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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 now,

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Speaker 1: in all seriousness, welcome, We're glad you're here. What a

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Speaker 1: privilege it is to gather together and praise God. I

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Speaker 1: am going to I'm going to drive some of you crazy,

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Speaker 1: and I'm not giving you my sermon title until the

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Speaker 1: end of the sermon today. So if you have some

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Speaker 1: anxiety medication in your purse for your disorder that you

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Speaker 1: need to access at this point, that's just fine. But

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Speaker 1: go ahead and be seated. Thank you, team. I love

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Speaker 1: worshiping God with you. I love being the pastor of

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Speaker 1: Elevation Church. Is that bad? I wouldn't pastor another church

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Speaker 1: if I was going to say, if God told me to,

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Speaker 1: But I guess I would if he told me to,

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Speaker 1: but I'd argue with him. I would argue a lot.

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Speaker 1: Such a great joy to be with you. You You know

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Speaker 1: the world needs these messages right now. We see mass

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Speaker 1: shootings and terror on every side that we turn, and

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Speaker 1: the world needs Jesus. As simple as that sounds, I

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Speaker 1: just want to remind you that everything we're doing here

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Speaker 1: as a church matters. People tell me about things that

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Speaker 1: were averted in their life because of this church and

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Speaker 1: this ministry, And to be honest with you, that's what

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Speaker 1: keeps me going, pushing through all the self doubt that

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Speaker 1: I experience, or even just the grind of like it's

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Speaker 1: my sixteenth year being a pastor, But as long as

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Speaker 1: God is changing lives, I think it's worth it. I

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Speaker 1: think it's worth it. Today I'd like to give you

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Speaker 1: something from the scriptures that I think could come as

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Speaker 1: a real preventive measure for somebody. Go to Acts chapter

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Speaker 1: twenty eight right now. No time to waste Acts chapter

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Speaker 1: twenty eight. For the sake of context. Let me actually

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Speaker 1: get verse forty two through forty four in X twenty seven.

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Speaker 1: And the reason I wanted to have you be seated

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Speaker 1: is because this is a little lengthier scripture. But I

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Speaker 1: want to share everything that God gave me with you.

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Speaker 1: We have so much to talk about. The soldiers plan

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Speaker 1: to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from

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Speaker 1: swimming away. And escaping, but the centurion wanted to spare

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Speaker 1: Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan.

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Speaker 1: That's really cool because they say that it's like cancel

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Speaker 1: culture these days, and you hear a lot about canceling,

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Speaker 1: But the only one who can really cancel something when

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Speaker 1: you want to get down to it, is the one

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Speaker 1: who created it. Therefore, Paul got to live, no matter

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Speaker 1: what the captain of the ship did, or no matter

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Speaker 1: what the prison guards decided. And it says in verse

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Speaker 1: forty four the rest of the prisoners were to get

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Speaker 1: there on planks or other pieces of the ship. In

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Speaker 1: this way, everyone reached land safely. Now let's go verse

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Speaker 1: one twenty eight. Once safely on shore, we found out

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Speaker 1: that the island was called Malta, which means honey. Putting

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Speaker 1: that in there, that's what it means literally or refuge,

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Speaker 1: but literal meaning is honey. Cool. The islanders showed us

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Speaker 1: unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all

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Speaker 1: because it was raining and cold, And Paul gathered a

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Speaker 1: pile of brushwood, and as he put it on the fire,

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Speaker 1: a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on

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Speaker 1: his hand. And when the islanders saw the snake hanging

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Speaker 1: from his hand. They said to each other, this man

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Speaker 1: must be a murderer, for though he escaped from the sea,

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Speaker 1: the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live. But

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Speaker 1: Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered

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Speaker 1: no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up

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Speaker 1: or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time

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Speaker 1: and seeing nothing unusual happened to him, they changed their

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Speaker 1: mind and said he was a god. That's how quick

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Speaker 1: people can flip. By the way, there's no better time

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Speaker 1: for me to say this than Palm Sunday. Remember what

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Speaker 1: they were saying on Palm Sunday, Hoseena hosein. But they

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Speaker 1: put the palm branches down Friday, didn't they? When he

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Speaker 1: went to the cross crucified. That's how quick people can change.

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Speaker 1: The people on Malta did what people do. They changed

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Speaker 1: their mind because they're fickle, because they're finite. Didn't really

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Speaker 1: matter what they thought of Paul, though, because what's what

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Speaker 1: happens next in the story. There was an estate nearby

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Speaker 1: that belonged to Publius almost named you that Elijah, the

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Speaker 1: chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his

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Speaker 1: home and showed us generous hospitality for three days in

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Speaker 1: this cool How God is taking care of Paul through strangers. Amazing.

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Speaker 1: How God has favor for you everywhere that he takes you.

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Speaker 1: What's really crazy about the passage, and what I want

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Speaker 1: us to talk about a little bit today, is that

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Speaker 1: God's favor on that island was not disqualified by the

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Speaker 1: mistake that the sailors made in the sea. And so

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Speaker 1: it's one thing to realize that God puts this favor

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Speaker 1: on you when you make good decisions and you're wives,

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Speaker 1: and you quote scriptures, and you had your time with

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Speaker 1: God Jesus in coffee this morning, and you were nice

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Speaker 1: to everybody. But this is a little different because God's

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Speaker 1: favor was waiting for them in a place where their

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Speaker 1: mistake landed them. And so Paul now gets invited to

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Speaker 1: this dinner with this important guy on the island that

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Speaker 1: they didn't even know the name of a couple days ago,

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Speaker 1: and then an opportunity comes up. Now I want to

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Speaker 1: try to convince you today to become a Christian opportunist,

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Speaker 1: a Christian opportunist, because it says that while Paul was

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Speaker 1: at this dinner, he discovered verse e that Publis's father

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Speaker 1: was se in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. God

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Speaker 1: was punishing this man for naming his son Publius. Is

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Speaker 1: what I think. Come on, laugh with me the joy

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Speaker 1: of the Lord. Okay, all right? And so Paul went

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Speaker 1: in to see him, and after prayer, placed his hands

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Speaker 1: on him and healed him. And when this had happened,

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Speaker 1: the rest of the sick on the island came and

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Speaker 1: were cured. They honored us in many ways, and when

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Speaker 1: we were ready to sail, when we were ready to sail,

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Speaker 1: when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with

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Speaker 1: the supplies we needed. And after three months in a

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Speaker 1: place where we didn't plan to be, we put out

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Speaker 1: the sea in a ship that had wintered in the island.

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Speaker 1: It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the

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Speaker 1: twin gods Castor and Pollocks. I want to encourage you

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Speaker 1: today to protect the vessel. That's not my sermon title.

