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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting

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Speaker 2: the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you

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Speaker 2: be a blessing and share it with a friend. We

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Speaker 2: appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well,

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Speaker 2: God bless you and welcome. Thanks so much for letting

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Speaker 2: us come into your homes.

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Speaker 1: We love you.

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Speaker 2: If you're ever in our area, please stop buying be

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Speaker 2: a part of one of our services. These are the

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Speaker 2: finest people in all of Houston, Texas right here at Lakewood.

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Speaker 1: Love to have you come out whenever you can.

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Speaker 2: But thanks for tuning in and thank you again for

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Speaker 2: coming out today. I like to get started each week

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Speaker 2: with something kind of funny, and I heard about this man.

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Speaker 1: He was walking up to a country store.

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Speaker 2: There was a little boy sitting on the front porch

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Speaker 2: with a big dog sitting next to him. The man said, son,

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Speaker 2: does your dog bite? He said, no, sir, my dog

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Speaker 2: doesn't bite. He reached down and started to pet him,

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Speaker 2: and the dog took about half of the man's arm off.

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Speaker 2: He pulled it back. He said, I thought you said

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Speaker 2: your dog didn't bite. The little boy said that's not

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Speaker 2: my dog. All right, hold up your Bible. Say it

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

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

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Speaker 1: Says I have.

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

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Speaker 2: I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess.

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Speaker 2: My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will

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Speaker 2: never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you.

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Speaker 2: I want to talk to you today about not being

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Speaker 2: limited by the system. And when I say the system,

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Speaker 2: I'm talking about the normal ways things are done. You

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Speaker 2: go to work, get a paycheck and that sets your limits.

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Speaker 1: Or you have dreams and desires, but you.

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Speaker 2: Don't have the right connections, you don't have the right education.

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Speaker 2: And it's tempting to think I'll never rise any higher.

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Speaker 2: I'm limited by the system that I'm in. But one

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Speaker 2: thing I've learned is God likes to go outside the system.

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Speaker 2: He likes to do unusual, extraordinary things. No matter where

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Speaker 2: you are in life, no matter what environment you're in,

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Speaker 2: no matter how impossible your dreams may seem, you need

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Speaker 2: to know God already has a plan, He already has

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Speaker 2: a way.

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Speaker 1: And if you will stay in faith.

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Speaker 2: God will go outside the system and take your places

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Speaker 2: that you never thought possible. When God needed a new

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Speaker 2: king for Israel, he didn't choose the most qualified person.

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Speaker 2: He didn't go to the most influential family and choose

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Speaker 2: one of the proven military leaders, someone that had all

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Speaker 2: this knowledge, all this expertise.

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Speaker 1: He found a teenager.

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Speaker 2: A young shepherd boy that was out taking care of

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Speaker 2: his father's sheep, the least likely person, and he chose

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Speaker 2: this young man, David, to be the next king. God

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Speaker 2: likes to take ordinary people and use them to do

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Speaker 2: extraordinary things. Don't be limited by your system. Look around

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Speaker 2: today and think my dreams will never come to pass.

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Speaker 2: I don't have the money, I don't have the right connections,

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Speaker 2: I don't have the education.

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Speaker 1: I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

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Speaker 2: No, Actually, you're just the kind of person God loves

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Speaker 2: to use, and instead of being discouraged by all that,

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Speaker 2: you should turn it around and be encouraged, knowing.

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Speaker 1: That you are prime material.

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Speaker 2: God likes to go outside the system. When Jesus chose

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Speaker 2: his twelve disciples, there were great schools of the prophets

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Speaker 2: back in those days. They were very influential places where

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Speaker 2: people studied religion, all the laws and the traditions. These

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Speaker 2: people were called the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were

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Speaker 2: the prestigious religious leaders of that day. They walked around

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Speaker 2: the city in their distinguished robes. They got the best

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Speaker 2: seats at the city functions.

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Speaker 1: But it's interesting Jesus didn't choose any of them.

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Speaker 2: He didn't choose the most qualified, the most educated, even

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Speaker 2: the most influential. And certainly God can use people like that.

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Speaker 2: It's good to have education, it's good to have influence.

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Speaker 2: But very often God will do things outside of the traditional.

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Speaker 1: Ordinary ways.

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Speaker 2: Jesus ended up choosing a fisherman, a tax collector. He

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Speaker 2: chose the equivalent of business people, carpenters, school teachers.

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Speaker 1: He went outside the system and used them to do

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Speaker 1: extraordinary things.

