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Speaker 2: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to

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Speaker 2: our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

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

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Speaker 1: blessing and share it with a friend.

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Speaker 2: We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in

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Speaker 2: your life. Well, God bless you always a joy to

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Speaker 2: come into your homes. We love you, We know God

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Speaker 2: has great things in store for each one of you,

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Speaker 2: and if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll

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Speaker 2: stop by and see us. I'll promise you we'll make

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Speaker 2: you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in,

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Speaker 2: Thanks again for coming out today. And I like to

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Speaker 2: start with something funny. Each week. I heard about these

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Speaker 2: three sisters, ages ninety six, ninety four, and ninety two.

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Speaker 2: They lived together. One day, the ninety six year old

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Speaker 2: draws a bath and puts one foot in and stops.

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Speaker 2: She hollers, downstairs, I can't remember if I was getting

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Speaker 2: in or getting out. The ninety four year old said,

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Speaker 2: just a second, I'll come upstairs and help you. She

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Speaker 2: gets halfway up the stairs and stops. She says, I

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Speaker 2: can't remember if I was going up or coming down.

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Speaker 2: The ninety two year old shook her head and said, boy,

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Speaker 2: I hope I never get that. Forgetful. She knocked on

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Speaker 2: wood for good luck. Then she said, hang on, I'll

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Speaker 2: come help both of you as soon as I see

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Speaker 2: who's at the door. All right, hold up your Bible.

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Speaker 2: Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible.

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Speaker 2: I am what it says I am. I have what

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Speaker 2: it says I have. I can do what it says

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Speaker 2: I can do. Today I will be taught the word

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Speaker 2: of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my

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Speaker 2: heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name,

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Speaker 2: God bless you. I want to talk to you today

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Speaker 2: about being quick to give God the credit. We've all

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Speaker 2: seen God's blessings and favor in our lives. He's opened

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Speaker 2: doors and given us opportunity, and it's so important that

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Speaker 2: we recognize where the favor is coming from. It's not

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Speaker 2: just our gifts, our education, our hard work that got

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Speaker 2: us to where we are. The scripture says every good

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Speaker 2: gift comes from our Father in heaven. Your gift may

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Speaker 2: have helped you get that position, but it was God

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Speaker 2: who gave you the gift in the first place. Your

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Speaker 2: education may have opened the door, but it was God

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Speaker 2: who gave you the ability to learn. Or your hard

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Speaker 2: work may have brought you success, but it was God

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Speaker 2: who gave you the health, the strength, the breath to

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Speaker 2: get out of bed each morning. If we're going to

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Speaker 2: continue to see God's favor, we have to be quick

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Speaker 2: to give him the credit. We were never created to

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Speaker 2: contain glory. We were created to give God glory. The

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Speaker 2: higher we go, the more humility we have to walk in,

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Speaker 2: the more God promotes us the more grateful we should be.

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Speaker 2: We're not supposed to go around thinking, look what I've built,

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Speaker 2: Look what I've accomplished, look at my position. When we

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Speaker 2: do that, we are taking what belongs to God. I've

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Speaker 2: seen some of these celebrities that didn't live a long

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Speaker 2: life or that were on top, but they had a

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Speaker 2: set back and never recovered. One reason is they were

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Speaker 2: containing all the glory. They let the success go to

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Speaker 2: their head and they started thinking, look how great I am.

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Speaker 2: There's nobody like me. They just kept taking in all

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Speaker 2: the praise. But this is important. God will not share

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Speaker 2: his glory if we take the credit thinking that we're

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Speaker 2: the one that's making it all happen. At some point,

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Speaker 2: God will remove his hand of favor to make sure

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Speaker 2: that we realize where the credit really belongs. It says

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Speaker 2: in One Peter, chapter five and verse six, humble yourself

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Speaker 2: under the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you.

