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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

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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.

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Speaker 1: Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.

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Speaker 2: Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving

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Speaker 2: in your life.

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Speaker 1: Enjoy the message.

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Speaker 2: We're coming from a little bit of an unknown scripture.

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Speaker 2: This is not like Stairway to Heaven or a led

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Speaker 2: Zepplin song that everybody knows. This is a deep track

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Speaker 2: from the Book of Second Kings thirteen fourteen through twenty

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Speaker 2: part ay.

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Speaker 1: I want to read it real quick for you.

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Speaker 2: It says, now Elisha had been suffering from the illness

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Speaker 2: from which he died.

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Speaker 1: Jaho Ash, king.

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Speaker 2: Of Israel, went down to see him and wept over him.

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Speaker 2: And he uses this expression that was used when Elijah

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Speaker 2: was taken up to heaven. He was the prophet who

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Speaker 2: preceded Elisha, and he says, my father, my father.

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Speaker 1: The Cheerias and horsemen of Israel.

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Speaker 2: He didn't know what he would do as king if

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Speaker 2: he didn't have the man of God giving guidance and strategy.

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Speaker 2: And so he's weeping over an opportunity that is passing,

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Speaker 2: and Elisha, instead of giving him some sort of chicken.

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Speaker 1: Soup for the kingly soul work with me, now.

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Speaker 2: Gives him a set of marching orders. He gives him

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Speaker 2: something to do. And most of us, if we would

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Speaker 2: do what we already knew, we could see.

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Speaker 1: Victory in our life. It's not a lack of knowledge.

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Speaker 2: A lot of times it's a lack of courage or

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Speaker 2: a lack of conviction. And so he understands something that

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Speaker 2: he's got to get Jehosh the King to move out

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Speaker 2: of apathy and to own the outcome and fight for himself.

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Speaker 1: It's almost as.

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Speaker 2: If Elisha's saying, stop crying, man up. Look at verse fifteen,

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Speaker 2: get a bow and some arrows. Take the bow in

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Speaker 2: your hands. And when he had taken it, Elisha put

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Speaker 2: his hands on the King's hands. And our theme, we

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Speaker 2: said was in verse seventeen, open the east window, and

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Speaker 2: he opened it. He wanted him to view the victory

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Speaker 2: before he fought the battle.

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Speaker 1: It's the power of a preview.

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Speaker 2: And I don't know about you, but I'm looking into

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Speaker 2: my future with expectation and anticipation. Amen, I don't need

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Speaker 2: any news network to define the future for me. I

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Speaker 2: have a preview of Heaven's agenda for my life, and

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Speaker 2: I'm pointing my expectation in the direction of my destiny,

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Speaker 2: believing that the best is ahead. Touch somebody and say,

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Speaker 2: your best is before you.

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Speaker 1: Your best is not behind you.

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Speaker 2: The devil is a liar. You have not seen your

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Speaker 2: best stays. The best is yet to be. Open the window.

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Speaker 2: Stop staring at the stop thinking about what you lost,

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Speaker 2: Get what you have left.

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Speaker 1: Open the east window and shoot. Take the shot.

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Speaker 2: And he shot, and he proclaimed the Lord's arrow of victory,

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Speaker 2: the arrow of victory over aarm. Everybody has an aarm.

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Speaker 2: Everybody has a next battle to fight.

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Speaker 1: Everybody has a keystone conquest that if you.

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Speaker 2: Win this one, it'll set you up for success in

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Speaker 2: all of the other ones.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what your Arab is this year.

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Speaker 2: It might be very, very practical. But he told him

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Speaker 2: to aim.

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Speaker 1: At aram, don't run from it, face it in faith.

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Speaker 1: But don't put your eyes on aerm. Put your eyes

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Speaker 1: on the arrow flying over aarm.

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Speaker 2: Kind of like Peter, if he would keep his eyes

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Speaker 2: on the one who was above the wind in the waves,

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Speaker 2: he could float. The bottoms of his feet were somehow

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Speaker 2: water resistant, but when he looked at the wind and

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Speaker 2: the waves. When you look at aram you always become afraid.

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Speaker 2: But if you watch the arrow, watch the arrow, keep

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Speaker 2: your eye on the promise of God over your life.

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Speaker 2: He said, you will completely destroy the Aramians at afect.

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Speaker 2: And we said last week that the arrow is flying

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Speaker 2: over your life.

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Speaker 1: The window of opportunity is here. But what comes next

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Speaker 1: is so important because what just.

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Speaker 2: Happened is a powerful prediction of victory. But what happens

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Speaker 2: next is a practical assignment. And here I want to

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Speaker 2: spend my time on week two of work your window.

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Speaker 2: Then he said, okay, sometimes that's what happens after you

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Speaker 2: come to church, get inspired, worship God, move the mountains

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Speaker 2: and all of that. And sometimes it's the little thing.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes it's not the mountains, it's the mole hills. Talk

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Speaker 2: to me, somebody.

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Speaker 1: He said, take.

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Speaker 2: The arrows, and the king took them, and Laisha told

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Speaker 2: him strike the ground, and he struck it three times.

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Speaker 2: He was in compliance, but he wasn't fully committed. He

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Speaker 2: struck it three times. He was in compliance, but he

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Speaker 2: wasn't committed.

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Speaker 1: And stopped. Remember the Man of God said, get a bow.

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Speaker 1: He said, take the bowl he said, open the window,

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Speaker 1: take the arrows, strike the ground. But he didn't say stop.

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Speaker 1: He didn't say stop. There's something in your life today

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Speaker 1: that God has not said stop about.

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Speaker 2: You.

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Speaker 1: Watch this.

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Speaker 2: The Man of God was angry with him and said,

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Speaker 2: you should have.

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Speaker 1: Struck the ground five or six times.

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Speaker 2: Then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes we do just enough to survive, but not enough

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Speaker 2: to really succeed, so we stay stuck. In fact, we

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Speaker 2: tell ourselves the story that we're stuck. Is it that

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Speaker 2: you're stuck or is it that you stopped?

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Speaker 1: You would have completely destroyed it, but now you will.

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Speaker 2: Defeat it only three times and watch the window close.

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Speaker 2: In verse twenty, Elisha died and was buried.

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Speaker 1: Is over. Now you should have done it, you didn't

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Speaker 1: do it.