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Speaker 2: When God needed a pastor, a man that would touch

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Speaker 2: people around the world, he didn't choose somebody that came

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Speaker 2: from a long line of religious people, someone that had

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Speaker 2: all the right connections, all.

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Speaker 1: The right experience.

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Speaker 2: He chose a seventeen year old boy that had dropped

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Speaker 2: out of high school. My father knew nothing about God.

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Speaker 2: He wasn't raised in church. His parents were cotton farmers.

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Speaker 2: They lost everything they had during the Great Depression. They

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Speaker 2: were extremely poor people. My father had no money, no education,

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Speaker 2: no future to speak of. The system said he would

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Speaker 2: just barely get by in life, never succeed, never amount

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Speaker 2: to much.

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Speaker 1: But God had another plan.

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Speaker 2: God went outside the system and took a seventeen year

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Speaker 2: old boy that was selling popcorn in a theater in

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Speaker 2: Fort Worth, Texas, and God put a dream in his heart.

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Speaker 2: My father told how when he first gave his life

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Speaker 2: to the Lord, he knew one day he would minister

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Speaker 2: to thousands of people.

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Speaker 1: That was unheard of.

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Speaker 2: But something new was burst on the inside. He let

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Speaker 2: the seed take root. He believed he had what it takes.

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Speaker 2: He knew if God before him, who dare even be

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Speaker 2: against him?

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Speaker 1: He didn't really know how to.

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Speaker 2: Minister, But six weeks after he gave his life to

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Speaker 2: the Lord, he was ministering on the street corners, in

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Speaker 2: the prisons, in the senior citizens' homes. He didn't know

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Speaker 2: anything about it. The Bible he called job job. He

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Speaker 2: called the Psalms the pislems. One time he preached a

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Speaker 2: whole message on Samson, and when he got finished, he

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Speaker 2: realized he'd been calling him Tarzan, But.

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Speaker 1: That didn't bother my father.

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Speaker 2: He just kept on keeping on being his best, giving

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Speaker 2: it his all.

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Speaker 1: Daddy went back to school.

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Speaker 2: He not only got his high school diploma, he went

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Speaker 2: to college and got his master's degree. God went outside

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Speaker 2: the system. Don't allow where you are in life right

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Speaker 2: now and the things that are not going your way

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Speaker 2: to cause.

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Speaker 1: You to give up on your dreams. It may not happen.

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Speaker 2: Overnight, but if you'll stay in faith, God will move

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Speaker 2: heaven and earth to get you to where you're supposed

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Speaker 2: to be. No person can keep you from your destiny.

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Speaker 2: No obstacle can keep you from accomplishing your dreams. It

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Speaker 2: may look impossible, but God can do the impossible. Stay

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Speaker 2: in and just keep pressing forward. I think about how

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Speaker 2: Lakewood was even started. God went outside the system to.

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Speaker 1: Birth this ministry. It was Mother's Day in nineteen fifty nine.

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Speaker 2: My father had just left a beautiful church that.

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Speaker 1: He had been pastoring for many years.

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Speaker 2: He knew God was doing something new in his life,

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Speaker 2: and he and a handful of people came to an

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Speaker 2: abandoned feed store.

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Speaker 1: It was a little rundown building.

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Speaker 2: That actually had holes in the floor so you could sweep.

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Speaker 1: The hay and the feed through here.

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Speaker 2: They had just come from a beautiful traditional church. You

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Speaker 2: would have thought God would have had something more impressive,

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Speaker 2: something more prestigious. But God went outside the system, and

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Speaker 2: Lakewood was birthed.

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Speaker 1: In those humble beginnings.

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Speaker 2: People told my father back then, you're making a big mistake.

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Speaker 2: Nobody's gonna come out here. You're in the wrong part

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Speaker 2: of town. My parents just shook it off and stayed faithful,

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Speaker 2: year after year, stuck with it, persistent, determined. Here we

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Speaker 2: are today, nearly fifty years later.

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Speaker 1: Still going strong. But what if my father would have said,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to a feed store that's out of

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Speaker 1: the ordinary.

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Speaker 2: People may criticize, people may look down on me.

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Speaker 1: He would have missed his destiny. When God puts a

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Speaker 1: promise in your heart, doesn't.

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Speaker 2: Matter what it looks like in the natural, doesn't matter

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Speaker 2: who's criticized, and doesn't matter what's coming against you. You've

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Speaker 2: got to stick with it, be faithful, and you will

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Speaker 2: see God bring that to pass. This is what Mary

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Speaker 2: had to do, the mother of Jesus.

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Speaker 1: She was a teenage girl living in.