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Speaker 1: That's just something I want to say to you from

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Speaker 1: my heart to yours as a pastor. And I know

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Speaker 1: that seems like a strange thing to say. After reading

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Speaker 1: a Bible passage about a ship that fell to pieces

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Speaker 1: and landed on an island, because, as you saw in

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Speaker 1: the text, like the vessel, as we use that term

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Speaker 1: the ship, the vessel completely lost its former structure. However,

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Speaker 1: that's not really the vessel that God is most concerned about.

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of my problems in my own

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Speaker 1: psychology come from protecting the wrong thing too much, protecting

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Speaker 1: the right thing not enough. I don't mind admitting that

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Speaker 1: I'm defensive. I was telling a story the other day.

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Speaker 1: Somebody asked me, are you confrontational? I was like, let

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Speaker 1: me tell you. We were going to this one guy

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Speaker 1: who one time was telling me pastors ought to do this,

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Speaker 1: and pastors ought to You were there, but I'm not

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Speaker 1: going to say his name. Obviously on camera, you co

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Speaker 1: can probably figure it out if you thought about it.

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Speaker 1: He goes pastors out of this, and pastors out of that,

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Speaker 1: and pastors out of that. And the thing is he

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Speaker 1: wasn't doing anything that he said pastors ought to do.

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Speaker 1: So I said, hey, real quick, show me the scripture.

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Speaker 1: This is my Bible. Maybe you got a different one

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Speaker 1: where it says that there's a different standard for a

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Speaker 1: pastor than a regular person. Now, don't cheer for that.

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Speaker 1: That's the stuff that God needs to get out of

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Speaker 1: my heart. What's wrong with y'all? This is a confession,

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Speaker 1: not a testimony. But I'm defensive, right, I'm defensive. I

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Speaker 1: sometimes protect my opinion, my preference. Let me give you

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Speaker 1: a scripture that Paul said, and I just had this

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Speaker 1: one right before I got up on the stage. He says.

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Speaker 1: And remember Paul is writing this scripture in two Timothy too,

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Speaker 1: at pretty much the time where his ministry is about

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Speaker 1: to close. It's quite possibly right at the same time

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Speaker 1: after this shipwreck. But he's writing this letter to Timothy.

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Speaker 1: This is why I told you to protect the vessel,

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Speaker 1: Paul says in two Timothy two twenty. Do you have

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Speaker 1: it in the King James? Yeah? Cool. I wanted to

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Speaker 1: use the King James because of one specific word, he says.

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Speaker 1: But in a great house there are not only vessels

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Speaker 1: of gold and of silver, but also of wood and

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Speaker 1: of earth, some to honor and some to dishonor listen

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Speaker 1: to this, If a man therefore purge himself from these

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Speaker 1: these things, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified,

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Speaker 1: and meet for the Master's use, prepared for every good word.

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Speaker 1: If he purges himself from these, he shall be a

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Speaker 1: vessel that God can use. And I was excited. Now

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Speaker 1: don't worry about it, because, uh, I got a case

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Speaker 1: from my phone. So it's fine. It's fine, you got

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Speaker 1: a case for your phone. I think the cockiest people

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Speaker 1: in the world don't put a case on their phone.

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Speaker 1: You mean you are that together, and that's sure of yourself.

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Speaker 1: And did you hear how they gasped when my phone

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Speaker 1: flew out of my hand. I practiced that fifteen times

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Speaker 1: to try to make it believable because I wanted to

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Speaker 1: show you that we have cases to protect our phones.

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Speaker 1: How much was your phone? Five hundred dollars, seven hundred dollars,

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Speaker 1: three hundred dollars. We have a case for our phone,

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Speaker 1: which you can get another one off. But but, but,

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Speaker 1: but they don't make a case for your soul, for

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Speaker 1: your heart, for your faith, for your expectation. And you

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Speaker 1: can still use a phone with a cracked screen. It'll

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Speaker 1: still work. But when the lawyer started speaking to me

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Speaker 1: about this message, he said, tell them that they are

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Speaker 1: spending more time protecting things that can be replaced. I

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Speaker 1: want to use an example because Paul says, to Timothy,

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Speaker 1: these things. Protect yourself from these things. You know what

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Speaker 1: the things he mentions are, you can look it up.

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Speaker 1: He's talking about false teaching. He said, it spreads like

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Speaker 1: gang green. That's disgusting. He said, you got to really

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Speaker 1: protect yourself from those things. You got to protect yourself.

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Speaker 1: One thing he calls it is godless chatter. And see

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Speaker 1: this is the thing about it. I didn't know Paul

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Speaker 1: had Twitter, so I read him say protect yourself from

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Speaker 1: godless chatter man, he said in one thing he said, avoid.

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Speaker 1: This is the same passage two, Timothy, to look it

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Speaker 1: up later and check check me out. See if I'm

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Speaker 1: telling you the truth. It says, avoid stupid arguments. Avoid

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Speaker 1: stupid arguments. And the reason that I chose to go

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Speaker 1: off of Acts twenty eight today talking about protect the

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Speaker 1: vessel is because even though the boat that was carrying

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Speaker 1: Paul broke into pieces, it really wasn't as important what

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Speaker 1: was carrying Paul as it was what Paul was carrying.

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Speaker 1: There's a couple ships in the passage. One of them

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Speaker 1: is nautical, one of them does what boats do. But

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Speaker 1: the other vessel in the passage, of course, is the

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Speaker 1: apostle Paul, who was going to Rome because he had

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Speaker 1: a case double meaning right to stand before Caesar for

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Speaker 1: the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so as he's on

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Speaker 1: his way to Rome, of course there's a shipwreck. I've

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Speaker 1: preached about this before us an amazing story. You don't

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Speaker 1: have time for it today, but there's something in this

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Speaker 1: passage for us to realize that there's something that happens

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Speaker 1: after Paul survives the crash that is even more important

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Speaker 1: than what caused the crash to begin with. I spend

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Speaker 1: a lot of my mental energy trying to figure out

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Speaker 1: why things are the way they are, and a lot

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Speaker 1: of times I can come to conclusions that aren't necessarily accurate.

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Speaker 1: I've noticed this about myself that a lot of times

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Speaker 1: I connect things, and I think that the reason this

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Speaker 1: happened is because that happened. Right now, I wouldn't consider

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Speaker 1: myself prone to self pity necessarily, but I do have

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Speaker 1: my moments, and even Paul did as a matter of fact,

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Speaker 1: when he was in the storm. Let me just bring

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Speaker 1: this up to refresh your memory. And it became apparent

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Speaker 1: that there was going to be a crash. He tells

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Speaker 1: all the people that are in charge of the ship

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Speaker 1: the other prisoners. In verse twenty one, Men, you should

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Speaker 1: have taken my advice not to sail from crete. Then

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Speaker 1: you would have spared yourself this damage and loss. But

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Speaker 1: now I urge you to keep up your courage, because

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Speaker 1: not one of you will be lost, only the ship

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Speaker 1: will be destroyed. Right which vessel is God interested in protecting?

