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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Furtick.

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Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.

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Speaker 2: I wanted to thank you for joining us today. I

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Speaker 2: hope this inspires you. I hope it builds your faith.

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Speaker 1: I hope it gives you perspective to see God is

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Speaker 1: moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

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Speaker 2: I want us to go to 2 Corinthians 2.

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Speaker 1: Remain standing for light one more minute.

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Speaker 2: Out of respect for God's word. Second Corinthians chapter two.

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Speaker 2: I've been messing with this passage for like four months

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Speaker 2: trying to preach it.

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Speaker 1: So today's the day. So y'all help me out because

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Speaker 1: I've been looking forward to this.

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Speaker 2: You know when, how many of y'all ever cooked a

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Speaker 2: big meal for people and they just ate it so

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Speaker 2: quick and didn't even … Yeah. That's what it's like

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Speaker 2: for me when I spend a long time looking at

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Speaker 2: a passage and y'all just yawn at me. Anyway, it's

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Speaker 2: going to be good. Second Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 10.

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Speaker 1: Anyone you forgive, I also forgive.

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Speaker 2: And what I have forgiven, if there was anything to forgive,

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Speaker 2: I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your

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Speaker 2: sake in order … that Satan might not outwit us.

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Speaker 1: For we are not unaware of his schemes.

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Speaker 2: Now, verse 12, when I went to Troas to preach

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Speaker 2: the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had

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Speaker 2: opened a door for me, I want to read that

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Speaker 2: scripture again because I've lived it.

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Speaker 1: The Lord had opened a door for me. Tell somebody,

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Speaker 1: it's not your door. It's my door. God gave it

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Speaker 1: to me.

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Speaker 2: Paul said, The Lord had opened a door for me.

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Speaker 1: Point to yourself. The Lord … Say it.

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Speaker 2: The Lord. Type this. The Lord opened a door for me.

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Speaker 1: When I.

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Speaker 2: Went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and

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Speaker 2: found that the Lord had opened a door for me …

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Speaker 2: I still had no peace of mind, because I did

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Speaker 2: not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye

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Speaker 2: to them and went on to Macedonia.

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Speaker 1: That's the Scripture.

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Speaker 2: The Lord had opened a door for me, but I

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Speaker 2: still had no peace of mind. We're going to call

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Speaker 2: this message, A Troubled Mind and an Open Door. Last

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Speaker 2: week I shared with you green light at the Red Sea.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember? Man, y'all forget quick. I've been thinking

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Speaker 1: about it all week.

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Speaker 2: At every traffic light I've been thinking about God's goodness

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Speaker 2: and how.

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Speaker 1: He gives us the ability to overcome any obstacle.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes the obstacle is the opportunity, but today we're going

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Speaker 2: to continue that thought from a little different angle.

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Speaker 1: We're going to talk about a troubled mind and an

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Speaker 1: open door. Speak, Lord, in Jesus' name.

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Speaker 2: Amen.

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Speaker 1: You may be seated.

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Speaker 2: Troubled mind and an open door. It feels like in

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Speaker 2: this text we've stepped into.

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Speaker 1: The middle of something. I don't know if.

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Speaker 2: You felt that when I was reading it, but back

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Speaker 2: around verse 10, it's kind of like one of those

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Speaker 2: tense arguments. You sometimes got caught in the middle of

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Speaker 2: a argument that you don't know how it started, but

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Speaker 2: you know I'm going to tiptoe out real quick.

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Speaker 1: We understand in the text that we're reading.

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Speaker 2: When you read Bible verses in isolation, it doesn't really

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Speaker 2: give you the integrity of the thought.

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Speaker 1: If you just read one.

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Speaker 2: Verse, that's good, but it's better to read a few

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Speaker 2: so you can understand. They taught us in seminary the

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Speaker 2: text in context, because a text without a context is

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Speaker 2: a pretext. Whatever that means, I spent like $ 50, 000 to

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Speaker 2: learn it in seminary. Interestingly enough, Paul is dealing with

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Speaker 2: one of the most important churches he ever laid the

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Speaker 2: foundation for, the church at Corinth. The church at Corinth

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Speaker 2: is responsible for a lot of Paul's pride as a

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Speaker 2: pastor and a lot of his problems. It seems in

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Speaker 2: this passage we're reading right now to the Corinthian church,

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Speaker 2: Paul finds them very important. I don't know if Paul,

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Speaker 2: that dignitary and statesman, that gospel practitioner who erected altars

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Speaker 2: for Jesus Christ and all of the known Roman world

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Speaker 2: to the Gentiles who were previously not even considered worthy

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Speaker 2: of the message … I don't know if he had favorites,

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Speaker 2: but he certainly understood that some people are more strategic

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Speaker 2: than others. It doesn't mean that somebody is more valuable

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Speaker 2: than others.

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Speaker 1: I was even out here today before church started.

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Speaker 2: I don't always do this, but today I came out

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Speaker 2: in the auditorium and sat down in one of the

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Speaker 2: seats here at.

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Speaker 1: This beautiful Ballantyne campus.

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Speaker 2: If I'm not mistaken, it was the fifth row of

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Speaker 2: this section on this side of the aisle.

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Speaker 1: One, two, three, four, five.

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Speaker 2: Five seats in. So, one, two, three, four, five. So,

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Speaker 2: you in the hunter green … Looks like shirt. I

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Speaker 2: was in your seat praying for who I was going

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Speaker 2: to preach to today, preaching to myself to get ready

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Speaker 2: to preach this morning before.

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Speaker 1: You got here. So, you feel a little something extra

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Speaker 1: over there today.

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Speaker 2: But I was thinking how in each seat is somebody

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Speaker 2: whose situation is uniquely difficult and uniquely wonderful. While we

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Speaker 2: were praising the same God a minute ago, we were

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Speaker 2: praising the same God for a lot of different things.

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Speaker 1: Somebody was praising God just because you didn't get caught.

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Speaker 2: You were praising him because you memorized Colossians in your

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Speaker 2: men's Bible study. You were praising him just because nobody

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Speaker 2: found out about it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. we preach and teach online.

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Speaker 2: Just go ahead and put your name and your city

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Speaker 2: in the chat. God has you situated. Corinth was a

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Speaker 2: city that was situated. It was important because it was

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Speaker 2: a cosmopolitan city that also represented a seaport.

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Speaker 1: It was a flourishing.

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Speaker 2: Place in terms of culture because you kind of had

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Speaker 2: to go through Corinth. It was It was the third

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Speaker 2: largest city by population in its time. The only cities

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Speaker 2: that were bigger than Corinth would be Rome and Alexandria. So,

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Speaker 2: Corinth is not only populated, but it's situated. Now, I

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Speaker 2: want you to think about this for a minute. It

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Speaker 2: was a very important city, because it was a port city.

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Speaker 2: That meant that the ships came through there, and it

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Speaker 2: was situated well enough that distribution could happen, trade could happen,

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Speaker 2: and commerce could happen because of where Corinth was situated.

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Speaker 2: On the other hand, Corinth was a very ungodly city,

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Speaker 2: because the same situation that made it so effective for

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Speaker 2: business made it susceptible to temptation. Corinth was a city

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Speaker 2: where there was a lot of sexual immorality. Back in

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Speaker 2: the Bible times, they had different problems than we have today.

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Speaker 2: They had sexual immorality even in the church. Some people

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Speaker 2: were messing around in the church at Corinth. Can you

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Speaker 2: believe those crazy Christians at Corinth? Paul spent 18 months

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Speaker 2: with them, and he couldn't cast out all these sexual devils.

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Speaker 2: He couldn't cast out all of these idolatry devils. They

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Speaker 2: were so greedy. They were getting drunk off the Lord's

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Speaker 2: communion wine in Corinth. A bunch of crazy Christians in Corinth.

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Speaker 2: I used to find it funny. People would say, I

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Speaker 2: don't go to Elevation. Back when we used to start,

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Speaker 2: they would say, I don't go to Elevation because some

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Speaker 2: of the people that go there aren't very good Christians.

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Speaker 2: I would always think, that should be your invitation to

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Speaker 2: join us. I always wish I could put a closed-circuit

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Speaker 2: camera in their house when they talk like that, just

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Speaker 2: a little Nest Cam, so I can catch you in

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Speaker 2: the middle of the night doing the crazy stuff you do.

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Speaker 1: But really ….

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Speaker 2: No, really. To get to the core of how crazy

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Speaker 2: you are, I couldn't put the camera in a room.

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Speaker 1: I'd have to put it ….

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Speaker 2: Paul is talking to a group of people who are

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Speaker 2: very important to him. He's invested a lot in them,

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Speaker 2: and they've hurt him deeply. Nobody can really hurt you

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Speaker 2: deeply if you haven't invested in them greatly. The proof

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Speaker 2: that I love you is that I have the capacity

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Speaker 2: to hate you. You can't hate somebody you don't love.

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Speaker 2: You can ignore them. You can be annoyed by them.

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Speaker 2: You can be perturbed by them. Then you can pray

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Speaker 2: for them. But you can't hate somebody you don't love.

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Speaker 2: It's not that Paul … hates the Corinthian church. It's

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Speaker 2: that his relationship with them is so important. not only

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Speaker 2: to him personally … Now, it's important personally. We find

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Speaker 2: out more about Paul through his writings to the Corinthian

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Speaker 2: church than anything else he wrote in the Bible.

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Speaker 1: The book of Romans, if you want.

