Sermon
The Loss Adjuster | Charlotte Gambill
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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thankful if you are new to next level, new to who Pastor
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Charlotte is. She is an author speaker, She is
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a prophetic voice to the global church.
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She loves leaders. She pours into US year round and
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we are just so honored. She doesn't just speak to women,
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she speaks to men too. So lean in and listen.
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We are in for a word from God today.
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So we put your hands together and welcome Pastor be in the
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house. I'm going to keep you on your
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feet just for a few seconds longer.
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First of all, happy Mother's Day.
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From my heart to all the women in the room, wherever Mother's
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Day finds you. I just want to say that Mother's
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Day for some is a joyous day. For some, it's a hard day.
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I remember there were years where Steve and I, my husband,
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we were told we would never have children.
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And I remember being in services on Mother's Day, aware of my own
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lack of being able to be a mother.
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And it was a hard day, but I knew I served a good God.
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And I want to remind you if today is a little harder for you
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that we serve a good God. I now I'm the God rewrote the
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story of the doctor's report, and he can rewrite your story
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too. And so I celebrate you mums.
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We do a lot and expect little. So I pray today that God
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overwhelms you with his kindness and his goodness.
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And I pray today that you realise you're doing way better
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than you think you are. We're the hardest on ourselves,
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but you do way better than you think you are.
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And I get to open the word just in these next few moments.
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I love this house. I love you pastors.
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They're incredible people. And I'm thankful that I get to
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come back and pour into this house and this location and all
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the other locations. And I loved being with the
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women, but I love being with the church because this is where we
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get to build right family and home.
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And and so I want to help you receive.
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And maybe sometimes we just need a picture to help us receive.
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And you know, I've been saying this to the services because I
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think it's important we get ourselves in the right posture
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to receive what God has. I really believe we sometimes
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miss things because we're not in the right posture.
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We're not in the mode of receiving.
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You know, in the worship just a moment ago, you lifted your
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hands. Many of you, we lift our voice.
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Why? Because we're giving God our
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worship. Worship is your opportunity to
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give God something. He doesn't need anything, but we
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get to give Him our worship. We get to give Him our thanks.
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We get to give Him our gratitude.
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But when it comes to the Word, this now is not about us giving
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God something. The Word is actually about God
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giving you something. Which blows my mind that God
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wants to give us something right back after we just worshipped
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Him. So what that means is that your
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posture has to change. The worship we're giving.
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But now we have to go into a posture of receiving.
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And I don't know much about your game, football.
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I don't even know why you call it football because that would
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mean you use your feet. But if you were on my team and I
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had the ball in my hand and I know this is a good pass, I know
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if you catch it right now, we're about to win.
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I know if you catch this ball, the whole game is about to
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change. So I get ready to throw the ball
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and you're on my team and I know your job brief is you're the
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receiver. And I get ready to throw the
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ball that I know can change the game.
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And I look at the receiver and his hands are in his pockets or
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he's on his cell phone. He's chatting to somebody on the
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sidelines. I'm thinking to myself, what are
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you doing? Don't you understand?
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All I need you to do right now is receive.
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And this whole thing changes. And I feel like when it comes to
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the Word, it's like God's given me a ball.
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He's given me some truth, He's given me a revelation and I've
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just got to throw it out into the room.
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But I'm just looking for the receiver that realises if I
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catch this, it could change my marriage.
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If I catch this, it could change our family.
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If I catch this, it could change my future.
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I'm going to receive, so let's shift our posture before we take
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our seats. God, we thank you that you want
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to give us Your Word. God, you're aware that our lives
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are filled with many people's words, but none of them can do
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what your word can do. The God I pray today that we
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would put ourselves in the seat of the learner, the God.
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Today, no matter how long we've been alive on this planet, we
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would sit in these next few moments saying, God, teach me,
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God, the things I need to learn. There are things I don't know
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that you do know. God, I pray today we'd be so
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hungry for your Word, so desperate for your Word, that we
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would leave here knowing we just received something that can
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change the rest of our life. And God, I pray as always that I
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would get out of the way. God, I want to be invisible so
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that you can be fully visible today.