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Speaker 1: Read the passage again. He says, you have got to

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Speaker 1: keep your courage even in the midst of really horrible conditions,

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Speaker 1: because the important vessel isn't the one that carried you.

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Speaker 1: The most important vessel or the most important container isn't

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Speaker 1: something that carries you. It is the heart that God

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Speaker 1: has given you, the calling, the assignment, the gift, the ability,

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Speaker 1: the imagination that God has given you to carry something

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Speaker 1: to the world. Now we're not all Paul, so we're

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Speaker 1: not all carrying what he's carrying. But the significance of

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Speaker 1: this story would apply to anybody in the room. I

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Speaker 1: promise you there is something that you are carrying that

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Speaker 1: only you can carry. I don't know if you see

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Speaker 1: yourself this way or not, but it's like Paul knew

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Speaker 1: that whatever happens to the boat that I'm in, there

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Speaker 1: is something in me. That is more significant to God.

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Speaker 1: So whatever is breaking apart in your life at any

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Speaker 1: given point in time is not as important as what

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Speaker 1: God has put on the inside of you. So protect

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Speaker 1: the vessel. Protect the vessel. Don't put a case on

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Speaker 1: your phone, but then use the same phone to expose

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Speaker 1: your heart. Do you want me to preach. I'm going

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Speaker 1: to read a poem and go home. I already got

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Speaker 1: the revelation. As a matter of fact, please do not

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Speaker 1: email me about this. I barely even open emails, so

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Speaker 1: it would be pointless. I heard one person one time

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Speaker 1: who talked about how they eat clean, eat clean, eat clean,

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Speaker 1: eat clean, and all of that. And granted, I have

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Speaker 1: my own certain way that I eat, and I am

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Speaker 1: very very picky, and I am very very I guess

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Speaker 1: disciplined in my own way. But the only thing is

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Speaker 1: I get to eat unlimited bacon on the eating lifestyle

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Speaker 1: that I have chosen that God has given me any

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Speaker 1: forward day through doctor Atkamps, don't email me. I'm not

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Speaker 1: going to read it. But the person that was eating clean,

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Speaker 1: they didn't eat this. They didn't need that. We went

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Speaker 1: to the thing they had bean sprouts and all that's

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Speaker 1: that's that's that's what I remember. It is they were

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Speaker 1: just eating. But what I remember is they were they

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Speaker 1: were saying all this stuff. They were like, because if

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Speaker 1: you eat this, you get killed with that, and then

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Speaker 1: if you eat fish then you have mercury poisoning, and

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Speaker 1: then if you don't eat fish. So I saw, I

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Speaker 1: sat there and I thought, huh, this is funny because

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Speaker 1: it was. It was. It was an example to me

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Speaker 1: of you are so careful about what you will put

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Speaker 1: in your body. And it's great, it's great study at all.

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Speaker 1: I know, I know you you know science. That's great.

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Speaker 1: But it wasn't coming from just a place of wisdom.

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Speaker 1: It was all fear based, right, And I read this

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Speaker 1: study and I saw this, and I googled this disease

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Speaker 1: and I YouTube that disease and all this stuff. And

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Speaker 1: I thought, it's funny because you eat clean, but you

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Speaker 1: think crap. This is what I thought. I didn't say this.

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Speaker 1: You eat clean, but you think crap. So you live long,

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Speaker 1: but you hate life. You are protecting the shed, but

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Speaker 1: you're not maintaining the equipment. You're managing your profile, your image,

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Speaker 1: your appearance. This physical body, it's gonna pray, take care

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Speaker 1: of it, but the real vessel has nothing to do

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Speaker 1: with anything that can be counted in calories or carbohydrates.

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Speaker 1: That's why Paul says, let go of the boat and

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Speaker 1: keep up your courage. It's okay, I got a case.

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Speaker 1: It's all right, It's all right. And then they get

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Speaker 1: to the island and Paul's like, I told you, I

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Speaker 1: told you God was good. This is my besting money,

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Speaker 1: singing worship songs and stuff. Roh. He had the pirate,

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Speaker 1: the bootleg YouTube version. He had learned it a long

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Speaker 1: time ago. But he said, uh, he said, here, let

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Speaker 1: me help, because these these islanders are being are being nice.

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Speaker 1: So he's like, I don't want to just sit over

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Speaker 1: here and not help. If you're nice enough to build

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Speaker 1: a fire, I'm nice enough to help, and just to

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Speaker 1: read the scripture again. You remember this, Mike, when I

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Speaker 1: preached at twenty seventeen, because this is so good, but

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Speaker 1: you remember it. But he said, uh, he said here,

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Speaker 1: let me help. And when he was put in the fire,

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Speaker 1: the wood on the fire verse threet a viper driven

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Speaker 1: out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. Everybody say,

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Speaker 1: on his hand, I vi professing stuff on his hand.

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Speaker 1: So Hey, you ever been trying to help somebody and

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Speaker 1: in the process of helping you got hurt. This is

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Speaker 1: one of the main things you've got to look out for,

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Speaker 1: because I've been in the process before where I thought

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Speaker 1: I was doing something good. I don't even see you there.

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Speaker 1: It's good to see you. It's awesome because he's like,

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Speaker 1: only trying to be useful, right, and he gets a

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Speaker 1: bit by snake. So at this point, when I was

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Speaker 1: reading the scripture, I had to stop and ask the question,

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Speaker 1: why did the snake bite Paul? I'm going to see

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Speaker 1: what you think about it. You're not gonna just sit

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Speaker 1: there and make me do all the work. Put it

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Speaker 1: in the chat? Why did the snake bite Paul? On three? One,

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Speaker 1: two three. I don't know what they're saying online, but

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Speaker 1: are y'all speaking in tongues? Is this the Tower of babble?

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Speaker 1: What happened in Elevation Church? It was the devil. That's

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Speaker 1: how the devil is. It's always taking on pull in

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Speaker 1: his weakest moment, wants to take him out so he

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Speaker 1: can't preach this the devil, right, the devil is the snake.

