right, hold up your Bible. Say

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Speaker 1: it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: I will never be the same. I am about to

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Speaker 1: receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living seed of the Word

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Speaker 1: of God. I'll never be the same, never, never, never,

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

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Speaker 1: I want to talk to you today about the importance

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Speaker 1: of staying in the right place. God created places before

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Speaker 1: he created people. He created the oceans, then he created fish,

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Speaker 1: He created land, then he created animals. Places are important

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Speaker 1: to God. He didn't create a polar bear to live

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Speaker 1: in the desert. He didn't create a bird to live

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Speaker 1: in the sea. There is a certain place God created

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Speaker 1: for each one of them to thrive. And in the

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Speaker 1: same way, God has a specific location for each one

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Speaker 1: of us to be blessed. He has a specific job

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Speaker 1: for you to work at, a specific neighborhood. For you

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Speaker 1: to live in specific friends, for you to associate with

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Speaker 1: your location is extremely important. God will not bless you anywhere.

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Speaker 1: He will bless you where you're supposed to be. Now,

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Speaker 1: I can't just pack up and decide I'm gonna move

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Speaker 1: to another city, thinking I've had some success here, surely

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Speaker 1: it'll work there. No, the blessing is connected to a

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Speaker 1: certain place. This is where I feel good about, This

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Speaker 1: is where I know I'm supposed to be. When we

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Speaker 1: move out of that place, it's not that God decided

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Speaker 1: to quit blessing us. It's that we've moved away from

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Speaker 1: the location where his blessings for us are. In the

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Speaker 1: Book of Acts, Jesus instructed five hundred people to go

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Speaker 1: to the Upper Room to wait for the promise of

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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. But do you know only one hundred

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Speaker 1: and twenty showed up. Five hundred could have been blessed,

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Speaker 1: but only one hundred and twenty were in the right location.

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Speaker 1: You can't just work at any job and hang out

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Speaker 1: at any place, move to any city and expect to

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Speaker 1: have God's best. You have to be sensitive to what

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Speaker 1: you're feeling right down in here. Throughout life. The Holy

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Speaker 1: Spirit will lead you and guide you. I'm asking you

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Speaker 1: today to pay more attention to your location. Ask yourself,

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Speaker 1: is this where I'm supposed to be? Is this the

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Speaker 1: job I feel good about? Is this where I should

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Speaker 1: be spending my free time? Remember your blessing is tied

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Speaker 1: to a specific place. I have a friend that owns

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Speaker 1: a mechanic shop. For years, his business was very mediocre.

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Speaker 1: He was back on a little side street in an

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Speaker 1: industrial area. He was surviving but not really having any

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Speaker 1: real success. And one day while he was out, he

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Speaker 1: saw this big building off of a major freeway had

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Speaker 1: a sign that said for lease, and something just jumped

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Speaker 1: on the inside of him. He knew that was supposed

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Speaker 1: to be his. He made some phone calls and found

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Speaker 1: out it was available. After he prayed about it, he

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Speaker 1: still felt peace, so he moved his business to that

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Speaker 1: new location. It was less than a mile from his

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Speaker 1: old place, but that next year his business increased ten

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Speaker 1: times what it was the year before. What was the

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Speaker 1: difference his location he had to get to his place

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Speaker 1: of blessing. Do you know you could be less than

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Speaker 1: a mile away from major growth. May not be a business,

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Speaker 1: It may be where you're hanging out after work. That's

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Speaker 1: keeping you from your real place of blessing. It may

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Speaker 1: be the job you go to if you don't really

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Speaker 1: like it, you're not growing, you're not fulfilled. Don't go

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Speaker 1: there there for the next twenty years, just enduring that.

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Speaker 1: Make sure that's where you're supposed to be. I know

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Speaker 1: people that have worked downtown in a high rise. They

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Speaker 1: move from one floor to another. God opened up a

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Speaker 1: new position, and now they're happy. They go to work

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Speaker 1: with enthusiasm, using their gifts and talents. What happened they

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Speaker 1: got to their place of blessing. A lot of times

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Speaker 1: we kind of think, well, Joel, I know God will

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Speaker 1: bless me wherever I go. And in a sense that's true.