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Speaker 2: A town called Nazareth that was one of the poorest,

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Speaker 2: most run down cities.

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Speaker 1: Of that region.

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Speaker 2: You would think if God was going to choose somebody

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Speaker 2: to give birth to his son, he would surely choose

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Speaker 2: someone from a better location, from a more prestigious environment.

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Speaker 2: But once again God went outside the system. He didn't

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Speaker 2: choose a prominent, influential young lady. Mary was just a

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Speaker 2: common girl living in an average family in a lower

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Speaker 2: income neighborhood. And in Luke one verse thirty, an angel

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Speaker 2: appeared under her, and he said, Mary, you have found

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Speaker 2: favor with God.

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Speaker 1: You're going to give birth to a son. You're to

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Speaker 1: call him Jesus.

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Speaker 2: And of course Mary was startled by it all, and

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Speaker 2: she asked the question, how can this be? Seeing that

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Speaker 2: I know not a man. She was saying, in effect,

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Speaker 2: that's impossible. That defies the laws of nature. I can't

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Speaker 2: have a baby without a man.

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Speaker 1: How could that be?

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Speaker 2: The angel answered back, the power of the most tie

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Speaker 2: will come upon you and cause you to conceive. Now,

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Speaker 2: I love what Mary said. As odd as this seemed,

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Speaker 2: as impossible as it looked, Mary simply said, be it

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Speaker 2: unto me, even as you have said. One translation says,

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Speaker 2: let it happen just as you say.

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Speaker 1: So that moment, the seed took root in our heart.

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Speaker 2: When God gives us a promise, it may not make

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Speaker 2: sin to our mind.

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Speaker 1: It may be out of the ordinary.

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Speaker 2: But if we could just do like Mary and say, God,

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Speaker 2: I receive this, it may look impossible. But God, I

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Speaker 2: know you can do the impossible. So I come into

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Speaker 2: agreement with you and believe it'll happen just as you

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Speaker 2: say so. And it's interesting what Mary asked, how can

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Speaker 2: it happen without a man? She was asking in the physical,

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Speaker 2: but I believe there's a deeper meaning. God is saying

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Speaker 2: you don't have to have people to see your dreams

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Speaker 2: come to pass. Your friends may not believe in your dreams.

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Speaker 2: Your coworkers may not think you have what it takes.

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Speaker 2: Your own family may think you're just wasting your time.

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Speaker 2: But the good news is God does not need them

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Speaker 2: to bring that promise to fulfillment.

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Speaker 1: Don't allow people to.

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Speaker 2: Talk you out of what you know you feel on

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Speaker 2: the inside.

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Speaker 1: Your dream is not dependent on other people.

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Speaker 2: God is saying it can happen without a man. It

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Speaker 2: can happen without a banker. It can happen without a doctor.

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Speaker 2: It can happen without the right boss.

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Speaker 1: It can happen.

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Speaker 2: In spite of what people are saying, You and God.

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Speaker 1: Are a majority.

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Speaker 2: You may not feel like that you have the right connections,

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Speaker 2: you don't know the right people, you don't come from

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Speaker 2: the right family.

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Speaker 1: That's okay.

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Speaker 2: The scripture says promotion doesn't come from the north, the south,

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Speaker 2: the east, and the west. That means promotion doesn't come

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Speaker 2: from people, doesn't come from your boss, doesn't come from

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Speaker 2: your environment. Promotion comes from Almighty God. When God's ready

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Speaker 2: to promote you, when He's ready to take you to

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Speaker 2: a new level, it doesn't matter who you do or

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Speaker 2: don't know, it is going to happen. No person can

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Speaker 2: stand against our God. You may not know the right people,

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Speaker 2: but you do know the right God, and that's all

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Speaker 2: that really matters. But so often we think, well, if

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Speaker 2: I could just get this person to like me, maybe

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Speaker 2: they'll give me a break, maybe they'll give me a promotion,

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Speaker 2: maybe they'll give me a loan.

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Speaker 1: No, it's fine to be good to people, have to

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Speaker 1: have them.

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Speaker 2: Your dream is not dependent on the other people, and

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Speaker 2: our attitude should be God. I know you put this

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Speaker 2: promise in my heart, and I believe it'll come to pass,

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Speaker 2: regardless of who I do or don't know, regardless of

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Speaker 2: who is or who isn't behind me. And when you

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Speaker 2: get outside of the system, don't be surprised if you

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Speaker 2: face some judgment and criticism. Don't be surprised if people

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Speaker 2: start talking trying to make you look bad.

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Speaker 1: When you have a big dream in.