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Speaker 2: Now I've learned if we don't humble ourselves, God will

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Speaker 2: humble us. If we don't give him the credit recognizing

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Speaker 2: that it is his goodness that got us to where

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Speaker 2: we are. Then God has a way of getting our attention,

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Speaker 2: and it's interesting. We can come down a lot quicker

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Speaker 2: than we go up. What took twenty years to build

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Speaker 2: can come down in a split second. This is what

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Speaker 2: happened to King Nebukinezzar. He said in Daniel four, How

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Speaker 2: great is our God? How mighty are his works? His

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Speaker 2: kingdom is everlasting. Notice he started off good. He started

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Speaker 2: off giving God credit, talking about his greatness, and God

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Speaker 2: continued to increase in But somewhere along the way he

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Speaker 2: allowed a spirit of pride to creep in. Twelve months later,

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Speaker 2: in verse thirty, he looked out over the city and said,

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Speaker 2: is this not the great Babylon that I have built

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Speaker 2: by the might of my power and for the honor

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Speaker 2: and glory of my majesty. Notice all the mines my power,

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Speaker 2: my majesty. He began thinking, Man, I'm pretty great. I

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Speaker 2: built an awesome kingdom here. I like these people bowing

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Speaker 2: down in worshiping me. See. He started out giving God

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Speaker 2: the credit, but as he got successful and saw more

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Speaker 2: of God's favor, he made the mistake of thinking it

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Speaker 2: was his talent his ability. Instead of giving God the credit,

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Speaker 2: he started taking the credit. It's much easier to stay

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Speaker 2: humble when we're first starting out. But the real test

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Speaker 2: is when God increases you and you get that promotion

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Speaker 2: and now you're in a position of authority, that's when

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Speaker 2: it's more difficult to walk in humility. That's why God

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Speaker 2: told the people of Israel, when you live in nice

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Speaker 2: homes and you have plenty to eat, and you're blessed

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Speaker 2: and prosperous, make sure you don't forget it was the

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Speaker 2: Lord your God who gave it to you. King Never

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Speaker 2: Canezzar's downfall is he started containing the glory instead of

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Speaker 2: giving God the glory. As he was up there bragging

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Speaker 2: to the people about how great he was and all

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Speaker 2: the amazing things that he built, says in verse thirty one.

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Speaker 2: While he was still speaking, a voice came out of

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Speaker 2: the heavens saying, never Canzzar. This day the kingdom has

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Speaker 2: departed from you. Friends. This is a powerful principle. God

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Speaker 2: will not share his glory. Let's be quick to give

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Speaker 2: him the credit. Don't ever say look what I've done,

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Speaker 2: Look what I've built, Look how talented I am. No,

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Speaker 2: without the goodness and mercy of God, we wouldn't be anything,

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Speaker 2: and we wouldn't have anything. We should constantly be thanking

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Speaker 2: God for where we are bragging on his goodness, bragging

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Speaker 2: on his favor, giving him the honor. The scripture says

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Speaker 2: God opposes the proud, but he gives favor to the humble.

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Speaker 2: When you humble yourself and say, God, I know it

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Speaker 2: was your goodness that got me here, and your mercy

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Speaker 2: that's kept me here, and your favor that's opened these doors.

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Speaker 2: When you walk in humility like that, being quick to

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Speaker 2: give God the credit, He'll take your places that you've

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Speaker 2: never even dreamed of. Because it's really it's not how

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Speaker 2: talented you are, or smart you are, or educated you are.

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Speaker 2: What really matters is do you have the favor of

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Speaker 2: God on your life?

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Speaker 4: Because I know.

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Speaker 2: People that are extremely talented, they have plenty of degrees

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Speaker 2: behind their name, but they are so stuck on themselves

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Speaker 2: they're not seeing God's favor like they should. I talked

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Speaker 2: to a gentleman last week after the service. He came

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Speaker 2: from a very poor home. He never was able to

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Speaker 2: attend college. In fact, he never even finished high school.

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Speaker 2: But twenty seven years ago he and his wife started

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Speaker 2: a business. He said, every morning, we would get down

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Speaker 2: on our knees and say, Father, we humble ourselves before you,

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Speaker 2: recognizing you are the one that gave us this business,

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Speaker 2: and so we commit it into your hands. Today that

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Speaker 2: company has thousands of employees, offices all over the country,

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Speaker 2: extremely successful. He told something that really got my attention.