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Speaker 2: To really understand Paul's theological construct for justification by faith

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Speaker 2: in Christ, not through works of the law, you should

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Speaker 2: go to the book of Romans. But if you want

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Speaker 2: to see inside of of Paul's mind, how he thinks

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Speaker 2: not only about our relationship with God but his relationship

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Speaker 2: with others.

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Speaker 1: You should read 1.

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Speaker 2: And 2 Corinthians, and it might interest you to know

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Speaker 2: that as powerful as Paul was with God, he still

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Speaker 2: had dysfunctional relationships with people through which God worked to

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Speaker 2: get the gospel to the earth. The church at Corinth

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Speaker 2: was important for Paul. It served, as it were, as

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Speaker 2: a hinge for the gospel to go forth into the

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Speaker 2: hitherto previously unevangelized Gentile world, this important church in a

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Speaker 2: seaport city that was established by the apostle himself, and

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Speaker 2: now he's having to write them about a conflict that

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Speaker 2: should have been resolved by now.

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Speaker 1: He said, I need to forgive you I need to

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Speaker 1: forgive you.

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Speaker 2: It's not that I'm saying you're not important, fifth row,

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Speaker 2: fifth seat, 100-green golf shirt, but.

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Speaker 1: All seats in this church are not created equal to me.

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Speaker 2: I've learned through time that this seat, and they probably

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Speaker 2: aren't showing it on the camera, the one where Holly

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Speaker 2: is sitting right now, that's the most important seat in

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Speaker 2: the church to me. Early in my ministry, I thought

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Speaker 2: that having all the seats full was the whole goal,

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Speaker 2: but now where I'm at in my life right now,

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Speaker 2: I think that if every seat in this church was full,

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Speaker 2: but that my wife didn't respect my life enough to

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Speaker 2: want to hear me preach what I had to say

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Speaker 2: because of the way I live at home, that I

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Speaker 2: would be a hypocrite.

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Speaker 1: I think that if this seat ….

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Speaker 2: When Holly told me last week, she said,' That spoke

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Speaker 2: to me.' I said,' Well, good, because I kind of

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Speaker 2: put some stuff in there for you.' No, I didn't.

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Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is, in the eyes of God,

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Speaker 2: fifth seat, fifth row is just as important as this one,

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Speaker 2: but not in my eyes. In the eyes of God,

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Speaker 2: there's equal value to every human being. So, if there's

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Speaker 2: a millionaire on your row and then somebody who doesn't

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Speaker 2: even know where their next meal is coming from, to God,

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Speaker 2: the worth of his children is not based on something

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Speaker 2: called net worth. or occupation or any of these opportunistic

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Speaker 2: ways we see people.

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Speaker 1: But to us, we.

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Speaker 2: Have to realize that certain things we have to learn

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Speaker 2: to prioritize what's really important in our lives, what opportunities

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Speaker 2: we give our energy to. Some of us are praying

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Speaker 2: for God to give us things he simply cannot give

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Speaker 2: us the.

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Speaker 1: Way we're asking them to come.

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Speaker 2: If we're asking God to give us peace in our lives,

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Speaker 2: but we have no priorities, we will never receive the

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Speaker 2: peace that God gave us through Jesus, who is our

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Speaker 2: peace when he died on the cross.

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Speaker 1: So that's the setup. And here's the sermon.

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Speaker 2: Paul said, When I went to preach the gospel of

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Speaker 2: Christ in Troas and found that the Lord had opened

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Speaker 2: a door for me, I still had no peace of mind.

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Speaker 2: This is Paul, the point guard of the New Testament

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Speaker 2: church to the Gentiles, saying, I had an opportunity. Now,

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Speaker 2: Paul has seen God open so many doors, and so

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Speaker 2: have you.

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Speaker 1: I said, so have you.

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Speaker 2: How many of you have seen God put you and

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Speaker 2: situate you and position you in places you could never

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Speaker 2: earn or deserve and don't know how you got here?

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Speaker 2: How many of you were smart enough and competent enough,

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Speaker 2: and you did it all by yourself, and you created

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Speaker 2: your own oxygen you breathed into the lungs you formed

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Speaker 2: with your hands in your mother's womb, Listen, even your

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Speaker 2: success was because of how God situated you. The reason

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Speaker 2: Corinth was important was because of where it sat in

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Speaker 2: relation to the Mediterranean Sea. Some of us get very

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Speaker 2: prideful about things we accomplished, but if God hadn't put

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Speaker 2: Corinth by the sea, it wouldn't have been a port city.

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Speaker 1: So, even when.

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Speaker 2: God blesses me, I understand that if he did not

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Speaker 2: give the wisdom, if he did not give the strength,

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Speaker 2: if he did not give the opportunity ….

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Speaker 1: I don't care if you're a professional tennis player.

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Speaker 2: If somebody didn't give you a racket, if somebody didn't

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Speaker 2: give you a ball.

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Speaker 1: You could have all the athletic ability in the world.

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Speaker 2: But without the opportunity God gives, all of your human

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Speaker 2: ability means nothing.

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Speaker 1: Even the ability itself comes from God.

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Speaker 2: This is what Paul knows, and that's why he uses

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Speaker 2: a phrase that we can.

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Speaker 1: Use too sometimes. We can say, the Lord opened the

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Speaker 1: door for me. The Lord opened the door for me. So,

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Speaker 1: don't be mad at me about the blessings I'm walking in.

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Speaker 1: The Lord opened those doors for me. I remember real.

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Speaker 2: Early when I was preaching, I invited myself to preach

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Speaker 2: at a church. I didn't like it. I didn't like

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Speaker 2: how it felt, because he said yes. Once I got there,

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Speaker 2: I felt like it was up to me to perform.

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Speaker 2: I was 17 years old. The Spirit of the Lord

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Speaker 2: spoke to me and said, Don't ever invite yourself somewhere

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Speaker 2: to preach again.

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Speaker 1: You can put your messages out. You can put them online.

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Speaker 2: You can use all the platforms and social media and

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Speaker 2: all that. You can do everything you can do to

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Speaker 2: get the gospel out, but don't ever situate yourself in

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Speaker 2: a position through manipulation, because then you will carry the

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Speaker 2: burden of performance. There's something awesome about knowing the Lord

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Speaker 2: opened this door. There's just something freeing about knowing the

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Speaker 2: Lord opened this door. There's something great about knowing that

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Speaker 2: God brought me into this relationship. See, you can get

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Speaker 2: into a relationship and really God not want you in it,

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Speaker 2: and then you have to spend the rest of the

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Speaker 2: relationship trying to get somebody to like a pretend version

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Speaker 2: of you that you had to put on like a

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Speaker 2: costume to get them to accept you. But if you

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Speaker 2: had to compromise yourself to gain their acceptance, what did

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Speaker 2: you really get? There's something awesome about the Lord opening doors.

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Speaker 2: There's something awesome about the Lord closing doors. Last week

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Speaker 2: we talked about the red light and the green light,

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Speaker 2: praising God for one and not the other.

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Speaker 1: Kind of foolish.

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Speaker 2: The green light is only as effective as the red light.

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Speaker 2: Do y'all want all green lights in the city of

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Speaker 2: Charlotte where everybody is just smashing into each other all

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Speaker 2: the time?

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Speaker 1: Why do we want all green lights from God?

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Speaker 2: Just to be crashing into stuff we could have avoided

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Speaker 2: if we would have heard his voice.

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Speaker 1: Pray this. Lord, open the door. Now pray this. Lord,

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Speaker 1: close the door. Either way, I want your hand on

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Speaker 1: the knob.

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Speaker 2: Everybody over 25 ought to give God a shout of praise.

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Speaker 1: You don't know to shout over that closed.

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Speaker 2: Door until at least 25.

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Speaker 1: What's interesting about this text to me.

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Speaker 2: Is that we could argue the most important figure in

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Speaker 2: the New Testament other than Jesus, who roughly over a

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Speaker 2: third of the New Testament is devoted to either his

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Speaker 2: letters or his life, Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, the

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Speaker 2: one who got knocked off of his horse on his

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Speaker 2: way to kill Christians. God closed his eyes and blinded him,

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Speaker 2: sent him to Ananias in Acts 9 to receive his sight,

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Speaker 2: and he spent the rest of his life taking the

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Speaker 2: gospel to the known world. He started at least 14 churches,

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Speaker 2: and he started out as a Christian killer. God used

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Speaker 2: him to multiply in the earth the thing he tried

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Speaker 2: to uproot in one season.

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Speaker 1: Only God could do that. Only God could.

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Speaker 2: Take somebody trained under Gamaliel get him to let go

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Speaker 2: of all the traditions of men and call it rubbish.

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Speaker 2: He said, The things I once counted as gain I

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Speaker 2: now count as loss. God has completely reversed my understanding

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Speaker 2: of my value system of what's important. What was once

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Speaker 2: gain to me I now count as loss, and what

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Speaker 2: was once loss I now count as the ultimate gain.

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Speaker 1: All I want to do.

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Speaker 2: Is know Christ, and all I want to do is

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Speaker 2: make him known as I come to know him better.

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Speaker 1: Now I know what's important. Of all the churches he establishes.

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Speaker 2: And he started at least 14 that we know about.

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Speaker 2: That doesn't count all the spinoff churches. That doesn't count

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Speaker 2: all the churches that had baby churches of baby churches

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Speaker 2: and the grandbaby churches that Paul started. Every gospel drop

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Speaker 2: that entered the Gentile world, Paul had a part in it,

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Speaker 2: sometimes sowing in tears and pain. but that's Paul who

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Speaker 2: God opened a door for. I want to say one

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Speaker 2: more thing about that before I move on to the

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Speaker 2: other that I'm going to say after I say this

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Speaker 2: about that. The whole reason Paul took the gospel to

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Speaker 2: the Gentiles was because the Jewish people rejected him. You know,

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Speaker 2: sometimes rejection is one of God's greatest doors. While Paul

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Speaker 2: was preaching in Judea, they didn't want to give up

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Speaker 2: the customs and the rights of Judaism. So God said,

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Speaker 2: That's fine. I'll open a door for you somewhere else.