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So God, have your way in these next few moments and we'll give
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you all the glory in Jesus name, Amen and Amen.
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You may take your seats. I don't know how you begin your
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years. I hope that there's some prayer
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in it. I hope there's some devotional
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time in it. For me, at the beginning of
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every year, I lean in. I pray.
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I'm really. I'm just asking God.
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OK, God, what is it that's on your heart for this year?
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What is it that you would have me lean into this year?
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That's where I found myself in January of this year.
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And as I was praying, I felt such a sense of excitement,
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honestly, such a sense of passion to run after God with
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all my heart. I was a little surprised because
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when you've done something, as long as I've done what I'm doing
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now, you can almost go into, you know what, maybe God, I'm over.
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Maybe it's time for me to retire.
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I mean, I started preaching the word of God at age 21 and I'll
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be 53 this year. I'm like God, maybe it's time
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for me to put the book down. Maybe it's time for me to do
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something else. But I honestly started this year
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feeling feeling just excited about preaching as I was when I
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was in my 20s. I was so passionate to get out
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and do what God needed me to do. And so I felt this urgency at
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the beginning of the year to go for it, to serve God, to open
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his word, to teach, to preach like I am doing now.
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But at the same time, I felt something I'd never felt before.
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And I felt God say to me, Charlotte, I don't just need
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your urgency this year. I need your accuracy this year.
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I don't just need you to run with passion.
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I actually need some precision this year.
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I don't just need speed. I actually need some specific
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things doing this year. And if you're running too fast,
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you're going to miss the things that will be more effective
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because there is an accuracy that I want to put alongside
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your urgency. And I was reminded when I was
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praying had something that we went through as a family years
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ago, years ago, I needed to see a doctor, a specialist, but the
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doctor and the specialist that I needed to see in England was
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really hard to get an appointment with.
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So I had been on a waiting list to see this doctor for over 18
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months. That's how long it was taking
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just to get an appointment with him.
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And I knew seeing this doctor, this specialist, it literally
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could change the rest of my future health wise.
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I knew that he could help me in a way that no one else could.
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So we waited. So you can imagine the
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excitement when we finally got the letter saying you've been
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accepted. He's going to see you.
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He's going to be in your region. This is the date.
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This is the time we rearranged our entire schedule so that I
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could be at that appointment. On the day of the appointment, I
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was up early, early. I was not going to let anything
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get in the way. I'm not, I'm not going to get on
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a traffic jam. I'm not going to get caught in.
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I'm going early, early. And so I was at the appointment
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way before my time. So I realise I'm here, you know,
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nearly 3040 minutes early. So I'm just going to sit and I'm
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just going to wait until it's my time.
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And I'm waiting and I'm hearing people's voice names get called
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over the voice tanoi, and they're saying a name and then
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they're saying the room for this person to go to, then another
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person's name and the next room to go to.
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But I know I'm early, so I'm not waiting for my name yet.
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So then it gets to the time of my appointment.
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And so now I'm like, OK, it should be me next.
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And so I'm waiting, but it's taking a while.
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And I'm thinking to myself, like you would think to yourself,
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well, he's busy. These people have been waiting
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as long as me to see him. Appointments are probably taking
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a little longer. So I'll have a little patience.
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I'll have a little grace. Well, now we're 5/10/15.
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Now we're 20 minutes past my appointment time.
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So I just go to the desk at the front and I just say to the
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lady, Hey, just wanted to let you know I am here.
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I, I, I, I have not heard my name yet.
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I've heard everybody else's name, but I've not heard my name
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yet. So I'm just letting you know I
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am here in case you forgot to Call My Name.
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So she said, well, just let me know.
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Remind me your name, your time on all the things.
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And so I gave her the details of my appointment.
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And she goes on her computer and then she gets on the phone.
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And then she looks at me and she says, Mrs. Gamble, I'm really
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sorry to tell you this. She said, you do have an
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appointment with that doctor and it is today and you have the
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right time. But did you not get the updated
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e-mail? I said, what e-mail?
