Sermon
What to do when you don’t know what to do
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to the cross power church podcast.
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You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.
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We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the
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cross. Now let's join the service.
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It's. Good to be in the House of the
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Lord tonight. Going to be in Second Chronicles
2 Chronicles 20 chapter mention
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chapter 20. Very familiar passages of
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scripture in here preached out of it lots of times, different
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times and different things. But it something I need tonight
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because anybody ever been going through something?
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And I was going through something one time and a boy
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asked me. He said what do you do when you
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don't know what to do? We were working.
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I said it's a good sermon. What?
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I was a young preacher at that time, but I've preached this
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message several times in different directions.
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But I asked you tonight, what do you do when you don't know what
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to do? Pray.
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Sometimes we have to take action.
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It's it it's different meanings at different times of our life.
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You know, I was as y'all know, we've been going through a trial
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and I didn't share everything Sunday morning.
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We need your prayers. Candy's cancer come back as
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triple negative and I don't understand that stuff.
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It's the worst kind. But when it's called early, it's
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the it's it's very good success rate of treating it.
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So they're choosing to do chemo and, and four rounds of it.
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And, and, and I had another friend that that took some
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Ivormac. He has esophageal cancer.
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A good friend of mine, he's been taking six CCS of Ivormac after
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the chemo and was doing very good and taking the other stuff,
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the Finbenzanol and was doing very good.
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And I just share this along, you know, in case you know anybody,
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but but he made it. He's he's a year and then he had
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some pain in his neck, went back and they found some metastatic
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systolic or whatever. Now.
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So you know, we, we can't say that the that that it works.
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You know that that the Ivormec helps.
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I don't know if it does, it's not curing it.
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I can say that first ten people noticing it, but bottom line, we
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got to trust God. Amen.
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And it's like I told my wife, we've all got something.
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We want to know that we're cancer free.
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We want to know that we're sin free.
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We want to know all that. But this side of heaven, there's
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some things we're not going to know.
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You know, somebody can be walking and, and after listening
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to the doctors, I really thought they had a better grip on it
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than they do. You know what I mean?
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I yeah, you've been going through it and you there is no
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and you know, sister Linda's son and Bob's son and that, you
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know, they, they don't know. I mean, they really don't.
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They have theories, they have things.
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They're trying. Praise God, but God knows, Amen.
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And our times are in his hands. They're appointed by that You'll
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just pray we stay strong through it.
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That, you know, if we, if the chemo route works, praise God,
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it works, Amen. But I know God's working and I
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know he's never failed this yet. So that's what I can say.
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But we do need prayers. But I know many of you need
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prayers in here and tonight too. But I'm going to share some
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things going to continue along these lines.
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Sunday. The people's not here.
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I'll try to recap. I may not, they should be here.
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Amen. But but I'm going to cover this.
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And you know, every preacher I've noticed over the years,
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they get titles, they get series.
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But you know, I've never, I've heard lots of preachers in my
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time. You have too.
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And this message has been preached a lot of different
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ways. The four PS, the five PS, you
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can go on and on, but I want you to write some of this stuff down
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tonight. It will help you.
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But there are essentials in our life that we must have to be
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healthy spiritually, physically, financially.
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And you know, in our minds, we think that if we can prosper in
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those three areas, that everything in our life that we
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would, that we would be happy because humans are in pursuit of
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what happiness. But in this world, Jesus said
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that we will have troubles, we will have trials, we will have
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tribulations, we will have jobs that we don't want to go to many
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times. But I've found if you could get
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these four things, these 4 essentials, if you can get a
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purpose, say that with me, a purpose in your spiritual life
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or the, your, your earthly fleshly life.
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If you can get purpose, a man, we're seeing that with James
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Reed right now. He's been a hospital for five
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months, you know, and you tend to lay there in the hospital,
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you lose purpose, you lose focus.
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And that's what Tony's been stressing to him.