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Speaker 2: When God opens a door ….

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Speaker 1: Nobody can shut it.

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Speaker 2: If the door you're standing in front of right now

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Speaker 2: won't open, it's not yours.

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Speaker 1: God will open a door in the desert.

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Speaker 2: We found out last week he'll put a green light

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Speaker 2: at a Red Sea. He will lead you through. One

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Speaker 2: of the greatest ways God will lead you in your

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Speaker 2: life is through people who don't like you and leave

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Speaker 2: your life.

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Speaker 1: To bring you to something else. I'm preaching to three people.

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Speaker 1: It's only three, Lord, but I'm going to do it.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to do it.

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Speaker 2: So, it's been some conflict with the church at Corinth,

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Speaker 2: and Paul has spent a lot of time trying to

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Speaker 2: defend himself to the people who, honestly, should have come

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Speaker 2: to his defense. At certain points, he must have struggled

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Speaker 2: with bitterness about that, Have you ever struggled about bitterness

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Speaker 2: for people who should.

359
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Speaker 1: Have taken up for you?

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Speaker 2: Or is this just only a preacher problem? Sometimes I

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Speaker 2: don't know if you go through the same things. Somebody

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Speaker 2: who should have defended you?

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Speaker 1: He spent 18 months.

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Speaker 2: With these jokers, and now he has had to write

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Speaker 2: several letters We've got 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Let

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Speaker 2: me give you a little textual background, because that's really good.

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Speaker 2: There's a lost letter that we don't have that Paul references,

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Speaker 2: and he calls it my tearful letter.

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Speaker 1: They got so crazy.

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Speaker 2: In Corinth, turning up on communion wine and things like this.

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Speaker 2: There was incest in the church at Corinth. Paul's like,

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Speaker 2: are y'all absolutely crazy? But then they had the audacity

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Speaker 2: to accuse Paul and say he wasn't a real apostle. So,

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Speaker 2: rather than validate himself, he makes a decision in 2

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Speaker 2: Corinthians 2.

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Speaker 1: He says, I'm letting it go. Isn't that amazing?

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Speaker 2: He says, the one who said all this about me,

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Speaker 2: the one … I saw it.

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Speaker 1: I heard it. I heard about it.

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Speaker 2: I'm forgiving, and I'm moving forward, and y'all need to

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Speaker 2: let it go too. because I refuse to let unforgiveness

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Speaker 2: in my heart block the future that God has for me.

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Speaker 2: He said, so I want you to forgive, because I'm forgiving,

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Speaker 2: and we have to get our mind right. Here's what happened.

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Speaker 2: This is the part of the text I couldn't figure out.

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Speaker 2: Paul saw the greatest opportunities for the gospel … the life, death,

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Speaker 2: and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. If you

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Speaker 2: believe in his name, you will be saved. That's the gospel.

389
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Speaker 2: His blood atones for your sin. You don't have to

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Speaker 2: have the blood of bulls and goats, Old Testament sacrifices.

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Speaker 2: By believing in his name, you may have life. Nothing

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Speaker 2: could stop the gospel from progressing through Paul. But he

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Speaker 2: describes something very interesting, and I want us to study

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Speaker 2: it today. He says in verse 12, Now when I

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Speaker 2: went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and

396
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Speaker 2: found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

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Speaker 2: I still had no peace of mind because I didn't

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Speaker 2: find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to

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Speaker 2: them and went on to Macedonia. Wow.

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Speaker 1: So we got Troas. That's a whole city. And we

401
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Speaker 1: got Titus. That's one person.

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Speaker 2: Let's look at this together again, because I don't know

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Speaker 2: if you had your Starbucks today, and I don't want

404
00:24:40,660 --> 00:24:43,260
Speaker 2: you to miss it. In verse 12 he said, I

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Speaker 2: went to Troas, and God gave me an open door

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Speaker 2: to share the gospel in this city. Troas is also

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Speaker 2: a port city. Look.

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Speaker 1: You see this?

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Speaker 2: Zoom in on the camera. I don't know if this

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00:24:56,670 --> 00:24:57,869
Speaker 2: will work or not. I don't know if we can

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00:24:57,890 --> 00:25:02,130
Speaker 2: get close enough, but try to focus. You can't really see.

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Speaker 2: Is there another camera?

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Speaker 1: I need to show you this. Focus. I'll be still.

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Speaker 1: You focus. That's it?

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Speaker 2: What?

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Speaker 1: This one? I want that page right there.

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Speaker 2: Y'all see my tattoo on my wedding ring finger?

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Speaker 1: Get close. Can we get closer?

419
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Speaker 2: I want to show you something, because it's a picture.

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00:25:36,510 --> 00:25:41,550
Speaker 2: That's close enough. I'm starting to get a little freaked

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Speaker 2: out now. Yeah, you see it? Can you see Corinth?

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Speaker 2: You know, we could have done this professionally. I could

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00:26:00,109 --> 00:26:05,650
Speaker 2: have put it on the screen. It could have been great. Oh, look,

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Speaker 2: there's Troas. See Troas? There's Ephesus in Macedonia. Paul is like,

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Speaker 2: I came here, Corinth, and I preached the word in

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Speaker 2: this important city, this isthmus.

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Speaker 1: That connects southern Greece to the mainland. It's important.

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Speaker 2: Everybody say, it's important. He says, you are more important

429
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Speaker 2: to me than being right is.

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to.

431
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Speaker 2: Argue with you about this because it's stopping the gospel

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Speaker 2: from flowing.

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to argue with.

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Speaker 2: You about this because there's stuff that needs to happen.

435
00:26:43,890 --> 00:26:47,109
Speaker 1: There's something important that needs to get distributed. See, Paul

436
00:26:47,150 --> 00:26:48,950
Speaker 1: understands if the church at Corinth.

437
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Speaker 2: Doesn't get right with him, it's going to affect the

438
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Speaker 2: rest of his ministry to the Gentile world. So he said,

439
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Speaker 2: I'm letting go of the offense to seize the opportunity.

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Speaker 1: Why am I preaching about that?

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Speaker 2: Because some of you are losing the opportunity, because you

442
00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:05,790
Speaker 2: won't let go of the offense.

443
00:27:12,290 --> 00:27:14,290
Speaker 1: Y'all went to sleep while I was over here messing

444
00:27:14,310 --> 00:27:16,010
Speaker 1: with this camera. Wake up.

445
00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:19,369
Speaker 2: I said the opportunity is greater than the offense.

446
00:27:25,670 --> 00:27:26,650
Speaker 1: So, that's Corinth.

447
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:43,050
Speaker 2: You see Corinth? I'm so sorry, y'all, about this. Then

448
00:27:46,050 --> 00:27:52,179
Speaker 2: there's Troas. Anyway, take my word for it. Between the

449
00:27:52,260 --> 00:27:54,120
Speaker 2: two is Macedonia.

450
00:27:54,940 --> 00:27:56,980
Speaker 1: Paul has sent a letter to the church at Corinth.

451
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,970
Speaker 1: Do you follow me so far? They said,' Paul is

452
00:27:58,990 --> 00:28:01,550
Speaker 1: not a real apostle. We like Apollos better. We don't

453
00:28:01,590 --> 00:28:02,409
Speaker 1: like Paul anymore.

454
00:28:02,609 --> 00:28:04,470
Speaker 2: He told us to put our pants on and stop

455
00:28:04,530 --> 00:28:07,370
Speaker 2: sleeping around and calling ourselves good Christians, and we don't

456
00:28:07,390 --> 00:28:09,649
Speaker 2: like that. Paul told us to straighten up. We don't

457
00:28:09,670 --> 00:28:11,980
Speaker 2: like Paul anymore. We liked him when he was telling us,'

458
00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:14,159
Speaker 2: Be saved and receive the free gift of forgiveness.' but

459
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:15,679
Speaker 2: now he's trying to put something in place that will

460
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:16,980
Speaker 2: actually help us live in Christian freedom.

461
00:28:17,140 --> 00:28:18,639
Speaker 1: We don't like that anymore. We'd rather be slaves to

462
00:28:18,660 --> 00:28:24,620
Speaker 1: these mute, deaf idols. Paul's like, no, no, no. Stop that.

463
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:25,560
Speaker 1: You have to stop that.

464
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 2: God has given you an open door. You are an

465
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:33,859
Speaker 2: important city. You are an important city. I'm not preaching

466
00:28:33,900 --> 00:28:37,340
Speaker 2: about them. I'm preaching about you. You are an important city.

467
00:28:38,580 --> 00:28:43,580
Speaker 2: You are an important city. Ah, you have the confidence

468
00:28:43,620 --> 00:28:49,550
Speaker 2: to say it out loud. I am an important city.

469
00:28:49,790 --> 00:28:52,190
Speaker 2: Even though I came from a small town, I'm an

470
00:28:52,250 --> 00:28:56,170
Speaker 2: important city. I am a shipping destination. I am a

471
00:28:56,310 --> 00:28:59,510
Speaker 2: port for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am an

472
00:28:59,710 --> 00:29:03,660
Speaker 2: opening to generational freedom. Yes, I am.

473
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:05,580
Speaker 1: I am an important city.