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Speaker 1: But God has a specific place where he's commanded you

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Speaker 1: to be blessed. Now. I would hate to think that

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Speaker 1: I lived my life just a mile away from my

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Speaker 1: real place of blessing. God opened up doors, but I

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Speaker 1: was too afraid to go through, or I kept hanging

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Speaker 1: around the wrong friends. Now, pay attention to what you're

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Speaker 1: feeling right down in here. Get to the right place.

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Speaker 1: When you're in the center of God's perfect will, there's

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Speaker 1: a peace. Things won't be a constant struggle. Sure, you'll

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Speaker 1: have some seasons of difficulties and some tough times you'll

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Speaker 1: have to push through. But overall, you should enjoy your life.

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Speaker 1: You should feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. When

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Speaker 1: you go to bed at night. You should lie there

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Speaker 1: in peace, knowing that I'm in God's perfect will, I'm

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Speaker 1: exactly where I'm supposed to be. In the Old Testament,

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Speaker 1: the children of Israel had to follow the cloud by

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Speaker 1: day and the pillar of fire by night. Sometimes the

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Speaker 1: cloud would stay at the same location for two or

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Speaker 1: three months. They would set up camp and stay there

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Speaker 1: the whole time. Other times the cloud would move every

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Speaker 1: day for a week. But when they got up in

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Speaker 1: the morning, first thing they had to do was check

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Speaker 1: the cloud. I'm sure there were times that they wanted

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Speaker 1: to move. They didn't like the location, they were surrounded

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Speaker 1: by enemies, but the cloud wasn't moving. Other times, I

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Speaker 1: can imagine they get up in the morning and see

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Speaker 1: the cloud starting to move, and they think, man, we

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Speaker 1: just got camp set up. We like this place, We're comfortable,

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Speaker 1: let's just stay here. No, they understood this principle that

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Speaker 1: their blessing was connected to being at the right place

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Speaker 1: they knew they wouldn't have the food, the supplies, the

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Speaker 1: protection they needed unless they followed the cloud. They had

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Speaker 1: to do their part and get to their place of

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Speaker 1: blessing so they could enjoy God's Faithor some of you today,

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Speaker 1: the only thing that's holding you back is you're in

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Speaker 1: the wrong location. It may be the wrong job. God

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Speaker 1: keeps opening up doors, but you're not taking that step

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Speaker 1: of faith. It may be the wrong friends. You're spending

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Speaker 1: your free time in the wrong locations. That's keeping you

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Speaker 1: from growing. Could even be the wrong neighborhood. It's a

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Speaker 1: negative environment. You keep giving into temptation. It's time to

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Speaker 1: make some changes. Life is too short to go through

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Speaker 1: it in the wrong location. You've got to learn to

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Speaker 1: follow the cloud for your own life. I know a

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Speaker 1: man he and his wife started a television station in

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Speaker 1: another state and for years they ran the station, built

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Speaker 1: it up into a successful ministry. This was a dream

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Speaker 1: come true. They were so happy, so fulfilled. But they

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Speaker 1: told how one day that desire to keep building there

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Speaker 1: and that sense of fulfillment just lifted off of them.

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Speaker 1: They didn't have the same enthusiasm, and when they searched

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Speaker 1: their heart, they realized their time there was done. They

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Speaker 1: could have been hard headed and thought, no, we started

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Speaker 1: this and we're going to finish it. But they were

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Speaker 1: sensitive enough to recognize that the cloud was moving. They

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Speaker 1: put the television station up for sale. About a year later,

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Speaker 1: they moved to a large city in another state. They

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Speaker 1: didn't really know what they were going to do, but

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Speaker 1: not long after that, it just so happened that a

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Speaker 1: television station in that new city became available. They were

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Speaker 1: at the right place at the right time, and with

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Speaker 1: the funds they had from the sale of their other station,

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Speaker 1: they purchased this new television station. Today, their ministry has exploded.