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Speaker 1: Genesis three, the serpent, the symbolism revelations with us. That's all. Like,

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Speaker 1: maybe it was the devil snake bite I guess that's

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Speaker 1: the devil is No, it was God. It was God

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Speaker 1: that let the snake bite Paul. Because everything happens for

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Speaker 1: a reason. That's why you're you know, people will say it,

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Speaker 1: that's why you went through this. You're single because the

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Speaker 1: Lord is preparing your ship in the harbor, right, like,

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Speaker 1: shut off if I want somebody to watch Netflix with,

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Speaker 1: shut up. It was God. God. It was God that

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Speaker 1: let that snake bite Paul, because well then Paul got

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Speaker 1: to show that that snake can't hurt me. God is

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Speaker 1: greater than the snake. You know, graves into gardens, you know, right,

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Speaker 1: And so it was God. But it's not that deep, y'all.

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Speaker 1: It says it in the text. It's crazy how many

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Speaker 1: somersaults we will do just to get around what the

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Speaker 1: text actually said. It says the viper was driven out

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Speaker 1: by the heat. It was nothing but a natural consequence

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Speaker 1: of the fire. But watch what everybody was so quick

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Speaker 1: to do. What is all that? I don't know what's

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Speaker 1: going on up there? WA's what God wanted me to

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Speaker 1: show you. While Paul has got a snake hanging from

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Speaker 1: his hand. This is unbelievable. I can't believe this. This

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Speaker 1: reminds me of church people. Everybody's standing around talking about

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Speaker 1: why he's got a snake on his hand? Did you

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Speaker 1: see it in the text? I hate I don't hate

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Speaker 1: these kind of people. These kind of people get on

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Speaker 1: my nerves. Well, that's why you're going through that, because

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Speaker 1: you know, if you would have raised your kids on

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Speaker 1: the books that I read, then your kids wouldn't be

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Speaker 1: struggling with this. Well, when I raised my kids, we

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Speaker 1: had prayer times at eight thirty for Matthew eight thirty.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what Matthew eight thirty says, and we

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Speaker 1: would sit around and if you would train them up,

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Speaker 1: that would have been. Now, it says that the islanders

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Speaker 1: were kind, they build a fire. These were not evil people,

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Speaker 1: even though they were strange people. But something in even

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Speaker 1: the nicest human heart has a tendency to want to

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Speaker 1: do this. In the scripture, it says that while a

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Speaker 1: snake was hanging from Paul's hand, while a snake was

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Speaker 1: hanging from the Man of God's hand while he was

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Speaker 1: this could have killed him Verse five. Now verse four,

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Speaker 1: because we will never get the verse five. If Paul

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Speaker 1: would have listened to what they said in verse four,

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Speaker 1: this could have killed Paul. This this, this, When the

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Speaker 1: Islanders saw the snake, they said, this man, yeah, must

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Speaker 1: be a murder. Now they are interpreting his identity through

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Speaker 1: the lens of an event. If this is happening, then

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Speaker 1: you must be this man. The pointer finger, the pointer finger.

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Speaker 1: It's like the logo for a lot of Christianity, those

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Speaker 1: people that lifestyle. This man, if he was a good man,

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Speaker 1: he wouldn't be going through this. If you had not

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Speaker 1: wasted that season of your life, then God could have

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Speaker 1: blessed you like that, if you would have listened, if

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Speaker 1: you would have been in church, if you would have

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Speaker 1: da da da da. I never saw any power released

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Speaker 1: through a pointing finger, personally, I never saw it. When

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Speaker 1: you read in the Bible, you read a lot about

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Speaker 1: the hand of God much more than the finger of God.

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Speaker 1: This kills, this kills, this heals. So while we're talking

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Speaker 1: about the devil, let me tell you what Satan means. Accuser.

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Speaker 1: That's Satan's logan, not God's. So if it's like this,

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Speaker 1: that's probably not God. Don't get me wrong. There comes

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Speaker 1: a time for strong teaching. I had somebody tell me

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Speaker 1: the other day, I love you because you scream at me,

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Speaker 1: said you're welcome. I think are doing that, they said

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Speaker 1: when I was preaching. It wasn't like a personal thing

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Speaker 1: they were saying, they preaching. I just want to clarify

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Speaker 1: that it could be taken the wrong way. But but

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Speaker 1: but God, God isn't really He certainly could have done

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Speaker 1: that to Peter when he does this stupid get out

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Speaker 1: of the boat trick. Right, Oh, coman Lord, not very far,

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Speaker 1: you're not. But I didn't see Jesus do that to Peter.

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Speaker 1: I saw him do that. What you have to decide

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Speaker 1: in this moment of your life is between the pointing

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Speaker 1: finger and the healing hand. That's my title, the pointing

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Speaker 1: finger and the healing hand. If Paul believes what the

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Speaker 1: people say about him in this moment, he dies, that's

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Speaker 1: true of some of you. In fact, the problem with

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Speaker 1: a ship comes not when it gets in the water,

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Speaker 1: but when the water gets in it. So I had

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Speaker 1: to realize that protecting the vessel in my life means

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Speaker 1: not believing everything that everybody thinks about me, including me,

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Speaker 1: including me. The most dangerous and sabotaging form of this

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Speaker 1: does not come from other people's finger in your face.

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Speaker 1: If the enemy has his way with you, he will

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Speaker 1: have you in the mirror saying this is the problem.

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Speaker 1: It's me now. The next thing, you know, you don't

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Speaker 1: even see a way forward anymore. And what got me

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Speaker 1: about the passage is it is not guaranteed that Paul

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Speaker 1: is going to survive if he holds on to what

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Speaker 1: is hurting him. Now, I want you to imagine this

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Speaker 1: against the context of Exodus four. Exodus four is God

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Speaker 1: calling Moses another great man of God, another man of God,

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Speaker 1: even in spite of his own proclimities, like he was

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Speaker 1: a murderer. They're pointing their finger at Paul. This man's

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Speaker 1: a murderer. He's not, He's a messenger. Moses was a murderer,

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Speaker 1: he killed an Egyptian trying to do God's will his way.

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Speaker 1: But God didn't come to Moses' pointing. He asked him

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Speaker 1: a question in Exodus, for what is that in your hand?

427
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 1: And Moses said, what I have in my hand is

428
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,320
Speaker 1: a staff, and it's a very common object. Now here's

429
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 1: the contrast. For Moses to see God's power, he had

430
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,840
Speaker 1: to throw down the stick and it became a snake,

431
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:46,920
Speaker 1: got it, got the picture. For Paul to see God's power,

432
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: he had to throw down the snake. What I have

433
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 1: done to myself in some seasons of my life is

434
00:30:55,360 --> 00:31:05,080
Speaker 1: I have held on to what was hurting me. How

435
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:10,720
Speaker 1: long are you gonna let a snake have free rent

436
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:16,720
Speaker 1: on your hand? It's just a question. Because I get

437
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,920
Speaker 1: disappointed too, I get offended too. I get bitter too.