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And when I talk to him and there is a purpose and God has a plan,
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a man. But if we could get these four
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things and #1 is purpose in our life, if a Christian could know
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that they had a purpose, they had something to strive for
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other than just their self. So many Christians are still
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looking at what self and they can't get self under control.
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So it's hard to go to not just Christians, preachers, you know,
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we tend to separate Christians and oh, they're not just a
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Christian, they're a preacher, right?
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But a lot of preachers can't get stuff under control.
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But if we get a purpose, it becomes clear, hey man, if I get
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a purpose of So I got to come over here and preach on Wizzy.
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I've already preached those. But but there's a purpose,
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right? We always have to have a purpose
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#2 we have to have a plan. We have to have a plan to
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achieve our purpose, right? But when we have a purpose and
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we have a plan and it's based upon the Word of God and only
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God that cannot fail, it gives us the other two things that we
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long for, protection and provision.
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If you could have a purpose in life, if you could have a plan
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in life, if you could know you're protected in life and you
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could know that someone or something was going to provide
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for you, sounds like it'd be pretty good life, right?
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But yeah, there's people that have those things, still aren't
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happy. They have guards at their house.
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They live behind a guarded gate. They have more money they could
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ever spend, but yet they're still looking for a purpose,
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right? We can't leave one of them out.
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So I want to read to you about a king.
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He had a purpose in Second Chronicles chapter 20, and he
2 Chronicles 20 chapter mention
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reigned. He was the 4th king to reign
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over Judah. Remember, Israel was divided
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into two kingdoms, the northern and the southern Kingdom, and he
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reigned over Judah. It was King Jehoshaphat and
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there was he was a king that did promote godly principles.
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He did do some things for God. He did, he did try to keep some
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things going that David had handed down to him.
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He was the son of ASA or ASA and Jehoshaphat.
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He feared the Lord, but it was going into particular battle
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this day in verse 20 and someone come to him.
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You ever been having a good day and everything be going good and
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and someone comes to you. I call him news toter.
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Sometimes it's not good news. It's just it's some bad news.
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You know, we we used to have a say in my other ministry.
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We'd say they're a news toter. Don't be don't be repeating what
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they say because they're told news.
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It could be fake news, it could be real news.
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Anybody ever got those things for those pay ministry.
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You'll learn those things. But I had another one.
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The lady, that Lady told me one time it hurt her ministry, she
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said, She said, we just say they got pretty white teeth.
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Nobody knows what we're talking about except my circle as they
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just they got pretty white teeth.
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What's what's coming through the teeth, right?
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But you know what I'm saying, a news told or someone that that's
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bringing you something always got something to tell.
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And it's not usually about the Kingdom.
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It's not usually godly news. And and you know, it's easy to
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chime in. Sometimes we just want to hear
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it. Sometimes we seem we got to hear
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it. But you're better to refrain
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from it, right? But Jehoshaphat, it says they
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came to him in verse 2. It says in in Second Chronicles
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chapter 20 verse 2, it says then some came and told Jehoshaphat,
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a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea,
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from Syria, and they are in has moment tomorrow which is in
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Indiga. However, you say that in verse
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3, it says Jehoshaphat feared. The first thing he did here was
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he feared, but immediately when he feared, he set himself to
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seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judea.
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So the first thing he did here when he feared he gave up
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something, he said I'm going to give up something, I'm going to
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fast before the Lord and I'm going to get a hold of God,
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right? That's what the fast is about is
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getting a hold of God and it's a job.
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He feared the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all
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Judea. Verse 4 So you together,
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together to ask help from the Lord, and from all the cities of
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Judah they came to seek the Lord.
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Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem
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in the House of the Lord before the new court.
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And he said, Oh Lord our God, our fathers, are you not God in
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heaven? He feared, he fasted, but he
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realized I've got a purpose because I've got a God that's
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working behind me. And he recognizes that right
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here. The second thing he did, he
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declared a fast. And then he says here that he,
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he recognizes who God is. Sometimes when we're in the
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midst of a trial and we hear bad news and it seems like all the
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things are coming against us from the North SE or West, we
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tend to forget who God is. And he says here, Oh Lord God,
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our fathers are. And do you not, are you not God
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in heaven? And do you not rule over the
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kingdoms of the nations? And in your hand is there not
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power and might I love this question here.