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Speaker 1: They have many stations. In fact, they have a network

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Speaker 1: that goes around the world. What's my point, They followed

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Speaker 1: the cloud, their place of blessing moved. Had they not

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Speaker 1: been sensitive, had they been stuck in a rut and thought, well,

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Speaker 1: we're really not fulfilled here, but let's just play it safe,

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Speaker 1: let's not rock the boat, no, they would have missed

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Speaker 1: out on God's best. God has a place of victory

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Speaker 1: in store for every one of us, but it's up

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Speaker 1: to us to get to that place. Location is a

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Speaker 1: huge part of staying in God's perfect well. My father

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Speaker 1: used to say, learn to stay in your sweet spot.

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Speaker 1: That means you just feel good down in here. You

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Speaker 1: know you're where you're supposed to be. In other words,

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Speaker 1: don't take a new job just because somebody offers you

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Speaker 1: more money. Pray about it, search your heart. There's more

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Speaker 1: to life than money. They may make you a better offer.

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Speaker 1: But if the environment's not good, if you have to

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Speaker 1: travel all the time, leave your family, if you're going

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Speaker 1: to be around negative people, that may not be God's

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Speaker 1: best for you. You've got to stay in your own place

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Speaker 1: of blessing and don't override what you're feeling down in here.

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Speaker 1: If you have an unrest, that may mean the cloud

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Speaker 1: is not moving. I have a friend that just passed

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Speaker 1: up a huge promotion. His company wanted him to move

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Speaker 1: to another state. After he prayed about it, he didn't

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Speaker 1: feel peace. He didn't want to leave the church. He

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Speaker 1: didn't want to leave his friends and his associates. They

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Speaker 1: just could not understand it. They couldn't believe he didn't

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Speaker 1: jump at that opportunity. But he just did not have

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Speaker 1: a release down in here. He asked me, Joel, you

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Speaker 1: think I'm making a mistake. I told him what I'm

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Speaker 1: telling you. No matter how good the offer, if you

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Speaker 1: don't have peace about it, it's not right for you.

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Speaker 1: It was like a burden was lifted off of him.

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Speaker 1: He seemed so relieved what was happening. He was following

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Speaker 1: the cloud. Staying in God's perfect will should be one

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Speaker 1: of our highest priorities. On a regular basis, we need

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Speaker 1: to ask ourselves. Am I in my place of blessing?

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Speaker 1: Is this where I know I'm supposed to be? And

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Speaker 1: when I say place of blessing, of course, I'm not

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Speaker 1: talking about just material things. I'm talking about peace. I'm

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Speaker 1: talking about fulfillment, knowing that you're exactly where God wants

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Speaker 1: you to be. I know this couple. They live in Botswana, Africa.

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Speaker 1: They have several children, and for years they lived in

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Speaker 1: a little hut with no air conditioning, no running water.

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Speaker 1: It was hot, it was dirty, no TV, no grocery stores.

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Speaker 1: But every time I talk to them they were as

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Speaker 1: happy as can be. In fact, one time I asked them,

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Speaker 1: how do you do it? Isn't it hard to raise

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Speaker 1: your children here? They looked at me, almost confused, and said, Joel,

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Speaker 1: we were wondering the same thing about you. How do

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Speaker 1: you stay there? What they were saying is we're blessed,

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Speaker 1: we're fulfilled. Why was that they in their place of blessing.

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Speaker 1: You may be able to make more money somewhere else,

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Speaker 1: something may look more attractive to you. But when you're

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Speaker 1: in God's perfect will, there is a peace and a

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Speaker 1: fulfillment that money cannot buy. One Kings, Chapter seventeen and

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Speaker 1: verse three. God said to Elijah, leave here, go east

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Speaker 1: down to the brook, for I have commanded the ravens

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Speaker 1: to feed you there. Notice there was a place where

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Speaker 1: God commanded Elijah's needs to be supplied. Here's what's important.

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Speaker 1: It was up to Elijah to get to that place.