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Speaker 2: And I want to pick up right where I left

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Speaker 2: off last week on the power of precision, I talked

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Speaker 2: about determined the decision before the battle begins. This message

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Speaker 2: is called the power of pre just pre you know,

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Speaker 2: just pre pre light, pre marital counseling. Me and Holly

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Speaker 2: had some pre marital counseling before we got married, straightened

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Speaker 2: her out, got our dysfunctions, not completely eliminated, but manageable.

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Speaker 2: And then I got her some pre natal vitamins after

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Speaker 2: we got married, because I got her pregnant the power

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Speaker 2: of pre and we did not have to sign a

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Speaker 2: pre nup. We didn't have no pre nothing to sign

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Speaker 2: it over the power of That's what I want to

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Speaker 2: preach about. Sent my kids to pre school, trying to

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Speaker 2: get them prepared. And I believe in the value of preparation.

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Speaker 1: I really do. I think they said like this.

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Speaker 2: Not only do I think that the outcome of the

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Speaker 2: battle is often decided before it begins, pre decided precision,

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Speaker 2: but I also think.

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Speaker 1: See if I can say this just right, because the

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Speaker 1: way the Lord spoke it to me, it made sense

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Speaker 1: to me.

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Speaker 2: I think that most of us are not currently performing

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Speaker 2: at the level of our potential. We're performing at the

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Speaker 2: level of our preparation.

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Speaker 1: It's just a simple way of saying what Elisha said

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Speaker 1: to jeho Ash.

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Speaker 2: There was more that God had in store, but you

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Speaker 2: stop sure, and I wonder are you living beneath the

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Speaker 2: level of your potential. I'll admit the world doesn't really

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Speaker 2: celebrate preparation these days. We live in a post oriented world. Okay,

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Speaker 2: speaking of marriage, history between me and Holly.

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Speaker 1: I'tey somethingal quick. I've told you this before. I told

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Speaker 1: you this several times.

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Speaker 2: But she's a great cook, and she got me voluptuous

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Speaker 2: in our first eighteen months of marriage. And recently she

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Speaker 2: found a picture of me with my shirt off, looking

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Speaker 2: kind of filled out, and real quick.

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Speaker 1: This isn't a nutrition class.

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Speaker 2: I understand you didn't come for all that, and I

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Speaker 2: don't claim to be a model of health any of that, Okay.

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Speaker 1: I just found what works for me, and I work it,

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Speaker 1: and what works for me is just a plan.

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Speaker 2: The reason I got fat when we got married is

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Speaker 2: because we didn't plan our meals that much. So it

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Speaker 2: was Mexican at the last minute, nine thirty at night.

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Speaker 2: Remember this was pre children, right, This was back when

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Speaker 2: you could just pick up and do that and you

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Speaker 2: didn't have to prepare anything. So we were just we

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Speaker 2: were just enjoying everything, and I figured I got my woman,

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Speaker 2: so I don't need to look good.

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Speaker 1: I'm just kidding.

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Speaker 2: But she found a picture of how I look back.

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Speaker 1: Then, and it looked you've seen.

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Speaker 2: The infomercials late at night like that before picture.

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Speaker 1: I had my eyes closed.

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Speaker 2: I didn't even remember the picture, and I was just

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Speaker 2: having some fun and I went and found a picture.

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Speaker 1: Of me now and I put them side by side,

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Speaker 1: just for me. Send it to Holly and said, how

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Speaker 1: many men get better looking as the years go by?

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Speaker 1: And she started praising the Lord.

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Speaker 2: She sent me some praise hands Emodish and.

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Speaker 1: I was showing Elijah my old listen. He said you

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Speaker 1: should post that, Daddy, and I said I'm not.

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Speaker 2: I said, boy, let me teach you something. Everything is

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Speaker 2: not meant to be posted.

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Speaker 1: My point number one.

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Speaker 2: I got four points of this message. Point number one

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Speaker 2: is the post. Because we live in a world where

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Speaker 2: everybody wants to post everything, and we got people who

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Speaker 2: are more interested in posting than they are in progress.

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Speaker 2: One man was talking about the game Guitar Hero, the

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Speaker 2: game where you can press the buttons and pretend pretend

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Speaker 2: to play the guitar. You don't have to prepair, you

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Speaker 2: just pretend. And he said, everybody wants to be a

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Speaker 2: rock star, but nobody wants to learn the chords.

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Speaker 1: Preparation is underrated.

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Speaker 2: Preparation is not very celebrated in our culture, is uh

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Speaker 2: Because we want to post and we need instant validation.

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Speaker 2: We live in the age of outrage, instant outrage and

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Speaker 2: instant validation.

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Speaker 1: We learned to tweet before we learn to think.

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Speaker 2: Just post everything that you think, like everybody needs to

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Speaker 2: hear what you know. I'm thinking about doing a lesson

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Speaker 2: because it's disturbing me and show you the difference between

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Speaker 2: a journal and a Facebook page. Everything you think does

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Speaker 2: not deserve an audience. Preach past statement age, break to

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Speaker 2: the people.

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Speaker 1: Some of y'all are shouting because you're hoping that your

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Speaker 1: aunt Susie in Oklahoma. Here's this message. She's embarrassing you

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Speaker 1: and the whole family the post.

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Speaker 2: I know you're wondering how m I get back to

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Speaker 2: second Things thirteen. I know exactly how to get back there.

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Speaker 2: See because I prepared.

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Speaker 1: To preach.

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Speaker 2: What would you do if I came up here to

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Speaker 2: preach and instead of telling you to turn your Bible ass?

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Speaker 1: So I got anything you want.

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Speaker 2: To talk about this week?

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Speaker 1: Anybody, Let's think whole Testament, New Testament. Look at some scriptures?

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Speaker 1: Do see who looking for?

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Speaker 2: And I wonder, why do you expect me to prepare

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Speaker 2: to preach. I'm not gonna be mean about it, but

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Speaker 2: just the question are you prepared to receive?

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Speaker 1: Because the last time I checked. It's often the quality

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Speaker 1: of the soil that determines the harvest more than the

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Speaker 1: quality of the sea.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes when chumps will tell me that was your best

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Speaker 2: sermon you ever preached, I said, no, you finally just listen.

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Speaker 1: I'm preaching good every week. You're just awake this week

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Speaker 1: when the king went down to see Elisha. Remember he

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Speaker 1: had recently been appointed to his post as king, and

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Speaker 1: Elisha has not been mentioned in the scriptures.