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She said the one that would have let you know his office is no
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longer in this building. He's a good 30-40 minutes all
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the way across town. And I realized in that moment I
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have been sat here getting angry and frustrated that no one is
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calling my name when the reality was 40 minutes away.
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Someone was calling my name, but I was not in the right room.
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See, I had part of the equation, right?
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I had the day right. I had the time right?
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I had the doctor right? I just had one part off and that
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was I was in the wrong building. But how many of you know it
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doesn't matter if I had 3/4 of it, right?
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That one part that was off meant I missed the entire appointment.
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And that's what I felt God remind me of in the beginning of
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this year. Charlotte, I don't need you to
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get 3/4 right. I don't need you to get just the
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time right or just the person right.
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I need you to get the space right.
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I need you to get the accuracy that I require from you this
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year. And I was reminded of Two Samuel
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11, which is a story about David, King David, chosen by
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God, anointed of God. But the Bible says in Two
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Samuel, at a time when kings go to war, David is a king.
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David, it's letting you know you're the king.
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This is the time and this is the place you should go to war.
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But the Bible says that David decided he would not go to where
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he should be, but instead he would stay home.
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It seems like a small decision. It seems like an insignificant
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choice until you realise all the enemies waiting for is for you
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to get one part of the equation wrong.
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Because if you're not where you should be doing what you should
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be doing, he will wait till you where you shouldn't be, and then
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he will give you something to do that you shouldn't be doing.
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And in that one decision to stay home, Bathsheba shows up.
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And the Bathsheba became the temptation that David did not
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resist, and the whole trajectory of David's life was changed just
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because he refused to be in the right place at the right time.
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So I don't want to overlook this today.
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I don't want to downplay the seriousness today of us
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positioning ourselves where God needs us to be when He needs us
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to be there. There is a verse in Galatians
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that says this. It says, since we live by the
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Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
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That is a small, short sentence to read, but that is a huge
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revelation to wrap your mind around.
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What's it saying? It's saying, hey, I need you to
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know that you actually can live out of step with the Spirit.
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You have to choose to live in step with the Spirit.
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I don't know if you've ever danced with someone that's not a
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great dancer, but when they're out of step with the step they
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should be in, you get your toes trodden on.
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It's a painful experience. And some of you right now are
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having a painful experience in your walk with God, but it's not
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that His step is off, it's that your step is off.
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See, when you get in step with someone, somebody has to
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surrender. And just in case you wondered,
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it ain't God. You don't have to surrender, You
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do. So let me illustrate and get my
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helper up here to let you see what it is that Galatians is
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trying to help us understand. It's telling us we've got to
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live our lives in a way that stays in step with the Holy
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Spirit. When you stay in step with
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someone, it means that you have to be attached to that person.
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In order to stay in step with someone.
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It means my life has to be In Sync with whoever I'm trying to
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stay in step with. The problem is that a lot of us
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come in services like this or go to conferences like this weekend
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and we're like, I'm in step with you, Lord.
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I'm in step with you, Lord. But then we get in the car and
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we're like, and now I'm not in step with you.
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I don't want your step in my business.
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I don't want your step in my relationships.
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I don't mind it in services. I don't mind it in church, but I
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don't want it on Wednesday. I certainly, I really don't want
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it on Friday. I don't want it at the party on
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Saturday. So I'm just letting you know
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Sunday I'll be in step. But the rest of the time I'm out
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of step. Because here's the thing, when
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you're in step with the Holy Spirit, he don't, don't want to
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do what you want to do. So you're like, I'm just going
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to say that. And the Holy Spirit is like, no,
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I don't think so. I'm just going to put that on
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Facebook. He's like, I don't do Facebook.
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Well, they said a mean thing. So I'm going to say a mean
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thing. Holy Spirit is like, we don't do
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mean things back. We don't retaliate.
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Well, I'm angry. I don't do angry.
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See what I'm saying? When you are In Sync with the
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Holy Spirit, it kind of cramps your style because you want to
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do something over here. And the Holy Spirit's like we're
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not doing that. That's why we come to church and
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we have a moment where we sync up, but then we leave church and
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we detach because I don't want you to confront me on Friday.
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I don't mind on Sunday, but leave alone my Friday.