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Sometime we need to ask God that.
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And and he's he's just reminding himself really here of who God
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is and what God can do that no one is able to withstand you
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isn't that powerful. No one can withstand your God.
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Not a not a sickness, not no principality or anything in this
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age or the age to come can withstand God when we have a
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purpose in life and our purpose is to serve him.
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Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants?
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He automatically goes back to and declares the things that God
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had already done for him. You know, I pity for people
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today that don't that don't have a purpose.
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And you know, many Christians, I have to go way back and in my
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life and many of you do too, to where we didn't have a purpose
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where we didn't have a plan. You know, people, people they
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come to church a lot of times and their biggest plan and
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purpose itself. How many remember, Yeah, I was
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always letting myself down. I was always but always doing
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things. And but when I put my purpose
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and my plans on the things of God, the things that I had begin
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to change, right? But it cannot happen when you
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don't position yourself in that place and in the correct place
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where where God wants me to be with.
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We have to have this strategic purpose in this plan.
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But he said, are you not God who drove out in verse 7,
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inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it
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to the descendants of Abraham, your friend forever?
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Remember that. I'm going to come back to that
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in a minute. Your friend say that with me,
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your friend forever. And they do what?
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Why? Was it because he was in the
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covenant, right with Abraham? So he was his friend forever.
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And they dwell in it and have built you a sanctuary in it with
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your name, saying, If disaster comes upon a sword, judgment,
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pestilence or famine, we will stand before this temple and in
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your presence for your name in this temple, and cry out to you
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and our affliction. And you will hear and you will
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save. So here in the 1st 10 verses
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we've already seen that he declared a fast he he'd give up
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some things he recognizes God's sovereignty that he's that he
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can do anything his omnipotent presence.
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He cries out and it was we read on.
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It says in verse 10. It says here, here are the
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people of Ayman and Mohab and Mount Siri, whom you would not
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let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but
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they turn from them and did not destroy them.
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Here they're rewarding by coming to throw us out of your
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possession, which you have given us to inherit.
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He says, oh our God, will you not judge them?
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For we have no power against this great multitude.
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Never felt like that. You're going through a trial.
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You feel like you have no power. You have no control.
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You know, the first thing we try to do when we're going through a
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trial or going through something hard is we try to gain control
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of it. And we think if we can gain
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control of it, that we somehow bring some self comfort.
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But see, there's things that will come your way that you have
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no control over. Amen.
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Family, friends, things that happened to us in this life,
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diseases. But it says we have no power
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against this great multitude that is coming against us.
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I I thought so hard about that this afternoon when I was
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reading that, because, you know, the, the Bible says that in the,
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as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of
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the Son of Man. And also, you know, we, we're,
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we're doing a lot of things now as a nation.
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We're bombing other countries. We're doing all of these things.
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And, and yet we just we, we, we do it.
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And, and even our president sometimes, yeah, it's like it's
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no big deal, but it is a big deal.
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A man because there is a king of the North that is coming.
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And he just as just as these were coming, there is a king
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from the north that is going to come.
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And and America is going to face confrontation in the near
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future. I really believe.
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Amen. And as I've said many times,
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there's something that that always makes me wonder about
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America and the things because all the people that are in
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America, especially now, we think we're unstoppable.
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But the Bible is clear that that a man will do what he will reap
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what he's sown at a later date. You know, America is the is the
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only nations that have sown nuclear bombs in here or she we
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have sown 2 of them. We have sown 2 of them.
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And thank God they're fighting to keep them out of here.
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But it's just food for thought there because see, we there,
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there's coming some things up on our country that we cannot
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control and we're going to see them.
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I believe it's the day is getting so near that and, and,
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and it's even a worse place maybe than we were before
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because we don't really think it can happen to us.
