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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation

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Speaker 1: Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank

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Speaker 1: you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope

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Speaker 1: it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to

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Speaker 1: see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

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Speaker 1: Are you excited about God's word today? Holly's gonna preach.

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Speaker 1: But before she does, no, hold on, I didn't tell

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Speaker 1: you this. She's walking toward the stage to stay there.

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Speaker 1: I want to bring up. Both of the boys are

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Speaker 1: wearing a suit. Graham's is safety pind because the tailor

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Speaker 1: is quarantined a safe depend at the bottom, so don't

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Speaker 1: look at that. And Elijah had some yogurt on this lapel,

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Speaker 1: but I think we baby wiped it off. And Abby

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Speaker 1: looks perfectly. She always does. Say you'll come on up

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Speaker 1: for a minute, and Abby's gonna introduce you. So handsome,

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Speaker 1: so handsome, so good, so good. Hey baby, all right,

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Speaker 1: go ahead and bring out her pulpit. We've got to

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Speaker 1: be ready at the table, coffee table, whatever here, let's

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Speaker 1: make up. Let's make a line together. Who stands where?

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Speaker 1: All right? You hold her mike, then you go on

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Speaker 1: the other side. You hold her hand and just face

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Speaker 1: right that way where Holly's about to come up. Don't

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Speaker 1: don't step back, the table's coming. I did that one time.

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Speaker 1: I tripped over that table so bad? Did you bring

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Speaker 1: it out the week I tripped over sixteen sixty sixtet?

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Speaker 1: Did you thank God for your biceps? Man? You've been

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Speaker 1: taking a creatine on quarantine? Haven't you creatine on quarantine? Anyway?

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Speaker 1: Just hold that might you want to hold it yourself?

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Speaker 1: You hold it? Hold her hand? Boy? How strong would

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Speaker 1: you you want to hold his hand? All right? Just

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Speaker 1: read the pig? Yeah, go ahead. I want to tell

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Speaker 1: you a little about my mom before she preaches to

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Speaker 1: you today. You probably already know that she likes to read,

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Speaker 1: but I bet you didn't know that she doesn't read

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Speaker 1: the books on paper, but she listens to them on audible.

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Speaker 1: She probably doesn't want you to know that. She's loved

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Speaker 1: backs and purses since she was about three years old

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Speaker 1: and used to take her mom's purses and grocery bags

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Speaker 1: and put her toys in them. She always takes time

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Speaker 1: to cook delicious, healthy meals for our family. But my

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Speaker 1: favorite thing about her is how she tucks me at

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Speaker 1: night and reads me and prays for me. So Elevation

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Speaker 1: Church all over the world, let's welcome my mom Holifredick.

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Speaker 1: Surely I look like I sent out a dress a

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Speaker 1: little remember better than marka for I don't know. There's

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Speaker 1: not a lot of people, but the ten who are

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Speaker 1: here really love you. I'm gonna sit down in a minute,

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Speaker 1: I promised, But you've got something exciting coming up, and

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Speaker 1: I wanted to make sure the entire church family knew

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Speaker 1: about it, so share it. Okay, So this Wednesday, I

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Speaker 1: am starting a live, open enrollment of missus better half.

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Speaker 1: It's a Bible study that I wrote several years ago.

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Speaker 1: It's actually something that was sort of birthed out of

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Speaker 1: our house. Exactly. I was going to say that I

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Speaker 1: would watch her welcome all of these women into our home.

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Speaker 1: I had to take the kids, and you'll remember we

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Speaker 1: would go to a movie or go to what's that

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Speaker 1: restaurant Highway fifty five, and we would bug out while

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Speaker 1: she would teach the women the study. And remember the

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Speaker 1: house would always be full of women and she'd be

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Speaker 1: teaching them about being a wife and not really trying

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Speaker 1: to lecture, but just sharing from experience. So I had

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Speaker 1: one group and then another group and then another group,

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Speaker 1: and was like, you should do this as an actual study.

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Speaker 1: And you, from my perspective, you're too humble sometimes so

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Speaker 1: you're like, well, I don't do Bible studies. And then

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Speaker 1: you did it and God has used it in a

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Speaker 1: great way. And we were taking a walk the other

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Speaker 1: day and I said, people right now that either if

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Speaker 1: they're quarantined or if they're just like they've been spent

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Speaker 1: too much time with people that they're with, you should

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Speaker 1: do becoming this is better half study for the whole world,

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Speaker 1: and do it on Facebook live and and do it

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Speaker 1: each week. And so she committed to do that, and

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Speaker 1: I think it's going to be absolutely amazing to share

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Speaker 1: this with our family. At this time, I'm really excited.

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Speaker 1: So it's going to be live every Wednesday night on

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Speaker 1: Facebook and all you have to do to be a

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Speaker 1: part is completely free, is go to Hollyfordick dot com

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Speaker 1: and register because it is a Facebook group, so it's

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Speaker 1: not just like open to everyone, it's a group, so

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Speaker 1: you have to ask to be a part of the

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Speaker 1: group and we will let you in and you don't

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Speaker 1: need a book. Some people will have a book, but

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Speaker 1: we'll have a digital of the book available for you

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Speaker 1: within the Facebook group. And I'm kind of nervous about it,

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Speaker 1: but I'm also really excited. All Right, if you're coming

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Speaker 1: to the study, say I'm in in the chat so

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Speaker 1: she can know she's not going to be better half along.

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Speaker 1: That's going to be amazing. And you can jump in

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Speaker 1: this Wednesday. If you're watching this later, you can jump

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Speaker 1: in later on as well, completely free. Our gift to

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Speaker 1: you during this time, ye preach the word you look amazing.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, you are amazing. I mean that, and I

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Speaker 1: thank God that God gave you a husband that cleans

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Speaker 1: up as well as me. I love you, you look good.

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Speaker 1: Preach the word come on, let's give it up for Holly.

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Speaker 1: So that was very special, guys. I wanted to go

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Speaker 1: on record and let everyone know that it was Elijah's

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Speaker 1: idea for them to dress up and wear suits and

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Speaker 1: so not his dad, and his dad said yes, let's

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Speaker 1: do it, and Graham said are we we want to

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Speaker 1: do that? And guys, thank you, thank you for dressing

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Speaker 1: up and being here at Abby, thank you for introducing me.

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Speaker 1: That was so special. I love you, guys, I love

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Speaker 1: you too. Everybody watching Hi. Before I start, I have

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Speaker 1: to say my piece about the Blessing because I am

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Speaker 1: just continually amazed. I don't know if you are, but

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Speaker 1: I just can't seem to get used to the fact

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Speaker 1: that God is continually using this church and this ministry

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Speaker 1: all across the world. I love how almost every video

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Speaker 1: showcases people who are part of the Elevation family all

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Speaker 1: over the world. And the music, the freaking music. Can

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Speaker 1: I say that God is taking these songs that my

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Speaker 1: husband and Chris and our Elevation Worship team have written

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Speaker 1: in He is using them to bring hope and peace

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Speaker 1: during such a crazy time of uncertainty. And what I

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Speaker 1: can't believe is that we get to hear them first.