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Speaker 1: He had to be obedient. He could have said, God,

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Speaker 1: I'm comfortable where I am. I don't want to go

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Speaker 1: down there. Or The problem with that thinking is the

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Speaker 1: ravens would have still been taking his provision down to

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Speaker 1: the brook. In other words, God would have been supplying

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Speaker 1: his needs, but he would have not been where he

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Speaker 1: was supposed to be. Now, I wonder how many of

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Speaker 1: us have our blessing, our provision being taken somewhere that

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Speaker 1: we're not. We didn't follow the still small voice. Maybe

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Speaker 1: we're still hanging around friends that we don't feel good about,

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Speaker 1: or what's happening is our blessings in favor over here,

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Speaker 1: but we're not where we're supposed to be. Or maybe

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Speaker 1: God opened up an opportunity of promotion for you you

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Speaker 1: knew down and here you should take it, but you

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Speaker 1: just shrunk back in fear, thinking, Man, I can't do that. No,

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Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I'm going to do

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Speaker 1: my best to get and stay in my place of blessing.

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Speaker 1: I can't stand to think that God could be delivering favor, blessings,

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Speaker 1: ideas creativity over here. The only problem is I'm not

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Speaker 1: where I'm supposed to be. Now, let's learn to follow

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Speaker 1: the cloud. Pay attention to what you're feeling right down

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Speaker 1: in here. And it may not mean moving or changing jobs.

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Speaker 1: It may be something as simple as you know you're

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Speaker 1: supposed to be volunteering somewhere. I've been dealing with you

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Speaker 1: again and again about taking care of some elderly neighbors

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Speaker 1: or serving in the children's ministry, mentoring a young person.

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Speaker 1: You know down and here you should be doing it,

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Speaker 1: but you just keep putting it off. Man, I'm busy, Joel,

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Speaker 1: I've got so many commitments. I just can't do that. No,

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Speaker 1: You've got to follow the cloud. That could be your

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Speaker 1: place of blessing. How do you know that's not where

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Speaker 1: the ravens are taking your provision? How do you know

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Speaker 1: when you get into God's perfect will doing what he

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Speaker 1: asked you to do, that that's not where He's going

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Speaker 1: to bless you in ways you never thought possible. That

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Speaker 1: could be where you get the break you've been waiting for.

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Speaker 1: That could be where you meet the man or woman

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Speaker 1: of your dreams. What I'm saying is God has a

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Speaker 1: specific place where he's commended you to be blessed. Don't

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Speaker 1: just haphazardly kind of apply for this job, Oh it

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Speaker 1: looks pretty good, or I'm gonna hang out with these

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Speaker 1: friends they seem okay, Or I'm going to serve in

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Speaker 1: this ministry for a couple of weeks. Now, you've got

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Speaker 1: to be more focused than that. You're not gonna be

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Speaker 1: blessed everywhere. You're gonna be blessed when you're at the

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Speaker 1: right place for you. I got a letter from a

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Speaker 1: couple last week. Re'll find people. I've known him a

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Speaker 1: long time. This man had worked at a certain company

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Speaker 1: for many many years, and he was way up there

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Speaker 1: in management, making a good salary, but down in here

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Speaker 1: he really wanted to start his own business. He knew

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Speaker 1: that was a dream that God put in in his heart,

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Speaker 1: but year after year, he just kept putting it off.

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Speaker 1: He was afraid he might fail, afraid he didn't have

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Speaker 1: what it takes. One day he heard me talking about

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Speaker 1: getting out of your comfort zone and being willing to

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Speaker 1: take a risk. That lit a new fire on the inside.

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Speaker 1: He resigned from his company, and they took all of

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Speaker 1: their retirement and used it to start this new consulting business.

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Speaker 1: Little by little it began to grow. They started seeing

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Speaker 1: God's favor in a greater way his old company. They

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Speaker 1: tried to talk him out of it. They told him

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Speaker 1: it would never work, But today they're his largest clas.

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Speaker 1: He went on to tell how last year he made

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Speaker 1: three times what he made working at that other place,

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Speaker 1: and they were so concerned about their retirement. But now

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Speaker 1: they've already paid it back. They said, Joel, We've never

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Speaker 1: dreamed we would see God's favor in the way we've

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Speaker 1: seen him. What happened. They got to their place a blessing.