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Speaker 2: He said, Joel, we used to just get up in

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Speaker 2: the morning and give God God credit. But now that

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Speaker 2: we're so blessed and so successful, every night before we

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Speaker 2: go to bed, we get down on our knees and

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Speaker 2: do the same thing. Notice as God increase them, they

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Speaker 2: increase their humility, they increase their gratitude. That is so

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Speaker 2: important because many people, like nibucon Nezzar, they start thinking

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Speaker 2: it's their gifts and their talents. But these people they

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Speaker 2: did just the opposite. Instead of letting that make them

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Speaker 2: more proud and think of them of how great they were,

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Speaker 2: they became even more humbled by their success, realizing more

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Speaker 2: than ever it was God's goodness in their life. That's

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Speaker 2: the key. The higher we go, the more humility we

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Speaker 2: have to walk in. I think about King Saul. God

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Speaker 2: honored him in a great way. He was chosen to

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Speaker 2: be the first king of Israel. He started out so humble,

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Speaker 2: so obedient, that like nibucon Nezar. Over time he led

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Speaker 2: his guard down, he ended up losing the kingdom. God

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Speaker 2: said something significant in First Samuel fifteen, Saul, when you

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Speaker 2: were little in your own eyes, I anointed you as

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Speaker 2: the king. How that should be our prayer? God, help

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Speaker 2: me to stay little in my own eyes. God, help

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Speaker 2: me to not get the big head, but to always

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Speaker 2: walk humbly before you and realize that every good gift,

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Speaker 2: every accomplishment, all my talents, it's because you poured out

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Speaker 2: your goodness and your favor in my life. I've had

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Speaker 2: the opportunity of visiting with doctor Billy Graham. He's in

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Speaker 2: his nineties now. Every time I go see him, one

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Speaker 2: thing that stands out is his spirit of humility. After

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Speaker 2: all his accomplishments, speaking to millions touching this generation, he

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Speaker 2: is still small in his own eyes. I go there

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Speaker 2: to honor him, let him know how he's inspired me

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Speaker 2: and been such a great example. I'm bragging and bragging

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Speaker 2: on him, but he won't take any of it. He

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Speaker 2: turns it around and starts bragging on me. He never

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Speaker 2: will take the credit. Last time I was with him,

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Speaker 2: he said, Joel, I watch you on television each week

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Speaker 2: from that big arena that's your church, and I would

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Speaker 2: come visit you. I just don't think I could get

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Speaker 2: a seat. But here's a man that has touched our

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Speaker 2: generation like no other minister. Yet he still walks in

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Speaker 2: incredible humility, no wonder. God has promoted him in amazing ways.

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Speaker 2: Even though he's received recognition, he's received credit, he didn't

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Speaker 2: contain it. He gave it to the one who deserves it.

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Speaker 2: And there is no limit to how high God will

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Speaker 2: take you if you will stay small in your own

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Speaker 2: eyes and always be quick to give God the credit.

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Speaker 2: The other day, a reporter was asking me about the

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Speaker 2: success Here listed all the accomplishments, the books and big stadiums,

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Speaker 2: the new building, on and on, all these things that

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Speaker 2: could have given me a big head. But my one

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Speaker 2: comment was to God be the glory. If I brag,

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Speaker 2: I'm not gonna brag on me. I'm gonna brag on

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Speaker 2: the goodness of God. I'm gonna brag on the fact

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Speaker 2: that God has put amazing people in my life. I'm

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Speaker 2: gonna brag on the fact that God has opened up

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Speaker 2: incredible doors and given us opportunities that we've never dreamed of.

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Speaker 2: I know where my source of strength and talent and

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Speaker 2: blessing comes from it's God's favor on my life. I

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Speaker 2: realize we can come down a lot quicker than we

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Speaker 2: went up. I'm gonna make sure to give the credit

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Speaker 2: where it belongs. I'm gonna humble myself so that God

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Speaker 2: doesn't have to humble me. I heard somebody say we

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Speaker 2: should treat praise and criticism the same way. In other words,

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Speaker 2: when somebody criticizes and says hurtful things, we should immediately

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Speaker 2: deflect that down, don't dwell on it, don't give it

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Speaker 2: the time of day. In the same way, when someone

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Speaker 2: is giving you praise and telling you how talented you

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Speaker 2: are and congratulating you on all of your accomplishments, instead

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Speaker 2: of deflecting it down, deflect it up. God, to you

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Speaker 2: be the glory. I know you've given me this ability

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Speaker 2: and this strength, so I give you the credit. Don't

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Speaker 2: let that praise go to your head. Just like that

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Speaker 2: criticism can poison your spirit. If you start taking the

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Speaker 2: credit thinking that you're the great one, then that pride

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Speaker 2: will poison your spirit and keep you from God's best.