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Speaker 1: Whether you're in the building or you're watching online, we

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Speaker 1: get to hear these songs first. They're birthed here and

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Speaker 1: they're sung here. And the Blessing, all of those people

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Speaker 1: that were singing the Blessing, we got to sing it

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Speaker 1: here first on this stage. And I don't I've never

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Speaker 1: had a song that gets me every time like that

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Speaker 1: one does, and I can't seem to listen to it enough.

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Speaker 1: Yesterday I was walking down this greenway and I was

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Speaker 1: listening and I was like, I was I think I

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Speaker 1: was by myself, but I was like lifting my hands

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Speaker 1: and I was singing. And I have to say, personally,

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Speaker 1: my favorite part of the blessing the live version that's

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Speaker 1: on the Elevation album Graves in the Gardens. If you

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Speaker 1: don't have it, you're dumb. But my favorite part of

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Speaker 1: my favorite part, Babe, is when you say you take

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Speaker 1: the stage. Do you know what I'm about to say?

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Speaker 1: And he comes up, and you know, everybody's singing and

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Speaker 1: it's you wanted to go into the blessing one more time?

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Speaker 1: And he goes put another blessing on him? Carrie, do

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Speaker 1: you know that you do that? It's my favorite part.

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Speaker 1: So anyway, thank you Pastor Stephen for pushing so hard

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Speaker 1: and writing such incredible songs in Elevation Worship. Where have

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Speaker 1: you guys went? You are blessing us in this season.

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Speaker 1: So Happy Mother's Day. It's my turn to say Happy

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Speaker 1: Mother's Day to all of the ladies who are watching.

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Speaker 1: My mom is watching. I love you Mom. This year

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Speaker 1: I sent my mom a beautiful little framed print of

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Speaker 1: a church and the title of the print was called

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Speaker 1: Vincing's My soul, and I wrote her a little letter

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Speaker 1: and told her that I was grateful for her for

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Speaker 1: raising me in the church. Some of my earliest memories

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Speaker 1: are at church, and it's now the thing that I've

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Speaker 1: chosen to give my life to. So thank you, Mom

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Speaker 1: for planning those seeds in me. I love you. I

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Speaker 1: also feel like Mother's Day is a day to celebrate

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Speaker 1: all women. A woman's touch is a beautiful thing in

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Speaker 1: this world, and so I also want to take the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to say to all of the ladies under the

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Speaker 1: sound of my voice, that I honor you today and

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Speaker 1: I want to thank you for loving and nurturing and

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Speaker 1: caring for all of those that God has placed in

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Speaker 1: your life. I love that they use that scripture Proverbs

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Speaker 1: thirty one where it says her children rise up and

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Speaker 1: call her blessed. And I hope that everyone watching today

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Speaker 1: will take a moment to reach out to a few women.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know you've already reached out to your mom,

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Speaker 1: but if you'll take a minute to reach out to

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Speaker 1: a few women who've impacted your life today and just

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Speaker 1: thank them. It could be a teacher, or a friend,

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Speaker 1: or just a woman that you look up to. And

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Speaker 1: let them know how they have impacted your life. You know,

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Speaker 1: I feel like I feel like these past two months

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Speaker 1: have been particularly hard on the women, and so I

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Speaker 1: want to take a second to honor some of the

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Speaker 1: hero moms that I feel like need to be shouted

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Speaker 1: out today. Okay, so shout out to the mom whose

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Speaker 1: kids cannot fix it own cereal. If that's you, just

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Speaker 1: type it in the chat, yes, Lord, and we all

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Speaker 1: salute you. All of the moms whose kids can fix

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Speaker 1: their own cereal. We we're sorry that you're still in

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Speaker 1: that stage, but we shout you out. Shout out to

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Speaker 1: the mom who thought she had an empty nest, but

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Speaker 1: all your adult children came back to invade what would

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Speaker 1: have been a very peaceful quarantine for you, and you're

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Speaker 1: cooking food for an army of people. If that's you,

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Speaker 1: type yes Lord in the chat. Okay, Shout out to

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Speaker 1: the mom whose kids cannot read the directions that were

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Speaker 1: sent to them by their teacher. If that's you, I'm

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Speaker 1: so sorry. Just say yes Lord, and we will. We will,

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Speaker 1: we will give our blessings to you and call you

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Speaker 1: our hero. This one's for me. I'm shouting myself out.

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Speaker 1: Shout out to the moms of teenage boys who cannot

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Speaker 1: get enough to eat. My boys do not accept cereal

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Speaker 1: for dinner as an answer. Cereal is like a post dinner,

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Speaker 1: pre dessert thing in our house. A box of cereal

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Speaker 1: law one day and poor Abby, you guys, Poor Abby,

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Speaker 1: She's going to have some serious foodishes because she's always

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Speaker 1: hiding food in her room from her brother so that

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Speaker 1: they don't get it. Do I have any moms have

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Speaker 1: teenage boys out there to support me? I cooked dinner

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Speaker 1: last night. I made the same recipe that I made

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Speaker 1: like I probably made it three months ago, and we

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Speaker 1: had leftovers, and last night there was there was no

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Speaker 1: food left and my husband went to get seconds and

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Speaker 1: he was like, guys's where's the I'm telling you, the

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Speaker 1: food is an issue in our house. Shout out to

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Speaker 1: tell the working moms out there, because I cannot tell

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Speaker 1: you how many zoom calls I've been in where a

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Speaker 1: mom is walking a baby or kids come in and interrupt.

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Speaker 1: And I'm also shouting myself out on this one because

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Speaker 1: my kids just come in the room like they don't

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Speaker 1: check to see, they don't listen at the door to

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Speaker 1: see if you're like talking to yourself or anything. They

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Speaker 1: just walk in the room talking to you. Anybody, any

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Speaker 1: working moms out there, you feel my pain. And Abby

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Speaker 1: came into my office the other day and I was

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Speaker 1: on a zoom call and she was like the fourth

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Speaker 1: person that interrupted me. And my husband wasn't one of them.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they just kept coming into the room and

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Speaker 1: she comes in and I turned around and I was

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Speaker 1: so done, and I looked at her like what and

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Speaker 1: she goes, you obviously don't want to talk to me

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Speaker 1: right now, and she stopped out of the room like

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Speaker 1: I was the one who was being rude. Anyone out

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Speaker 1: there with me on this Okay. Shout out to the

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Speaker 1: moms of the kids who have special needs. I just

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Speaker 1: want to say, your sacrifice is an example to all

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Speaker 1: of us and you are a hero. And one last time,

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Speaker 1: one last shout out. Shout out to all the moms

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Speaker 1: who have missed milestones these past few months, whether it

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Speaker 1: was a graduation, or the birth of a grandchild, or

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Speaker 1: even a wedding. I am I'm so sorry, and I'm

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Speaker 1: praying that God would multiply back to you everything that

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Speaker 1: you have missed during this season. Ladies, wherever you are,

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Speaker 1: whatever stage of life you're in, You're doing better than

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Speaker 1: you think you are. That is one of my favorite

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Speaker 1: lines from a Stephen Ferdick sermon. How many of you

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Speaker 1: want another throwback Thursday? I want another throwback Thursday, and

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Speaker 1: I'm calling for them to play my husband's sermon. The

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Speaker 1: most encouraging message you've never heard, and it's a word

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Speaker 1: for all the moms, because you are doing better than

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Speaker 1: you think you are. And I'm praying over you today

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Speaker 1: that no matter what this Mother's Day is like for you,

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Speaker 1: that you would feel encouraged and that you would feel comforting.