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Speaker 2: Your life, it stirs up small minded people. Small minded

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Speaker 2: people get jealous, they're intimidated. They're so insecure they feel

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Speaker 2: like they have to push you down so they can

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Speaker 2: feel okay about who they are. They don't realize God

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Speaker 2: has an individual plan for.

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Speaker 1: Each of our lives.

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Speaker 2: We're not all going to give birth to the Son

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Speaker 2: of God. God chose Mary for that. But I've got

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Speaker 2: to be big enough to celebrate what God's doing in

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Speaker 2: her life. Why at the same time knowing that God

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Speaker 2: has something great in store for me.

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Speaker 1: God hasn't left any of us out.

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Speaker 2: When you see somebody that's out of their box doing

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Speaker 2: their best to do what they feel God's put in

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Speaker 2: their heart, be secure enough.

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Speaker 1: To cheer them off.

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Speaker 2: You may not understand it, Just give them the benefit

264
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Speaker 2: of the doubt and stand with them, not against them.

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Speaker 2: This is what happened to Mary. Everybody started talking. You

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Speaker 2: can imagine what she had to put up with, all

267
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Speaker 2: the gossip, people talking behind her back.

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Speaker 1: Well, she's having a child, not married.

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Speaker 2: Even her fiance Joseph, when he first heard that she

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Speaker 2: was pregnant, he was going to just walk away. Mary

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Speaker 2: had to endure all this criticism, all this ridicule, but.

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Speaker 1: She didn't allow it to phase her.

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Speaker 2: She kept her eyes on the prize. Her attitude was,

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Speaker 2: God put this promise in my heart.

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Speaker 1: It's out of the ordinary.

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Speaker 2: Sure people are going to criticize, Sure they're not going

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Speaker 2: to understand. But the good news is my dream is

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Speaker 2: not dependent on them. The power of the most High

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Speaker 2: has come upon me and it will come to pass.

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Speaker 2: Can't be moved by the critics and the naysayers. This

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Speaker 2: is where so many people get distracted. They lose their

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Speaker 2: focus and start trying to defend themselves, convince everyone that

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Speaker 2: they're right. But some people, no matter how hard you try,

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Speaker 2: no matter how sincere you are, they're never going to

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Speaker 2: agree with you.

286
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Speaker 1: One thing I've learned.

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Speaker 2: Is everyone doesn't have to accept me, and everyone is

288
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Speaker 2: not going to understand me.

289
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Speaker 1: And you know what, that's okay.

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Speaker 2: Don't spend all your time trying to win over your critics.

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Speaker 2: Just run your race. After all, God didn't put the

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Speaker 2: promise in them, He put it in you. You cannot

293
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Speaker 2: expect them to understand.

294
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Speaker 1: You.

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Speaker 2: Think about Jesus, he was one of the most controversial

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Speaker 2: and criticized people that ever lived. And it's interesting he

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Speaker 2: got more criticism from the religious crowd than he ever

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Speaker 2: did the secular crowd. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were

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Speaker 2: so small minded and so caught up in policing their doctrine,

300
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Speaker 2: thinking that they were to know it alls. They practically

301
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Speaker 2: spent all their time trying to straighten Jesus out. While

302
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Speaker 2: he was out changing the world, bring hope, bringing healing,

303
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Speaker 2: making a difference, they were constantly trying to find fault,

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Speaker 2: trying to tell him what he was doing wrong. In

305
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Speaker 2: case you haven't noticed, the sad Dicees and the Pharisees

306
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Speaker 2: are still alive today.

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Speaker 1: Some of you say, I know they live next.

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Speaker 2: Door to me, people that anytime you get outside of

309
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Speaker 2: their box do something out of the norm, they're going

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Speaker 2: to find fault and tell you what you're doing wrong.

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Speaker 2: We got to learn to do like Jesus, just shake

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Speaker 2: it off and move on. You may get criticized, you

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Speaker 2: may even be controversial, but just remember, if God said

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Speaker 2: it's going to happen, there's nothing other people can do

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Speaker 2: to keep it from happening. Don't abort your baby, don't

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Speaker 2: give up on that dring. It may be difficult, it

317
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Speaker 2: may not be fair, people may be talking behind your back.

318
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Speaker 2: But what I've learned is when you're uncomfortable, when things

319
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Speaker 2: are coming against you, that pain is an indication that

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Speaker 2: you're getting closer to the birth. The enemy would not

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Speaker 2: fight you so hard if he didn't already know God

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Speaker 2: was about to do something that he's never done.

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Speaker 1: Before in your life.

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Speaker 2: I remember when I first started ministering nine years ago.