438
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 1: One of my titles that I thought I shouldn't call

439
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,440
Speaker 1: this sermon was bit, not bitter, because here's the way

440
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 1: I was thinking about it. It can't kill you if

441
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:33,000
Speaker 1: it only penetrates the skin. It can't kill you. If

442
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,640
Speaker 1: all it does is break the skin, it only kills you.

443
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,320
Speaker 1: The snake only kills Paul if he allows the venom

444
00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:45,520
Speaker 1: to get in the vessel. That's the only way it

445
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:49,000
Speaker 1: stops you. That's the only way. It's a surface wound

446
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,920
Speaker 1: if you do this. No no, but but we make

447
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,320
Speaker 1: trophies out of our trials, and we hold on to

448
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,040
Speaker 1: them so tightly, and we overidentify with the events ourselves

449
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:04,000
Speaker 1: so that we become identified by our experiences. When we

450
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,000
Speaker 1: start saying to ourselves what the islanders were saying about Paul,

451
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,240
Speaker 1: you must be a bad woman, You must be a

452
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,080
Speaker 1: screw up, You must be trash, you must be worthless,

453
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 1: you must be slow. What's wrong with me? You have

454
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: you said that a lot lately? What's wrong with me

455
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:26,000
Speaker 1: that nobody wants to be with me? Why doesn't anybody

456
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: stay in my life? Why doesn't anybody want to be

457
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 1: around me? Why don't the things that happen for other

458
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,320
Speaker 1: people so easily happen to me? Why can't I be

459
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 1: happy like they're just over there so happy? That's not God,

460
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:54,000
Speaker 1: that's not God, that's not God. This is why is

461
00:32:54,160 --> 00:33:01,480
Speaker 1: the enemy's primary strategy, accusation, because if he can keep

462
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:11,760
Speaker 1: you doing this, you never do this. So here's how

463
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:15,320
Speaker 1: resentment works. Paul, in this moment, this is so stupid

464
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,400
Speaker 1: that I'm on this island. This is so stupid that

465
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,000
Speaker 1: you know the fire. Nobody else got bit by a snake.

466
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:23,400
Speaker 1: I mean, think about what Paul could have said in

467
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:30,720
Speaker 1: his heart, all these other prisoners. I must God must

468
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:34,280
Speaker 1: be punishing me. And that's what everybody else is saying.

469
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,320
Speaker 1: Maybe they're right. I went through a season in ministry

470
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 1: where so many people were saying a certain thing about me.

471
00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:44,320
Speaker 1: I started to act like I had to prove them wrong.

472
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,000
Speaker 1: And so a lot of my ministry, if I look

473
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,640
Speaker 1: back through a certain season, was me here being like

474
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:54,720
Speaker 1: I do study my Bible in the Greek, in the Hebrew,

475
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,960
Speaker 1: in the big Latin. I'm busting out every language I

476
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 1: ever learned, hieroglyphics, just to get you to see I'm

477
00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,960
Speaker 1: not what you think I am. Because I said, yeah,

478
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:13,960
Speaker 1: he's an entertainer, he's a thing. But when I look deeper,

479
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 1: it wasn't what they were saying that had the power

480
00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:20,720
Speaker 1: to contain me, control me, or limit me in my ministry,

481
00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:29,640
Speaker 1: effectiveness or humanity. It wasn't. It was will you do well, Paul?

482
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:36,120
Speaker 1: Did we do this? Because when you do this, now

483
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:44,120
Speaker 1: you can do this? Yeah, pointing fingers or healing hands.

484
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:48,879
Speaker 1: They're watching him so close. They're going, let's see if

485
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,239
Speaker 1: he gets better. Let's see if they and I don't.

486
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:54,480
Speaker 1: I don't think Paul really cared much about the audience

487
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,400
Speaker 1: at this point because he knew he had an appointment

488
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,920
Speaker 1: in Rome. So his security and his purpose made him

489
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:07,359
Speaker 1: impervious to the opinions of others. Did you catch what

490
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: God just said to you? There is a sense in

491
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,560
Speaker 1: which when you know God's hand is on you. When

492
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,360
Speaker 1: you know that it's God's hand even in the mistakes,

493
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:20,719
Speaker 1: even in the decisions of others. This is what takes

494
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:24,160
Speaker 1: us some time to believe that God is sovereign, even

495
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:30,360
Speaker 1: over the screw ups of others. All right, let me

496
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:31,840
Speaker 1: get to the good part. I appreciate about that a

497
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,080
Speaker 1: few weeks ago, So let me get to the good part.

498
00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:36,840
Speaker 1: So the people thought he was gonna die. He didn't.

499
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:39,400
Speaker 1: Nothing unusual happened to him. They changed their minds and

500
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,280
Speaker 1: said he was a god. Now Paul knew he was neither.

501
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,239
Speaker 1: I'm not a murderer, I'm not a god. I wrote

502
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:46,359
Speaker 1: a song lyric the other day. I'm no beggar, I'm

503
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:49,480
Speaker 1: no king. Guess I'm something in between. I want to

504
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,120
Speaker 1: put that in a song one day, and maybe I will.

505
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,960
Speaker 1: But I was reading how they're like, he's a god,

506
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,839
Speaker 1: he's a murderer. He's like, I'm neither. I know who

507
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 1: I am. I know I am. Look, God told me

508
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:01,680
Speaker 1: who I was. God told me who I was Act

509
00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:03,680
Speaker 1: twenty seven, before I even went through the storm. God

510
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,680
Speaker 1: told me who I was. So I'm not looking to

511
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:07,959
Speaker 1: you to define me. Now that I'm on this shore

512
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,600
Speaker 1: called Malta. I don't even know you'd like that. Watch

513
00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,279
Speaker 1: this in verse twenty three x twenty seven, this is

514
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:17,240
Speaker 1: annointed last night, an angel of the God to whom

515
00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:19,800
Speaker 1: I belong. There it is and whom I serf stood

516
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,680
Speaker 1: beside me and said, don't be afraid, Paul, you must

517
00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:26,000
Speaker 1: stand trial before Caesar. You've got a case in Wrome.

518
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,000
Speaker 1: So God has graciously given you the lives of all

519
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,480
Speaker 1: who sail with you. But Paul wasn't busy doing this

520
00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,879
Speaker 1: because if he blamed those who were responsible for shipwrecking

521
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,880
Speaker 1: him on this island, he would never see what God

522
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:44,839
Speaker 1: wanted to do on the island while he was there. Nah,

523
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:50,359
Speaker 1: it's set me free. There's no power in this. When

524
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 1: you place blame, you give power. If they put you

525
00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:05,000
Speaker 1: in the situation, have to get you out. So when

526
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:11,279
Speaker 1: Paul does this, it's his way of saying, it's not

527
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,360
Speaker 1: whose fault it was. That that matters. Some of you

528
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,720
Speaker 1: think about me. That matters. The only thing that matters

529
00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:24,759
Speaker 1: in this moment, in this season of my life is this.