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Speaker 1: Am I losing the guys out there? They're like, hello,

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Speaker 1: I promise that my message is for everyone today and

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Speaker 1: I'm about to get to it. So right now, I'm

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Speaker 1: really excited to bring this word today. I have the

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Speaker 1: privilege of thinking about my sermons for a lot longer

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Speaker 1: than Pastor Stephen does. He has an average of six days,

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Speaker 1: and I, on the other hand, have the ability to

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Speaker 1: just gather, gather, gather, and mentally think about next time

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Speaker 1: I preach what I want to preach about. So this

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Speaker 1: sermon that I'm bringing you today, I actually started taking

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Speaker 1: down little notes on it in October and so I

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Speaker 1: feel like everything came together this week as I've been preparing,

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Speaker 1: and I'm really excited about what God has to say

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Speaker 1: to us today. So will you pray with me before

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Speaker 1: we get started. God, First of all, I just want

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Speaker 1: to lift up all the women under the sound of

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Speaker 1: my voice. And I pray for those who have lost

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Speaker 1: their mom. And I pray for those who want to

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Speaker 1: be a mom, and I pray that you would comfort

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Speaker 1: them today. God, I pray for the woman that is tired,

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Speaker 1: that you would encourage her today. And God, I'm just

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Speaker 1: so thankful for all of the women in my life

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Speaker 1: who have impacted me and encouraged me and prayed for

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Speaker 1: me and pushed me. And I'm just so grateful for

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Speaker 1: their touch in my life. And so now, Lord, would

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Speaker 1: you speak to us. We are listening, our ears are open.

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Speaker 1: You are such a good God, and we counted a

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Speaker 1: privilege every time that we get to open up your

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Speaker 1: word and hear your voice. And is in Jesus' name

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Speaker 1: we pray Amen. All right, if you have a Bible,

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Speaker 1: will you turn to John six. In the Book of John,

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Speaker 1: Jesus makes seven statements. And last month when I preached,

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Speaker 1: I talked about there's seven I Am statements. And last

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Speaker 1: month when I preached, I talked about when Jesus said

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Speaker 1: I am the Way. Today, I want to go back

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Speaker 1: and talk about the very first I AM statement that

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Speaker 1: Jesus presented to his followers, and that is I am

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Speaker 1: the bread of life to me. This is perhaps the

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Speaker 1: best description Jesus could have given himself. Do I have

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Speaker 1: any other fellow bread lovers out there? I love bread.

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Speaker 1: I love bread. I think sourdough is my favorite, but

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Speaker 1: really any warm bread with butter on it, and I

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Speaker 1: will throw any diet out the window. Bread it gives,

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Speaker 1: It gives comfort, and it gives fullness, and it represents

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Speaker 1: life and sustenance. And today I want to show you

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Speaker 1: how when Jesus shows up in your life, he starts

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Speaker 1: often with the things that he can do for you,

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Speaker 1: but he wants to move you in a space of

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Speaker 1: who he can be to you. All right, So let's

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Speaker 1: look at John chapter six, verse twenty eight. We're going

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Speaker 1: to pick up just after Jesus has performed the miracle

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Speaker 1: of feeding the five thousand, and here's what it says.

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Speaker 1: Then they asked him what must we do to do

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Speaker 1: the works God requires? Jesus answered, the work of God

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Speaker 1: is this to believe in the one he has sent.

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Speaker 1: So they asked him, what side, then, will you give

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Speaker 1: that we may see it and believe you. What will

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Speaker 1: you do our ancestors eight manna in the wilderness. As

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Speaker 1: it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

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Speaker 1: Jesus said to them, very truly, I tell you, it

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Speaker 1: is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven,

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Speaker 1: but it is my Father who gives you the true

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Speaker 1: bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is the

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Speaker 1: bread that comes down from Heaven and gives life to

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Speaker 1: the world. Sir, they said, always give us this bread.

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Speaker 1: And then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life.

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Speaker 1: Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever

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Speaker 1: believes in me will never be thirsty. Today, I want

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Speaker 1: to talk to you about moving past miracles. My title

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Speaker 1: is More than Miracles. Several weeks ago, Pastor Stephen started

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Speaker 1: this series called Looking Forward to Normal, and this series

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Speaker 1: has just been mind blowing to me. I feel like

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Speaker 1: every week he comes with the exact words that I

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Speaker 1: didn't even know that I was needing to hear, Like

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Speaker 1: he's on this special tap with the Holy Spirit that

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Speaker 1: just goes right into my soul. And ever since he

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Speaker 1: began this idea of looking forward to normal, I've been

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Speaker 1: reading the Bible differently, and I've been seeing that all

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Speaker 1: throughout Jesus's teachings, he was actually trying to get the

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Speaker 1: people to look forward to normal. But they had such

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Speaker 1: a hard time with this, And in this particular passage

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Speaker 1: of Scripture and the crowds coming to Jesus and expecting

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Speaker 1: him to repeat the miracles of Moses and actually physically

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Speaker 1: lead them out of Roman oppression. But Jesus came to

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Speaker 1: do so much more than that. He came to bring

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Speaker 1: a new life. He came to bring a living hope.

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Speaker 1: He came to bring a freedom that went so far

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Speaker 1: beyond their physical captivity. He came to bring them a

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Speaker 1: relationship with the Living God that would go so far

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Speaker 1: beyond their traditional religion of following the law and making sacrifices.

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Speaker 1: The problem with this is that the people could not

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Speaker 1: see beyond what they thought the Messiah would do, and

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Speaker 1: they were disappointed. Have you ever been disappointed because following

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Speaker 1: God didn't turn out the way that you thought it would.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we've all been there. Maybe you've asked God

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Speaker 1: for something and he didn't do it. Maybe you thought

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Speaker 1: God would change something in your life and he still

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Speaker 1: hasn't done it. It's easy for me to stand here

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Speaker 1: and tell you when God doesn't do something for you,

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Speaker 1: it's because he has something that he wants to do

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Speaker 1: in you. But it's harder to believe that when you

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Speaker 1: can't get past why God didn't do the thing that

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Speaker 1: you were expecting him to do in the first place.