474
00:29:06,070 --> 00:29:09,709
Speaker 2: Oh, little town of Bethlehem, from you shall come a ruler.

475
00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:18,490
Speaker 1: I am an important city. I have an open door.

476
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:21,720
Speaker 2: God has placed opportunities in my life in.

477
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,200
Speaker 1: This season that are amazing.

478
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,520
Speaker 2: The Word of God says that if God opens a door,

479
00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:35,280
Speaker 2: nobody can shut it. That's in Revelation 3, verses 7

480
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,510
Speaker 2: and 8. The Lord told the church at Philadelphia through

481
00:29:39,530 --> 00:29:43,430
Speaker 2: the apostles, John, who was exiled on an island, and

482
00:29:43,470 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 2: God still showed him a door.

483
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,960
Speaker 1: Exiled on an island called Patmos, and God showed him

484
00:29:50,020 --> 00:29:52,460
Speaker 1: a door. Isolated in a.

485
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:57,550
Speaker 2: Terrible situation, but God showed him a door. Listen to

486
00:29:57,570 --> 00:30:00,610
Speaker 2: what he prophesied to the church at Philadelphia. He said,

487
00:30:01,630 --> 00:30:03,710
Speaker 2: These are the words of him who is holy and true,

488
00:30:04,470 --> 00:30:05,150
Speaker 2: who holds the.

489
00:30:05,110 --> 00:30:05,830
Speaker 1: Key of David.

490
00:30:06,730 --> 00:30:10,650
Speaker 2: That means that Jesus Christ has a kingdom over which

491
00:30:10,690 --> 00:30:11,890
Speaker 2: he has all authority.

492
00:30:12,780 --> 00:30:16,950
Speaker 1: The key of David. That's the God you serve. So,

493
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,540
Speaker 1: when people leave you out, you're not locked out, because

494
00:30:20,580 --> 00:30:21,680
Speaker 1: he has the key to that room.

495
00:30:28,030 --> 00:30:30,610
Speaker 2: I'm just happy, y'all, because everybody doesn't like you.

496
00:30:32,010 --> 00:30:33,490
Speaker 1: Everybody doesn't have to.

497
00:30:34,050 --> 00:30:40,170
Speaker 2: If God is for you, you don't have.

498
00:30:40,050 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 1: To say anything. You don't have to defend yourself. You

499
00:30:43,780 --> 00:30:45,280
Speaker 1: don't have to go back and forth.

500
00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:48,200
Speaker 2: Let it go and get through this door.

501
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 1: The door is yours. Okay. So he says he holds

502
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,460
Speaker 1: the key of David. What he opens … This is

503
00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:02,959
Speaker 1: speaking about salvation. This is speaking about.

504
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,340
Speaker 2: How Jesus Christ is the door, how you come to

505
00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 2: God through him, through nothing else, through no other system.

506
00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:12,580
Speaker 1: He is the author of salvation. He is the finisher

507
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,340
Speaker 1: of our faith. He holds the key of David. I'm

508
00:31:15,380 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: preaching about Jesus now. I'm preaching about Jesus.

509
00:31:18,260 --> 00:31:20,719
Speaker 2: He said, What I open, no one can shut, and

510
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:22,900
Speaker 2: what he shuts, no one can open.

511
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,370
Speaker 1: Next verse, please. Let's stay on this for a second.

512
00:31:25,790 --> 00:31:29,470
Speaker 1: I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you

513
00:31:31,150 --> 00:31:31,730
Speaker 1: an open door.

514
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:37,390
Speaker 2: The Lord said, I've placed before you. It's not going

515
00:31:37,410 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 2: to be in your past. That's why Paul had to forgive.

516
00:31:48,740 --> 00:31:54,500
Speaker 2: He said, whatever happened, that whatever they did, Now, look,

517
00:31:54,580 --> 00:31:56,280
Speaker 2: Paul forgave the guy, but he didn't put him on

518
00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:01,860
Speaker 2: his senior leadership team. He just said, I'm going through

519
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,979
Speaker 2: the door. And what he opens, no one can shut.

520
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,380
Speaker 2: What he shuts, no one can open. I have put

521
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,959
Speaker 2: before you an open door that no one can shut. Now,

522
00:32:11,010 --> 00:32:13,230
Speaker 2: listen to this, what God says to the church at Philadelphia,

523
00:32:13,530 --> 00:32:14,870
Speaker 2: and I believe he might say it to the church

524
00:32:14,890 --> 00:32:15,590
Speaker 2: at Elevation too.

525
00:32:18,370 --> 00:32:23,670
Speaker 1: I know you have little strength. It's not about strength.

526
00:32:25,230 --> 00:32:31,770
Speaker 2: Can I show you something? This is really cool. Everybody say, strength. Now,

527
00:32:31,830 --> 00:32:39,420
Speaker 2: everybody say, scheme. Go back to 2 Corinthians 2. Verse

528
00:32:39,420 --> 00:32:40,620
Speaker 2: 11 is one of those that I've read out of

529
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,880
Speaker 2: context for years. I didn't even really know what it meant.

530
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,480
Speaker 2: I never really read it in the context of Paul's conflict,

531
00:32:47,540 --> 00:32:49,980
Speaker 2: but now I have, and I saw something. He said

532
00:32:50,030 --> 00:32:52,550
Speaker 2: in verse 11, we have to forgive and get through

533
00:32:52,590 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 2: this in order that Satan might not outwit us, for.

534
00:32:57,380 --> 00:32:58,180
Speaker 1: We are not aware of his schemes.

535
00:32:58,220 --> 00:33:01,300
Speaker 2: Now, what was interesting to me is he didn't say,

536
00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:03,950
Speaker 2: in order that Satan … Put the verse back up.

537
00:33:04,310 --> 00:33:09,350
Speaker 2: He didn't say, in order that Satan might not overpower us.

538
00:33:11,790 --> 00:33:16,900
Speaker 2: He said, outwit us, because the battle is not about strength.

539
00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:26,590
Speaker 2: It's about strategy. Put this in the chat. Say it

540
00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:28,990
Speaker 2: out loud if you're with me in the room. It's

541
00:33:29,050 --> 00:33:36,670
Speaker 2: about the strategy. Satan is not stronger than you. We

542
00:33:36,710 --> 00:33:39,590
Speaker 2: just read this. If God opens a door, nobody can

543
00:33:39,630 --> 00:33:45,310
Speaker 2: shut it. No devil, no depression, no trauma, no abuse.

544
00:33:46,290 --> 00:33:51,010
Speaker 2: Nothing can stop the gospel of Jesus Christ from going

545
00:33:51,070 --> 00:33:54,250
Speaker 2: forth in your life, in your heart, in your marriage.

546
00:33:54,970 --> 00:33:59,370
Speaker 2: We give the Devil too much credit sometimes, because we'll say, oh, well,

547
00:33:59,410 --> 00:34:02,110
Speaker 2: the Devil is attacking my marriage.

548
00:34:02,150 --> 00:34:05,460
Speaker 1: The Devil is attacking my finances. That's where you're feeling it,

549
00:34:05,730 --> 00:34:07,520
Speaker 1: but that's not where the attack is happening.

550
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:13,600
Speaker 2: He didn't say in order that Satan might not overpower us,

551
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:18,040
Speaker 2: because that would make it about your strength. We already

552
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:22,589
Speaker 2: know from John 16.33 that Jesus said,' Peace I give

553
00:34:22,630 --> 00:34:22,950
Speaker 2: to you.

554
00:34:23,510 --> 00:34:24,850
Speaker 1: My peace I leave with you.

555
00:34:26,010 --> 00:34:29,710
Speaker 2: In the world you will have trouble, but take heart.

556
00:34:30,610 --> 00:34:36,960
Speaker 2: I have overcome the world.' It's not about the trouble

557
00:34:37,020 --> 00:34:39,440
Speaker 2: in front of you. We could have a testimony service

558
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:40,160
Speaker 2: about your trouble.

559
00:34:40,460 --> 00:34:42,540
Speaker 1: What's the point? We could all line up and play,

560
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,680
Speaker 1: Can I top your trouble? I have a headache. I

561
00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:46,739
Speaker 1: have a backache. I don't have a back. I don't

562
00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:50,020
Speaker 1: have a head. I'm decapitated. I've seen people do it, and.

563
00:34:49,950 --> 00:34:52,230
Speaker 2: We top each other with our trouble, but that's not

564
00:34:52,250 --> 00:34:56,410
Speaker 2: what this is about, is it? It's not about what's

565
00:34:56,430 --> 00:34:59,950
Speaker 2: happening in my life. Satan is not stronger than you.

566
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,739
Speaker 2: He can't make you do anything. If God opens a

567
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,600
Speaker 2: door to freedom, if God opens a sea, you can

568
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,340
Speaker 2: go through it. I don't care who's chasing you. I

569
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,560
Speaker 2: don't care who said you couldn't. I don't care how

570
00:35:13,620 --> 00:35:14,320
Speaker 2: long you've.

571
00:35:14,180 --> 00:35:22,299
Speaker 1: Struggled with it. It's not about who's stronger. It's about

572
00:35:22,340 --> 00:35:29,940
Speaker 1: who's smarter. you're like, Well, that's Jesus. Jesus has overcome

573
00:35:29,980 --> 00:35:31,719
Speaker 1: the world. I'm not Jesus.

574
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,940
Speaker 2: But 1 John 4 says, Greater is he that is

575
00:35:34,980 --> 00:35:36,180
Speaker 2: in you than he that is in the world.