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Speaker 2: For something like forty five years, but he's still on

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Speaker 2: his post. There's something about staying on post.

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Speaker 1: It is the lost art of being planted.

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Speaker 2: And you are never going to fulfill purpose until you

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Speaker 2: commit to your post. Thinking about posting a couple of

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Speaker 2: different ways, I'm thinking about how God has posted some

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Speaker 2: of you in places that seem insignificant, And isn't that

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Speaker 2: really the message of Second King's.

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Speaker 1: Thirteen fourteen through twenty.

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Speaker 2: We were talking the other day in a little group

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Speaker 2: about this passage, and one person said, I.

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Speaker 1: Feel sorry for the king. If Elisha would have wanted

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Speaker 1: him to strike the ground five or six times, he

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Speaker 1: should have told him to strike it five or six times.

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Speaker 2: And I think the message here is that God leaves

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Speaker 2: a lot of it up to you.

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Speaker 1: How far do you want to go?

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Speaker 2: I don't think God makes all the decisions for your life.

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Speaker 2: I think he lets you decide, within certain parameters, how

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Speaker 2: much purpose orotential you want to fulfill. I don't think

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Speaker 2: that God precides everything about our life. Do I believe

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Speaker 2: that we each have a purpose?

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Speaker 1: Yes?

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Speaker 2: Do I believe that He's God whether or not you

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Speaker 2: marry Jimmy?

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Speaker 1: Yes? Do I believe that you quitting your job will

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Speaker 1: cause the cosmos to collapse, or that any presidential office

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Speaker 1: could thwart her overpower?

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Speaker 2: The presence and the pre eminence of God. No, I

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Speaker 2: believe he's sovereign. But I also believe that within his sovereignty,

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Speaker 2: he has left space.

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Speaker 1: For you and I to take responsibility the post How

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Speaker 1: do you preach about the value of preparation in a

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Speaker 1: post oriented world. How do you preach to a It's not.

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Speaker 2: Really an age thing, it's not really a social media thing.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I've put stuff on line too, just like

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Speaker 2: the rest of you. But I wonder sometimes do we

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Speaker 2: want recognition before we've taken responsibility?

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Speaker 1: Do we need the.

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Speaker 2: Pat on the back the battle is won or lost

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Speaker 2: in preparation. This is true of athletes. I can tell

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Speaker 2: any athletes in the house. Are there any professional athletes

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Speaker 2: in the house. Any NASCAR drivers.

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Speaker 1: In the house. Y'all know NASCAR is not that simple.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it is a very sophisticated sport. I only

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Speaker 1: know because of Joey Brittany. If he isn't racing, I

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Speaker 1: don't watch. I'm not a NASCAR fan. I cheer for

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Speaker 1: twenty two comes to my church and he told me

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Speaker 1: to come out to a race to see him race.

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Speaker 1: I really want to go to the NASCAR race. And

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Speaker 1: after I went, I was fascinated. I got to hear

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Speaker 1: his teamwork and everything.

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Speaker 2: And Chunks, who I mentioned earlier, who only half listens

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Speaker 2: to my sermons sometimes.

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Speaker 1: I'm kidding about Chunks.

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Speaker 2: But he turned to me and said something because when

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Speaker 2: I went to the race, Joey wan, I'm not saying

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Speaker 2: it was the favor of God because your pastor was

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Speaker 2: at the race track.

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Speaker 1: I would never say something like that. I would only

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Speaker 1: employ it.

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Speaker 2: But he won, and Chunks looked at me on the

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Speaker 2: way home, he said, you know what's interesting about that race?

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Speaker 2: He said that race wasn't one on the track. It

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Speaker 2: was won in the garage because he had been talking

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Speaker 2: to one of your team members during the race, explaining

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Speaker 2: how all week the team is three hundred and fifty people.

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Speaker 2: He told me, working on that car, you see one driver,

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Speaker 2: and he's a good driver, and if he can't drive,

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Speaker 2: they don't win.

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Speaker 1: But no matter how well he can drive, it's not

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Speaker 1: what happens on Sunday. I feel like preaching a little bit.

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Speaker 2: Because I think this has something in common with spirituality.

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Speaker 2: It's what happens Monday when they're trying to make the

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Speaker 2: car a tenth of a pound lighter. Just a tenth

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Speaker 2: of a pound lighter can make all the difference. I mean,

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Speaker 2: just a little bit, just a little tweak on the motor,

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Speaker 2: just a little race note on this track and this turn.

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Speaker 2: And I'm making stuff up because I don't know a

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Speaker 2: lot about NASCAR. But what I'm trying to say is

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Speaker 2: maybe God is more interested in the garage than he

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Speaker 2: is the track. God is a god of preparation. He

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Speaker 2: would not feed the multitudes until they sat down in

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Speaker 2: the grass. Why provision awaits preparation.

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Speaker 1: You've been asking.

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Speaker 2: God to send it, and he's been asking you to

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Speaker 2: form it.

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Speaker 1: Does he can't fail what you don't form post. It

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Speaker 1: was decided.

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Speaker 2: The battle had not been fought yet, but Elisha predicted

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Speaker 2: the outcome based on the King's persistence and preparation.

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Speaker 1: Here's what he said.

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Speaker 2: If you won't do the groundwork, when it doesn't seem

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Speaker 2: to make sense, if all you want.

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Speaker 1: Is this great marriage, happy family, eight pack, whatever, prayer, life, whatever,

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Speaker 1: I don't care what it is. I'm telling you it's

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Speaker 1: about the garage. He is the god of the garage.

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Speaker 2: Tweaking stuff and fixing stuff. Stuff you can't see. Because

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Speaker 2: my second point is the point. I don't think I've

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Speaker 2: ever had a sermon point.

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Speaker 1: About the point, but I've tried to put myself. I tried.

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Speaker 1: Here's the thing about perspective.

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Speaker 2: And if you're watching, uh the news sometimes and you're

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Speaker 2: seeing somebody that you disagree with, and your first instinct

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Speaker 2: is to argue with them. Before you argue with them,

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Speaker 2: try to get their perspective. Try try to get an

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Speaker 2: inverted perspective.

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Speaker 1: That's called empathy.