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But the Bible says you've got to keep in step with the Spirit.
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So you've got to start working at this awkward relationship
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that God wants you to get in step with.
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But the more you do it, the more you find a rhythm.
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And all of a sudden what was awkward becomes quite normal.
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And now it's not just you walking, it's the Holy Spirit
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walking with you. There's a sink into what you're
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doing, and that's what this Scripture is appealing for.
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It's saying, hey, since you live in the Spirit, why don't you
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keep in step with the Spirit? See, you always have God on the
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inside. If you've said yes to Jesus,
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he's going nowhere. He's on the inside of you.
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He's not leaving you. He's not forsaking you.
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Thank you. He's on the inside of you.
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But just because he's on the inside of you doesn't mean
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you're in step with him. It's like having power in your
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house. You have power in your house,
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but just because you have power in your house doesn't mean it
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works. Until you flip a switch that
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connects the power to the light bulb and all of a sudden the
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power has a purpose. You have the power on the inside
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of you, but until you get in step, that power has no purpose.
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I think one of the places where we often detach, where we say
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God, you know what, I don't mind you speaking into this, but I
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don't want you speaking into that, is when we get into
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seasons where we feel hurt or upset or offended or pained.
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Something happens and we don't like what just happened.
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It's in those moments that we often want to detach from the
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Spirit because the Spirit wants to move on and your feelings
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want to stay. I've discovered something about
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God. He don't care much about my
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feelings. You don't care about your
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feelings. God's not a feeling driven God.
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Thank the Lord he's not feeling driven.
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Because if he was feeling driven, most of us in here would
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be dead by now. He'd be like, I ain't giving you
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no more breath because you keep wasting it on dumb stuff.
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I have a feeling you've been rebellious enough.
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We're done. We wouldn't have woken up with
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breath this morning if he was feeling driven.
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So thank the Lord that he's not driving our lives through his
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feeling. So God doesn't we care much
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about our feelings. He'll let us have them, but he
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won't let us live in them. And some of you are out of step
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with what God wants to do because you've got stuck in a
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feeling. You've got stuck in an emotion.
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You got stuck in something that happened.
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And today God wants to get you unstuck because there's
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something greater for your life, but you can't get to the greater
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until you let go of what you're in right now.
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There's a story in the Bible where there's a potential woman
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that's about to get stuck. She loves Jesus, She followed
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Jesus, she went with Jesus and the disciples to many places.
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This woman's name is Mary, and we're about to bump into this
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story that Mary is in, in John 20.
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And we're about to see that Mary has got stuck and she needs a
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little help to get unstuck. Mary, who loves Jesus, has just
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a few days earlier, before we jump into John 20, just a few
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days earlier, Mary has had the greatest loss.
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She just watched Jesus be crucified.
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I mean, Jesus was everything he was.
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He was her hope for the future. Jesus, she knew was a good man.
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She knew there was nothing bad in Jesus.
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And yet she had watched him be brutally crucified.
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She'd watch people accuse him of things that he was not guilty
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of. She was distraught.
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And so she is deep in her grief, and she's grieving, and she is
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crying, and she is overwhelmed with the loss she is facing.
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And so now, after the Sabbath has passed, she knows I can now
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go to the body. I can go to where the body is
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laid. I just need to go grieve some
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more. I just need to go cry some more.
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And she even was going to the tomb with embalming fluids to
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embalm the body. I'm going to go embalm the body.
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I'm going to build a monument here at the body.
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I'm going to build a memorial at the body.
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She was on her way to grieve a little longer.
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And I sense when I was putting this message together, I sense
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the Holy Spirit say, there are so many of you that entered this
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year going to embalm the body from last year, going to embalm
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and going to cry a little more about what happened last year,
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about what happened three years ago.
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Going to the side of the tomb to go and grieve a little longer
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over the thing that happened so far back in your past.
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You are crying still about what happened.
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And I just need you to know that maybe God's going to ask you a
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few questions today because Mary was about to be asked some
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questions. It says Mary is at the tomb in
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John 20. So now Mary stands outside the
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tomb and she's crying. And as she wept, she bent over
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to look into the tomb and she saw 2 angels in white seated
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where Jesus body had been, one at the head and the other at the
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foot. Here comes the first question.