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Speaker 1: It was very difficult.

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Speaker 2: I was not only dealing with the death of my father,

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Speaker 2: but I was learning how to minister.

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Speaker 1: This was all very new to me, and.

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Speaker 2: At one point I felt like there was so much

330
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Speaker 2: coming against me. People were talking and I was already

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Speaker 2: not sure if I was able to do this, and

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Speaker 2: I thought to myself, why am I facing this opposition.

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Speaker 2: I'm just trying to do my best and carry on

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Speaker 2: what my parents have started. I'm not bothering anybody else.

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Speaker 1: But looking back now.

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Speaker 2: I realize the enemy was coming against me not because

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Speaker 2: of where I was. He was coming against me because

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Speaker 2: of where I was going. The enemy, he doesn't fight

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Speaker 2: you for the present.

340
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Speaker 1: He fights you for your future.

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Speaker 2: He didn't want me to make it to the Compact Center.

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Speaker 1: He didn't want me to have a voice of hope

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Speaker 1: that go around the world.

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Speaker 2: He didn't want us to come in here every week

345
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Speaker 2: and celebrate the goodness of God. You may think, why

346
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Speaker 2: am I having these problems. I'm doing my best, being

347
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Speaker 2: good to people, give it at my all each day,

348
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Speaker 2: not bothering anybody else. Yet things are coming against me

349
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Speaker 2: in my finances and my health and my relationships.

350
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Speaker 1: It's because of where you're headed.

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Speaker 2: It's because in your future there are so many great things.

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Speaker 2: The enemies trying to discourage you right now and get

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Speaker 2: you distracted so you will give up on those dreams.

354
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Speaker 2: When times get tough and things aren't going your way,

355
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Speaker 2: that's when you've got to dig your heels in and say,

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Speaker 2: this may be difficult, it may not be fair.

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Speaker 1: People may be.

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Speaker 2: Talking, but I'm not going to lose my life joy.

359
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Speaker 2: I know the enemy is not fighting me because of

360
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Speaker 2: where I am. He's fighting me because in my future.

361
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Speaker 2: There's favor, there's increase, there's promotion, there's God's blessings. He

362
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Speaker 2: knows I'm about to give birth to this baby. I

363
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Speaker 2: can imagine with Mary, the bigger the baby gaud the

364
00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:22,240
Speaker 2: more she showed, the more people talk, the more people criticize,

365
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Speaker 2: made fun sure she hasn't known a man. She's probably

366
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Speaker 2: been running around behind Joseph's back. But Mary wasn't bothered

367
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Speaker 2: by the criticism. She didn't get down because of the opposition.

368
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Speaker 2: She knew things were coming against her, not because of

369
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Speaker 2: where she was, but because of where she was going.

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Speaker 2: When God puts a promise in your heart, you've got

371
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Speaker 2: to be willing to press through the opposition, press through

372
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Speaker 2: the unfair accusations, and keep reminding yourself there's nothing anyone

373
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,480
Speaker 2: can do that can keep that dream from coming to pass.

374
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Speaker 2: When it's difficult, when you're uncomfortable and you're kind of

375
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Speaker 2: tempted to give up, you need to realize you are

376
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Speaker 2: getting close to birthing that baby. The greater the pain,

377
00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,880
Speaker 2: the closer you are to giving birth. And so when

378
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,360
Speaker 2: things are coming against you, and every time you turn

379
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,600
Speaker 2: around your face opposition, that just means your contractions are

380
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,240
Speaker 2: getting faster and faster. You're gonna give birth before you

381
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,720
Speaker 2: know it. You got to have that promise so deep

382
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Speaker 2: on the inside. Nothing's gonna cause you to quit and

383
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Speaker 2: give up. The promise may be as for me and

384
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Speaker 2: my house, we will serve the Lord. Even if your

385
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,560
Speaker 2: family member makes fun of you, even if the more

386
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,560
Speaker 2: you pray, the worse they get. That's okay, that's just

387
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,840
Speaker 2: a contraction. You're getting closer. It's a matter of time

388
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,840
Speaker 2: before they come in. Maybe it's in your health. The

389
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,600
Speaker 2: promise is God is restoring health into me. I'm gonna

390
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,159
Speaker 2: come out of this sickness. Your natural mind will tell

391
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,000
Speaker 2: you you're a goner. Nobody's ever done it before. No,

392
00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,040
Speaker 2: you can be the first. With God, all things are possible. Well, Joe,

393
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,760
Speaker 2: the doctors have told me nothing more medical science can do.

394
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Speaker 1: That's okay.