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Speaker 2: And so one way, Jonathan, you were texting me yesterday

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Speaker 2: about reading the Bible and preaching and all of this,

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Speaker 2: and and I was trying to show him some things.

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Speaker 2: And when you when you take jeho Ash as a villain,

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Speaker 2: and and and and jeho Ash is a lazy man,

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Speaker 2: and and you don't you don't stop to think about

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Speaker 2: what's happening here in that How many times have you

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Speaker 2: stopped because it didn't make sense? The reason I believe

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Speaker 2: he stopped is because arrows are supposed to go like this.

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Speaker 2: What sense does it make to put an arrow in

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Speaker 2: the ground? And I want to point this out to you.

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Speaker 2: I'm having fun, man. I love what I do. I

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Speaker 2: do what I love, and.

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Speaker 1: To do this with something that's supposed to do this,

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Speaker 1: It's hard to be persistent when you can't see the purpose.

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Speaker 1: That's all I'm trying to say. And I guess what

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Speaker 1: I wanted to tell you, Daniel's son is that mister

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Speaker 1: Miagi isn't always going to explain to you why you're

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Speaker 1: painting his fence. That he's not always going to tell

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Speaker 1: you why you're waxing his car. And I know that

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Speaker 1: you would paint the fence if you knew the purpose

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Speaker 1: of painting the fence.

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Speaker 2: And I know that you would wax the car if

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Speaker 2: you knew the purpose of waxing the car. And I

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Speaker 2: know that you would stay a virgin. If God would

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Speaker 2: give you your wedding date.

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Speaker 1: See Jehosh had a calling and elish enroll them in

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Speaker 1: a class.

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Speaker 2: Write this down. Don't expect the class to look like

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Speaker 2: the calling. Don't expect your training, don't expect your don't

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Speaker 2: expect your preparation to look like your promise. Because the

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Speaker 2: place God prepares.

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Speaker 1: You the most is the place that seems the most

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Speaker 1: pointless to you.

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Speaker 2: I laugh when people talk about elevation Church being a

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Speaker 2: marketing phenomenon. I laugh because in a sense they're correct.

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Speaker 2: Who lights the lamp and puts it under a bowl

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Speaker 2: and put it on the stand, give light to everybody

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Speaker 2: in the house.

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Speaker 1: I didn't get the gospel to keep it to myself.

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Speaker 1: I didn't start a.

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Speaker 2: Church so I could get one hundred and twenty people.

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Speaker 2: Send everybody else to hell. Both the doors and everybody

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Speaker 2: sing Kumbai Yah while the ships come sailing by.

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Speaker 1: You're right, we.

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Speaker 2: Want to get the word out, but it takes me

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Speaker 2: back to my preparation.

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Speaker 1: Now. To understand why Elisha was angry, you would have

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Speaker 1: to understand something about his process. You really can't understand

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Speaker 1: someone's priorities without knowing their process. So I didn't start

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Speaker 1: marketing the church with the budget.

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Speaker 2: I started marketing in ministry, if you want to call

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Speaker 2: it marketing, printing out flyers because Jamie Williams gave me

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Speaker 2: his code to the copying machine at First Baptist Church

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Speaker 2: and let me run off three hundred. He said, no

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Speaker 2: more than three hundred, but I gave him out every

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Speaker 2: Monday to FCA at Berkeley High School, I was marketing

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Speaker 2: with a copier code. I was marketing on the Summer

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Speaker 2: Impact team. When I say work your window, when I say,

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Speaker 2: even if there's a peephole right now, if you'll work

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Speaker 2: your copier code, maybe one day God will.

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Speaker 1: Give you a billboard.

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Speaker 2: Come on, somebody, I know what I'm talking about from.

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Speaker 1: My personal experience.

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Speaker 2: It's not a theory or a principle or philosophy. It

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Speaker 2: is my personal experience that if you are faithful in little,

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Speaker 2: he'll make you faithful and much. Why would he waste

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Speaker 2: more if you're not working what you have now.

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Speaker 1: So we traveled to this small little town in South Carolina.

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Speaker 1: I don't remember if it was Camden. I think it

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Speaker 1: was Camden. We were supposed to hold a youth rally.

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Speaker 2: Holly can tell you we were on a summer impact team,

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Speaker 2: a ministry team that Chris crossed the state of South Carolina,

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Speaker 2: hosting back.

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Speaker 1: To our Bible clubs and revivals. And we were so excited.

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Speaker 2: About our theme that we had developed called Run to Win.

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Speaker 1: And I had a.

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Speaker 2: Theme, and I had a team, and I put Holly

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Speaker 2: on my team because I liked her, and I figured,

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Speaker 2: if I can get her in this van with me

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Speaker 2: for eleven weeks, she will get attracted to my anointing.

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Speaker 2: And I worked my window all the way to my

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Speaker 2: wedding day.

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Speaker 1: I'm just preaching what I practice. Now. Look at me, y'all.

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Speaker 1: We went to our first stop so excited. Run to Win.

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Speaker 1: The Youth is our first stop going all summer. It's

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Speaker 1: eleven week ministry extravaganza across the state of South Carolina.

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Speaker 1: And the youth pastor said, well, I got some good

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Speaker 1: news when we got there. I said, cool man, He said,

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Speaker 1: no kids signed up. I said, how is that good news?

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Speaker 1: He said, oh, you can chilled by the pool this week.

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Speaker 1: Take a little break. I said, bro, it's my first week.

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Speaker 2: I don't need a ten I need some kids and.

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Speaker 1: My lion, Holly. That we hit the streets so hard.

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Speaker 1: Was it Kimden? Am I getting the town wrong? I

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Speaker 1: don't remember. But we canvas that town.

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Speaker 2: Let's call it Camden. We canvas Camden. I mean flyers

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Speaker 2: on every door. By the last night of the crusade,

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Speaker 2: we had it at forty. Kids, you ain't clapping because

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Speaker 2: you don't think that's big. Forty's big when you thought

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Speaker 2: you were gonna be by the pool at the Motel

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Speaker 2: six all week in Camden. And I know what you're thinking,

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Speaker 2: what's the point? That's exactly what I was thinking. It's

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Speaker 2: called ground game, It's called preparation. Why would God have

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Speaker 2: led me past her thousands if I wasn't willing to

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Speaker 2: hit the streets for forty.

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Speaker 1: And I wish I knew I could preach so much.