576
00:35:38,260 --> 00:35:43,839
Speaker 1: So he's not stronger. That's not why you're stuck. He's

577
00:35:43,860 --> 00:35:45,970
Speaker 1: not stronger. You have the Spirit of God.

578
00:35:47,010 --> 00:35:50,790
Speaker 2: He's not stronger. The condemnation that haunts you in your

579
00:35:50,830 --> 00:35:53,010
Speaker 2: midnight hour has been nailed to the cross.

580
00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,660
Speaker 1: The written regulations have been nailed to the cross. That's

581
00:35:56,780 --> 00:36:00,300
Speaker 1: dealt with. That is not what is standing at the door.

582
00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:06,040
Speaker 1: Paul said, I had an open door, but I had

583
00:36:06,060 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 1: a troubled mind.

584
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,600
Speaker 2: So, he sent Titus with a letter to the Corinthian church,

585
00:36:13,070 --> 00:36:14,370
Speaker 2: because he didn't know if things were going to be

586
00:36:14,410 --> 00:36:17,569
Speaker 2: all right. You know your body can be one place

587
00:36:17,610 --> 00:36:21,370
Speaker 2: and your mind can be another. Paul is at Troas,

588
00:36:21,410 --> 00:36:24,399
Speaker 2: and God has given him opportunities, and he can preached

589
00:36:24,420 --> 00:36:28,120
Speaker 2: the gospel to a whole city. He said, but I

590
00:36:28,180 --> 00:36:32,509
Speaker 2: couldn't find Titus, so I left. It didn't like he

591
00:36:32,550 --> 00:36:37,450
Speaker 2: left because he wanted to. When Paul says in verse 13,

592
00:36:37,450 --> 00:36:40,830
Speaker 2: he said, I said goodbye. That's the only time he

593
00:36:40,910 --> 00:36:45,120
Speaker 2: uses that phrase in all of Scripture. It's a solemn farewell.

594
00:36:45,180 --> 00:36:48,500
Speaker 2: He's almost embarrassed about it. He's like, I couldn't get

595
00:36:48,540 --> 00:36:50,580
Speaker 2: my mind right, so I couldn't seize the opportunity.

596
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:53,660
Speaker 1: Now, that hit me.

597
00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,120
Speaker 2: I'm trying to raise these kids, you see, and I

598
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:02,070
Speaker 2: know God has given me an opportunity to be a

599
00:37:02,110 --> 00:37:08,350
Speaker 2: great father. Sometimes, if I'm honest with you, I'm sitting

600
00:37:08,390 --> 00:37:11,629
Speaker 2: at the table with them, and my body is there,

601
00:37:13,370 --> 00:37:20,110
Speaker 2: but my mind is on other stuff. Some of it

602
00:37:20,950 --> 00:37:26,589
Speaker 2: is real, and some of it is completely fabricated. stuff

603
00:37:26,610 --> 00:37:33,240
Speaker 2: that might happen three years from now, maybe. So, my

604
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:37,339
Speaker 2: mind will drift to the possibly and.

605
00:37:36,060 --> 00:37:41,279
Speaker 1: Slip away from the present. When I saw Paul, I

606
00:37:41,340 --> 00:37:41,799
Speaker 1: saw us.

607
00:37:43,180 --> 00:37:45,060
Speaker 2: He said, I was in Troas, and so was the

608
00:37:45,140 --> 00:37:49,620
Speaker 2: open door God gave me. Great things could have happened

609
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:53,680
Speaker 2: in Troas, but I had to say goodbye, not because

610
00:37:53,700 --> 00:37:57,310
Speaker 2: of the trouble in Troas, because my mind was trouble.

611
00:38:01,230 --> 00:38:03,330
Speaker 2: The Enemy wants to mess with your mind so much

612
00:38:05,860 --> 00:38:09,540
Speaker 2: that you can't even go through the doors God opens

613
00:38:09,580 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 2: for you, that you can't even enjoy the moments God

614
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,440
Speaker 2: gives you. He wants to mess with your mind and

615
00:38:18,660 --> 00:38:24,250
Speaker 2: scramble your perspective to the point where you can't even

616
00:38:24,450 --> 00:38:25,430
Speaker 2: focus long enough.

617
00:38:26,870 --> 00:38:32,310
Speaker 1: Sit down and pray about something.

618
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,390
Speaker 2: He wants to get you so focused on something …

619
00:38:37,540 --> 00:38:39,540
Speaker 2: I put down four things that spell the word door

620
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:42,819
Speaker 2: with each first letter. One was the disappointments in your life.

621
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,740
Speaker 2: One was the outcomes you can't control.

622
00:38:48,460 --> 00:38:48,980
Speaker 1: That's the O.

623
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,160
Speaker 2: Disappointments, outcomes. One we mentioned, the offenses you can't get over.

624
00:38:56,370 --> 00:39:02,880
Speaker 2: One is the regrets of the opportunities you can't get back.

625
00:39:02,930 --> 00:39:07,520
Speaker 2: I realized that not only does God use open doors,

626
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:13,739
Speaker 2: so does Satan. Have you ever opened a door in

627
00:39:13,780 --> 00:39:20,370
Speaker 2: your mind to the Devil, a door of just going

628
00:39:20,410 --> 00:39:24,230
Speaker 2: down a trail? I like to imagine the Bible How

629
00:39:24,310 --> 00:39:28,339
Speaker 2: different it was from our day Look, if there would

630
00:39:28,390 --> 00:39:30,930
Speaker 2: have been technology today like there would have been …

631
00:39:30,969 --> 00:39:34,049
Speaker 2: If Paul would have had the same technology as us, rather,

632
00:39:34,590 --> 00:39:37,930
Speaker 2: none of this would have been an issue. What Paul

633
00:39:37,969 --> 00:39:41,049
Speaker 2: does … He sends Titus with a letter. Remember, I

634
00:39:41,090 --> 00:39:42,150
Speaker 2: tried to show you on the Bible.

635
00:39:42,170 --> 00:39:42,609
Speaker 1: Don't worry.

636
00:39:42,630 --> 00:39:44,310
Speaker 2: We are not going through that again with the camera.

637
00:39:46,030 --> 00:39:51,100
Speaker 2: He sends Titus back to Corinth over the and he goes,

638
00:39:51,180 --> 00:39:53,819
Speaker 2: All right, you go to Corinth, and when you get back,

639
00:39:53,900 --> 00:39:55,560
Speaker 2: tell me how it's going. Tell me if they received

640
00:39:55,580 --> 00:39:58,060
Speaker 2: my correction. He's trying to reconcile the relationship, but he

641
00:39:58,100 --> 00:40:01,060
Speaker 2: sends Titus with the letter, his trustworthy companion in the gospel.

642
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:02,910
Speaker 1: He said, Titus, when you get there and find out,

643
00:40:02,930 --> 00:40:03,259
Speaker 1: let me know.

644
00:40:04,739 --> 00:40:07,330
Speaker 2: Now, if this would have had a Zoom call, if

645
00:40:07,370 --> 00:40:09,790
Speaker 2: Paul could have got on a Zoom call, just imagine

646
00:40:09,810 --> 00:40:15,650
Speaker 2: with me, he could have stayed in Troas. Titus would

647
00:40:15,670 --> 00:40:17,850
Speaker 2: have gotten on the Zoom call and said, Hey, Paul.

648
00:40:18,330 --> 00:40:18,910
Speaker 1: It's all good.

649
00:40:18,930 --> 00:40:20,270
Speaker 2: I have Aquila and Priscilla here.

650
00:40:21,489 --> 00:40:24,569
Speaker 1: We're all here on the Zoom call, Paul. It's all good, Paul.

651
00:40:24,590 --> 00:40:25,230
Speaker 1: We're all good.

652
00:40:25,489 --> 00:40:27,779
Speaker 2: They got your letter, and they love you, and it's

653
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,600
Speaker 2: all good, and whatever, whatever. But see, the reason I

654
00:40:30,620 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 2: wanted to show you the map is because between Corinth,

655
00:40:34,020 --> 00:40:38,680
Speaker 2: where Paul's mind was, and Troas, where his body was,

656
00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:43,049
Speaker 2: there was a sea, and to me it looked like

657
00:40:43,110 --> 00:40:47,210
Speaker 2: my mind. It looked like how sometimes my body is

658
00:40:47,250 --> 00:40:49,969
Speaker 2: in one place, but my mind.

659
00:40:49,790 --> 00:40:52,710
Speaker 1: Is in another. Paul, with a note of sadness, said,

660
00:40:53,270 --> 00:40:57,469
Speaker 1: I had to say goodbye to the opportunity God gave me,

661
00:40:58,030 --> 00:41:01,650
Speaker 1: because I couldn't get my mind right in the process.

662
00:41:04,650 --> 00:41:08,240
Speaker 2: Has that been you? Let me give you a little

663
00:41:08,260 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 2: test to see if that's been you. Have you been

664
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,259
Speaker 2: not letting new people love you.

665
00:41:13,820 --> 00:41:15,150
Speaker 1: Because of how old people hurt you?

666
00:41:19,830 --> 00:41:24,569
Speaker 2: Have you stopped trusting people, period, because you found out

667
00:41:24,590 --> 00:41:28,950
Speaker 2: that people are not trustworthy totally? You never should trust

668
00:41:29,130 --> 00:41:32,160
Speaker 2: anyone totally other than God. Even if they want to

669
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:33,420
Speaker 2: do good for you, they're going to let you down.