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We don't really think that it's going to have.
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We think that we're bigger and better.
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And if that's true, why are we not mentioned in end time
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prophecy? So we better be praying.
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We better be praying for our leaders because there's some
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things that are coming against us.
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Nor do we know what to do. Preaching to you tonight about
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what to do when you don't know what to do.
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These are steps, he says. We do not know what to do, but I
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like this. The last thing he does here is,
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he says, But our eyes are up on you.
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Our eyes are up on you, so we know where God is, but we can't
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place our physical eyes upon God.
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That's why we spend all the time around here preaching in the
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spiritual right, because we have to see with our spiritual eyes.
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Now all of Judea, all of Judah with their little ones, their
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wives, and their children stood before the Lord.
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Then the Spirit of the Lord in verse 14 came up on Jay Hassle,
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the son of Zechariah, the son of Ben and I, and the son of jail,
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and the son of Matthea the Levi, the sons of Aspen in the midst
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of the assembly. And he said, listen, all of you
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of Judea, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King
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Jehoshaphat Thus says the Lord, do not be afraid nor dismayed
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because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours.
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What a thing for God to tell you, what a thing for us to
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recognize. And he says tomorrow go down
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against them, they will surely come up by the ascent of Zing,
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and you will find them at the end of the brook before the
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wilderness of Jerusalem or Gerald.
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You will not need to fight in this battle preached on that
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many times. You will not need to fight in
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this battle. What would a battle be like if
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we didn't fight in it? It'd be a good battle.
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But see, why would he not have to fight?
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Because he had already positioned himself.
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He already had a strategic purpose.
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He was where God wanted him. But many times we don't realize
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where we're at spiritually and we don't position ourselves.
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Going to follow up on some of this stuff Sunday of how to
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position ourself. A position is a situation or set
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of circumstances, especially one that affects one's power to act.
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Did y'all get that? A situation or a set of
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circumstances, especially one that affects one's power to act,
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What makes it? What affects our power that we
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always think we have to fight? What would it be like here?
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See, the God told him, He said you will not need to fight in
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this battle. Just position yourself.
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If you're in the right position, you don't have to fight is what
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he was saying right? But we're always in the fight
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position, you know, spiritually, we're always going through a
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battle because we haven't positioned ourselves before the
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battle to where we didn't have to fight in it, right?
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So we're always having to fight. What's the number one thing that
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causes us to have to fight, makes our response time to a
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battle or trial slower? What is it?
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It's sin. Sin.
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That's why we preach on it so much because sin makes your
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response time slower when you're feeding your life spiritually,
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sin will always make your response time slower because if
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we don't have we have unrepented sin in our heart.
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Condemnation comes in and then we don't even want to go to
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church. We don't even want to hear the
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word of God. We don't build our faith because
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we we we think we sin in our eyes is on the sin.
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So it's slower slows our response time.
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See, a position is a state of being placed where we have an
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advantage over the rival. You need an advantage over Satan
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tonight if you're going to defeat him, because you're in a
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competitive situation, whether you realize there or not.
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A lot of people throw up their hands and just say, well, I've
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been saved, I've been baptized. It's God's battle.
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But that sounds good. But if you hadn't positioned
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yourself, the enemy's fixing to come in and he's fixing to
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defeat you because he's your rival.
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And the stakes are high because it's a soul that's going to live
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somewhere for eternity. And Satan wants your soul a man.
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He has a point that he thinks he can prove to God, and he's
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trying to prove it. The stakes are high.
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Wake up, look up because your redemption draws nigh.
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But I challenge you, take these steps get you a purpose.
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See, not everyone wants to hear the gospel, much less live it.
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I begin to think of, you know, two people go to church on any
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given Sunday. Two people turn on the radio any
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given day and listen to a message and preaching something
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about positioning yourself or preaching something about the
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things we've overcome in this life.
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Well, one person takes it as they got their checklist out
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there. Like, man, I've done that I've
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done that. This is a good thing.