530
00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:29,120
Speaker 1: Get that fellow over here, man, the one that the

531
00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:35,040
Speaker 1: snake bit and he didn't die. I want to meet him.

532
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:40,280
Speaker 1: Publius didn't ask for any other prisoners, just the one

533
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:45,920
Speaker 1: who got bit and didn't get bitter. I'm not just

534
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:50,080
Speaker 1: being cute. I would have been bitter. I would have

535
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:56,399
Speaker 1: been like this. You told me to preach, you told

536
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,120
Speaker 1: me to share the gospel, you said you would protect me,

537
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:04,480
Speaker 1: and I'm the only one who got bid. But this

538
00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:08,240
Speaker 1: won't get you healed either. You can do it. God's

539
00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 1: not scared of it. You can do it. It's fine.

540
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 1: But when you get done with that, are you ever

541
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 1: going to get to this? Yeh? In a marriage? Come here, Hall,

542
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:25,359
Speaker 1: in a marriage. I promise you one thing I know well,

543
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:30,920
Speaker 1: I'll come to you because I'm just faster. This heels.

544
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:38,400
Speaker 1: This kills I'm just trying to help you see something.

545
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:48,400
Speaker 1: This kills. It kills communication, it kills empathy. This heels,

546
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,560
Speaker 1: I just saw it like a picture. That that's all

547
00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:58,400
Speaker 1: I need you for me for now. That this is

548
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:00,160
Speaker 1: only going to get you to a certain place. And

549
00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,880
Speaker 1: it's important, like all of us can point to something

550
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:05,680
Speaker 1: in our life right now that is making us weak.

551
00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:09,360
Speaker 1: And that's fine. That's totally fine for the snake to

552
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:15,920
Speaker 1: fasten itself to your hand. It's not okay for you

553
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:17,799
Speaker 1: to hold on to it longer than you're supposed to.

554
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,359
Speaker 1: We can all point to something in our past that

555
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,440
Speaker 1: caused the way that we're struggling with a character defect today.

556
00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:33,719
Speaker 1: And that's fine. Only guess you so far. The real

557
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 1: question when Paul showed up and he got in pup

558
00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:42,040
Speaker 1: what's his name, Publius? When he gets in his house

559
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:46,960
Speaker 1: and discovers that there's an opportunity, Remember, I said, a

560
00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:52,400
Speaker 1: Christian opportunist, a worldly opportunist is when I see something

561
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:55,120
Speaker 1: that looks like a good opportunity, I give my all

562
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 1: to it. When I see somebody that I think can

563
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,880
Speaker 1: give me an advantage, I'm nice to them. That's a

564
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:06,640
Speaker 1: worldly opportunist. A Christian opportunist realizes that the great strengths

565
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:15,640
Speaker 1: hide in weakness. So a whole island gets healed because

566
00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:19,799
Speaker 1: of a sick man. The sick man only encountered the

567
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:25,359
Speaker 1: Great Apostle because of a snake bit hand. Let make

568
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,640
Speaker 1: sure you see the connection. Why did the snake bite

569
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,840
Speaker 1: Paul on the fire? It doesn't say God made the

570
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:39,160
Speaker 1: snake bite Paul. Paul determined after the fact that he

571
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:43,920
Speaker 1: would use this too. I want to say to somebody

572
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:46,919
Speaker 1: and I feel like it's not somebody who's in the room.

573
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:54,000
Speaker 1: God's going to use this too. We all know about

574
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,520
Speaker 1: the ship that carries us to God's purpose, the ship

575
00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,480
Speaker 1: that gets us some places. But the snake took Paul

576
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:10,200
Speaker 1: to Pooblice's house. God's going to use this too. I

577
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,439
Speaker 1: say he cost it. Don't put the words in my mouth.

578
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,080
Speaker 1: I didn't say he cost it. God is going to

579
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:21,520
Speaker 1: use this too, And I want you to make the

580
00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:25,280
Speaker 1: confession out of your mouth by faith. God is going

581
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:31,279
Speaker 1: to use this too. So Paul goes this cool boom,

582
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:36,319
Speaker 1: this cool poop. Not this, it was your fault. I'm

583
00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:39,160
Speaker 1: on this island, you stupid. Would have you ever hit

584
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:46,439
Speaker 1: a wall. I've heard my knuckles hitting inanimate objects. Paul

585
00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 1: didn't punched the wood. A lot of us go around physically,

586
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:54,560
Speaker 1: speak of swinging and stuff that can't swing back. Oh

587
00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,880
Speaker 1: it's the government. Oh it's this, it's that. This is

588
00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:02,560
Speaker 1: only going to get me so far. I gotta do this.

589
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,360
Speaker 1: I gotta do this. I gotta go have dinner with

590
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:10,320
Speaker 1: Philblius and see why God put me on this island

591
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:15,879
Speaker 1: that wasn't on my itinerary. Now, I'm just telling you

592
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,160
Speaker 1: God said that some of you are going today from

593
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:23,840
Speaker 1: a posture of pain to a posture of power. But

594
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:27,280
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a different kind of power. It's gonna

595
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:31,720
Speaker 1: be a Second Corinthians four kind of power. In Second

596
00:42:31,719 --> 00:42:36,280
Speaker 1: Corinthians four, the great apostle Paul says, but we have

597
00:42:36,719 --> 00:42:42,799
Speaker 1: this treasure in earthen vessels. We have this treasure in

598
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:48,600
Speaker 1: earthen vessels. We have this glory in messy situations. We

599
00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:53,600
Speaker 1: have this hope in chopping waters. We have this certainty

600
00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:58,040
Speaker 1: in a crazy, chaotic world. We have this treasure in

601
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,919
Speaker 1: human weakness. We have this confidence in great chaos. We

602
00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:08,440
Speaker 1: have this treasure in earthen vessels. We have this healing

603
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:19,320
Speaker 1: in snake bitten hands. Yeah. Yeah. He went in to Publius,

604
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:27,560
Speaker 1: his father's bedroom, and in Acts twenty eight, he did

605
00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:33,080
Speaker 1: something really important that I want you to do. Yeah,

606
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:37,640
Speaker 1: do you'll have the scripture? I got it. It's good.

607
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:42,479
Speaker 1: It's good. It's good, it's good. This is real good.