670
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:37,299
Speaker 2: They can't help it. It's the human condition. But for

671
00:41:37,340 --> 00:41:38,899
Speaker 2: you to sit there and go, well, I'll never trust

672
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:40,819
Speaker 2: anybody with anything again. I've got to do it all

673
00:41:40,860 --> 00:41:42,239
Speaker 2: on my own. If you want something done right, you've

674
00:41:42,260 --> 00:41:44,290
Speaker 2: got to do it yourself. Yeah, people are just people,

675
00:41:44,330 --> 00:41:45,830
Speaker 2: and you're one of them, and Jesus died for all

676
00:41:45,850 --> 00:41:47,230
Speaker 2: of us. So you've got to get back in the

677
00:41:47,270 --> 00:41:49,810
Speaker 2: game and do some stuff in this life and not

678
00:41:49,850 --> 00:41:56,509
Speaker 2: get so bitter that you don't go through the door.

679
00:41:57,770 --> 00:42:03,400
Speaker 2: Have you been standing at an open door, but the

680
00:42:03,460 --> 00:42:05,800
Speaker 2: enemy has got your mind so troubled?

681
00:42:06,890 --> 00:42:07,780
Speaker 1: But you can't go through it.

682
00:42:10,450 --> 00:42:12,489
Speaker 2: I mean, like real opportunities God has given you to

683
00:42:12,530 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 2: be fruitful, but you're scarred.

684
00:42:16,700 --> 00:42:18,719
Speaker 1: Not only scarred. Scarred is good. It means it's healed.

685
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:24,799
Speaker 2: You're wounded, and the wound is still open, so now

686
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,299
Speaker 2: the door is closing, and weeks and months of your

687
00:42:28,340 --> 00:42:34,410
Speaker 2: life are slipping away. You say goodbye to Troas, and

688
00:42:34,430 --> 00:42:37,790
Speaker 2: you go to Macedonia. Why was Paul so desperate to

689
00:42:37,870 --> 00:42:43,230
Speaker 2: find Titus? Titus had the news. If Titus could have

690
00:42:43,290 --> 00:42:48,200
Speaker 2: texted Paul, this could have all been over with. But

691
00:42:48,239 --> 00:42:52,080
Speaker 2: they didn't have a text message. It takes months to

692
00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:56,220
Speaker 2: cross the Mediterranean Sea. So, Paul is waiting for Titus

693
00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,200
Speaker 2: to see, is it all right in Corinth? Is it

694
00:42:58,219 --> 00:42:59,900
Speaker 2: going to be all right? Are they going to accept

695
00:42:59,940 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 2: the correction? Are they back on track because he loves

696
00:43:02,060 --> 00:43:05,009
Speaker 2: them and they're important? Every day that goes by, Titus

697
00:43:05,030 --> 00:43:12,850
Speaker 2: doesn't show up. Paul's mind gets more and more burdened. Honestly,

698
00:43:14,140 --> 00:43:19,040
Speaker 2: I can't last five minutes that somebody doesn't text me back,

699
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 2: that I don't start making up the most screwed-up scenarios

700
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:24,339
Speaker 2: in my head.

701
00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:29,890
Speaker 1: So, I feel for Paul. I'm serious.

702
00:43:29,969 --> 00:43:35,580
Speaker 2: If I don't see bubbles within 25 seconds … In

703
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:39,400
Speaker 2: my mind, she's dead. The car has flipped seven times.

704
00:43:39,780 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 1: It's horrible. I know it's kind of funny, but it's

705
00:43:42,140 --> 00:43:44,300
Speaker 1: really not in the moment. Anybody like me?

706
00:43:44,460 --> 00:43:48,239
Speaker 2: You have two minutes to respond to me, and I'm

707
00:43:48,260 --> 00:43:48,700
Speaker 2: freaking out.

708
00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:50,560
Speaker 1: Maybe they don't like me anymore. Maybe they don't respond

709
00:43:50,580 --> 00:43:51,080
Speaker 1: to me anymore.

710
00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:53,180
Speaker 2: When it's on green, when I text you and it's

711
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:56,220
Speaker 2: on green instead of blue on my iPhone, Oh, my God.

712
00:43:56,450 --> 00:43:58,569
Speaker 2: Last week I preached about green, but if the text

713
00:43:58,610 --> 00:44:00,989
Speaker 2: comes back green, you have your phone off. You don't

714
00:44:01,030 --> 00:44:02,790
Speaker 2: ever want to talk to me again. I can get

715
00:44:02,950 --> 00:44:07,150
Speaker 2: so offended. I am so bad at interpreting silence and space,

716
00:44:07,230 --> 00:44:08,650
Speaker 2: and so this.

717
00:44:08,570 --> 00:44:09,450
Speaker 1: Is Paul's moment.

718
00:44:09,969 --> 00:44:12,710
Speaker 2: Paul is like, I sent Titus to find out, and

719
00:44:12,750 --> 00:44:15,810
Speaker 2: I couldn't find Titus, so I left Troas because I.

720
00:44:15,790 --> 00:44:16,810
Speaker 1: Couldn't find Titus.

721
00:44:18,730 --> 00:44:21,470
Speaker 2: I left the open door because I had no peace.

722
00:44:24,270 --> 00:44:29,400
Speaker 2: I left the opportunity because although the door was open … See,

723
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:32,200
Speaker 2: that's the enemy's strategy. That's why he says.

724
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:33,920
Speaker 1: You can't let the Devil outwit you.

725
00:44:34,340 --> 00:44:38,859
Speaker 2: He is using stuff that hasn't even happened yet to

726
00:44:38,980 --> 00:44:41,680
Speaker 2: run you off from opportunities that are right in front

727
00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:42,010
Speaker 2: of you.

728
00:44:42,030 --> 00:44:45,230
Speaker 1: You see how smart he is?

729
00:44:45,510 --> 00:44:49,150
Speaker 2: He's bringing movies from the past. He is bringing classic

730
00:44:49,250 --> 00:44:54,000
Speaker 2: movies back. That happened 20 years ago. It keeps you

731
00:44:54,020 --> 00:44:56,259
Speaker 2: from seeing what's standing two feet in front of you.

732
00:44:58,780 --> 00:45:02,450
Speaker 2: But God said, when I open the door, no Devil

733
00:45:02,510 --> 00:45:07,410
Speaker 2: can shut it. The reason the Devil is at the

734
00:45:07,430 --> 00:45:11,810
Speaker 2: door to begin with is because what God has on

735
00:45:11,870 --> 00:45:12,770
Speaker 2: the other side of.

736
00:45:12,810 --> 00:45:20,760
Speaker 1: It is so important. There will always be a Devil

737
00:45:20,820 --> 00:45:21,259
Speaker 1: at the door.

738
00:45:22,310 --> 00:45:26,010
Speaker 2: Of anything important that God brings you into, of anything

739
00:45:26,070 --> 00:45:29,219
Speaker 2: significant that God brings you into. There will always be

740
00:45:29,260 --> 00:45:33,620
Speaker 2: an enemy to anything significant. Do you know why there's

741
00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:36,299
Speaker 2: a Devil at the door? Because what is on the

742
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:40,510
Speaker 2: other side really matters. You are an important city. You

743
00:45:40,590 --> 00:45:43,910
Speaker 2: are a chosen vessel. You might not be Paul, but

744
00:45:44,010 --> 00:45:44,770
Speaker 2: God has.

745
00:45:44,690 --> 00:45:49,610
Speaker 1: Something with your name on it. There's a Devil at

746
00:45:49,650 --> 00:45:49,950
Speaker 1: the door.

747
00:45:51,540 --> 00:45:53,940
Speaker 2: The bigger the opportunity is, the bigger the Devil is

748
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:54,379
Speaker 2: going to be.

749
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:56,040
Speaker 1: Don't you know that by now?

750
00:45:57,700 --> 00:45:59,580
Speaker 2: The bigger it is what's on the other side of

751
00:45:59,620 --> 00:46:01,640
Speaker 2: the door … You may ask God, why am I

752
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,550
Speaker 2: having to go through all this? A while back …

753
00:46:05,570 --> 00:46:09,270
Speaker 2: I don't know how to tell you this story, because

754
00:46:09,330 --> 00:46:13,950
Speaker 2: it's kind of tender to me. I was about to

755
00:46:13,989 --> 00:46:17,910
Speaker 2: do something really significant in this ministry. I can't tell

756
00:46:17,930 --> 00:46:20,530
Speaker 2: you what it was, because it would kind of exposed

757
00:46:20,570 --> 00:46:21,870
Speaker 2: me too much, and I'm not ready to have a

758
00:46:21,890 --> 00:46:29,779
Speaker 2: relationship with you on that level yet. On the way

759
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:31,919
Speaker 2: to the thing I was going to do, I broke

760
00:46:31,940 --> 00:46:34,960
Speaker 2: down crying. I don't cry a whole lot. Only Rudy

761
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:37,860
Speaker 2: and Rocky III can make me cry. Third time in

762
00:46:37,890 --> 00:46:43,149
Speaker 2: my life I ever cry. Holly has seen me cry

763
00:46:43,190 --> 00:46:47,230
Speaker 2: so little she thought I was playing. She said, Stop playing.

764
00:46:48,150 --> 00:46:53,009
Speaker 2: This is not funny, because my head was I was

765
00:46:53,050 --> 00:46:55,529
Speaker 2: laying on the bed, and my head was down on

766
00:46:55,550 --> 00:46:59,029
Speaker 2: the pillow. She said, Stop playing. I couldn't answer to

767
00:46:59,050 --> 00:47:00,650
Speaker 2: tell her I wasn't playing because I was crying. I

768
00:47:00,690 --> 00:47:05,310
Speaker 2: didn't know why I was crying. Nobody had just died.