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I got all these things going to my spiritual life and they stick
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their chest out. I've been reading my I've been
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doing everything the preacher said this morning, man, while
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the other one is sitting over here ain't done none of it on
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the same seat on the same royal pews a few pews down.
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You're getting lifted up because you positioned yourself to
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receive the word of God and the Holy Spirit to minister to you
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while the other one over here hasn't been positioned in their
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self. So two people, you can preach
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one message, one thinks it's really good.
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The other one thinks is you. They just got beat over the head
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with a 2 by 4, right? Why?
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Anybody ever been there and don't want to go back because
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they took such a beating, but yet the other one took such a
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blessing? What was the difference?
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One had positioned herself, right?
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You know, you can almost see it what people's going through
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sometimes. Couldn't you sister Linda
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preaching the same? You see their fate.
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Oh, I just hit them because they're doing that and they're
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like, you know, and then the other bless God, that's under
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the blood. Wow.
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One has positioned herself, one has not.
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Position yourself. Many people want to talk to you
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about the Lord because they know you're a Christian.
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I was hunting with a guy a few months ago and got a got AI had
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talked to the same guy he was talking to just a few days
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before and the the conversation was totally different.
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He didn't know I was even there and I was hearing it.
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You know, everybody likes to talk on speaker.
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Beware the things you say, the things you do.
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People will find out sooner or later.
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But I was like, this is the same guy that just told me how he was
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growing. This is the same guy that was
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preaching to me and quoting me scripture 2 days ago.
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Is that really human? I got all said who was you
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talking to? And he tell us that's what I
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thought. I just prayed for him, you know.
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But see, we have to discern these things because I thank God
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every day for my new song. How about you?
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I thank God every day for my new tongue, for all the things that
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God gave me when He saved me, Amen.
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I don't hear these people talking about what they give up
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when they got. I thank God for all the things
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He gave me, Amen. He gave.
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Somebody ought to praise the Lord in this house, Amen.
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He give you a new song. He give you a New Hope.
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He give you a future. He's worthy of our praise today.
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See, after receiving the report, Jehoshaphat stood in the
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assembly. He realized that he said we
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don't know what to do. But when he did not know what to
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do, he said our eyes remain on you.
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The battles, not mine. It's God's.
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I find peace in that. Amen.
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Because you're fighting a battle you can't win anyway.
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Position yourself and you will find there's some battles that
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you might not have to fight. The best way to fight battles
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when you're going through trials, when you're going
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through heartaches, go to John chapter 15 and verse 9.
John 15 chapter mention
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We can't fight battles. If I came to you and I'm not
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going to do it, so don't get nervous, But if I came to you
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and said there's what is it in your life that I could just take
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out tonight that I can just take out and give you back what
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you're wanting in that area? Just take that piece that's got
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you all disturbed and take it out.
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You know, I, I would dare say if you went out on the street and
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ventured out and begin to give people the microphone to
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announce it, they it would probably be broke money because
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people think it fixes things when we know it don't.
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But I think the second one, what do y'all think it would be?
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In fact, you could go to people and say, I want this thing
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that's causing you not to be able to live for God like you
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need to. It just pulls you down every
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day. What would it be?
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I thank you. Boldness.
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Yeah, that does a lot. Pride maybe.
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But I really think, I think that people would have an
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individual's name if I could get rid of this one person.
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Because every time they're in my life, every time, maybe it's two
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or for some people it's more than one.
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For some people, it's everybody. And they hadn't figured out that
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it's them, right? You ever know somebody?
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It's everybody else. But everybody sees it.
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But you, you have to look at your own self sometimes.
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But I think sometimes it would be like that.
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But when you're fighting a battle, it doesn't matter what
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it is. And I'm just, I'm going to be
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honest with you. And I, this is what I fear for
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the United States of America because I fear our leader's a
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smart man. I fear our leader does reach for
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God, but I fear our leader lacks love.