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Speaker 2: Better if I knew what God's got you doing right now?

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Speaker 1: That seems kind of pointless. I would have stopped too.

445
00:26:58,320 --> 00:26:59,639
Speaker 1: I don't even know if I would have put to

446
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:01,119
Speaker 1: three three arrows in the ground.

447
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,480
Speaker 2: It doesn't make sense to strike the ground.

448
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: With something that's supposed to fly in the air.

449
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,280
Speaker 2: It doesn't make sense to declare victory with an instrument

450
00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:13,000
Speaker 2: of death call a cross. It doesn't make sense to

451
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 2: kill a giant with a slingshot, with the most inexperienced

452
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,360
Speaker 2: one on the battlefield doing the slinging. It doesn't make

453
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,200
Speaker 2: sense to deliver a nation with a stick in your hand.

454
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,199
Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense. God prepares you to trust the

455
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,439
Speaker 1: teacher by putting you in a class that does not

456
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 1: look like the calling. Lions and bears don't look like Goliath,

457
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,720
Speaker 1: but they are the perfect preparation.

458
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 2: Now I'll come to the point in my life where

459
00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,960
Speaker 2: I'm learning to trust my teacher to know that even

460
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:52,879
Speaker 2: if this doesn't look like it, everything is preparation, and

461
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:53,720
Speaker 2: I mean everything.

462
00:27:55,320 --> 00:28:02,119
Speaker 1: Every fence I paint, every car I wax, every offense

463
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:03,840
Speaker 1: is preparation.

464
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,920
Speaker 2: Maybe this won't take your pain away, but if you

465
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,560
Speaker 2: would start seeing your pain as preparation.

466
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:16,919
Speaker 1: I'm not saying God's the one who hurt you.

467
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:24,359
Speaker 2: I'm saying in his hands whatever hurt you will become

468
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:31,760
Speaker 2: healing for where He's taking you. I'm prophesying to somebody.

469
00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,959
Speaker 2: I don't know who you are, but God is preparing you.

470
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,120
Speaker 2: He's getting you ready. You're in the field, your tending sheep.

471
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 2: God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you.

472
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 2: It's not failure it's preparation doesn't feel like preparation, it

473
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:59,640
Speaker 2: feels like failure. But the failure was preparation so that

474
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,600
Speaker 2: I would have the infrastructure and the fortitude for the success.

475
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,240
Speaker 2: God's got me in the garage right now. Garage doesn't

476
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 2: look like the racetrack.

477
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,640
Speaker 1: But God's not done. He hadn't hit posts yet.

478
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,200
Speaker 2: All things work together for the good of those who

479
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 2: love God and are called according to his purpose.

480
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 1: He's preparing me. Yeah. Point the point is for you

481
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,880
Speaker 1: to trust a teacher. That's the point. Take the arrow

482
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:43,120
Speaker 1: strike the ground.

483
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 2: And I spent all week trying to figure out something

484
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,000
Speaker 2: I was preparing This week. I wanted to come to

485
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,160
Speaker 2: the pulpit prepared, and I knew that there would be

486
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:57,560
Speaker 2: at least one person paying attention.

487
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 1: Who would want to know.

488
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 2: How would Elisha get so angry over something so simple? Well,

489
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 2: first of all, he was about one hundred and ten

490
00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:07,960
Speaker 2: years old. I don't imagine there's much to be happy

491
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:08,760
Speaker 2: about at that age.

492
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:15,160
Speaker 1: You'd be crotchety too, So that's number one.

493
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 2: But for my second clue, I wanted to give you

494
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:24,680
Speaker 2: point number three, the plow, because I figured there would

495
00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:29,480
Speaker 2: probably be something about Elisha's process that would help me

496
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,480
Speaker 2: understand his insistence on perseverance.

497
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 1: He could not believe what he saw.

498
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 2: He could not believe that someone would have an arrow

499
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,920
Speaker 2: of victory in their hand, but refused to do what

500
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,920
Speaker 2: needed to be done to secure the victory. And so

501
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 2: I went back through his life and just remembered the

502
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:48,640
Speaker 2: few things.

503
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:50,120
Speaker 1: This is one of my.

504
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 2: Favorite Bible characters. He was the subject of my book

505
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,440
Speaker 2: that I wrote called Greater. So me and him spent

506
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 2: a lot of time together, and I saw on one

507
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:06,560
Speaker 2: time these kings needed rain. They needed provision from heaven,

508
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,640
Speaker 2: and Elisha told them, okay, you want rain, dig some ditches.

509
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,480
Speaker 2: But see now it wasn't raining yet, so they didn't

510
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:19,800
Speaker 2: need an irrigation system. But Elisha knew that the key

511
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,160
Speaker 2: to receiving provision is to make preparation before you can

512
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:30,360
Speaker 2: perceive it. So he told him to dig some ditches.

513
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,640
Speaker 2: The first thing that he did when he took the

514
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,960
Speaker 2: mantle from Elijah.

515
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: The one who left him in transition.

516
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 2: The first thing that he did was to heal some

517
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,760
Speaker 2: water in a town called Jericho, some water that had

518
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,280
Speaker 2: become toxic, and to revive the economy, he needed to

519
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:48,960
Speaker 2: heal the water.

520
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,600
Speaker 1: Supply, and so he asked for some salt.

521
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 2: Salt comes out of the ground, of course we know this.

522
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,680
Speaker 2: It comes either from the ocean or it comes from.

523
00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:02,160
Speaker 1: The mines, but either way it's manufacture by pressure. I

524
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,400
Speaker 1: could preach about the power of pressure too, I guess.

525
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 2: If I wanted to see, because it looks like pressure,

526
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:11,360
Speaker 2: but it's really preparation. Think of Jesus in the garden

527
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,719
Speaker 2: of got Semonet s many means olive press. It was

528
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,200
Speaker 2: the pressure of the garden so great that it was

529
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,920
Speaker 2: like drops of blood. When he sweat, it was like

530
00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 2: drops of blood. I don't know if he burst the

531
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:26,720
Speaker 2: capillary or if it was like that metaphorically or literally.

532
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,800
Speaker 2: Either way, he was under pressure. His pressure was his preparation.

533
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,880
Speaker 2: Quit asking God to take the stress away, Start asking

534
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:38,040
Speaker 2: him to show you how to handle it. Nevertheless, not

535
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:43,800
Speaker 2: my will, but your will be done. He made a precision.