769
00:47:08,370 --> 00:47:11,270
Speaker 2: I didn't have any technical reason to be sad in

770
00:47:11,290 --> 00:47:15,650
Speaker 2: that moment. But what was on the other side of

771
00:47:15,710 --> 00:47:21,540
Speaker 2: that evening was so important. I believe there was a

772
00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:26,480
Speaker 2: devil at the door. There is always a devil at

773
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:29,960
Speaker 2: the door when God is bringing you into something important.

774
00:47:32,150 --> 00:47:34,750
Speaker 2: Why do you think kids get demon-possessed as they go

775
00:47:34,770 --> 00:47:35,370
Speaker 2: through puberty?

776
00:47:45,270 --> 00:47:48,710
Speaker 1: If you don't know that, you'll think, the Devil is

777
00:47:48,750 --> 00:47:51,330
Speaker 1: at the door. This must not be God. No, no, no.

778
00:47:52,430 --> 00:47:57,569
Speaker 1: The Devil is giving you an indication that this is

779
00:47:57,690 --> 00:47:58,279
Speaker 1: so big.

780
00:47:59,590 --> 00:48:03,879
Speaker 2: This is so important. This might be a lifesaving word

781
00:48:03,900 --> 00:48:05,940
Speaker 2: for somebody. Have you thought about this? Somebody might be

782
00:48:05,980 --> 00:48:08,060
Speaker 2: on the brink of suicide while I'm preaching, and they

783
00:48:08,100 --> 00:48:12,200
Speaker 2: can't understand, why am I feeling this depressed? Why am

784
00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:13,520
Speaker 2: I going through this darkness?

785
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:15,520
Speaker 1: But what you might not know.

786
00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:17,900
Speaker 2: Is that the size of the Devil that is at

787
00:48:17,940 --> 00:48:23,330
Speaker 2: your door indicates the size of the assignment that is

788
00:48:23,430 --> 00:48:26,250
Speaker 2: on your life. Don't die here.

789
00:48:26,930 --> 00:48:31,250
Speaker 1: This is a door. This is a door. This is

790
00:48:31,330 --> 00:48:31,810
Speaker 1: a door.

791
00:48:33,520 --> 00:48:40,620
Speaker 2: And the door God opens nobody can shut. Don't you

792
00:48:40,660 --> 00:48:42,819
Speaker 2: let the Devil use the door of what you don't

793
00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:46,720
Speaker 2: know to fill your mind with hypothetical scenarios.

794
00:48:46,540 --> 00:48:51,820
Speaker 1: That cause your heart to close. There's always a Devil

795
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:52,339
Speaker 1: at the door.

796
00:48:53,440 --> 00:48:56,660
Speaker 2: There's always an insecurity as you move deeper into your

797
00:48:56,700 --> 00:48:59,860
Speaker 2: purpose and your awareness of your true condition in Christ.

798
00:49:01,710 --> 00:49:07,200
Speaker 2: He can't close the door God opens. All he can

799
00:49:07,219 --> 00:49:12,299
Speaker 2: do is try to get your mind so screwed up

800
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,390
Speaker 2: that as you wait for Titus to bring you news,

801
00:49:17,890 --> 00:49:21,939
Speaker 2: you say goodbye to Troas. We don't see Paul walk

802
00:49:21,960 --> 00:49:26,359
Speaker 2: away from any other open doors in Scripture, but he said,

803
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:27,500
Speaker 2: I had no peace of mind.

804
00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:31,520
Speaker 1: You know what?

805
00:49:33,500 --> 00:49:37,850
Speaker 2: Four chapters go by, and Paul doesn't even mention what

806
00:49:37,890 --> 00:49:43,960
Speaker 2: happens next. I said goodbye to Troas. I went to Macedonia,

807
00:49:43,980 --> 00:49:49,629
Speaker 2: most probably Philippi, and I waited for Titus. Every day

808
00:49:49,650 --> 00:49:52,890
Speaker 2: that I didn't see Titus, I started making up stuff

809
00:49:52,950 --> 00:50:00,489
Speaker 2: in my mind. The Enemy is using a story to

810
00:50:00,530 --> 00:50:05,939
Speaker 2: keep you from going through your door. They won't really

811
00:50:05,980 --> 00:50:11,170
Speaker 2: like you. They won't really accept you. Nobody really cares

812
00:50:11,250 --> 00:50:16,029
Speaker 2: about you. You don't have what it takes. You're going

813
00:50:16,050 --> 00:50:18,870
Speaker 2: to fail, and everybody is going to laugh. He can't

814
00:50:18,930 --> 00:50:21,230
Speaker 2: close the door, but he can tell you a story.

815
00:50:23,710 --> 00:50:27,050
Speaker 2: Every day Titus doesn't show up, Paul has a little

816
00:50:27,070 --> 00:50:30,279
Speaker 2: bit harder time trusting that everything is going to be

817
00:50:30,300 --> 00:50:37,239
Speaker 2: all right. It isn't until chapter 7, verse 5 of

818
00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:41,100
Speaker 2: 2 Corinthians … we see that what Paul was so

819
00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:54,029
Speaker 2: troubled about, God had already worked out. He said, when

820
00:50:54,070 --> 00:50:59,129
Speaker 2: we got to Macedonia … We left Troas. We got

821
00:50:59,150 --> 00:51:03,950
Speaker 2: to Macedonia. We had no rest. On every side …

822
00:51:04,030 --> 00:51:07,400
Speaker 2: Watch this. This is the trouble on the outside. He said,

823
00:51:08,250 --> 00:51:13,629
Speaker 2: harassed at every turn, conflicts on the outside, but that's

824
00:51:13,650 --> 00:51:14,410
Speaker 2: not what stops you.

825
00:51:15,830 --> 00:51:17,910
Speaker 1: It's never the conflicts on the outside that stop you.

826
00:51:19,290 --> 00:51:21,469
Speaker 2: Somebody else has overcome much more than you to get

827
00:51:21,489 --> 00:51:29,620
Speaker 2: where they are, but it's the fears within, Paul said. Then,

828
00:51:31,020 --> 00:51:35,259
Speaker 2: after months and months of wondering, who am I preaching to?

829
00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:36,760
Speaker 1: I I know.

830
00:51:36,610 --> 00:51:39,120
Speaker 2: It's been about an hour I've been up here talking,

831
00:51:39,440 --> 00:51:42,520
Speaker 2: but I've been talking to you, haven't I? It's been

832
00:51:42,580 --> 00:51:46,279
Speaker 2: months you've been wondering. It's been in a suspended state

833
00:51:46,300 --> 00:51:48,520
Speaker 2: for months. Every day you waited for Titus, and he

834
00:51:48,540 --> 00:51:54,370
Speaker 2: didn't come with news of the solution, the outcome.

835
00:51:54,550 --> 00:51:56,950
Speaker 1: It's your mind.

836
00:51:57,170 --> 00:51:59,730
Speaker 2: Your mind is like that Mediterranean Sea where you wonder,

837
00:52:01,210 --> 00:52:04,470
Speaker 2: is everything going to be all right? But he said

838
00:52:04,510 --> 00:52:16,310
Speaker 2: in verse 6… But God who comforts the downcast comforted

839
00:52:16,969 --> 00:52:21,739
Speaker 2: us by the coming of Titus. The word of the

840
00:52:21,780 --> 00:52:26,860
Speaker 2: Lord is Titus is here, because when Titus finally arrived,

841
00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:32,450
Speaker 2: verse 7, he said he not only comforted us by

842
00:52:32,510 --> 00:52:35,600
Speaker 2: his physical presence and his coming, but by the comfort

843
00:52:35,640 --> 00:52:37,880
Speaker 2: you had given him. He told us about your longing

844
00:52:37,920 --> 00:52:40,600
Speaker 2: for him, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me,

845
00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:48,049
Speaker 2: so that my joy was greater than ever.

846
00:52:48,450 --> 00:52:54,410
Speaker 1: Joy is coming.

847
00:52:55,450 --> 00:53:00,480
Speaker 2: Hope is coming. Reconciliation is coming. The restoration of all

848
00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:04,320
Speaker 2: things is coming. I declare it by faith, not by sight.

849
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:07,620
Speaker 2: My eyes haven't seen it yet, but I know it

850
00:53:07,660 --> 00:53:14,960
Speaker 2: in my heart. Titus is coming. He said, I spent

851
00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:19,600
Speaker 2: all those months worried about something that God had already

852
00:53:19,660 --> 00:53:27,799
Speaker 2: worked out. So, you're standing before an open door. You

853
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:29,549
Speaker 2: don't always see it. You don't always feel it. You

854
00:53:29,590 --> 00:53:34,210
Speaker 2: can't identify it. you have a troubled mind. But let's

855
00:53:34,230 --> 00:53:35,010
Speaker 2: just take a moment.

856
00:53:35,050 --> 00:53:40,030
Speaker 1: Stand up. Let's just take a moment and be still

857
00:53:40,070 --> 00:53:41,050
Speaker 1: in the presence of God.