395
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,280
Speaker 2: The good news is Man has nothing to do with

396
00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:07,879
Speaker 2: that promise from coming to pass.

397
00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,200
Speaker 1: It's not up to people. It's up to God.

398
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,159
Speaker 2: And that's just what they told my mother back in

399
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Speaker 2: nineteen eighty one, cancer of the liver, a few weeks

400
00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:16,520
Speaker 2: to live.

401
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,760
Speaker 1: My mother she fought the good fight of faith. It

402
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,000
Speaker 1: was difficult. She didn't feel well, but she kept pressing through.

403
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,720
Speaker 2: The harder it got, the more she realized the closer

404
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:28,800
Speaker 2: she was to giving birth to that miracle.

405
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,719
Speaker 1: It didn't happen overnight, but little by little God intervened.

406
00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,520
Speaker 2: Today she's perfectly healthy in whole, twenty six years later.

407
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,240
Speaker 2: Don't allow the opposition and the tough times to cause

408
00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:46,280
Speaker 2: you to get discouraged.

409
00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:48,440
Speaker 1: Just see it as another contraction.

410
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,480
Speaker 2: I'm pushing this baby out is getting a little bit closer. Well,

411
00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,400
Speaker 2: it finally came time for Mary to have her baby.

412
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:57,800
Speaker 1: But isn't it interesting?

413
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,879
Speaker 2: The scripture says there was no room for her in

414
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,840
Speaker 2: the end. In today's language, there was no hospital available,

415
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,960
Speaker 2: no clinic that had in his face, no hotel, not

416
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,720
Speaker 2: even a home. But Mary was so full of that promise.

417
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,480
Speaker 2: She knew great things could be birthed outside the system.

418
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,159
Speaker 2: She basically went to a barn with the other animals.

419
00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 2: She gave birth to the son of the Living God.

420
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Speaker 1: You may feel like.

421
00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,040
Speaker 2: Sometimes in life that the system is shutting you out.

422
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,480
Speaker 2: You work so hard, but you didn't get the promotion

423
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,080
Speaker 2: you deserved. You got overlooked, or a good friend betrayed

424
00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:37,199
Speaker 2: you did you wrong. That's how Mary must have felt,

425
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,240
Speaker 2: but God said, Mary, don't worry about it. I'm still

426
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 2: in control. They don't have to let my son in.

427
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,400
Speaker 2: I'll go outside the system and you can still give

428
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 2: birth to that baby. When it comes time for your

429
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,040
Speaker 2: promise to be born, all the forces of darkness cannot

430
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,879
Speaker 2: stop it from coming. The system may not let you in,

431
00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,920
Speaker 2: but God will go outside the system and still bring

432
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,840
Speaker 2: it to pass. Sometimes the system is too small for

433
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:04,679
Speaker 2: your dream.

434
00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:06,520
Speaker 1: Sometimes God has to.

435
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,440
Speaker 2: Move you away from the people you're around because they're limiting.

436
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,720
Speaker 1: You may be a little uncomfortable.

437
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,120
Speaker 2: You may not like it, but God knows he has

438
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,280
Speaker 2: to get you out of that narrow minded environment so

439
00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,639
Speaker 2: you can give birth to the great things He's.

440
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 1: Put in your heart.

441
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,359
Speaker 2: You may not be birthing a baby, but you're birthing

442
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,960
Speaker 2: a dream, birth in a vision, birth in a ministry,

443
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,760
Speaker 2: birth in a business. Be willing to get outside your system.

444
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 2: It may be too small. That's what happened to us

445
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 2: a few years back. We were looking for property to

446
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,520
Speaker 2: build a new sanctuary on and I did the normal thing,

447
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,280
Speaker 2: went out and tried to find a place close to

448
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,320
Speaker 2: our other location. We needed one hundred acres to accommodate

449
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,640
Speaker 2: all the parking, and after some time we found two

450
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,000
Speaker 2: tracts of land, but both times that property was sold

451
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,760
Speaker 2: right out from under us. It looked like the system

452
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,920
Speaker 2: was shutting us out, and there were no more big

453
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,119
Speaker 2: tracks of land, not in close in a big city

454
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 2: like Houston.

455
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,280
Speaker 1: I was very discouraged.

456
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,280
Speaker 2: I said, God, I know you put bigger things in

457
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,840
Speaker 2: my heart. I know we're not supposed to stay here

458
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 2: and turn people away. But it looked like we had

459
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,639
Speaker 2: hit a dead end. It looked like there were no

460
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 2: more options. But no God still had a plan. Even

461
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 2: though the system shut us out. God went outside the system.