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Speaker 1: They got down to the brook where God commanded them

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Speaker 1: to be blessed. They explained how it was a lot

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Speaker 1: of work, but it wasn't a constant burden. They didn't

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Speaker 1: live with a headache day in and day out, wondering

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Speaker 1: how it's all going to happen. No, God supernaturally just

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Speaker 1: brought things into place. When you fall of the leading

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Speaker 1: down in here, you will never go wrong. And certainly

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Speaker 1: you have to use wisdom. Don't just jump out and

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Speaker 1: try to make things happen. But when you feel good

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Speaker 1: about it down in here, when you know it's right,

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Speaker 1: dare to take that step of faith. Don't come to

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Speaker 1: the end of your life and have to wonder what

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Speaker 1: would have happened if you'd been willing to take that risk.

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Speaker 1: Follow the cloud and to the place of blessing for

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Speaker 1: your own life. Well, Elijah got down to the brook.

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Speaker 1: He was obedient, and God blessed him and met all

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Speaker 1: of his needs. But one day the brook dried up,

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Speaker 1: the water quit flowing, the ravens quit coming, and so

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Speaker 1: God told him, Elijah, I want you to go to

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Speaker 1: the city of Zarapath, for I've commanded a widow to

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Speaker 1: take care of you. Notice, once again, God had a

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Speaker 1: specific place where he commanded Elijah's needs to be met.

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Speaker 1: The whole key was Elijah had to keep following the

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Speaker 1: cloud getting to that place of blessing. This tells me

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Speaker 1: that sometimes a brook will dry up, Sometimes a season

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Speaker 1: is going to be over, and God's going to try

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Speaker 1: to push you into a new area. You have to

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Speaker 1: stay open and be willing to follow that leading down

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Speaker 1: in here. It's interesting. When Elijah was down at the brook,

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Speaker 1: he was hiding from an enemy. Somebody had been chasing

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Speaker 1: him him. Do you know where his enemy's hometown was.

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Speaker 1: It was the city of Zeapath, exactly where God told

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Speaker 1: him to go. Think about it. God could have sent

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Speaker 1: Elijah anywhere, but he sent him right to his enemy's hometown.

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Speaker 1: What's my point? Sometimes God leads us to do things

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Speaker 1: that don't make sense. God, you want me to leave

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Speaker 1: my position, use my retirement to start a new business.

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Speaker 1: God you want me to quit hanging around this person.

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Speaker 1: They're the only friend I have. God, you want me

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Speaker 1: to bless my neighbors and be good to them. They've

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Speaker 1: been so rude to me. Sometimes we're not going to

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Speaker 1: understand it, but that's what takes faith. You have to

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Speaker 1: remind yourself this is God trying to get me to

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Speaker 1: my place of blessing? God just trying to get me

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Speaker 1: to where He's commanded my needs to be supplied. I

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Speaker 1: think about my brother Paul. For seventeen years, he was

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Speaker 1: a surgeon in Little Rock. He had a very successful practice.

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Speaker 1: In fact, he was the chief of surgery there. He

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Speaker 1: and some of his partners were hard owners of the

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Speaker 1: new hospital. Life was good. Paul was fulfilling his destiny,

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Speaker 1: helping a lot of people. But back in nineteen ninety nine,

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Speaker 1: when my father went to be with the Lord, Paul

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Speaker 1: was driving home from Daddy's memorial service and he heard

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Speaker 1: that still small voice telling him to come back home

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Speaker 1: and help pastor the church in the natural, that didn't

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Speaker 1: make a lot of sense. He if Paul had gone

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Speaker 1: to school some twelve years to become a surgeon. His

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Speaker 1: colleagues told him he was just grieving, he was just

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Speaker 1: having a midlife crisis. But Paul knew down in here

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Speaker 1: he was supposed to come back home. He did exactly that.

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Speaker 1: We wouldn't be where we are today if Paul had

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Speaker 1: not taken that step of faith. And not only that,

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Speaker 1: how much more blessed could Paul possibly be? Than by

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Speaker 1: being able to work with me every day. But the

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Speaker 1: truth is, if Paul had not come, I'm sure he

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Speaker 1: would have still been happy. I'm sure he'd be okay,

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Speaker 1: but I don't believe he would have the joy and

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Speaker 1: the fulfillment that he does here. It's not because of us.