536
00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,640
Speaker 2: It's the power of pre It's the power of preparation.

537
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,640
Speaker 2: Is the power of taking salt and throwing it.

538
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:55,320
Speaker 1: In the water. And the water was purified. And I

539
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:56,400
Speaker 1: was noticing how.

540
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:02,960
Speaker 2: Elisha wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, which took

541
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:04,520
Speaker 2: me all the way back to the first time I

542
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 2: saw him in scripture, because Elijah had kind of had

543
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 2: a little melt down and he threw a little hissy fit.

544
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 2: God doesn't need you to be perfect me. God doesn't

545
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,040
Speaker 2: need you to make perfect be perfect. He just needs

546
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 2: you to keep making progress. And when Elijah went back,

547
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:27,320
Speaker 2: God said, all right, now, I have made preparations for

548
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,680
Speaker 2: your successor. Elijah was so tired he didn't know what

549
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 2: to do next. Jesseph I wanted to kill him, and

550
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:33,840
Speaker 2: he didn't have a backup plan.

551
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 1: But God did. And God said, if you'll get back

552
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,480
Speaker 1: going the way you came, I've got your succession plan

553
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 1: already in place, and I'll show it to you when

554
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,880
Speaker 1: you get back in position. Elijah is walking.

555
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,440
Speaker 2: I had him pull this one scripture for you because

556
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 2: it was so profound when it hit me, and I

557
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,840
Speaker 2: understood it once. Why Elisha was angry when the king

558
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,680
Speaker 2: would not strike the ground. It's in One Kings, nineteen nineteen.

559
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 2: I want you to look at this. It says that.

560
00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: Elijah went from there, the place where he was making excuses,

561
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,080
Speaker 1: feeling sorry for himself. He went from there the place

562
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,560
Speaker 1: of pressure, the threat of Jessebel, the anxiety of the future.

563
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,600
Speaker 2: He went from there on the word of the Lord

564
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,160
Speaker 2: and found Elisha. Please read with me, because what I'm

565
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:22,360
Speaker 2: gonna show you next is gonna explain to you why

566
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,840
Speaker 2: the season that you're in doesn't feel significant, but it

567
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,600
Speaker 2: is so important that you do it with all your heart,

568
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:29,800
Speaker 2: with all your mind, with all your.

569
00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:34,360
Speaker 1: Soul, with all your strength. He found Elisha, son of Sheafat,

570
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:42,520
Speaker 1: and Elisha was preaching. Now, remember his calling was to

571
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 1: be a prophet, but.

572
00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:47,480
Speaker 2: Sometimes the classroom doesn't look like the calling.

573
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:54,920
Speaker 1: He wasn't prophesying. He was plowing.

574
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,840
Speaker 2: He was digging up hard ground. He was not Not

575
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 2: only was he plowing, but he was plowing twelve yoke

576
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,680
Speaker 2: about Oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.

577
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:14,720
Speaker 2: What do you think the views like when you're less

578
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:19,799
Speaker 2: than line? And at first I couldn't figure out via.

579
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:25,680
Speaker 2: Elija didn't go to the prophet school. What if God,

580
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,280
Speaker 2: if God was preparing somebody to take up the mantle

581
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 2: of Elijah.

582
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,040
Speaker 1: What did he get him from the prophet school? But

583
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,000
Speaker 1: he didn't want somebody who knew how to preach. He

584
00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: wanted somebody who knew how to plow. Because if you're

585
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,640
Speaker 1: willing to plow, I can teach you to preach, but

586
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 1: I need somebody who's not scared, not backing up, not

587
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,120
Speaker 1: gonna get tired and turn back. He puts his hand

588
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,520
Speaker 1: to the plow and looks back. It's not fit for

589
00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of God. I need somebody who knows how

590
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:02,560
Speaker 1: to plow.

591
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,720
Speaker 2: And we have a generation that knows how to post

592
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 2: but doesn't know how to plow. We got more windows

593
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 2: than we've got work. I mean, you came here today, right,

594
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:26,879
Speaker 2: and you came to be in the presence of God?

595
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,960
Speaker 1: Am I right? Am I right? Did you come to

596
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,680
Speaker 1: be in the presence of God? Come on every location

597
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:34,160
Speaker 1: watching online? Did you come to be in the presence

598
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:39,239
Speaker 1: of God? Okay, presence starts with pre You think this

599
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:45,880
Speaker 1: just popped up? You think that You think it just you? Oh,

600
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:53,359
Speaker 1: you think it came down. No, it was Elisha understood

601
00:36:53,440 --> 00:37:05,600
Speaker 1: the principle of preparation. Provision awaits preparations. So I hope

602
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,279
Speaker 1: you enjoyed the music today. You should have. I mean,

603
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:11,399
Speaker 1: I know where I'm preaching right now.

604
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:13,480
Speaker 2: It's probably not raining in a lot of locations where

605
00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:15,080
Speaker 2: you're watching this, or you're watching this on TV, But

606
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 2: it was raining the day at church and somebody had

607
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:24,080
Speaker 2: an umbrella. I mean there were parking team people who

608
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,160
Speaker 2: were preparing for you in the park. Here's what I realized.

609
00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:34,799
Speaker 2: I can preach as far as I can preach, but

610
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,080
Speaker 2: preach starts with pre If somebody don't park you, I

611
00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:45,000
Speaker 2: can't preach to you. And Elisha understood it's not Sometimes

612
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:46,720
Speaker 2: it gives the victory.

613
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,759
Speaker 1: It's the groundwork.

614
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:57,360
Speaker 2: It's the preparationist, the underground stuff. It's those chairs that

615
00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,759
Speaker 2: you're sitting in at Valentine. Many of you are sitting

616
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,600
Speaker 2: in a chair. I mean you're sitting in a chair.

617
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:05,920
Speaker 2: You know why you're sitting.

618
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:11,319
Speaker 1: In that chair because Steve spaced him. Yeah, came out.

619
00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 1: He measured them to make sure that the seats were

620
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 1: at the prime proximity to create maximum capacity, so that

621
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,680
Speaker 1: you could He plowed so you could PLoP. That's the

622
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:28,279
Speaker 1: way I'm trying to say. And if he didn't plow,

623
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:32,919
Speaker 1: you couldn't PLoP. I'm just pointing it out.