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Speaker 2: I have people tell me from time to time, Joel,

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Speaker 2: thank you for what you do You've helped change my life,

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Speaker 2: and of course I'm grateful, and I let those kind

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Speaker 2: words encourage my heart. But at the same time, I say, God,

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Speaker 2: to you be the glory. I know you've given me

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Speaker 2: this gift. You've honored me by helping others, so I

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Speaker 2: give you all the credit. One time in the scripture,

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Speaker 2: King Herod got up and gave a great speech. The

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Speaker 2: people were so impressed. They started saying, this is the

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Speaker 2: voice of God and not of man. They begin to

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Speaker 2: bow down and worship him. Old Herod made a big mistake.

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Speaker 2: He let it go to his head. He loved it

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Speaker 2: and just ate it up, the scripture says in Acts twelve.

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Speaker 2: Immediately the Angel of the Lord struck Herod with a disease.

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Speaker 2: He ended up dying in early death, being eaten by worms,

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Speaker 2: all because he accepted the people's praise rather than giving

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Speaker 2: the praise to God. I don't know about you, but

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Speaker 2: I don't want any worms around me. I'm gonna make

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Speaker 2: sure I give the credit where it belongs. I'm a

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Speaker 2: sports fan, and I love when I see these ball players.

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Speaker 2: After they hit a home run or score a touchdown,

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Speaker 2: do something great, they point up toward the heavens. They're saying, God,

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Speaker 2: I honor you, this cheer, this applause. It's coming to me,

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Speaker 2: But I deflected up to you. I know you've given

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Speaker 2: me this talent, so I give you all the glory.

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Speaker 2: I saw one of the leading actors of our day

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Speaker 2: being interviewed on television. He's had a career that spans

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Speaker 2: more than sixty years, very well respected. The reporter asked

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Speaker 2: him about all of his success and how could it

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Speaker 2: last so long without missing a beat. He said, it's

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Speaker 2: all because of the grace of God. He was quick

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Speaker 2: to give God the credit. I think about the apostle Paul.

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Speaker 2: At one point in his life he hated believers. He

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Speaker 2: was persecuting them and trying to have them killed. That

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Speaker 2: you remember how in a split second God changed his

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Speaker 2: life and he went on to write over half of

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Speaker 2: the New Testament and do many great things for God.

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Speaker 2: He said in First Corinthians fifteen ten. Whatever I am now,

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Speaker 2: it's because God poured out his special favor. Notice, he

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Speaker 2: knew where the credit belonged. That's why God could use

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Speaker 2: him in amazing ways. We need to see pride as

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Speaker 2: a poison God around that we're the only reason for

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Speaker 2: our success, and we made it all happen by our talent,

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Speaker 2: our hard work. That's just like pouring a soft drink

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Speaker 2: into your car's gas tank. It's not the right kind

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Speaker 2: of fuel. Sooner or later the car is going to

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Speaker 2: start sputtering, why you put poison in the engine. That's

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Speaker 2: what pride does to us. If we start thinking that

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Speaker 2: we did it all on our own, we start taking

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Speaker 2: all the credit, not realizing that every good gift comes

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Speaker 2: from our Father. Then, because God won't share the glory,

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Speaker 2: he will remove his hand of favor. But if we

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Speaker 2: can just turn it around and go through the day

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Speaker 2: saying Father, thank you for my talent, Thank you for

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Speaker 2: this promotion. God, thank you for this opportunity. I know

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Speaker 2: I am where I am because you poured out your

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Speaker 2: special favor, and I give you the credit. If you'll

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Speaker 2: humble yourself like that, it says God will exalt you,

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Speaker 2: He'll increase you, and in trust you with more. Last Tuesday,

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Speaker 2: Victoria and I had the honor of having breakfast with

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Speaker 2: President Obama, some of the staff, and other Christian leaders.