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And they asked her woman, why are you crying?
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It feels an insensitive question.
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I mean, really. I mean, just a few days earlier,
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I watch Jesus be beaten, I watch Jesus be mocked.
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I watch Jesus be crucified. I watch Jesus take his final
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breath. And I'm just a few days on from
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my grief and you, I have the audacity to ask me why I'm
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crying. That's why.
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We don't like sometimes keeping in step with the Spirit because
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he feels insensitive to our emotions, but he's asking the
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question because he's trying to help her move from where she was
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to where she now is. See, I need you to understand
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something. All throughout Scripture, when
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this story is recorded, there is no recording of anyone asking
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Mary why she is crying at the cross.
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No one asks her why are you crying at the cross?
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Because at the cross the tears make sense.
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At the cross, the tears are an offering.
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At the cross, the tears are beautiful.
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At the cross, the tears are appropriate.
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Ecclesiastes 3 says everything is beautiful in its time, even
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grief, even pain, even anger. It's beautiful in its time, but
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out of time it's no longer beautiful.
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And I know over here there were tears because of your loss, but
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we're not over here anymore. We're now over here, and this is
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not the cross. This is an empty tomb.
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That should be a clue, Mary. We don't need to cry because
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there's no body in the tomb. There's something took place
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between where you were and where you now are.
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But your emotions are keeping you in the past, and some of you
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are in the present, but you're living in your emotions of the
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past. And you can't see the miracle
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that God's trying to do because you're trying to embalm the body
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of what what happened last. Why are you crying?
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Maybe the question is not why are you crying?
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Maybe the question is this, why are you still offended?
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Get over it. But you don't know what they
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said. I don't need to know what they
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said. All I know is your life is stuck
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at a place called offence, which means you can't move into the
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blessing of your future because you're parked up at a fence.
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The enemy loves it when we get stuck in our feelings, get stuck
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in our emotions, But everything is beautiful in its time and out
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of time. It is ugly, and right now some
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of the ugly in your life is not to do with anyone else, but it's
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to do with you because you've got out of step with the Spirit
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of God. The best way I can describe this
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moment is by telling you a story of what happened in our lives
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several years back. We were in England, it was
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Christmas Eve, we were all having fun as a family upstairs
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hanging out. But it came to the point in the
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evening where the kids were going to bed and mum and dad
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needed to go and be Father Christmas's helpers, if you know
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what I'm saying. There were things to do, there
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were presents to bring, there was organization that needed to
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happen. So the kids go to bed and we go
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down to the basement where everything is stashed.
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There's a, there's a living area down there, there's a games
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console and couch, sofa down there.
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So we'd hidden stuff down there. So we go down to the basement.
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I take a step down into the basement, but as I go to put my
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foot on the step, my foot hits water.
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I'm like, wait a minute, there shouldn't be water on the
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basement step. And it's not just a little bit
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of water, it's all the way up to my ankles.
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And I suddenly begin to have the horrific realisation that while
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we've been upstairs with our family having a good time, a
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pipe had burst in our basement and everything was ruined.
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This is 11:00 PM on Christmas Eve.
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There is no rescuing Christmas. There is no fixing this problem.
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Every present is destroyed, everything is gone.
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I would like to stand here and tell you that I stood on that
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step and said the joy of the Lord is my strength.
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He is my provider, He is my waymaker.
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But I did not say any such thing.
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I would be a liar if I told you that I stood on that step and
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said things that I should not have said.
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I said words that I had to repent from saying after I had
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said them because I was angry and I was frustrated and I was
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mad. Our whole Christmas was ruined.
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Everything was ruined. I went to bed crying.
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I woke up crying. I didn't stop crying the next
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day or the day after that. I was getting madder and I was
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crying more tears. A week gone. 7 days gone. 10
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days gone. Two and a bit weeks after this
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happened. There's a knock on the door.
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I go down the stairs. I open the door.
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There's a gentleman standing there in a suit with a
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briefcase. He said, are you Mrs. Gamble?