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Speaker 1: It's Mother's Day, so I said, okay if I talk

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Speaker 1: about being a mom, because being a mom has been

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Speaker 1: one of the most disappointing experiences of my life. Now,

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Speaker 1: don't get me wrong, it's also been guys. Sorry, it's

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Speaker 1: also been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

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Speaker 1: But it just didn't turn out the way that I

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Speaker 1: imagine that it was. You see, I wanted to be

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Speaker 1: a mom from the very beginning. From my earliest memories.

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Speaker 1: I loved playing with dolls as a little girl. I

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Speaker 1: loved playing house with my sisters. I always fought it

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Speaker 1: to be the mom and my older sister Emily would

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Speaker 1: be the dad. And I'm ashamed to say that sometimes

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Speaker 1: we would make our little sister Joy play the dog,

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Speaker 1: sorry toy. But even as I grew up, I loved

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Speaker 1: babysitting and I loved working in my church nursery. And

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Speaker 1: when I married the man of my dreams, I wanted

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Speaker 1: to start a family right away. And my husband helped

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Speaker 1: me off for a couple of years because he was

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Speaker 1: smarter than me. And finally I got pregnant at the

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Speaker 1: mature age of twenty four, and this beautiful baby was

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Speaker 1: placed into my arms. And guys, when I tell you

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Speaker 1: that he came out crying, he came out screaming, and

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Speaker 1: he did not stop, like for five years, he did

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Speaker 1: not stop. And the doctors and the nurses would come

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Speaker 1: into our hospital room and they'd say, wow, he's got

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Speaker 1: a great set of lungs. We thought that was a compliment. Really,

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Speaker 1: it's code for your baby's crying really loud. And then

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Speaker 1: we took him home and he kept crying, and then

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Speaker 1: I started crying, and nothing was the way that I thought.

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Speaker 1: I have a meme that I want to show you.

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Speaker 1: This is what you thought motherhood would be like versus

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Speaker 1: what it's actually like. This one really ministered to my soul.

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Speaker 1: This baby came out and there were no flowers, that

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Speaker 1: this wasn't the way that I pictured it. But the

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Speaker 1: problem wasn't the baby. The problem was my expectations of him.

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Speaker 1: Babies crying, that's what they do, and so I started

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Speaker 1: asking God to make him stop crying. And God wanted

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Speaker 1: to draw me closer to him. And God was building

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Speaker 1: an inner strength in me that I would need for

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Speaker 1: every stage that would follow. So much of what I

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Speaker 1: dreamed about when it came to being a mom was

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Speaker 1: actually based on my ego. Sorry, this isn't turning out

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Speaker 1: to be the most comforting Mother's Day message, is it.

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Speaker 1: That's not the thing that we want to hear on

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Speaker 1: Mother's Day. But I had to realize, and I'm still

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Speaker 1: fourteen years later learning this that raising kids is mostly

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Speaker 1: about releasing your expectations and embracing who God has created

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Speaker 1: them to be. Have you ever been disappointed because something

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Speaker 1: didn't turn out the way you thought it would. I

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Speaker 1: think we all feel that way about twenty twenty. God,

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Speaker 1: this is not the way I pictured this going. And

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Speaker 1: that's how the Jewish people felt in John six. They

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Speaker 1: had spent four hundred years waiting for the promised Messiah.

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Speaker 1: They had memorized the old Testament prophecies, and they had

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Speaker 1: built up in their mind what they thought the Messiah

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Speaker 1: would do when he finally came to rescue them. So

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Speaker 1: here they are under Roman rule, and they view themselves

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Speaker 1: much like the Israelites when they were under Egyptian slavery.

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Speaker 1: They even had this prophecy that said that the Messiah

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Speaker 1: would call down manna from heaven like Moses had. So

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Speaker 1: can you imagine their excitement when Jesus does this miracle

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Speaker 1: and he feeds the five thousand, and the people thought,

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Speaker 1: this is it, this is him, This is the man

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Speaker 1: who's going to start a revolution and lead us to freedom.

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Speaker 1: And so they chase Jesus down the very next day

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Speaker 1: and they say to him, look at what it says

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Speaker 1: in verse thirty. They say, what sign will you give

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Speaker 1: us that we may see it and believe you? What

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Speaker 1: will you do our ancestors eight mana in the wilderness.

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Speaker 1: As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven

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Speaker 1: to eat. But Jesus was trying to get them to

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Speaker 1: look forward to a new normal. He wanted them to

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Speaker 1: see that yes he is the Messiah, and yes he

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Speaker 1: does miracles. And let me just say, God delights in

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Speaker 1: showing up in miraculous ways, and God still does miracles.

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Speaker 1: He's our heavenly father, and he loves you. He loves

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Speaker 1: it when you pray about your job and your children

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Speaker 1: and your finances. He loves to show up in your

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Speaker 1: life and make a way when there seems to be

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Speaker 1: no way. He gave them bread to eat. He satisfied

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Speaker 1: their physical needs, but that is not where he stops.

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Speaker 1: And the beautiful thing about following Jesus is that he

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Speaker 1: offers so much more than just meeting our physical needs.

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Speaker 1: And so he begins to teach them, and he wants

430
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,920
Speaker 1: them to understand that he's offering more than just physical

431
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,439
Speaker 1: bread that goes into your belly, that he is the

432
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 1: bread who has come down from heaven. He tells them,

433
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,959
Speaker 1: I am all that you need. I am the one

434
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 1: who satisfies the hunger in your soul. I am the

435
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 1: bread of life. They wanted Jesus to fit within their

436
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:02,600
Speaker 1: formula of religion, but Jesus came to completely change everything.

437
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 1: The old standard was works and sacrifices and following the law.

438
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:12,160
Speaker 1: The new standard is simple faith and belief and an actual, living,

439
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,199
Speaker 1: breathing relationship with the God of the universe that was better?

440
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,720
Speaker 1: What matters most in the Christian life? If we could

441
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,080
Speaker 1: just get this today, this is the thing I want

442
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,800
Speaker 1: you to get. What matters most in the Christian life

443
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,359
Speaker 1: is not what Jesus can do for you. Yes he

444
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: still does miracles, but what matters most is who he

445
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,360
Speaker 1: is to you. Maybe you know Jesus is the one

446
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: who provides physically, but have you moved to knowing him

447
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,240
Speaker 1: as the one who satisfies your soul? Because I'm standing

448
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,200
Speaker 1: here today and telling you that that is a real

449
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: thing in my life. He is the one that satisfies

450
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: my soul. So what does this look like practically? Because

451
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,920
Speaker 1: it's great to talk about how Jesus is the bread

452
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,560
Speaker 1: of life, but what does that mean in your everyday life?

453
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: Y'all knew I used to be a teacher for three

454
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,359
Speaker 1: very long years of my life. Is it r? And

455
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:12,360
Speaker 1: if I teach you a little bit today, I want

456
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 1: to teach you about what it looks like to access

457
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 1: this bread of life, this bread that Christ offers to us.