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Speaker 2: And as we sat there in the in the East

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Speaker 2: room of the White House, I thought about all the

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Speaker 2: amazing things that had taken place in that building. I

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Speaker 2: couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I

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Speaker 2: remember how I worked behind the scenes with my father

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Speaker 2: doing the television production many many years. I never thought

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Speaker 2: I would be a minister, But now God's taken me

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Speaker 2: places that I've never even dreamed of. And as we

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Speaker 2: were leaving the White House that day, I could easily thought, Man,

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Speaker 2: I've really turned into something special. I've been hanging out

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Speaker 2: with the prayers now, No, it was just the opposite.

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Speaker 2: I felt an incredible sense of humility. I can say

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Speaker 2: with Paul, whatever I am, it's because God poured out

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Speaker 2: his special favor. I know it was his mercy, his blessings,

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Speaker 2: his goodness in my life. Now. I say that to say,

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Speaker 2: when you see Ephesians three point twenty come to pass

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Speaker 2: in your own life, as you see God begin to

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Speaker 2: do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond, make sure you remember

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Speaker 2: where the favor comes from. It's easy to think, Wow,

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Speaker 2: I'm pretty great now I got this new position, I

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Speaker 2: got accepted into the college that I wanted, or I

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Speaker 2: got asked to do the presentation in front of the

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Speaker 2: whole company. Anytime there's honor, recognition, increase. That spirit of

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Speaker 2: pride will come knocking on the door saying, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 2: you're right, this is all because of you. You're so smart,

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Speaker 2: you're so talented. No, don't fall into that trap. The

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Speaker 2: scripture says promotion doesn't come from people. Promotion comes from

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Speaker 2: the Lord. And yes, I know we have to do

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Speaker 2: our part, develop our gifts and talents, be focused in discipline.

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Speaker 2: But ultimately, God is the one that opens doors. God

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Speaker 2: is the one that gives good breaks. He lifts up

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Speaker 2: one and sets down another. The reason some people are

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Speaker 2: being set down is because they started taking the credit

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Speaker 2: rather than giving God the credit. But we weren't designed

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Speaker 2: to contain the glory. We were designed to pass it on.

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Speaker 2: The higher God takes you, the lower you have to go.

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Speaker 2: The more He promotes you, the more humility you have

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Speaker 2: to walk in. Let's be quick to give God the credit,

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Speaker 2: even in small things in our daily life. You get

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Speaker 2: a good deal at the mall, Thank you Lord, I

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Speaker 2: know this is your favor. Somebody pulls out and you

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Speaker 2: get a front row parking spot. Thank you Lord, I

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Speaker 2: know this is your goodness. At the office, all of

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Speaker 2: a sudden, you have a great idea. The boss loves it,

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Speaker 2: people are congratulating.

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Speaker 1: You.

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Speaker 2: Receive that encouragement. Let it build your confidence. But at

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Speaker 2: the same time have a sense of gratitude. Father, I

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Speaker 2: know every good thing comes from you, and I realize

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Speaker 2: you gave me that idea, So I give you the glory.

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Speaker 2: If you will stay small in your own eyes and

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Speaker 2: always stand in amazement of what God has done, realizing

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Speaker 2: that He's given you the gifts, the talents, the ideas,

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Speaker 2: then God will continue to take you higher and hire.

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Speaker 2: One thing that will help us to keep this spirit

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Speaker 2: of humility is we should remember where we came from

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Speaker 2: on a regular basis. It's good to look back over

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Speaker 2: your life and remember the key moments where God gave

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Speaker 2: you favor and opened up a door and you met

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Speaker 2: someone special, you got a new position that led you

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Speaker 2: to where you are now. As you remember the good

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Speaker 2: things God has done, it'll help you to stay grateful

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Speaker 2: and to realize it was God's hand of favor that

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Speaker 2: got you to where you are. I remember often walking

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Speaker 2: into the jewelry store meeting Victoria for the first time.

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Speaker 2: We fell in love and got married. The scripture says

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Speaker 2: he who finds a wife finds favor from the Lord.

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Speaker 2: I know she's brought me favor. That's good because I

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Speaker 2: need a lot of it to take care of her.

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Speaker 2: I remember as a young couple when God led us

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Speaker 2: to purchase a piece of property that ended up doubling

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Speaker 2: in value. I remember when my father went to be

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Speaker 2: with the Lord. I didn't know how to minister. We

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Speaker 2: never dreamed the church would grow. We were just trying

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Speaker 2: to maintain what my parents had built. But God had

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Speaker 2: other plans. Here we are today, in this beautiful facility.