462
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,200
Speaker 2: He did something outside of the ordinary. It was about

463
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,200
Speaker 2: six months after that that I got word that this place,

464
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,679
Speaker 2: the former Compact Center, was coming available. My first thought was,

465
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,400
Speaker 2: that's a sports arena. That's not a church.

466
00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:39,240
Speaker 1: We can't do that.

467
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,200
Speaker 2: It's out of the norm. I had to enlarge my vision.

468
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:45,400
Speaker 2: I had to make room for it in my thinking.

469
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,080
Speaker 2: I had to conceive it in my heart. When I

470
00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,679
Speaker 2: finally did that, I thought, how much money is that

471
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,240
Speaker 2: place gonna cost. That's the city's premier facility, is on

472
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 2: the main freeway. Even if they were to sell it

473
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 2: to us, how could we possibly ford it. All these

474
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,440
Speaker 2: doubts were filling my mind. I was tempted to give

475
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,399
Speaker 2: up before we even started. I was saying, like, Mary,

476
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,120
Speaker 2: how can this be? It's never happened before. But instead

477
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,600
Speaker 2: of staying in my little box with that nearrow minded thinking,

478
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,240
Speaker 2: I said, Okay, God, if you say.

479
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,639
Speaker 1: It can happen, I'm going to get on board. Be

480
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: it under me. Even as you have said. And it's interesting.

481
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 2: To build a new facility like this from the ground

482
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,080
Speaker 2: up would cost four hundred million dollars. We ended up

483
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 2: getting this place for twelve million dollars. The land alone

484
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,520
Speaker 2: is worth more than that. God went outside the system

485
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 2: and he did more than we could even ask or think.

486
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,440
Speaker 2: You may feel like today that the system is shutting

487
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:45,960
Speaker 2: you out.

488
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,640
Speaker 1: One door after another keeps closing.

489
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:53,320
Speaker 2: I found sometimes God closed his doors because we're thinking

490
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 2: too small.

491
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,160
Speaker 1: It's not that it's not going to happen, but when

492
00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 1: God does it, it's going.

493
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,040
Speaker 2: To be bigger and better and greater than you've even

494
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:06,119
Speaker 2: ever imagined. When you look at your situation today, in

495
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,960
Speaker 2: your finances, in your relationships, maybe in your health, it's

496
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 2: tempting to say, Joel, I don't see how it can happen.

497
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,320
Speaker 2: Medical science has told me there's nothing more they can

498
00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:17,800
Speaker 2: do for me. No, God is saying I can go

499
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,520
Speaker 2: outside the system. I can heal you without taking the treatment.

500
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 2: I can give you a loan without the banker that

501
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,360
Speaker 2: you're counting on. I can give you a sports arena

502
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:29,360
Speaker 2: when you're looking for an empty piece of property.

503
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 1: The system does not set the limits.

504
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,160
Speaker 2: You may have a dream in your heart that's bigger

505
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,679
Speaker 2: than your finances. It's bigger than your education, bigger than

506
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:39,520
Speaker 2: anything that.

507
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:40,880
Speaker 1: Your family has ever done.

508
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,880
Speaker 2: And it's easy to think, well, I don't have the expertise,

509
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 2: I don't have the connections, I don't have the right

510
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 2: people behind me. No, it may be bigger than your system,

511
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,359
Speaker 2: but be encouraged today. God specializes in going outside the

512
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,320
Speaker 2: system and doing extraordinary things. You may not have the

513
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,080
Speaker 2: right connections, but you, you and God are a majority.

514
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,800
Speaker 2: Your dream is not dependent on other people. When he

515
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:10,600
Speaker 2: gets difficult, when you're uncomfortable, remember that's just another contraction.

516
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,760
Speaker 1: You're getting closer to give birth to that baby. Stay

517
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 1: in faith.

518
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,919
Speaker 2: God loves to take ordinary people and use them to

519
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 2: do extraordinary things. You have not seen your best days yet.

520
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,440
Speaker 2: God is about to propel you into new levels. He's

521
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 2: going to take you places that you never even thought possible.

522
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 2: I declare over each one of you that every dream,

523
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 2: every desire, every promise, I'll say it for all of us.

524
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 1: God be it.

525
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,359
Speaker 2: Unto us, even as you have said you will see

526
00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:41,160
Speaker 2: that come to pass.

527
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,919
Speaker 1: Amen. Do you receive it today?

528
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,480
Speaker 2: Or? We never like to close our broadcast without giving

529
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,480
Speaker 2: you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life.

530
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: Would you pray with me?