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I fear our leader lacks love. And without love, we're nothing
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verse 9. It says as the Father, love me.
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Think about this. I also have loved you.
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This is Jesus talking. You know, we think many times
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the enemy comes in and tells us he don't love us because of what
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we've done. That's not true.
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He still loves us. Abide, man, I, I just got all
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over me today when I read that. Abide and my love.
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See, His love is an endless love.
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It's a bound, unboundless love and it reaches out and it
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touches me. If you keep my commandments, you
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will abide in my love. That's powerful, isn't it?
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Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His
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love. Jesus needed love.
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These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in
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you. See, if you don't have love, you
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don't have joy, and that your joy may be full.
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This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
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you. That's that's powerful.
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Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his own
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life for his friends. Remember what we read a while
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ago back there in Chronicles? You're my friends and said we
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were. We have remained his friends
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since the covenant with Abraham. You're my friends if you do
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whatever I command you. No longer do I call you
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servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing.
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But I have called you friends for all things that I heard from
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the Father I have made known to you.
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You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you
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that you should go and bear fruit.
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I like that that you should go and barefoot and that your fruit
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should remain that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He
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may give you these things. I have commanded you that you
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love one another. See, there's a place that God's
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trying to position us, and I've known some great teachers, some
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great preachers, but I didn't feel love.
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We can never get away from love, and love is one of the hardest
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thing. Jesus said that that's one thing
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we have to do is love our neighbor as ourself, right?
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But there's a place that God's trying to position you in so you
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can win your battle. How many believe that tonight?
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It might be a trial. It might be hard pressed on
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every side, but position yourself.
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And when you position yourself, you might get an answer like
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Jehoshaphat did. You don't need to fight this
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thing. Let me handle it.
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Let's go to let's go back to Second Rock Chronicles verse 18
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through 22. I'm going to read here and I'm
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verse chapter 20, verse 18 we're let's just read on down.
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I listed 17 that says you will not need to fight in this
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battle. Say it with me.
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Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the
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Lord who is with you. I wonder how many Christians
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think about positioning their self every day.
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They just walk around like a blonde.
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You know God's going to take care of.
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God's going to do it. Oh, God's going to do it.
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I walk out in front of this truck.
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God just going to stop it out here running 70 miles an hour.
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No, God give you wisdom, right? God give you the power and might
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to position yourself. He says, O Judah, O Jerusalem,
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do not fear nor be dismayed, for tomorrow go out against them.
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I like this right here. See, when you position yourself,
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the Lord is with you, the Lord is with you.
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Jehoshaphat bowed his head and his face to the ground, And all
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Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord,
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worshipping the Lord, than the Levites and the children of the
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Coathites, and the children of the Whoever stood up and praised
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the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
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They stood up and they begin to praise because they had
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positioned herself. So they rose early in the
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morning, and they went out into the wilderness of Tioka.
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And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and he said,
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Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the
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Lord your God, and you shall be established.
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Believe his prophets and you shall prosper.
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That word still true today. I believe it.
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And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those
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who should sing to the Lord. I like that he didn't appoint a
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council that could come in and talk to everybody about the
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problems. He said we've all got problems,
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we've all failed, but today we're going to worship a man.
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Today we're going to praise the Lord.
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I talked to some people that was here Sunday morning.
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They said, man, I haven't felt the Holy Spirit like that in a
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long time. As I begin to walk to them
-
altars, I said, God, I want to feel your presence again.
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And as I said, it doesn't matter how much you fall, you got to
-
keep getting back up. But he said he appointed those
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that who should sing to the Lord.
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You know, that's the greatest counseling session you could
-
ever have. This somebody who wants
-
counseling, just bring them on in the office, turn some praise
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and worship. And I said, look to the God that
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can fix it. Amen.
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Because I can't fix it. He can.
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He appointed those. I wonder if there was something
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I Can't Sing. I'll do anything, but I Can't
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Sing. And then there was some that
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probably wanted to sing and couldn't sing at all.
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You have both kinds, right? But it's not that we listen to.