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Speaker 1: It's because he's in his place of blessing. And again,

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Speaker 1: sometime that brook will drive up. A season will be over.

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Speaker 1: Don't fight it, don't struggle, just fallow the cloud, and

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Speaker 1: I believe every season will get better and better. Let

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Speaker 1: me ask you today, are the ravens taking your provision

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Speaker 1: somewhere that you're not? You cannot work in the wrong

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Speaker 1: job for twenty years and expect to really be blessed.

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Speaker 1: You can't sit in a church week after week with

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Speaker 1: people condemning you, telling you that you're a weak worm

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Speaker 1: of the dust, filling you with doubt and unbelief. You

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Speaker 1: cannot listen to that junk and expect to live a

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Speaker 1: life of victory. Well, Joel, my grandparents went to this church,

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Speaker 1: and my great grandparents went here. This is just where

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Speaker 1: I'm planted now. With all due respect, if you're planted

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Speaker 1: in concrete, you're not going to grow. You need to

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Speaker 1: find somewhere where people will inspire you to rise higher.

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Speaker 1: Find a place whereas people will challenge you to become

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Speaker 1: all God's created you. To be a place where people

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Speaker 1: will speak of life and victory into you. Remember, your

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Speaker 1: blessing is tied to being at the right place for you.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't sit in a place where the leadership lacks integrity,

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Speaker 1: or where they are controlling, trying to make you feel

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Speaker 1: guilty if you don't do exactly what they want you

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Speaker 1: to do. I wouldn't go to a place where they're

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Speaker 1: always beating me down, telling me I have no future

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Speaker 1: and I'm all washed up. Talks about in Psalms one

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Speaker 1: thirty three, how when they poured the oil on Erin's head,

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Speaker 1: he was the priest, the leader, the oil flowed from

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Speaker 1: his head, down his beard, to the rest of his body.

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Speaker 1: That symbolized how the anoying goes from the leader down

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Speaker 1: to the people. And that tells me I'm going to

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Speaker 1: receive the same type of annoying of the leadership I

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Speaker 1: put myself on. If that leader is controlling, condemning, arrogant,

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Speaker 1: no humility, that's what's gonna flow down. I don't know

395
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Speaker 1: about you, but I don't need that junk in my life.

396
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Speaker 1: Get under good leadership. There are thousands of great churches

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Speaker 1: with great ministers that have hearts of gold. Get connected

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Speaker 1: to the right place. And number two, stay faithful. Don't

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Speaker 1: run from church to church every week. Be committed. That's

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Speaker 1: where your place of blessing is. And I say this

401
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Speaker 1: with all humility. God knows my heart. But God's favor

402
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,200
Speaker 1: is on our ministry. And I know as you come

403
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Speaker 1: each week, as you watch each week, the same favor,

404
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: the same annoying, the same blessing. This on our ministry

405
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,640
Speaker 1: is flowing right down to you. Now, as you continue,

406
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Speaker 1: you're going to be more blessed. You're going to be

407
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,359
Speaker 1: more mature, You're gonna have more favor, You're going to

408
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Speaker 1: have a bigger vision. You're going to be a bigger blessing.

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Speaker 1: Wherever you go, your faith is going to increase, not

410
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Speaker 1: because of me, but because of the annoying and favor

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Speaker 1: that God's put on our ministry. I was talking to

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Speaker 1: a friend of mine the other day. He was telling

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Speaker 1: how blessed he's been here and how he was sharing

414
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Speaker 1: with his wife how they have to put themselves in

415
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Speaker 1: a position to receive, in their attitude, in their actions,

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Speaker 1: in their faithfulness. That way, when the annoying flows from

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Speaker 1: the head, there won't be any barriers to stop it.