608
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:48,040
Speaker 1: This is how you protect the vessel. You're ready. He

609
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:53,200
Speaker 1: went in to see him verse eight, and after prayer,

610
00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:01,919
Speaker 1: I want you to pray about it. I am praying

611
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:08,560
Speaker 1: about No, you're not you're ruminating. You're worrying about it.

612
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:18,399
Speaker 1: You're freaking out. I'm gonna do a sermon maybe after

613
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:23,440
Speaker 1: Easter call. You're underthinking it, says, I overthink things. No,

614
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:27,080
Speaker 1: you underthink things. You only process stuff at the level

615
00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:28,920
Speaker 1: of your thought, never at the level of your spirit.

616
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:40,600
Speaker 1: He did something so simple. He prayed because he knew

617
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,600
Speaker 1: he couldn't give any healing to Publius if he had

618
00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:52,719
Speaker 1: venom in his own vessel. So as we pictured this,

619
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:54,480
Speaker 1: I want you to picture yourself in this season of

620
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:58,120
Speaker 1: your life. Here you are, I should be here, I

621
00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,919
Speaker 1: should be there. Pointing at where you should be will

622
00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:06,560
Speaker 1: not result in progress or peace. We could all do that.

623
00:45:07,239 --> 00:45:09,600
Speaker 1: I thought i'd be should have been. If they wouldn't have,

624
00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:12,960
Speaker 1: then I would have point with both hands. But watch this,

625
00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:19,960
Speaker 1: after he prayed, I want you to see yourself doing this.

626
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:24,880
Speaker 1: When I say it, Paul went in and placed his

627
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:39,879
Speaker 1: not just the good hand, the hurd hand too. Does

628
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:43,880
Speaker 1: this give you a picture of what God wants to

629
00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 1: do through what you've been through? Because if it said

630
00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,560
Speaker 1: Paul put his hand on him, I think, well, that's nice.

631
00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:56,239
Speaker 1: But when I realized that a snake had been on

632
00:45:56,280 --> 00:46:03,200
Speaker 1: that hand just a few days ago, I think to myself, God,

633
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:07,040
Speaker 1: what do you want to do through the places where

634
00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:17,160
Speaker 1: I've been hurt? Do you want this? Are you ready

635
00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:21,680
Speaker 1: for this? Now? I see a hand opening up, But

636
00:46:21,719 --> 00:46:26,480
Speaker 1: it's not God's hand. His hand has always been on

637
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:30,879
Speaker 1: you in every value you've walked in, and every dumb

638
00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:32,839
Speaker 1: decision you've made, and every bad thing that you've ever

639
00:46:32,880 --> 00:46:35,200
Speaker 1: believed about yourself, and every bad thing that anybody's ever

640
00:46:35,239 --> 00:46:37,080
Speaker 1: done to his hand's always been there. It's never been

641
00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:44,239
Speaker 1: the question about his hand, how about yours. You're going

642
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:49,200
Speaker 1: to walk around with that snake for another year, another five,

643
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:55,000
Speaker 1: another decade, You're going to be an old man running

644
00:46:55,000 --> 00:47:00,479
Speaker 1: around to home snake stories. And with the same hand,

645
00:47:02,040 --> 00:47:07,160
Speaker 1: the same hand that could have killed him, he became

646
00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:14,959
Speaker 1: an instrument of revival. The reason that I didn't name

647
00:47:15,239 --> 00:47:19,240
Speaker 1: my sermon when I started is because you don't always

648
00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:32,480
Speaker 1: know what to call it until after it's over. Malta

649
00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,000
Speaker 1: was called honey, but God brought Paul there for healing.

650
00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:42,160
Speaker 1: Malta means refuge, but God brought Paul there for revival.

651
00:47:44,719 --> 00:47:47,680
Speaker 1: And I want us to spend some time believing today

652
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:51,160
Speaker 1: that when we do this, see you can't do this

653
00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:54,880
Speaker 1: and this so which one is it going to be.

654
00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:02,799
Speaker 1: And until you do this, you do this somebody that

655
00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:05,000
Speaker 1: I'm preaching to. If you can't do this for yourself,

656
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:11,400
Speaker 1: do it for your kids. If you can't do the

657
00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:19,000
Speaker 1: whole island got healed because Paul didn't do this. When

658
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:21,200
Speaker 1: you do this to yourself, when you do it to

659
00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:24,800
Speaker 1: an event, when you allow your identity to be consumed

660
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:29,560
Speaker 1: by an experience, it will always limit the flow of

661
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:35,480
Speaker 1: God's power in your situation. So today God sent me

662
00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:40,279
Speaker 1: with a word for somebody to just know that life

663
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:49,960
Speaker 1: begins when you do this, just this, just this. I

664
00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:51,960
Speaker 1: want you to use botans. Stand to your feet in

665
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:55,320
Speaker 1: your living room, stand to your feet in the auditorium,

666
00:48:55,360 --> 00:49:03,680
Speaker 1: and just do this. Now, look at me. This kills

667
00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:17,279
Speaker 1: this heels. This is accusation, This is acceptance. Okay, I'm here,

668
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:21,399
Speaker 1: Paul said, I might as well go over to Publius's house.

669
00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:26,160
Speaker 1: I don't know what they're serving for dinner. But maybe

670
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:30,319
Speaker 1: God wants to do something through me. You know how

671
00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:32,359
Speaker 1: many times God wanted to give me something, but I

672
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:38,000
Speaker 1: was doing this. He wanted to give me a solution,

673
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:43,200
Speaker 1: but I was doing this. Then if you do this

674
00:49:43,239 --> 00:49:48,480
Speaker 1: long enough, you start doing this but God said, just

675
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:59,239
Speaker 1: do this, just this, Father, I thank you for your

676
00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:05,400
Speaker 1: spirit in moments like these. I know they're tender some people,

677
00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:08,480
Speaker 1: even as they try to push you away in this moment,

678
00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:11,799
Speaker 1: because it would frankly be easier to keep others at

679
00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:17,879
Speaker 1: a distance. I thank you Lord that you know all

680
00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:21,960
Speaker 1: things about me and everybody who's here, and if there

681
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,000
Speaker 1: has to be a translation. You're telling them what Malta is.

682
00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,319
Speaker 1: You're telling them what the snake is, You're telling them

683
00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:30,440
Speaker 1: what Publius's house. You do those things. I can't do

684
00:50:30,480 --> 00:50:36,239
Speaker 1: them because you know them and love them. But we

685
00:50:36,360 --> 00:50:40,360
Speaker 1: just wanted to take a moment, before we leave the building,

686
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:44,040
Speaker 1: or before we log off and go on to something else,

687
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:52,960
Speaker 1: to just do this. Because this heels. We release those

688
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:58,319
Speaker 1: who hurt us, not even because they deserve it, but

689
00:50:58,400 --> 00:50:59,960
Speaker 1: because we don't want to spend the rest of our

690
00:50:59,880 --> 00:51:02,720
Speaker 1: life attached to something that almost killed us but didn't.