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It's about the praise. Amen.
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It's about the praise. But it says that.
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And it says that those who should sing to the Lord.
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I like that. Should some shouldn't, I guess.
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But he said He appointed those who should sing to the Lord and
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who should praise look well, they look at look at the praise
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they give here, the praise, the beauty of holiness.
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It's a lot different than the praise we see today.
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You know, some of these concerts that people spend enormous
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amounts of money to go to and and these these people charge
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minimums of millions of dollars to just to come and they serve
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alcohol at a lot of them serve alcohol.
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If I was going to preach somewhere like that, I would I
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would ask him not to serve alcohol.
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I wouldn't go right. But they're up there.
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You can see them zoom in on some of them.
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They're worshiping the Lord and drinking alcohol and just be in
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the world. But it's today we're going to
-
worship God. I'm not sure that this right
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here don't fit and who should praise?
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We all should praise, but there's a praise that he
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receives is a praise that he rejects because what you're
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praising is the beauty of holiness.
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I like that, don't you? So if I'm not, I can praise.
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But there's sometimes that when I begin to praise, His Holiness
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has got to get on me. Right as they went out before
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the armies and they were saying praise the Lord for his mercy.
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Endure, say it with me forever. Now when they begin to sing and
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praise, y'all ready for this is the best part.
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When they begin to sing and praise say it with me.
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When I begin to sing and praise, I Can't Sing well you better
-
learn, you better find somewhere that you can sing.
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When they begin to sing and to praise the Lord boy like this
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the Lord said an ambush. Tell the enemy my God's about to
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ambush you against the people of Amon and Mohab and Mount Seir,
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who had come against Judah and they were defeated.
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Your God set in an ambush. I told the devil that this
-
morning. So my God's about to set ambush
-
for you. Enough's enough for the people
-
of Amon and Mohab stood up against the habit, inhabitants
-
of Mount Siri to utterly kill and destroy them.
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And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Syria, they
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helped to destroy one another. Isn't that cool?
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They didn't. God caused him to fight amongst
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ourselves. And he said you ain't going to
-
have to fight because they're going to kill themselves.
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That much like America. Hey man, we ain't nobody's going
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to have to wipe us out if we keep going.
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We're going to kill ourselves. Hey, man, we're going to break
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out because we can't get along and acknowledge God.
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That's the truth. You want to hear some more?
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So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they
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look toward the multitude, and there were their dead bodies
-
falling on the ground, and no one escaped.
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When God sets an ambush is serious.
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When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil,
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they found among them in an abundance of valuables on the
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dead bodies and precious jewelry which they stripped off for
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themselves more than they could carry.
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He said you don't got to fight this battle.
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We're just going to bless you today because they had
-
positioned themselves and let's let's go down to verse 29.
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You go home read the rest of it and it says in the fear of God
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was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that
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the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
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Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet for his God gave him
-
rest all around. Go home and read deny the rest
-
of that. I'm going to keep you read it,
-
but 31 to to the end there go read what happened to
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Jehoshaphat. He wavered a little bit.
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He joined in with a he joined in with another king and did some
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things that that that he he didn't really have nothing to do
-
with it, but he kind of joined forces with it a little bit.
-
And God did not bless some things in his life after that.
-
He his and and he was unable to pass his faith on to his son
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Jerome, because after him, he he killed his brothers and he
-
married a daughter of King Ahab. I don't know if it was because
-
he wavered a little bit there, but you read it in 35
-
Jehoshaphat. He, he allied himself with
-
Isaiah, the king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.
-
So he wavered a little bit. It's important to keep the plan
-
of God, the purpose of God, the protection of God and the
-
provision of God in your life. There's key things that
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Jehoshaphat did here to position himself.
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The number one thing he did, and I'm going to close, he took his
-
eyes off the battle. Whatever you're battling
-
tonight, maybe it's a habit, maybe it's something else,
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Whatever it is, take your eyes off of it because there's a
-
great multitude that you can't see.