624
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:34,600
Speaker 2: How many of you are going to use the bathroom

625
00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:36,080
Speaker 2: at one of our campuses.

626
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 1: Before the day is over. You already did it. Hey man,

627
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 1: it's a little TMI. I'm not gonna lie to you,

628
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 1: but I'm trying to make a point. You might grab

629
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,040
Speaker 1: a little breath mint.

630
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,720
Speaker 2: In the bathroom, And the reason that there's a breath

631
00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:56,720
Speaker 2: mint in the bathroom is because Ashley comes every week.

632
00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:01,240
Speaker 1: She's doing a little pre praise.

633
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,719
Speaker 2: Service to God to make sure that your neighbor when

634
00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 2: you open your mouth and give God praise, that your

635
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,399
Speaker 2: neighbor isn't distracted.

636
00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:16,200
Speaker 1: That's her pre praise service to God.

637
00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:18,759
Speaker 2: Before you got here, she'd making sure that it was

638
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,799
Speaker 2: clean that elevation pen that you will steal, because we

639
00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:25,960
Speaker 2: want you to steal it. Want you to steal it

640
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,399
Speaker 2: and tip big with it, and then invite that serve

641
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,439
Speaker 2: her to church. If she can't come on Sunday morning,

642
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:34,840
Speaker 2: bring her on Saturday night, take her to midweek whatever.

643
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:36,439
Speaker 1: I don't care, but steal the pen.

644
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,960
Speaker 2: But the greeter team, they didn't just smile at you

645
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 2: when they came in.

646
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,960
Speaker 1: They were pre See. I'm trying to get a point across.

647
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:49,360
Speaker 2: You experienced the presence of God because somebody made preparation.

648
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:54,759
Speaker 2: Somebody prepared for you to be here.

649
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:56,640
Speaker 1: It's the power of pre.

650
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,400
Speaker 2: Recently, I told my son Elijah, I want him to

651
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,800
Speaker 2: start seeing behind the scenes because I didn't want my

652
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,799
Speaker 2: kid growing up thinking that a church was a green

653
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,920
Speaker 2: room in a stage, and so I was like, I

654
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,839
Speaker 2: want you to go see the kids ministry, which is amazing,

655
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:22,160
Speaker 2: I said, which is amazing. He also wanted to see

656
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:27,279
Speaker 2: the video how the video works, because technologically what we

657
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,000
Speaker 2: do here is I think it's pretty excellent. And all

658
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:35,319
Speaker 2: the campuses, it's amazing what our teams do. Really over

659
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:36,759
Speaker 2: seven thousand volunteers.

660
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:38,279
Speaker 1: By the way, this isn't a.

661
00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,440
Speaker 2: Volunteer push, but I feel like the campus pastors might

662
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 2: send me a gift card or something if I tell

663
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,480
Speaker 2: some of you, when are you going to stop plopping

664
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:52,120
Speaker 2: and start plowing? My God from Zion.

665
00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,440
Speaker 1: And stopped by that tent? Is it black or orange?

666
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,960
Speaker 1: These days? Ain't no ten.

667
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 2: There's a table at Valentine and tents elsewhere, and if

668
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,320
Speaker 2: you go, there'd be somebody to show you how. Somebody

669
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:11,240
Speaker 2: say start plowing. So Elijah went back and he said, Daddy,

670
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:13,800
Speaker 2: you have got to see it in v control, the

671
00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:18,080
Speaker 2: room where they do all the video stuff, with all

672
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 2: the cameras and everything.

673
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 1: He says, amazing what happens behind the scenes. I said,

674
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:21,480
Speaker 1: you like it?

675
00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:23,400
Speaker 2: He said, no, I'm not telling you I'm telling you,

676
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:28,359
Speaker 2: it's amazing. He said, you got to see Chelsea. She's

677
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:32,320
Speaker 2: the one calling the shops. And I watched her, and

678
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,560
Speaker 2: I knew what he was saying. I snuck in today

679
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,880
Speaker 2: right before I preached, they were preparing.

680
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:39,880
Speaker 1: Because before we got here, and before I preached him,

681
00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,080
Speaker 1: before you praised him, before we experienced the presence of God,

682
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,799
Speaker 1: they were plowing. And they weren't paid to plow, either

683
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,120
Speaker 1: of these people that I'm about to show you. They

684
00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:53,040
Speaker 1: were plowing because of the purpose of God. Now I

685
00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:55,560
Speaker 1: want to show you. It's just a quick, quick window.

686
00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:57,600
Speaker 2: It's a quick window into the work that they do

687
00:41:58,160 --> 00:41:58,799
Speaker 2: that's back there.

688
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 1: Just roll it real quick. And watching Chelsea.

689
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:32,160
Speaker 3: See the location synced up all on the same.

690
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:30,920
Speaker 1: How cool is that?

691
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,239
Speaker 2: And every time she's saying that it's switching a camera.

692
00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:37,400
Speaker 2: I know, I sound kind of like a redneck saying this, like,

693
00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:40,439
Speaker 2: can y'all believe they have these cameras back there?

694
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:43,440
Speaker 1: But I was blown away.

695
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,640
Speaker 2: She's just I mean, don't even see that because this

696
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:49,120
Speaker 2: underground stuff.

697
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:54,319
Speaker 1: Two taking two, taken three, take it. I was watching

698
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:55,840
Speaker 1: her one time. I was like, how does she know

699
00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:56,360
Speaker 1: how to do that?

700
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,000
Speaker 2: You gotta have like musicality to do it, and I

701
00:42:59,120 --> 00:42:59,759
Speaker 2: found out how.

702
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,239
Speaker 1: She said that her mom taught dance. In fact, her

703
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,360
Speaker 1: mom teaches abby dance. My daughter. I didn't know this.

704
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:11,200
Speaker 1: She's been doing that for me for five years. She said.

705
00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:12,560
Speaker 1: She danced to high school.

706
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:15,239
Speaker 2: She said, at high school that's the time where you

707
00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,680
Speaker 2: either go professional or find something.

708
00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:19,000
Speaker 1: Else to do.

709
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:21,640
Speaker 2: And she said, I wasn't good enough to go on

710
00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:23,560
Speaker 2: and do something else. I danced all the way through

711
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 2: high school and loved it, and then I came here

712
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,879
Speaker 2: to do this, she said.