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Speaker 1: It will cling to you. Why you put yourself in

419
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Speaker 1: a position to receive, And every time you come through

420
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Speaker 1: these doors, every time you watch, you should say, Father,

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Speaker 1: I want to thank you that the same annoying you

422
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Speaker 1: put in that place is flowing down to me. The favor,

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Speaker 1: the increase, the promotion, the joy, the peace, the victory.

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Speaker 1: I receive that by faith. See, don't just come to

425
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:59,920
Speaker 1: church have the attitude. I'm receiving favor today, I'm receiving strength.

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Speaker 1: My faith is growing, I'm coming up higher. When you

427
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Speaker 1: do that, you're just soaking up the annoying that's flowing down.

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Speaker 1: So important the leadership you put yourself under and who

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Speaker 1: you allow to speak into your life. You remember in

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Speaker 1: the Old Testament, God promised Elisha that he would have

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Speaker 1: a double portion of Elijah's annoying. But God said, Elisha,

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Speaker 1: it'll happen under one condition. Not how much you pray,

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Speaker 1: not how many scriptures you can quote. You have to

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Speaker 1: be in the right place. You have to stay close

435
00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 1: to Elijah for years. Elisha was faithful. He followed Elijah

436
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,400
Speaker 1: everywhere he went. In fact, a couple times Elijah tried

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00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,040
Speaker 1: to get rid of him, tried to lose him, but

438
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,120
Speaker 1: Elisha stayed right with him. He was determined. Elisha's job

439
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 1: was to help take care of Elijah. He was an

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Speaker 1: older man. He would take him food and water, assist

441
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,480
Speaker 1: him in menial things, and in the natural it looked

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00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:58,640
Speaker 1: kind of unimportant. I'm sure some of Elisha's friends said, Elishah,

443
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:00,600
Speaker 1: what are you doing spending your time? I'm following this

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00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 1: older man around. You've got dreams and desires. You need

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00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,880
Speaker 1: to go on with your life. But no, Elisha knew

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00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 1: something they didn't know. He knew if he was at

447
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,080
Speaker 1: the right place, then at the right time, God was

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00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 1: going to release double into his life. He knew as

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00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:19,359
Speaker 1: he stayed close to Elijah, little by little, that same

450
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,360
Speaker 1: annoying was flowing into him. And sometimes it may be difficult,

451
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 1: and you think, man, Joel, I'm serving in the children's ministry.

452
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,040
Speaker 1: Nobody's telling me thank you. I came to church. I

453
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,200
Speaker 1: didn't feel like anything was happening. No, whether you realize

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00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: it or not, the same annoying that God's put in

455
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,280
Speaker 1: this place is flowing down to you. And Elisha was

456
00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 1: faithful because he recognized his destiny was connected to being

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00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,320
Speaker 1: at the right place. He got exactly what God promised,

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00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,679
Speaker 1: a double portion. And when you were at the right place,

459
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,879
Speaker 1: connected to the right people, that's when God is going

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00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,919
Speaker 1: to release great things into your life. Now, I'm asking

461
00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:00,159
Speaker 1: you today to fallow the cloud for your own life.

462
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 1: Be determined to get to that place of blessing for yourself.

463
00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: You may not have seen it in the past. Search

464
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,760
Speaker 1: your heart, make sure you're obeying, even in smaller areas.

465
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 1: And sure we all go through difficult seasons. Just stay faithful.

466
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,800
Speaker 1: Remember your blessing is connected to being at the right

467
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 1: place for you. And if you will, staying in God's

468
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,359
Speaker 1: perfect will a priority. I know this God will lead

469
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,600
Speaker 1: you and guide you. He'll pour out his blessings in favor,

470
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 1: and you'll live that life of victory that He has

471
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:35,000
Speaker 1: in store. Amen, do you receive it today? We never

472
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,400
Speaker 1: like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity

473
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,159
Speaker 1: to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you

474
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:45,919
Speaker 1: pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of

475
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:50,720
Speaker 1: my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my

476
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,480
Speaker 1: Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer,

477
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 1: we believe you got born again. Get in a good

478
00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 1: Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to

479
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,960
Speaker 1: take your places that you've never dreamed of. When was

480
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,359
Speaker 1: the last time you asked God to do something that

481
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 1: seemed impossible. If you only pray small, ordinary prayers, you

482
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,280
Speaker 1: live a small, ordinary lie. I have a new book

483
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,439
Speaker 1: called Pray Bold. I'll challenge you to stretch your faith

484
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,600
Speaker 1: and believe for the big things God puts in your heart.