531
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:58,879
Speaker 2: Just say, Lord, Jesus, come into my heart, make me clean.

532
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:01,800
Speaker 2: I make you my Lord and savior.

533
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:03,760
Speaker 1: Amen.

534
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,280
Speaker 2: Well, we believe you got born again. Get in a

535
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,080
Speaker 2: good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going

536
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 2: to take your places that you've never even dreamed of.

537
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 3: Are you in a situation where you feel lost, afraid, hopeless,

538
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:25,159
Speaker 3: where there seems to be no solutions, no answers, no

539
00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,639
Speaker 3: way out. It's time for your turnaround.

540
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,880
Speaker 2: We all face situations that look like they'll never change.

541
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,840
Speaker 2: It's easy to get discouraged. I love to send you

542
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 2: my book Turn Around, How God can take you from

543
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,120
Speaker 2: a setback to a comeback where you'll discover how God

544
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:46,040
Speaker 2: can turn sickness into health. Lack into abundance, addictions into freedom.

545
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,960
Speaker 2: It'll inspire you to keep believing and have an expectancy

546
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,640
Speaker 2: for things to turn in your favor. Recent weeks, we've

547
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:57,560
Speaker 2: been celebrating the incredible life of my mother, her miraculous

548
00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,240
Speaker 2: turnaround story of overcoming terminals over forty years ago. It's

549
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,159
Speaker 2: a testimonia the power of God's promises. Just because you

550
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,000
Speaker 2: don't see a way doesn't mean God doesn't have a way.

551
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,040
Speaker 2: Stay in faith, your turnaround is on the way.

552
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 3: As our way of saying thank you for your gift

553
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,879
Speaker 3: of any amount, this month, we would like to send

554
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,240
Speaker 3: you a copy of Joel's brand new book, turn Around.

555
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 3: How God Can take You from setback to come Back.

556
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 3: Through biblical examples, real life applications, and practical encouragement, you'll

557
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 3: learn to see challenges through a faith filled perspective. Each

558
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,880
Speaker 3: section highlights a faith turnaround point to help you see

559
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,280
Speaker 3: a positive change.

560
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 1: In your life.

561
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 3: As you meditate on His promises, you'll begin to see

562
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,080
Speaker 3: your greatest challenges turn around. These power packed life transforming

563
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,400
Speaker 3: stories will shift your mindset, strengthen your faith, and turn

564
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 3: your trials into triumphs. Request your copy today and see

565
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,960
Speaker 3: the turnaround and breakthrough you've been waiting for.

566
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,360
Speaker 2: God won't let you get in a problem that He

567
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,920
Speaker 2: can't bring you out of. There are turnarounds in your future.

568
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for being with us today. Victoria and

569
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,720
Speaker 2: I pray for you and your family and we sure

570
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:17,800
Speaker 2: appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is helping bring

571
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,200
Speaker 2: hope to people around the world. Special thank you to

572
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 2: our Champion of Hope partners for your monthly gifts. If

573
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,120
Speaker 2: you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one.

574
00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 2: Remember you can watch the services online every Sunday morning,

575
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,320
Speaker 2: download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube the new Joel

576
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,160
Speaker 2: Hoasting Network social media.

577
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:38,560
Speaker 1: Of course, you can listen.

578
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,160
Speaker 2: Serious XM twenty four hours a day. We'll keep you

579
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,520
Speaker 2: encouraged and inspired until we see you next time.

580
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 1: Mad The Lord bless you and keep you.

581
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 3: Be sure to request your copy of Turnaround How God

582
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 3: Can Take You from Setback to come Back. Visit Joelostin

583
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 3: dot com or call eight eight eight five six seven

584
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,080
Speaker 3: Joel for an addition donation. This month, we are also

585
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,160
Speaker 3: offering the Turnaround Faith duo, one for you and one

586
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,280
Speaker 3: to share with a friend or family member to encourage them.

587
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,440
Speaker 3: You can also request the Turnaround Victory Collection.

588
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:13,960
Speaker 1: It includes two.

589
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 3: Turnaround books and the beautiful set of three wooden encouragement blocks, Happy, Healthy,

590
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:24,440
Speaker 3: and Free, each featuring and uplifting scripture. You can request

591
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,480
Speaker 3: these inspiring resources by calling eight eight eight five six

592
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 3: seven Joel or logging on to joelostein dot com Today

593
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 3: call or click anytime, twenty four hours a day your

594
00:30:37,160 --> 00:31:01,160
Speaker 3: life is about to turn around. Request these resources today

595
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,920
Speaker 3: to remember