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Speaker 2: You need to look back over your own life and

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Speaker 2: remember where God brought you from. Remember your victories. Don't

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Speaker 2: let them become so ordinary that they don't excite you anymore.

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Speaker 2: We should never lose the amazement of what God has done.

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Speaker 2: I learned this from my father. He grew up in

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Speaker 2: extreme poverty. His parents were cotton farmers that lost everything

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Speaker 2: in the Great Depression. My father dropped out of high

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Speaker 2: school so he could help his family make a living.

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Speaker 2: But when he gave his life to the Lord, he

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Speaker 2: not only went back and got his high school diploma,

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Speaker 2: but he got his college degree as well. My father

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Speaker 2: used to constantly say, Joel, can you believe where God

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Speaker 2: has taken me. We would even drive back to East

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Speaker 2: Texas where he grew up so he could see the

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Speaker 2: farm and the property that he was raised on. That

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Speaker 2: he would stand there in amazement looking out at that

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Speaker 2: property and just in awe of how God brought him

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Speaker 2: out of that defeat and poverty. And my father never

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Speaker 2: got tired of telling his testimony how he gave his

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Speaker 2: life to the Lord. He told it like it happened yesterday.

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Speaker 2: If you've been around here long, you've heard it one

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Speaker 2: hundred times. How he was lost and undone coming home

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Speaker 2: from a nightclub two o'clock in the morning. That never

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Speaker 2: got old to him. When we built the sanctuary that

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Speaker 2: holds eight thousand people, that was my father's dream. He

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Speaker 2: used to come up during the week and say, Joel,

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Speaker 2: come on, let's go look at the new sanctuary. I thought, man,

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Speaker 2: we've seen it five hundred times. But we would go

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Speaker 2: stand in the bleachers with nobody there, and my father

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Speaker 2: would just take it all in a lot of times

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Speaker 2: he'd say, hey, turn on the lights, turn on the sound,

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Speaker 2: turn on the screens. We had services in there three

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Speaker 2: times a week. He knew what it looked like, but

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Speaker 2: he never lost the amazement of what God had done.

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Speaker 2: No wonder, he was always giving God the credit. Let

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Speaker 2: me encourage you. Don't let your miracles become so old

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Speaker 2: and so stagnant that they don't excite you anymore. Don't

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Speaker 2: let the times that don't let the time that God

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Speaker 2: opened the door and gave you favor, and the time

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Speaker 2: God turned the situation around and somebody went out of

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Speaker 2: their way for no reason to be good to you.

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Speaker 2: Don't let that become old. Don't ever lose the excitement,

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Speaker 2: the amazement of what God has done. When we live

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00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 2: in awe of God's goodness and we're constantly remembering his favor,

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00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 2: then it's easy to give God the credit. We can't

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Speaker 2: contain the glory. We're too busy giving God the glory.

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Speaker 2: It's interesting. In the Old Testament, God commanded the people

435
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,399
Speaker 2: to have certain celebrations and feast, and one of the

436
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,920
Speaker 2: main reasons was so they would remember what he had done.

437
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,679
Speaker 2: And several times a year they'd all stop what they

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00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,400
Speaker 2: were doing. Everybody would take off, and they'd go celebrate

439
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 2: how God brought them out of slavery, how God protected

440
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 2: them from this enemy, and how God defeated these other

441
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,840
Speaker 2: people over here they were required to remember. They had

442
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:46,960
Speaker 2: these big feast with music and singing and dancing. Imagine

443
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 2: someone coming over to your home and you're having a

444
00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 2: big party. Everyone's having fun, the music is going. They

445
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,520
Speaker 2: ask you what kind of party? Is this a birthday party,

446
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,280
Speaker 2: super Bowl party, a wedding party? You say, no, we're

447
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 2: celebrating what God has done. Five years ago, God spared

448
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,959
Speaker 2: my life in an accident, so we're having this party tonight.