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I said, yes, I am. He said, well, I'm so sorry.
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It's taken me a while to get here.
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It's been the holiday season, people on vacations.
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We've been down a few staff members, but I'm here now and I
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believe you had a flood. I'm like, yes, he goes, oh, I'm
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from your insurance company, He said.
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They sent me because my job brief is I'm the loss adjuster
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and my job today is to come and see what you lost so I can write
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you a cheque for what we owe. How many of you know I ain't
-
crying anymore. I ain't crying One tear.
-
I'm thinking to myself, I hated that sofa that my granny gave
-
me. I'm thinking to myself, we
-
bought our kids some cheap rubbish, we're about to get a
-
whole upgrade on what they're getting for Christmas.
-
I'm thinking to myself, we didn't light Nintendo.
-
We're about to get a PS4. I'm thinking to myself, things
-
are about to go up in this household.
-
Why? Because the loss adjuster just
-
showed up. So when God asks you a question
-
that seems insensitive, I need you to remember the knock.
-
Because what he's saying is hello.
-
I just need to ask you, why are you crying?
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Because I'm from your insurance company.
-
You have a policy. You have a policy in heaven.
-
And last time I checked, there is no loss that he did not
-
adjust at the cross. There is no pain, there is no
-
shame, there is no sin, there is no betrayal, there is no
-
offence, there is no hurt. There is nothing that he did not
-
fully pay the price to adjust the loss in your life.
-
So I'm just asking you, Mary, why are you crying?
-
Because the loss has already been adjusted that you are
-
crying over. Why are you crying?
-
Why are you angry? Why are you frustrated?
-
He's asking you the question because he's trying to move you
-
into your future. It gets worse because when you
-
act crazy and think crazy, you say crazy things and some of you
-
are Cray Cray in the house today and you need a deliverance today
-
from your craziness. And you need to get in your
-
right mind and stop saying the wrong things because your
-
feelings are driving your tongue.
-
And instead let faith begin to speak instead out of your mouth.
-
And so Mary has already been asked this question once, but
-
God himself sends Jesus to ask the question again.
-
And so now as she's standing there and she's asked this
-
question, she says, well, they've taken my, the Lord away
-
and I don't know where they put it.
-
At this, she turns around and Jesus is standing there.
-
But she did not realise that it was Jesus.
-
Why? Because when your head's in the
-
wrong space, you can't even see who's in front of your eyes.
-
So now he asks her. Sounds familiar, woman, why are
-
you crying? He's going at it a second time.
-
Why are you crying? I'm going to repeat the
-
question, but watch this second part of the question.
-
And who? Who is it?
-
What is it that you are looking for?
-
She says. Well, watch this thinking He was
-
the gardener. How in the world can you think
-
that Jesus is a gardener? I have no idea.
-
He didn't have a what? Wheelbarrow and Wellington boots
-
on that. This is like her crazy mind is
-
imagining crazy things. She can't even recognise the one
-
she knows so well. So thinking he was the gardener,
-
she says, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where
-
you put him and I will get him back.
-
She's accusing Jesus of stealing.
-
Jesus. This makes no sense.
-
And some of you make no sense right now.
-
The plan makes no sense. What you're saying makes no
-
sense. What you're accusing makes no
-
sense. And Jesus is asking her, what
-
are you looking for, woman? What is it you think is going to
-
fix this situation? That's what he's asking her.
-
She's like, I need a body. I need I need a body.
-
I need the body and I need to take control.
-
Hello to all my control freak friends in the house this
-
morning. You are bastard God does not
-
need you to control the situation.
-
You need to resign from your control freak tendencies.
-
I don't know who told you that you have to fix everything, but
-
I have good news for you today. You can't fix everything, so you
-
ought not to keep trying to fix everything.
-
And he's asking her in this moment, what is it that you
-
think will make this better? Like, what is it that you're
-
looking for, Mary? Because I'm right here talking
-
to you. And it seems that you're looking
-
for something that that you think somehow is better than the
-
one that's talking to you right now.
-
She's like, I need the body. Tell me where it is and I'll go
-
get it. I'll fix it.