485
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,480
Speaker 1: Victoria and I used to have season tickets to watch

486
00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,800
Speaker 1: the Rockets play basketball here. We never dreamed it could

487
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,040
Speaker 1: be ours When they moved out. Somehow we had the

488
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,280
Speaker 1: faith to pray a bold prayer. God made things happen

489
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,160
Speaker 1: that we could never make happen. It's the same for you,

490
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,080
Speaker 1: who knows what God will do in your life. If

491
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,240
Speaker 1: you'll dare to pray bold, ask him for your dreams,

492
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,480
Speaker 1: ask for your healing, as for your freedom. That's when

493
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: God will show up and do more than you could

494
00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 1: ever imagine.

495
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:51,680
Speaker 2: As our way of saying thank you for your gift

496
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,359
Speaker 2: of any amount this month, we would like to send

497
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 2: you a copy of Jewel's brand new book, Pray Bold.

498
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 2: Dare to ask and Believe Big. Joel shares that when

499
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,600
Speaker 2: we pray, we can tap into God's creative, awesome power,

500
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,920
Speaker 2: something bigger than we have ever imagined. God doesn't want

501
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,120
Speaker 2: us to just pray in our comfort zones.

502
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:13,639
Speaker 1: Now.

503
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:18,520
Speaker 2: God loves when we pray big, believe big, expect him

504
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,880
Speaker 2: to do the unexpected. There are inspiring stories from the Bible,

505
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,720
Speaker 2: from history, and personal testimonies of people who dared to

506
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:31,040
Speaker 2: believe God in extraordinary ways. You'll learn how to practically

507
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,399
Speaker 2: expand your prayers and watch your life move from the

508
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,920
Speaker 2: common to the extraordinary, from less than to overflowing.

509
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:40,120
Speaker 1: Be sure to.

510
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 2: Request your copy of Pray Bold today, visit Joelstein dot

511
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 2: com or call us toll free.

512
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 1: God has put dreams in your heart, things he's whispered

513
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,320
Speaker 1: and denied that seem impossible. But as you pray these

514
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: bold prayers, you're going to see the goodness of God

515
00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,200
Speaker 1: in ways you've never seen victor in our belief, and

516
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,240
Speaker 1: you're going to have a twenty twenty five. We pray

517
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 1: for you and your family every day for God's very best.

518
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 1: We want to thank you for your prayer and your support.

519
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 1: You're impacting people all over the world.

520
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of pre Bold today,

521
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,840
Speaker 2: visit joelostein dot com or call us tool free. Finally,

522
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,640
Speaker 2: elevates your personal time with God by requesting the My

523
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:27,640
Speaker 2: Time with God collection. This beautiful collection contains the Prebold

524
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 2: new release, plus the new Living Translation, one year Chronological

525
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 2: Study Bible, and a beautiful glass mug and throw blanket

526
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,560
Speaker 2: based around the inspiring scripture from Psalm forty six to ten.

527
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,160
Speaker 2: Be still and know that I Am God. You can

528
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,440
Speaker 2: learn more about this unique new gift collection by calling

529
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,840
Speaker 2: eight eight eight five six seven Joel or logging on

530
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,040
Speaker 2: too joelostein dot com today.

531
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 1: Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning,

532
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,320
Speaker 1: download our daily podcast Mist on siriusx, watch on YouTube,

533
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 1: and now the new joelost Network streaming on television twenty

534
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 1: four hours a day. If you've never been to Lakewood,

535
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:12,560
Speaker 1: we have a great opportunity. We call it Homecoming weekend.

536
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,880
Speaker 1: We love to meet you and your family. You can

537
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 1: see the building and attend one of the services. It's

538
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,800
Speaker 1: a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family.

539
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,480
Speaker 1: Looking forward to seeing your homecoming weekend,