-
A host of heavenly angels that's there to help you.
-
Just as the enemy was coming for Jehoshaphat, he's coming for us.
-
He's not stopping. But he proclaimed to fast.
-
He spent more time with God number #2 and he asked for help
-
from the Lord. He stood with boldness and he
-
proclaimed who God was. He recognizes His sovereignty
-
and he recalls past victories. When we when we do these things,
-
it puts us in a position for victory.
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Don't forget love. Just as Jesus said, we're
-
friends of His. As we close, I want to read this
-
very important passage of Scripture here in First
-
Corinthians 13. If you ever think you've
-
arrived, go read this. He talks about the greatest gift
-
here. And when you're positioning in
-
your battle, I said the number one thing you got to do is love,
-
Amen. You got to love those that
-
persecute you because if you if you, if you start looking at
-
just those that persecute you, pretty soon love will leave you.
-
And the apostle Paul says here in First Corinthians 13, he
-
says, let's stand as we read this, though I speak with
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tongues of men and angels, but I have not loved.
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I have become a sounding brass or a clanging symbol.
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People in the world need to know that we love them.
-
Amen. When you're going through a
-
battle, even if you're fighting against somebody, they got to
-
know that you love them. If you're discipline a child,
-
you got to discipline, but they got to know that you love them.
-
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all
-
mysteries, that'd be a great thing, wouldn't it?
-
And all knowledge. And though I have all faith so
-
that I can remove mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing.
-
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
-
give my body to be burned, well, it's pretty serious.
-
But have not love. It profits me nothing.
-
There's some people hard to love.
-
Anybody got them in your life? Seems like the more you love,
-
the more they take. But look what it does here.
-
Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy.
-
Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up.
-
It does not behave rudely. We need love, right?
-
It does not seek its own. It's not provoked.
-
Love's powerful. It thinks no evil, does not
-
rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth, bears all
-
things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures
-
all things. Love never fails.
-
How could something do this? Because it's the DNA of God.
-
God is what? Love.
-
That's why you need love, you need God.
-
But where there are prophecies, they will what?
-
Where there are tongues, they will cease.
-
Where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
-
Or you get so old you can't remember it right.
-
It vanishes. For we know in part, we prophecy
-
in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that
-
which is in part will be done away with.
-
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child,
-
I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put
-
away childish things. But I'm preaching to somebody
-
tonight. Be a man for now we see in a
-
mirror dimly, but then face to face.
-
Isn't that powerful? Now I know in part.
-
But then I shall know, just as I also am known.
-
Now abide faith. Now abide faith, hope, love.
-
These are the three. But the greatest thing I can do
-
is to love. I think we forget that
-
sometimes. Even in the battles when you're
-
going through the battles, even when somebody's made you mad,
-
you know, God's places verse on my heart for the last few years
-
and he says, Oh no man, nothing but to love him.
-
And then what would what would life be like if the old no man,
-
nothing but to love him? I'm headed there.
-
Amen. By the grace of God, I'm headed
-
there. Father, we love you tonight.
-
Father, we all face battles. We all face trials in this life,
-
but help us to do his King Jehoshaphat did help us to
-
recognize who you are. Help us to keep our eyes upon
-
you. Help us to know that you have a
-
plan, you have a purpose, and where your plan is and where
-
your purpose is, there is provision and there is say it
-
with me protection. And we thank you for that
-
tonight. But most of all, when we're in
-
the heat of the battle, help us to proclaim a fast, ask for help
-
from the Lord and stand with boldness and proclaim who you
-
are and recall past victories. But most of all, help us to
-
love. For without love we're nothing.
-
Without love we're nothing. And we thank you that you are
-
love, and we thank you that love overcomes all things.
-
Father, give us love tonight. We'll have no worries, because
-
you are love. It's in your Son's name.
-
We ask and pray. Amen.
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Thanks for listening to the Cross Power Church podcast.
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May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be
-
found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we
-
would love for you to join us in person.
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You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.