458
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,800
Speaker 1: And I would like to dedicate this sermon to my

459
00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,679
Speaker 1: low carb eating husband and all of his Keto friends

460
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 1: out there. Bread is biblical, So this sermon is dedicated

461
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: to all of you. The first thing that we need

462
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 1: to do before we can identify what the bread looks

463
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:35,920
Speaker 1: like in our everyday life is we need to figure

464
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,040
Speaker 1: out what it is not. Jesus said, I am the

465
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,520
Speaker 1: bread of life. He even quotes to them from their

466
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:48,679
Speaker 1: prophecy in Isaiah fifty five, verse two. It says what

467
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,960
Speaker 1: the prophecy says, Why spend money on what is not

468
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,399
Speaker 1: bread and labor your labor on what does not satisfy.

469
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,919
Speaker 1: Listen to me and eat what is good, and you

470
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:04,400
Speaker 1: will delight the richest affair. It's important that we identify

471
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 1: the things in our life that are not bred. One

472
00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,960
Speaker 1: day this week, I saw I came out of my

473
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,080
Speaker 1: office from having a meeting, and I saw that Graham

474
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:20,000
Speaker 1: eight cocoa puffs for lunch. Coco puffs are not inadequate lunch.

475
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,080
Speaker 1: Cocoa puffs are going to fill you up for about

476
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 1: an hour and then leave you coming back for more

477
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 1: junk that does not nourish your body. And I got

478
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,840
Speaker 1: to thinking, are there any coco puff Christians out there?

479
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,400
Speaker 1: Are there any things in your life that are not

480
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 1: nourishing you, but you keep going back for it. Maybe

481
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 1: it's a habit that you just can't seem to stop doing.

482
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,960
Speaker 1: Maybe it's an offense that has caused you to become

483
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,400
Speaker 1: bitter and kind of blocked you from experiencing what God

484
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,199
Speaker 1: wants you to experience in your life. Maybe it's a

485
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,800
Speaker 1: person who always pulls you away from the things that

486
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,640
Speaker 1: you know that God is trying to do in your life.

487
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,680
Speaker 1: Here's one for me. Gossip Proverbs twenty six twenty two

488
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,120
Speaker 1: gets me so good every time it says the words

489
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:10,240
Speaker 1: of a gossip are like choice morsels. They go down

490
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,679
Speaker 1: into the innermost parts. Have you ever noticed how it

491
00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:16,119
Speaker 1: feels good to talk about someone in the moment, But

492
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,200
Speaker 1: it's like kind of like those garlicky breadsticks. They feel

493
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,840
Speaker 1: good going down, but then later you start to worry

494
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,160
Speaker 1: that maybe you went too far. And then deep down,

495
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,600
Speaker 1: I don't know if there's any like over analyzers out there,

496
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:30,360
Speaker 1: but deep down you start to wonder if the person

497
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,760
Speaker 1: that you were gossiping too will trust you less because

498
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,919
Speaker 1: they're like, well, if she would talk about them to me,

499
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,000
Speaker 1: she might talk about me to them. I need to

500
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 1: get past that one quickly. Sometimes I buy things that

501
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 1: I don't need to impress people who aren't even looking.

502
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 1: I need to keep moving. Sometimes I depend on others

503
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 1: around me to fill me. What a heavy burden to

504
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 1: place on the people that God has placed in my life.

505
00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: Spiritual bread can never come from another person, and good

506
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,240
Speaker 1: or bad, because anytime that you try to find nourishment

507
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,240
Speaker 1: from an earthly person, you will be disappointed. Because people

508
00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,719
Speaker 1: are imperfect. People will always let you down. People have

509
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 1: their own flaws and their own failures. And if you

510
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,200
Speaker 1: think that your spouse, or your child, or your friendship

511
00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:24,240
Speaker 1: will fill you, you will ultimately be let down. Sometimes

512
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 1: God does use others to fill us, of course he does.

513
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,800
Speaker 1: God speaks to me through the amazing people that He's

514
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 1: placed in my life. But you can't get it backwards.

515
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,760
Speaker 1: You can't confuse the source. He is our bread, and

516
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 1: if he chooses to speak to me through a person

517
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 1: in my life, it's still the Holy Spirit who is

518
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 1: comforting me, not that person. When he is my bread,

519
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 1: I know where to go when I feel let down.

520
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,560
Speaker 1: So what does the bread look like? If that's what

521
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,080
Speaker 1: it's not? What is it? What does it look like?

522
00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: First of all, bread is now very eaten, stale bread.

523
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,840
Speaker 1: It's not good. My mom used to take me to

524
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,320
Speaker 1: the store called the day old bread Store. At least

525
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: that's what she called it. Anybody ever go to the

526
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 1: day old bread store. One day is okay, but stale

527
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: bread is not good. When you know Jesus, you know

528
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 1: that he speaks right now to your situation. Sometimes he

529
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,719
Speaker 1: only gives you enough to sustain you for a moment,

530
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 1: sometimes for a day. The Bible tells us that his

531
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,280
Speaker 1: mercies are new every morning because they aren't meant to

532
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 1: last forever. They're meant to make you coming back to

533
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 1: him for more and for more. What if you had

534
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 1: a relationship with someone that you never spoke to, that

535
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,720
Speaker 1: wouldn't be much of a relationship. God has a fresh

536
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:49,480
Speaker 1: word that can sustain you moment to moment. It's now.

537
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 1: He gives you a word in season. Proverbs fifteen twenty

538
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,000
Speaker 1: three says a word spoken in due season, how good

539
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 1: it is. Back in March, God led me to Psalm

540
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,480
Speaker 1: twenty three. I didn't know why. I just started reading it,

541
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 1: and then coronavirus came and it became my anthem. For

542
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:10,960
Speaker 1: the next several months. I read it over and over again,

543
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 1: I read it in different versions. I shared it with

544
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,160
Speaker 1: everyone because it was getting me through all of the

545
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: emotions and the uncertainties of quarantine. It was a word

546
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:28,000
Speaker 1: in season for me. Jeremiah fifteen sixteen says this, let

547
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: me find it. When your words came, I ate them.

548
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: They were my joy and my heart's delight. You don't

549
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 1: need signs anymore. Maybe a sign or a miracle brought

550
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 1: you to Christ, but mature faith doesn't need constant signs

551
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,480
Speaker 1: and wonders. Sometimes God doesn't get you out of a

552
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,959
Speaker 1: situation because he wants you to go through. But he

553
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,560
Speaker 1: is going to give you everything that you need to

554
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 1: push through, and He's I'm going to go through it

555
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,840
Speaker 1: with you, and you're gonna come out on the other

556
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,840
Speaker 1: side stronger. But sure faith knows that the bread is

557
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,120
Speaker 1: right there in front of them, right now, in this moment,

558
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 1: right now, I just have to access it. I just

559
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,840
Speaker 1: have to open my eyes. His bread is also normal.