691
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:08,480
Speaker 1: We don't want to be defined by that. So Lord,

692
00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:13,120
Speaker 1: in the name of Jesus, right now we shake all

693
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:18,480
Speaker 1: shame off into the fire, all accusation and all condemnation.

694
00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:20,880
Speaker 1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are

695
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:22,920
Speaker 1: in Christ. Jesus us through Christ, Jesus law, spirit of life.

696
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:24,959
Speaker 1: I said you free from the law of sin and death.

697
00:51:24,960 --> 00:51:29,520
Speaker 1: And we shake that right now like the dirt off

698
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:31,560
Speaker 1: of our feet, like the snake off of our hand.

699
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:39,120
Speaker 1: It couldn't kill us, It couldn't kill you. That's why

700
00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:47,920
Speaker 1: you're still here. Now, you take that same hand that

701
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:51,840
Speaker 1: was hurt, that same place in you that was hurt,

702
00:51:54,560 --> 00:51:56,239
Speaker 1: and you lay it on the next thing that God

703
00:51:56,280 --> 00:52:00,279
Speaker 1: puts in your life. Because all of the whiz them

704
00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:02,920
Speaker 1: that God gave you, and all the compassion that he

705
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:05,480
Speaker 1: gave you, and all of the healing that he gave you,

706
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:14,480
Speaker 1: just like the nail prints in his hand, this will

707
00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:19,400
Speaker 1: be the place of the greatest relief, release of power

708
00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:24,239
Speaker 1: in the history of your life. I declare it. I

709
00:52:24,320 --> 00:52:29,399
Speaker 1: stand in agreement with you for it. I testify other

710
00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:38,120
Speaker 1: We have this treasure in earth and vessels. Look at me,

711
00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:45,120
Speaker 1: Look at me. Protect your vessel, Protect your heart. Don't

712
00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:48,960
Speaker 1: let it just run around anytime it wants. Don't keep

713
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:54,360
Speaker 1: your car cleaner than you keep your heart. Protect your vessel.

714
00:52:54,440 --> 00:52:58,240
Speaker 1: Because you've got to get there. You must stand trial

715
00:52:58,280 --> 00:53:01,560
Speaker 1: before Caesar, must do it. Nobody's going to do this

716
00:53:01,719 --> 00:53:05,440
Speaker 1: for you. What you're carrying is more important than what's carrying.

717
00:53:05,719 --> 00:53:08,279
Speaker 1: So let the things fall away that have to fall away.

718
00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:12,799
Speaker 1: That's all right. Now. What you need for where you're

719
00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:19,160
Speaker 1: headed is in your hand. What's that in your hand?

720
00:53:20,480 --> 00:53:23,960
Speaker 1: Should you be holding that? Or is it time for

721
00:53:24,040 --> 00:53:32,440
Speaker 1: you to receive what God has next for you? I

722
00:53:32,480 --> 00:53:35,400
Speaker 1: want to hear from you this week. I want to

723
00:53:35,440 --> 00:53:37,200
Speaker 1: hear it in the comments. I want to hear it

724
00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:39,920
Speaker 1: on social media. I want to hear what God is

725
00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:43,960
Speaker 1: releasing in your life and what you are releasing to

726
00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:46,799
Speaker 1: receive what God has next. I really do. There are

727
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:49,080
Speaker 1: teams that go through these comments just to pray for you,

728
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:51,040
Speaker 1: and we want to hear about it. We want to

729
00:53:51,040 --> 00:53:53,120
Speaker 1: stand in agreement. We don't want to stand there and

730
00:53:53,200 --> 00:53:56,640
Speaker 1: do this. Get your life together out of pen No, no, no,

731
00:53:57,239 --> 00:54:05,600
Speaker 1: we're saying this. We're saying this. We're saying this. If

732
00:54:05,640 --> 00:54:09,800
Speaker 1: we could hold hands, we would. It's controversial to hold hands.

733
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:12,520
Speaker 1: But right now I connect with you by faith, and

734
00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:14,680
Speaker 1: the scripture says if any two of you would touch

735
00:54:14,719 --> 00:54:17,040
Speaker 1: and agreed, if any two of you would touch and agreed,

736
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:21,080
Speaker 1: that's not a physical requirement. That is a spiritual position.

737
00:54:21,440 --> 00:54:24,520
Speaker 1: So I come into agreement with you in your life,

738
00:54:25,280 --> 00:54:27,839
Speaker 1: that you will have the power to shake into the

739
00:54:27,880 --> 00:54:31,800
Speaker 1: passion of the fire of the spirit of God, whatever

740
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:35,880
Speaker 1: has attached itself to your life. Right now, Lord, I

741
00:54:35,920 --> 00:54:39,239
Speaker 1: lift my hands to bless your people all over the

742
00:54:39,239 --> 00:54:42,640
Speaker 1: world who will hear this message at different times. This

743
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:46,680
Speaker 1: will be a turning point, This will be a moment

744
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:51,960
Speaker 1: of revelation. We stand with open hands under an open heaven.

745
00:54:53,440 --> 00:54:56,879
Speaker 1: We give you thanks for your purpose in Jesus' name.

746
00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:26,720
Speaker 1: Put those hands in together. Thank you both. I hope

747
00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:30,040
Speaker 1: you heard that. I hope you heard it with your heart,

748
00:55:30,120 --> 00:55:33,040
Speaker 1: not just with your ears. I hope you receive it.

749
00:55:33,960 --> 00:55:37,000
Speaker 1: Look this all you got to do. Receive this, Receive this,

750
00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:40,440
Speaker 1: Receive God's grace, his mercy, his wisdom. He has so

751
00:55:40,520 --> 00:55:43,440
Speaker 1: much for you. Hey, you hear how I preach myself

752
00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:47,920
Speaker 1: no voice left. I'm sweating through this heavy sweater and

753
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:50,720
Speaker 1: I have not much voice left. But I just wanted

754
00:55:50,760 --> 00:55:54,560
Speaker 1: to thank you. Thank you for giving, supporting, praying. We

755
00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:59,360
Speaker 1: love you. It's amazing to be connected with you in ministry. Okay,

756
00:55:59,400 --> 00:56:01,919
Speaker 1: I'm out of being to say subscribe blah blah blah

757
00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:03,759
Speaker 1: blah blah. I see you next time. I love you

758
00:56:11,800 --> 00:56:12,160
Speaker 1: mm hm