449
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,479
Speaker 2: Or ten years ago, God set me free from an addiction,

450
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,480
Speaker 2: so we're celebrating right now. Or twenty nine years ago,

451
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 2: God healed my mother from cancer, and so we're thanking

452
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 2: him once again. As you remember the great things God

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00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,560
Speaker 2: has done and you stand in awe of his amazement.

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00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,000
Speaker 2: That will help you to stay filled with gratitude. You

455
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,000
Speaker 2: can't keep the credit when you're always giving God the credit.

456
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,719
Speaker 2: Most of you know how we've had a sixty year

457
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,480
Speaker 2: lease on this facility from the city. It was always

458
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,760
Speaker 2: our desire to own it, but the lease was the

459
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,520
Speaker 2: best thing at the time. But just two weeks ago,

460
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,240
Speaker 2: the Houston City Council voted to sell us this property

461
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 2: for seven and a half million dollars, and today we

462
00:26:55,400 --> 00:27:01,600
Speaker 2: own it forever. That day that the council voted yes

463
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 2: was a Wednesday, and instead of having our normal Wednesday

464
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 2: night services, we came in here and took the whole

465
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,880
Speaker 2: time just to see, to shout, to celebrate God's goodness.

466
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 2: We were saying, God, to you be the glory. This

467
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 2: was not our own light, not our own power, but

468
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,200
Speaker 2: it was your goodness. I was thinking about how now

469
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 2: every April we have even another reason to celebrate. Now

470
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,240
Speaker 2: I'm asking you today to remember the great things God

471
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,200
Speaker 2: has done. Be quick to give him the credit, recognize

472
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 2: it's his favor in your life. If you're going to brag,

473
00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:38,960
Speaker 2: don't brag on yourself. Brag on the goodness of God.

474
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,600
Speaker 2: Stay small in your own eyes. Now, I believe in

475
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,960
Speaker 2: the coming days we're going to see God's favor like

476
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,399
Speaker 2: we've never seen it before. That means we're gonna have

477
00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 2: to walk in humility like we've never walked in it before.

478
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,680
Speaker 2: The scripture says when they wanted to make Jesus king,

479
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,200
Speaker 2: he went up higher. Friends, there's a high than just

480
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,720
Speaker 2: taking all the credit, the praise, the recognition for yourself.

481
00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,320
Speaker 2: When you go up higher and say God, I know

482
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,600
Speaker 2: you've given me every good gift. Now, I wouldn't be

483
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 2: where I am without your favor. So I give you

484
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 2: the praise, the honor, the recognition. When you have that

485
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,560
Speaker 2: kind of attitude, there's no limit to how high God

486
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,560
Speaker 2: can take you. If you study some of the greatest

487
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,680
Speaker 2: believers that ever lived, you'll find that they had a

488
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:32,880
Speaker 2: common ingredient. It wasn't their great faith, or their dynamic personality,

489
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,639
Speaker 2: or even their incredible speaking ability. The common ingredient is

490
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,080
Speaker 2: they had a spirit of humility, and they were quick

491
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,080
Speaker 2: to give God the credit. That's what the scripture says,

492
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 2: before honor comes humility. If you'll make this decision with

493
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,320
Speaker 2: me to stay small in your own eyes and be

494
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 2: quick to give God the credit, then He promises he

495
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,240
Speaker 2: will exalt you, he will increase you, and I believe

496
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 2: in declare you will live that life of victory he

497
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:05,920
Speaker 2: has in story. Amen, do you receive it today? We

498
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,719
Speaker 2: never like to close our broadcast without giving you an

499
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,800
Speaker 2: opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would

500
00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 2: you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I'll repent

501
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 2: of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you

502
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 2: my lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer.

503
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 2: We believe you got born again. Get in a good

504
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 2: Bible based church. Keep God first place in your life.

505
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 2: He'll take your places that you've never dreamed of.

506
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,320
Speaker 5: Thank you for listening to the joel Oustine podcast. Help

507
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,120
Speaker 5: us continue to share the message of hope with those

508
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:43,120
Speaker 5: all over the world. Visit Joeloustein dot com slash give

509
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:44,880
Speaker 5: Hope to give a gift today.

510
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope

511
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,480
Speaker 2: you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to

512
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,760
Speaker 2: keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you.

513
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 2: I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you

514
00:29:58,520 --> 00:29:58,960
Speaker 2: next time.

515
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,880
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