560
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,800
Speaker 1: So often we think that coming to God means that

561
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:26,600
Speaker 1: He has to always speak to us in this big

562
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 1: thunderous clap or like the writing on the wall. I

563
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:32,480
Speaker 1: think that's a Bible verse somewhere, like I don't know

564
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 1: God wrote on a wall. People use that phrase a lot,

565
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,760
Speaker 1: or maybe we think, oh, I don't need writing on

566
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,920
Speaker 1: the wall. But God mostly speaks to me at church. Look,

567
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,840
Speaker 1: don't get me wrong, God speaks to me at church.

568
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,680
Speaker 1: God speaks to me through the songs and the sermons

569
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,400
Speaker 1: that come out of Elevation Church, no doubt about that.

570
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 1: But God is not limited to songs and sermons. And

571
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,200
Speaker 1: I wonder if one of the main reasons that we

572
00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,480
Speaker 1: hear God speak to us when we're at church is

573
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,680
Speaker 1: because we come expecting it. We come looking for it there.

574
00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:13,000
Speaker 1: But what if I woke up in the morning expecting

575
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,160
Speaker 1: God to speak to me? What if I expected God

576
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 1: to speak to me through every mundane moment. God can

577
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,360
Speaker 1: speak words of encouragement to you. The moment that you

578
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,720
Speaker 1: open your eyes in the morning. God can whisper words

579
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,320
Speaker 1: of peace to you while you lie awake at night.

580
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,040
Speaker 1: God can speak directly to you when you open up

581
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,680
Speaker 1: His word. You know, you can read the Bible when

582
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,720
Speaker 1: you're not at church, right, and you don't have to

583
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:41,719
Speaker 1: start in the weird place. Start with what you know.

584
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,000
Speaker 1: Start with Psalm twenty three, Start with the Lord's prayers.

585
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,480
Speaker 1: Start where you know what God will speak to you

586
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:53,240
Speaker 1: right there. Remember a few weeks ago when Pastor Stephen

587
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 1: told us. Faith is not a lever that you pull.

588
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,480
Speaker 1: I'll never forget that he said, we don't worship jack

589
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 1: pot Jesus. Faith is a lens. And when I decide

590
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,400
Speaker 1: to open my eyes and see God at work all

591
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,320
Speaker 1: around me, my perspective changes, and all of a sudden,

592
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:14,040
Speaker 1: I see Him showing up in all the small moments

593
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,440
Speaker 1: of life. It's normal, it's now, and you know what else,

594
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 1: it's near. God is constantly speaking to you. He's close.

595
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:31,319
Speaker 1: The problem is you aren't always listening. Isaiah prophesied that

596
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,360
Speaker 1: the Messiah would come to open blind eyes and unstop

597
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:37,040
Speaker 1: deaf ears. Did you know that you don't have to

598
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:40,480
Speaker 1: kneel down and close your eyes and fold your hands

599
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:45,400
Speaker 1: to hear God speak? And the Old Testament the bread

600
00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:51,120
Speaker 1: represented the presence of God. He's near, He's here, he's

601
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,719
Speaker 1: in your home, he's in your hospital room, he's in

602
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 1: your car. If we haven't learned anything from twenty twenty,

603
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,239
Speaker 1: I hope to God that we can learn that He

604
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:04,760
Speaker 1: will speak to us everywhere, even in our own home,

605
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,920
Speaker 1: even when we're walking through our neighborhood, even when we're alone.

606
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,960
Speaker 1: I think a lot of times I'm not listening because

607
00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:16,880
Speaker 1: I don't want to hear what God is speaking to me.

608
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:18,600
Speaker 1: Have you ever really got to speaking to you something

609
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,120
Speaker 1: You're like, MM, I don't want to hear that. But

610
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,239
Speaker 1: I think also sometimes I'm just too busy to be

611
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,080
Speaker 1: present in a moment long enough for God to speak

612
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,879
Speaker 1: to me. God can speak through your children. God can

613
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 1: speak through your spouse, Yes he can. God can speak

614
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,279
Speaker 1: through your friends. He can speak through a memory, he

615
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,600
Speaker 1: can speak through a moment of gratitude. He can speak

616
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,840
Speaker 1: in a thunderstorm. He's always speaking. He's constantly trying to

617
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,359
Speaker 1: remind you of his great love for you. But I

618
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:53,600
Speaker 1: have to learn to incline my ear to the Lord.

619
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,880
Speaker 1: I have to train my eyes to see him. And

620
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,879
Speaker 1: the more I see him, and the more I hear him,

621
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,440
Speaker 1: the more I see him, and the more I hear him,

622
00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,120
Speaker 1: and the more I see him, the more I hear him.

623
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 1: It's about getting in a rhythm of seeing and hearing God,

624
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:11,560
Speaker 1: because He's all around and he's speaking to you. And

625
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:14,919
Speaker 1: that's the beautiful thing about knowing God is that He's

626
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 1: always speaking to us, all around us. And finally, God's

627
00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:28,719
Speaker 1: bread is new. God loves to work in new ways.

628
00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:34,440
Speaker 1: Isaiah forty three, eighteen and nineteen says forget the former things,

629
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: do not dwell on the past. See I am doing

630
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,200
Speaker 1: a new thing now it springs up. Do you not

631
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: perceive it? Do not see it? I'm making a way

632
00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 1: in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. This is

633
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,080
Speaker 1: not one of my favorite passages in the Bible. And

634
00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:55,000
Speaker 1: if I'm honest, I don't want God to do a

635
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:59,799
Speaker 1: new thing. I want him to fix an old thing.

636
00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:03,520
Speaker 1: I want a better marriage, but I don't want to

637
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 1: change anything about my habits to make it better. I

638
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,880
Speaker 1: want a less hectic life, but I'm not willing to

639
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,360
Speaker 1: say no to any additional social commitments or activities that

640
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:14,799
Speaker 1: my kids want to do. And I think about going

641
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,799
Speaker 1: out of quarantine. I don't want this hectic pace of

642
00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 1: life anymore, but I haven't said no to anything yet.

643
00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:22,680
Speaker 1: I want to lose weight, but I don't want to

644
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,440
Speaker 1: make any changes to my health and my habits. I

645
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,000
Speaker 1: want God to use me, but I can't seem to

646
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 1: move on from my past. There are new steps that

647
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:35,480
Speaker 1: God wants me to take in order to make progress

648
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,200
Speaker 1: in my life. But if I'm willing to accept the new,

649
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:42,680
Speaker 1: I'm always gonna feel stuck. The Jewish people wanted the

650
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,640
Speaker 1: Messiah to fit within their pretty little rule. Following box

651
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:49,239
Speaker 1: and Jesus came to do something new. He came to

652
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:56,200
Speaker 1: do something better. My daughter Abby, she's the best. Everybody

653
00:37:56,239 --> 00:38:00,320
Speaker 1: loves her. She's funny, she's kind, She just brings life

654
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,799
Speaker 1: into every room that she's in. She loves to talk

655
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,799
Speaker 1: to anybody, doesn't matter if you're two or twenty two

656
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 1: or seventy two. She's got something to say. And she

657
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:14,160
Speaker 1: is such a gift to our family. But sorry, Abby,

658
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:18,840
Speaker 1: Abby is not perfect. And one thing that Abby does

659
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:23,680
Speaker 1: not like is new food. And my gosh, this girl

660
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,920
Speaker 1: can be stubborn and her mom can be stubborn too,

661
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:29,800
Speaker 1: So in our house, if you don't eat your food,

662
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:32,279
Speaker 1: the rule is you don't get anything to eat the

663
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:36,200
Speaker 1: rest of the night. And unfortunately, Abby has chosen to

664
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,680
Speaker 1: go to bed hungry many many nights. Now, before you

665
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 1: start feeling sorry for Abby, I want you to understand

666
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,120
Speaker 1: that I put the tiniest portions on her plate. We're

667
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,760
Speaker 1: talking about a bite of broccoli. It's a tasting menu.