-
I remember when we were going through a crazy season in our
-
church back in England, COVID had just happened.
-
And COVID in England was a whole different scenario than it was
-
over here. I mean, we were locked down, not
-
allowed to leave our home for 19 months.
-
It was crazy. People were crazy.
-
I remember pastoring through that scenario and people were
-
just posting stuff and being weird and saying crazy stuff
-
like they've lost their minds. And I remember just being so
-
angry and frustrated thinking what is wrong with you all?
-
And I remember some people posted some stuff that was
-
personally offensive. And I remember just in that
-
moment, everything in me, the control freak in me, wanted to
-
sort it out. And I remember God saying,
-
Charlotte, what is it you want right now?
-
And my honest answer that I gave to God because I don't know any
-
other way but to be honest, I'll tell you God exactly what I
-
want. I want them to crawl on broken
-
glass to my feet and say they're sorry for the lie they just
-
posted. I want them to admit to their
-
sin. I want them to put this right.
-
And I felt God say to me, Charlotte, I'm asking you a
-
question. Do you want a resolution or do
-
you want a solution? Well, those words sound similar,
-
so I had to go to the dictionary and look up the difference.
-
But a resolution means when I get the outcome that satisfies
-
me, a resolution is well, they stole from me, so I want them to
-
pay me back. Well, they lied about me, so I
-
want them to tell the truth. Well, you know what?
-
They betrayed me, so I want them to apologise.
-
You know what? They said some mean things.
-
I need them to unsay the mean things.
-
You know what? They were the one that were
-
wrong, so they need to say sorry first.
-
That's a resolution. And I heard God so clearly say
-
to me, Charlotte, I never promised you a resolution, never
-
promised your resolution. I never promised they'd say
-
sorry. I never promised they'd pay you
-
back. I never promised that it would
-
all be put right. I never promised it would go
-
back to the way it was. I never promised you a
-
resolution because people don't often do what they should do.
-
But I did send you a solution. So you can either spend the rest
-
of your life waiting for the resolution that you feel will
-
justify the situation, or you can realise like Mary needed to
-
in that moment. I know you want a resolution,
-
but you're talking right now to the solution.
-
That's why when you read your Bible, he gives you solutions.
-
I know we don't like them because I'd rather have as a
-
resolution, but he gives you solutions like hey, I know you
-
want a resolution where they say they're wrong, but here's the
-
solution. Forgive.
-
Anyway, I don't like that solution any more than you do,
-
but it is the solution because you know what it does?
-
It moves you on from the offence into the life that God has
-
waiting for you. Your resolutions keeping you
-
stuck in your past whilst your present is calling you into your
-
future, but you're stuck. You're camped out.
-
I know. So we want a resolution that
-
says, hey, that person that was mean to me that they're going to
-
come and they're going to do good to me.
-
But the Bible says I've got a solution for you.
-
Even the person that is your worst enemy.
-
Wrap up your best coat and give it to them as a gift.
-
You're like, what in the world is that?
-
It's a solution. It's a solution to free your
-
life from where you've been stabbed for so long.
-
Why are you crying? Why are you angry?
-
Why are you frustrated? And you might have a million
-
answers to that question, but after you've given me all the
-
answers, after you've given God all the answers, I'm just
-
wondering whether you're willing to say I don't care about the
-
resolution as much as I care about the solution.
-
I want to put my head on the pillow tonight and have peace
-
back. I want to have joy back.
-
I want to get that sense of vision for my future back.
-
You'll only ever get that when you get back in step with the
-
Spirit that can lead you to it. So in her crazy mind with her
-
crazy mouth accusing Jesus of stealing, Jesus, not seeing that
-
the answer is right there in front of her, Jesus does one
-
thing and this is the one thing He does.
-
He simply says her name, Mary, And the minute that she hears
-
her name on those lips, she realizes in an instant, Jesus
-
Rabboni teacher, it's you. It's me, Mary.
-
This whole while while you've been freaking out, I've been
-
right here This whole while while you're looking for a body,
-
I'm hearing my resurrected glory.