858
00:53:41,070 --> 00:53:47,330
Speaker 2: Because all the conflict on the outside is nothing compared

859
00:53:47,370 --> 00:53:56,110
Speaker 2: to the fears on the inside. God, we came today

860
00:53:57,430 --> 00:54:01,690
Speaker 2: with troubled minds. I pray for the one who is

861
00:54:01,750 --> 00:54:05,109
Speaker 2: worried about their job. I pray for the one who

862
00:54:05,190 --> 00:54:08,410
Speaker 2: is worried about their kids. I pray for the one

863
00:54:08,450 --> 00:54:11,330
Speaker 2: who is worried about a report in their body from

864
00:54:11,370 --> 00:54:14,710
Speaker 2: the doctors or someone they love. I pray for the

865
00:54:14,830 --> 00:54:19,299
Speaker 2: one who is worried about an event that is in

866
00:54:19,340 --> 00:54:20,910
Speaker 2: front of them that they do not believe they have

867
00:54:20,950 --> 00:54:26,580
Speaker 2: the resource to fulfill. God, today I think you wanted

868
00:54:26,620 --> 00:54:27,980
Speaker 2: to use me just like Titus.

869
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:33,640
Speaker 1: Just to carry the message to them that the door

870
00:54:33,660 --> 00:54:34,279
Speaker 1: is still open.

871
00:54:35,719 --> 00:54:40,839
Speaker 2: Thank you, Jesus, that the door is still open, that

872
00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:47,219
Speaker 2: it's not too late, that you're not too little, that

873
00:54:47,260 --> 00:54:51,210
Speaker 2: you're not too lost. He said he comforted us by

874
00:54:51,250 --> 00:54:55,830
Speaker 2: the coming of Titus. God, let me be like Titus today,

875
00:54:56,190 --> 00:54:59,520
Speaker 2: bringing a message that God is not counting their sins

876
00:54:59,580 --> 00:55:02,600
Speaker 2: against them, that you are not angry with them, that

877
00:55:02,640 --> 00:55:06,240
Speaker 2: the season of your favor is upon them. Almighty God,

878
00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:11,040
Speaker 2: opener of doors, waymaker, miracle worker, all that you are,

879
00:55:13,260 --> 00:55:17,669
Speaker 2: but we need our minds right. We need our minds right.

880
00:55:21,430 --> 00:55:24,500
Speaker 2: We thank you, Lord, that you hold the key of David.

881
00:55:26,219 --> 00:55:31,890
Speaker 2: It's important to us to know that you are our door.

882
00:55:35,090 --> 00:55:39,150
Speaker 2: You are our door. We came into your presence today

883
00:55:39,219 --> 00:55:45,100
Speaker 2: because you are our door. God, right now, for everything

884
00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:48,100
Speaker 2: we can't forgive others for and we can't forgive ourselves for,

885
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:51,080
Speaker 2: We just want to take a moment before we leave

886
00:55:51,120 --> 00:55:54,270
Speaker 2: this place and slam the door in the face of

887
00:55:54,410 --> 00:55:58,970
Speaker 2: Satan and say, you've cost us enough, and you've taken enough.

888
00:56:00,170 --> 00:56:03,900
Speaker 1: You've robbed enough. You've destroyed enough. No more.

889
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:09,620
Speaker 2: That door is closed. I'm not going back there. That

890
00:56:09,660 --> 00:56:11,680
Speaker 2: door is closed. I'm not playing that out anymore.

891
00:56:11,960 --> 00:56:14,540
Speaker 1: That door is closed. I'm not entertaining that anymore. I'm

892
00:56:14,580 --> 00:56:17,759
Speaker 1: going forward. There is an open door set before me

893
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:21,090
Speaker 1: in heaven. I'm not waving goodbye to this open door.

894
00:56:21,570 --> 00:56:24,469
Speaker 1: I'm going through it in the name of Jesus. I

895
00:56:24,530 --> 00:56:28,270
Speaker 1: will live and not die. I will declare the works

896
00:56:28,330 --> 00:56:31,460
Speaker 1: of the Lord. I've got more to do. I'm planted.

897
00:56:31,500 --> 00:56:32,060
Speaker 1: I'm blessed.

898
00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:36,760
Speaker 2: I'm flourishing in the courts of the Lord. Lord, this

899
00:56:36,820 --> 00:56:40,220
Speaker 2: is an open-door moment. Right now, with your heads bowed

900
00:56:40,460 --> 00:56:43,279
Speaker 2: and your eyes closed, the door of salvation is open.

901
00:56:43,560 --> 00:56:46,160
Speaker 2: There's somebody today you thought it was too late for

902
00:56:46,180 --> 00:56:48,520
Speaker 2: you to have a relationship with God. You thought you'd

903
00:56:48,540 --> 00:56:51,660
Speaker 2: done too much, run too far, lost too much. You

904
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:54,180
Speaker 2: thought there were things God couldn't forgive. You thought you

905
00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,000
Speaker 2: were one of those ones who just missed God.

906
00:56:56,320 --> 00:56:59,430
Speaker 1: It's not true. Today is the day of salvation. This

907
00:56:59,510 --> 00:57:00,870
Speaker 1: is the moment. This is the hour.

908
00:57:01,190 --> 00:57:04,070
Speaker 2: This is your time. God brought you here for this.

909
00:57:04,150 --> 00:57:08,070
Speaker 2: The door is open. He stands at the door and knocks,

910
00:57:08,090 --> 00:57:11,330
Speaker 2: and he wants to come in. So, I want to

911
00:57:11,350 --> 00:57:14,029
Speaker 2: lead you in a prayer right now. You've been far

912
00:57:14,110 --> 00:57:17,890
Speaker 2: away from God, and this is your moment to receive

913
00:57:17,950 --> 00:57:20,650
Speaker 2: his grace. We don't come to God through our effort.

914
00:57:21,710 --> 00:57:25,720
Speaker 2: We don't come to God by improving our behavior. We

915
00:57:25,760 --> 00:57:27,280
Speaker 2: don't come to God with our knowledge.

916
00:57:28,040 --> 00:57:29,680
Speaker 1: We come to him with our faith.

917
00:57:31,060 --> 00:57:33,540
Speaker 2: The Bible says that if you will believe in Jesus Christ,

918
00:57:33,580 --> 00:57:34,919
Speaker 2: his Son whom he has sent.

919
00:57:34,960 --> 00:57:35,780
Speaker 1: You will have life.

920
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:38,740
Speaker 2: If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and

921
00:57:38,780 --> 00:57:40,300
Speaker 2: believe in your heart God raised him from the dead,

922
00:57:40,740 --> 00:57:41,460
Speaker 2: you will be saved.

923
00:57:41,480 --> 00:57:45,950
Speaker 1: There is no more important decision than this. This is

924
00:57:46,010 --> 00:57:48,290
Speaker 1: the door. This is the door.

925
00:57:49,690 --> 00:57:52,150
Speaker 2: So, for you who want to come through and receive

926
00:57:52,190 --> 00:57:55,650
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, who purchased

927
00:57:55,690 --> 00:57:58,860
Speaker 2: you with his blood, who knows you by name, who

928
00:57:58,880 --> 00:58:00,680
Speaker 2: has walked with you through every season of your life.

929
00:58:00,860 --> 00:58:02,980
Speaker 1: You've been far away from him. I'm inviting you home

930
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:04,140
Speaker 1: right now. This is your door.

931
00:58:04,160 --> 00:58:08,580
Speaker 2: Now you pray after me out loud. We're going to

932
00:58:08,620 --> 00:58:11,320
Speaker 2: slam the door in Satan's face today to let him

933
00:58:11,340 --> 00:58:17,810
Speaker 2: know he's lost another one. We're going to pray this

934
00:58:17,990 --> 00:58:20,070
Speaker 2: as a church family out loud for all of those

935
00:58:20,130 --> 00:58:21,970
Speaker 2: all over the world who are coming to Christ today

936
00:58:22,270 --> 00:58:23,330
Speaker 2: to place their faith in him.

937
00:58:23,590 --> 00:58:27,090
Speaker 1: Repeat after me, church. Heavenly Father, I am a sinner.

938
00:58:28,060 --> 00:58:30,280
Speaker 1: in need of a Savior, and I.

939
00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:35,710
Speaker 2: Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and

940
00:58:35,730 --> 00:58:36,750
Speaker 2: the Savior of the world.

941
00:58:37,970 --> 00:58:41,790
Speaker 1: Today I make Jesus the Lord of my life.

942
00:58:42,750 --> 00:58:46,690
Speaker 2: I believe he died that I would be forgiven and

943
00:58:46,770 --> 00:58:49,070
Speaker 2: rose again to give me life.

944
00:58:50,230 --> 00:58:55,120
Speaker 1: I receive this new life. This is my new beginning.

945
00:59:00,090 --> 00:59:02,440
Speaker 1: God bless you. God bless you.

946
00:59:02,450 --> 00:59:03,430
Speaker 2: Amazing.

947
00:59:04,450 --> 00:59:04,970
Speaker 1: Come on, who else?

948
00:59:05,030 --> 00:59:07,500
Speaker 2: Who else? Who else? Come on, slam that door in

949
00:59:07,520 --> 00:59:10,700
Speaker 2: the devil's face. Let him know I came home to

950
00:59:10,740 --> 00:59:11,420
Speaker 2: my father.

951
00:59:11,760 --> 00:59:14,840
Speaker 1: I'm coming home. Put the ring on their finger, church.

952
00:59:15,920 --> 00:59:17,640
Speaker 1: Come on, let's kill a fatted calf.

953
00:59:18,080 --> 00:59:23,130
Speaker 2: Let's celebrate what was deadless again. Hallelujah.

954
00:59:23,170 --> 00:59:30,740
Speaker 1: Come on, lift up a great sound of praise. Take

955
00:59:30,780 --> 00:59:32,580
Speaker 1: a screenshot and share it on your social stories and

956
00:59:32,600 --> 00:59:34,440
Speaker 1: tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God

957
00:59:34,460 --> 00:59:34,780
Speaker 1: bless you.