668
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:56,720
Speaker 1: But there are still so many nights in the Furdick household,

669
00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,080
Speaker 1: and you guys know, I love to cook, and the

670
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,759
Speaker 1: food that I cook, I think it's pretty good. But

671
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,080
Speaker 1: there are so many nights that I have sat at

672
00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:08,759
Speaker 1: the table and I have begged Abby, Abby, please just

673
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:12,000
Speaker 1: taste this. I promise you'll like it. It's not cheese

674
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:15,240
Speaker 1: all over it and bacon. It's good, and she will

675
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:19,080
Speaker 1: refuse to even taste it. She would rather go to

676
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:22,040
Speaker 1: bed hungry than taste something green. Don't have any moms

677
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:23,959
Speaker 1: out there that feel my pain right now, or maybe

678
00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,160
Speaker 1: some picky grown ups who still don't like to taste

679
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,560
Speaker 1: anything green. One of my favorite verses in all of

680
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 1: the Bible. Do I say that a lot. I have

681
00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:33,240
Speaker 1: a lot of favorite verses, But one of my favorite

682
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,160
Speaker 1: verses is Psalm thirty four, verse eight, and it says

683
00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:43,239
Speaker 1: taste and see that the Lord is good. And I

684
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,279
Speaker 1: think so many times I'm just like Abby, and God

685
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,439
Speaker 1: stands before me and he's trying to get something new

686
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:53,720
Speaker 1: in my life, and he's saying, Holly, taste this season.

687
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:57,040
Speaker 1: You might actually like it. But I don't like change.

688
00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,560
Speaker 1: I mean, I really don't like change. I don't change

689
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,760
Speaker 1: the furniture in my house. I don't change the colors

690
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:03,799
Speaker 1: on my wall. I have driven the same style car

691
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,120
Speaker 1: for fourteen years. My husband just keeps changing the color.

692
00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:09,600
Speaker 1: I've had four different colors of the same car. I

693
00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 1: don't like change. I don't like things to interrupt my plans.

694
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 1: But I believe that we will look back on the

695
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,520
Speaker 1: disappointments of twenty twenty and they will be some of

696
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:27,720
Speaker 1: our best memories. I know they will. Maybe you needed

697
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,240
Speaker 1: everything to stop so that you could hear God's voice

698
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,520
Speaker 1: through all the noise and that hectic pace of life.

699
00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:36,759
Speaker 1: Maybe you had to lose your job so that you

700
00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:40,560
Speaker 1: would go looking for a better one. Maybe through your fear,

701
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,200
Speaker 1: you were able for the first time to experience God's

702
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:47,880
Speaker 1: presence in a new way in your life. His thoughts

703
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:52,080
Speaker 1: are not your thoughts, His ways are not our ways.

704
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:56,960
Speaker 1: Taste and see that the Lord is good. He's standing

705
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,279
Speaker 1: here saying, you won't even know if you like it

706
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:03,439
Speaker 1: unless you try it. We gotta try it. You've got

707
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:06,200
Speaker 1: to see that God is good. And he may not

708
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,719
Speaker 1: fit into my plans, and it may not be the

709
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,080
Speaker 1: way I thought that it would be, but God is

710
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 1: good and he has good things for you. Coming out

711
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:19,800
Speaker 1: of this season, John six has a really sad ending

712
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:25,160
Speaker 1: because the people received the miracle, but they missed the

713
00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:30,000
Speaker 1: point because they couldn't let go of what they thought

714
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:36,560
Speaker 1: Jesus would do. They didn't want to change. So for

715
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:40,680
Speaker 1: these people to follow Jesus, to truly believe in him

716
00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:43,200
Speaker 1: the way Jesus was asking them to, it meant that

717
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:46,640
Speaker 1: they had to let go of something old and reach

718
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,840
Speaker 1: for something new. They had to let go of traditional religion.

719
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:54,000
Speaker 1: They had to stop following a formula and start following

720
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:58,200
Speaker 1: a person God in flesh. And they didn't want God

721
00:41:58,239 --> 00:42:00,799
Speaker 1: in flesh. They didn't want to let go of their

722
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:03,600
Speaker 1: idea of what they thought God was, even though we

723
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,360
Speaker 1: know God in flesh is so much better than sacrifices.

724
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:12,280
Speaker 1: But they wanted miracle Jesus. They dreamed of seeing manna

725
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,000
Speaker 1: from heaven as their ancestors had seen it, and when

726
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:20,040
Speaker 1: it came in a different form, and they were asked

727
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:23,279
Speaker 1: to shift their mindset, and not just their mindset, but

728
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:27,240
Speaker 1: their daily patterns. No more sacrifices break the holy laws

729
00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:30,120
Speaker 1: of our forefathers. Are you kidding me? But Jesus was

730
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,800
Speaker 1: offering them more. But most of them couldn't handle the change.

731
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,360
Speaker 1: They couldn't wrap their mind around it. And by the

732
00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:40,560
Speaker 1: time that Jesus gets done. We started in verse twenty eight,

733
00:42:40,719 --> 00:42:43,000
Speaker 1: and now I want to show you verse sixty because

734
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:45,399
Speaker 1: he's been teaching. He's been talking over and over again.

735
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 1: I am the bread off life, and this is what

736
00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,520
Speaker 1: that looks like. And by the time he gets done,

737
00:42:49,719 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 1: this is really funny to me. The disciples, you know,

738
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,200
Speaker 1: they say some really funny stuff, like kids, you know.

739
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 1: Verse sixty says this. They said, this is a hard teaching.