713
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:30,640
Speaker 1: I never would have imagined.

714
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 2: Though that my mom, she said me dance would one

715
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,400
Speaker 2: day enable me to be on my post every week.

716
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 2: And I might not be a professional dancer, but.

717
00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:51,759
Speaker 1: I know how to plow. And now look at her

718
00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:58,719
Speaker 1: calling the shots. I'll say, East, wind off, go ahead, Chelsea. Three,

719
00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 1: take it three, four, taking four, one, taking six, taking five,

720
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:06,440
Speaker 1: taking seven.

721
00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:08,759
Speaker 2: And taking eight.

722
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:14,080
Speaker 1: Two taking two. Don't you understand that God has been

723
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:23,600
Speaker 1: preparing you your whole life. You are in preparation right now.

724
00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:36,280
Speaker 1: And my fourth p is promotion. Stand up, I'm done.

725
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:38,680
Speaker 2: God said, if you will keep plowing, this is what

726
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,640
Speaker 2: I want to get into you. Over the next several

727
00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:43,920
Speaker 2: weeks of the series. Really, we're just getting started with

728
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:47,360
Speaker 2: this series. I really feel like God is doing something

729
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:50,520
Speaker 2: in this series. I might just preach this series till

730
00:44:50,719 --> 00:44:51,840
Speaker 2: the year twenty thirty.

731
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:57,239
Speaker 1: I might preach it till Jesus comes back, because.

732
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,319
Speaker 2: I really believe that if you will plow, he will

733
00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 2: promote and you can trust him.

734
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: Is it possible that the pre is more important than

735
00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,960
Speaker 1: the post? Is it possible that what happens in the garage,

736
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:18,400
Speaker 1: what happens in the heart, is more important than what

737
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:26,880
Speaker 1: happens in my life. He's preparing me for what He

738
00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:31,719
Speaker 1: has prepared for me. And the preparation doesn't always look

739
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:35,400
Speaker 1: like the promise. Doesn't have to.

740
00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:42,399
Speaker 2: When the time came for Elisha to be promoted, God

741
00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:46,080
Speaker 2: knew exactly where he was. He was on his post.

742
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:51,080
Speaker 2: When it came time for Elisha to be promoted. He

743
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:54,400
Speaker 2: didn't have to point to himself. God pointed him.

744
00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:56,560
Speaker 1: Out to Elijah.

745
00:45:56,760 --> 00:46:03,640
Speaker 2: The post, the point, the plow. He was just simply

746
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,560
Speaker 2: doing what he had to do in this season.

747
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:10,759
Speaker 1: And if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of

748
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:14,800
Speaker 1: God and just keep striking the ground. See this isn't

749
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:16,840
Speaker 1: the sexy part of spiritual development.

750
00:46:18,239 --> 00:46:20,840
Speaker 2: This is the part where you don't see the point,

751
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,480
Speaker 2: but you continue in the process.

752
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:26,719
Speaker 1: Persistence is the key.

753
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:28,640
Speaker 2: To the promise of God.

754
00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:34,600
Speaker 1: Somebody shouts, you know, God is getting you ready and

755
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:40,640
Speaker 1: he will lift you up. See.

756
00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:43,000
Speaker 2: God had an assignment for Elisha, and God has an

757
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:47,400
Speaker 2: assignment for you. He said, you've learned how to plow

758
00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:49,520
Speaker 2: hard ground. Now you've got to learn how to plow

759
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:50,240
Speaker 2: hard hearts.

760
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:55,000
Speaker 1: Nothing that you've been through will be wasted. Nothing that

761
00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:58,120
Speaker 1: you've been through us for nothing. Nothing that you've been

762
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:02,319
Speaker 1: through us for no purpose. I've always been working, I've

763
00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:09,120
Speaker 1: always had a purpose in mass. God is working in

764
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:16,080
Speaker 1: my life. It is the power of pre Prepare to prevail,

765
00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:24,480
Speaker 1: Prepare to prevail. I'm closing, But the arrow of Erb

766
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:28,480
Speaker 1: is flying over the life of everyone who will do

767
00:47:28,560 --> 00:47:29,520
Speaker 1: the groundwork.

768
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:33,799
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm I'm a living witness that if you

769
00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:36,040
Speaker 2: will stay with it, touch somebody say.

770
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:40,080
Speaker 1: Stay with it, stay with it, stay with it, stay

771
00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:43,160
Speaker 1: with it. If you will stay with it, I know

772
00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:47,719
Speaker 1: God is giving you a great a great window to

773
00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:52,319
Speaker 1: see the opportunities that He's placed before your life. But

774
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:57,359
Speaker 1: how can he trust you with more until you are

775
00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 1: faithful where you are so God is cultivating.

776
00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:13,640
Speaker 2: Your calling right now, and he might send you to

777
00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:14,600
Speaker 2: Camden to do it.

778
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:20,200
Speaker 1: He might have you in the garage, he might take

779
00:48:20,239 --> 00:48:20,760
Speaker 1: you apart.

780
00:48:23,200 --> 00:48:27,480
Speaker 2: So when you get to the track, you are built

781
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:29,440
Speaker 2: to make it to that.

782
00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:35,920
Speaker 1: Somebody shout, I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready.

783
00:48:36,239 --> 00:48:38,800
Speaker 1: I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready. You might want to

784
00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,520
Speaker 1: shove your neighbor, put him on notice. I've cat ready.

785
00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:45,760
Speaker 1: God seize me, God preparing me. God. I'm so purpose

786
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:48,440
Speaker 1: all my life, and it will come to pass.

787
00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:49,400
Speaker 3: I know it.

788
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:56,000
Speaker 1: I see it from there. I'm ready now, I'm ready now.

789
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:01,520
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us.

790
00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:04,279
Speaker 2: Special thanks to those of you who give generously to

791
00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:07,840
Speaker 2: this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.

792
00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:10,840
Speaker 2: You can click the link in the description to give now,

793
00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:15,239
Speaker 2: or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information

794
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:18,520
Speaker 2: and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

795
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:20,160
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends.

796
00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:22,719
Speaker 2: You can click the share button, take a screenshot and

797
00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:24,879
Speaker 2: share it on your social stories and tag us at

798
00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:25,719
Speaker 2: Elevation Church.

799
00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:32,400
Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. God bless you