-
This whole while while you're trying to solve it, I already
-
have brought the solution to it. And my prayer today for you as
-
individuals and as families is that you would be centred again,
-
that you would reconnect again, that you get back In Sync again
-
with the Holy Spirit and you would hear your name on his lips
-
calling you today back to centre, calling you today.
-
Out of all of the feelings and the emotions, it's Mother's Day.
-
And for some of you it's just another year where you feel your
-
headache has got deeper and your pain has got worse.
-
And I'm just asking you today, maybe you need to talk to the
-
solution instead of holding on for your A resolution.
-
Maybe today you have to pick up a phone or let something go or
-
have a conversation. Maybe today you need to free
-
yourself from the trap that you've allowed yourself to live
-
in for the last 5-6 years. God has so much for you, but He
-
can't lead you to it unless you get in step with Him.
-
Which means you're going to have to step out of step with some
-
feelings that you've become very attached to.
-
It's all across the house today. I'm going to ask us to stand to
-
our feet and just right where you're at.
-
I'm just going to ask you to close your eyes and just think
-
of that picture that I started with that illustration of
-
joining your life to another, of attaching your heart to another,
-
of letting the Spirit lead you. Where are you out of step today?
-
Where do you need to answer the question?
-
Why are you still upset? Why are you still offended?
-
Why are you still grieving? Why are you still angry?
-
Where do you need to answer the question today?
-
What is it you're looking for? Where is it today that you need
-
to let go of your desired resolution and instead say, God,
-
I receive your solution, I'll love anyway.
-
I'll forgive anyway. I'll move anyway.
-
I'll believe anyway. I'll dream anyway.
-
Your loss adjuster is in the room and I don't care how bad
-
the loss is. He paid for every single one of
-
them on that cross. So God, I pray for healing
-
today. I pray today for conversations
-
that would lean to the solution instead of the resolution.
-
I pray today for families to find a peace again.
-
I pray today for marriages to find a space where they can have
-
a conversation that moves things forward.
-
I pray today that there would be a reawakening of some things
-
that have been dormant for too long.
-
I pray today that we would wipe the tears and we would let go of
-
the anger. We would let you be our loss
-
adjuster and there's eyes are closed in every location.
-
If in this moment you know that you are not where you should be
-
with God, that you've been drifting or maybe you've never
-
asked him to be Lord. Maybe he got dragged here on
-
Mother's Day, but God brought you here not just because it's
-
Mother's Day, but because He has a plan for your future.
-
He wants to adjust the loss. Without Him, we're going to
-
hell. With Him, our eternity is secure
-
in heaven. He does not want the loss of
-
your life in sin. He wants to redeem it with His
-
grace and His goodness. And today all he asks is that we
-
say yes to him, the loss of justice.
-
So as eyes are closed, if today you know, I need God to be first
-
in my life, I need to come home today.
-
I need to make Him Lord. I've been a prodigal today.
-
I adjust that loss. If that's you, his eyes are
-
closed, just lift your hand at right where you are.
-
I'm going to see it. That hand saying that's me
-
today. Include me in this prayer that
-
you're about to pray. I know I need to adjust some
-
things today. I love these moments because I
-
know what's at the other side of this.
-
Obedience feels like just a hand, but I'm telling you, it is
-
more than a hand. It's acknowledgement that God, I
-
don't want to do this my way anymore.
-
My way is not working. Put that same hand on your heart
-
and I'm going to pray this prayer and I pray you make it
-
your prayer right now. God, I thank you that you love
-
me and I thank you even though I don't deserve it.
-
Your grace flows towards me and I thank you that you have
-
adjusted every loss that I have faced.
-
And so today I receive your grace, and God, I ask for your
-
forgiveness. Would you adjust the loss of my
-
sin and my shame? Would you adjust the loss of my
-
grief? And my Baroness, would you
-
adjust the loss in my heart of rebellion and anger?
-
God, today I receive from you a new beginning, a fresh start.
-
Thank you Jesus, that you went to the cross to adjust the loss
-
for my eternity. Today I receive you as Lord.
-
Today I come home. Today I say thank you God for
-
seeing me and receiving me. And God will give you all the
-
glory. And all God's people said Amen
-
and Amen.