740
00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:06,200
Speaker 1: Who can accept it? And if you skip down to

741
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,840
Speaker 1: verse sixty six, we find one of the saddest verses

742
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:15,759
Speaker 1: in the Bible to me, and it says this from

743
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:20,120
Speaker 1: this time on, many of his disciples turned back and

744
00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:24,800
Speaker 1: no longer followed him. John tells us that after Jesus

745
00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:29,000
Speaker 1: did this teaching, many turned away. And can you imagine

746
00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:32,839
Speaker 1: the hurt that Jesus felt when all the crowds had

747
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,880
Speaker 1: come to him for something he could do, but when

748
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,960
Speaker 1: he tried to explain to them who he was, they

749
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,440
Speaker 1: didn't want that and they left. And I can't imagine

750
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,959
Speaker 1: how hurtful that was for Jesus. And the Bible tells

751
00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:47,799
Speaker 1: us that he turned to the twelfth and he looked

752
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,759
Speaker 1: at them and he said, do you want to leave

753
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,160
Speaker 1: two and Peter speaks up. And you never know in

754
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:55,799
Speaker 1: the Bible when Peter speaks up if it's going to

755
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,560
Speaker 1: be good or bad. This time he comes through clutch

756
00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:02,520
Speaker 1: and he says this verse sixty eight, Hasta's Lord, to

757
00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:06,760
Speaker 1: whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

758
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,640
Speaker 1: We have come to believe and to know that you

759
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:14,560
Speaker 1: are the Holy One of God. You see, Peter had

760
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:20,840
Speaker 1: experienced true bread. And the more you see and hear

761
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:25,399
Speaker 1: and experience the true Bread in your life, the more

762
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:27,719
Speaker 1: you come to realize that you cannot live without it.

763
00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:32,760
Speaker 1: That time when you were so alone and God whispered

764
00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:35,760
Speaker 1: to you that He was with you that health issue

765
00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:38,960
Speaker 1: that you battled for months, and if it weren't for

766
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,600
Speaker 1: that song, you don't know how you would have made

767
00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:44,840
Speaker 1: it through when you went through the divorce. But you

768
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:48,160
Speaker 1: have that scripture that you clung to. The more moments

769
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:50,920
Speaker 1: that you have like that, the more you realize you

770
00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:55,840
Speaker 1: can't live without them. The true Bread, the words of

771
00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:00,279
Speaker 1: eternal life that Jesus brings to our soul a more

772
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:03,520
Speaker 1: precious than a miracle, because it gives you life, and

773
00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:06,040
Speaker 1: he gives you energy, and he gives you joy, and

774
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,920
Speaker 1: it gives you hope. And Peter may not have understood

775
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,800
Speaker 1: all that Jesus was teaching them, but he had come

776
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:15,839
Speaker 1: to know firsthand that there was more to Jesus than

777
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:19,759
Speaker 1: his miracles. And I believe that Jesus stands before us

778
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 1: today and he calls to you, and he invites you

779
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,480
Speaker 1: to a feast. He's near. He's here, and he's setting

780
00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:30,760
Speaker 1: a feast before you, and he stands waiting, and he says, come,

781
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:35,480
Speaker 1: all you who are thirsty, Come all you who are hungry.

782
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:38,760
Speaker 1: If you're weary, come to me. Seek the Lord while

783
00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,759
Speaker 1: he may be found. He's right here. Call upon and

784
00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:45,920
Speaker 1: while he's near, his word will not return void in

785
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,680
Speaker 1: your life. There's a fullness that you've been missing, and

786
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:54,120
Speaker 1: Jesus stands before you offering it today. Will you let

787
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:59,160
Speaker 1: go of the old and accept the new that he's

788
00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:01,200
Speaker 1: bringing to your life? Can you let go of what

789
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:05,600
Speaker 1: you thought following Jesus would be like and accept what

790
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:10,440
Speaker 1: he wants to do in your life, not necessarily for you.

791
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:19,839
Speaker 1: So God, we come to you, which please help us

792
00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,880
Speaker 1: to move past the things that we want you to

793
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:27,080
Speaker 1: do for us, and see that you are doing a

794
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:32,960
Speaker 1: beautiful work in us God, your words to me are life,

795
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:36,960
Speaker 1: and I pray that you would speak to us this week.

796
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,560
Speaker 1: Some of us have never heard you speak outside of church.

797
00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:43,120
Speaker 1: But this week, God, we are on alert. Our ears

798
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:47,040
Speaker 1: are open, our eyes are open, we're looking, we're listening. God,

799
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:51,919
Speaker 1: we are excited to hear more from you. You are

800
00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:55,880
Speaker 1: our true bread, and we thank you for the sacrifice

801
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:59,759
Speaker 1: that you made to be able to be that to

802
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:02,759
Speaker 1: us us. I don't think we can ever wrap our

803
00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:04,800
Speaker 1: minds around it, but we come to you with open

804
00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:08,600
Speaker 1: hands and we say, okay, God, Okay, okay. I give

805
00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:10,880
Speaker 1: up on all the things that I thought that this

806
00:47:10,960 --> 00:47:14,759
Speaker 1: would be like. And I just want you. I just

807
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:19,480
Speaker 1: want you. I need you to speak to me. I

808
00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:24,919
Speaker 1: need you to bring peace to my soul. God. I'm scared. God,

809
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:30,640
Speaker 1: I'm tired. Minister to us in this place right now. Jesus,

810
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:36,960
Speaker 1: we love so much. I love you so much. And

811
00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:38,959
Speaker 1: while all of our heads are about and our eyes

812
00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:42,920
Speaker 1: are closed, maybe you've never fully given your life to Christ.

813
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:47,040
Speaker 1: And I want to invite you to receive Him right now.

814
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:51,360
Speaker 1: So all across our homes, will you pray this prayer

815
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:53,879
Speaker 1: with me? If you're coming to God for the first time,

816
00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 1: or maybe you're coming back to him. Just pray this prayer.

817
00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:02,120
Speaker 1: Heavenly Father. I am a sinner in need of a savior.

818
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:07,120
Speaker 1: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

819
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:12,799
Speaker 1: and the savior of the world. And today I make

820
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:17,160
Speaker 1: Jesus the lord of my life. I believe he died

821
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:22,239
Speaker 1: that I would be forgiven and rose again to bring

822
00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:26,560
Speaker 1: me a new life. I receive this new life now.

823
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:34,160
Speaker 1: This is my new beginning in Jesus's name. Amen, if

824
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:36,640
Speaker 1: you just prayed that prayer, I am so excited about

825
00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:38,399
Speaker 1: the work that God is doing in your heart. Will

826
00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:40,520
Speaker 1: you let us know type it in the chat for

827
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:45,160
Speaker 1: celebrating with you right now. And I'm so excited about

828
00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:47,680
Speaker 1: how God is going to speak to us this week

829
00:48:47,719 --> 00:48:49,839
Speaker 1: and how our eyes are going to be open to

830
00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:54,879
Speaker 1: hear from him. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks

831
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,480
Speaker 1: to those of you who give generously to this ministry.

832
00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:00,759
Speaker 1: Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You

833
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:03,240
Speaker 1: can click the link in the description to give now

834
00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:07,600
Speaker 1: or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information.

835
00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:11,279
Speaker 1: And if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You

836
00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:13,400
Speaker 1: can share it with your friends. You can click the

837
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:15,680
Speaker 1: share button, Take a screenshot and share it on your

838
00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:18,680
Speaker 1: social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again

839
00:49:18,719 --> 00:49:24,880
Speaker 1: for listening. God bless you.