Sermon
Daily Bread Prayer | John Challinor
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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We're that normal. If you're here and you're
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like, what is this? This is how normal we are.
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We're family and family enjoys just banter, right?
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Like family enjoys banter. Here's what I know
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about life. And I know this because I'm living
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it right now. Life is hard. Life is hard. And
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life can be hard unexpectedly. And we were made
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to need each other. We were made for community.
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And in my own life this week, there have been
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needs that came out of nowhere, that community
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has been wrapped around and been loving us. And
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I'm not ready to get into all those details yet.
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At some point, I will. But just know that, like,
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if you're here and you go, what is this about?
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Here's my hope. That you would see a group of
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people that believe Jesus so much that they put
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themselves in community because he calls his
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family. That when you see the way the family
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of God treats and cares and loves that you go,
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hey, this is not this authentic nature of community
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is not available anywhere else on the planet
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other than in the family of God. And it points
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you to Jesus. And I hope because you are with
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the family, you get to meet Jesus. I guess the
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hope in all this, because he's the only thing
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that's going to change. He's the only thing that
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is going to change your life for the better.
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He's the only one that's going to empower you
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to live the life he always intended you to live,
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being human. And so we're just we're just here
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going, hey, we're a bunch of people, normal,
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ordinary, football, loving football, hating some
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of you. Right. People that we're just stumbling
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towards Jesus and stumbling towards this God
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who is good in nature and loves us. And we don't
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even deserve it. And yet he loves us so much.
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And so if that's you and you're here and you're
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like, I'm trying to figure this out. Welcome.
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We're glad you're here. Maybe you're across the
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screen and you're like, I didn't know I was getting
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that today. And you're welcome. We're glad you're
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here. With that, we do these things called collections,
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right? Collections of talks. I know some people
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have an issue with collections of talks because
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they're like, it's a series, okay? Okay, if you
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go to Netflix and a new series comes out, what
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do you do with that series that you've been waiting
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for? You binge it. And then what do you do? You
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forget about it. Right? Like, when's the next
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one coming out? Right? Okay. The hope of this
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is as we spend time together in a collection,
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the hope is that the Holy Spirit gives you something
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from the Bible about God, about your life, about
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Jesus, that you just go, man, I got to hold on
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to that. I got to collect that. Right? Because
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what do you do with a collection? You keep it.
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It's valuable to you. And so the hope is that
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as we spend time together, this becomes valuable
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to you and you walk away holding something that
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will transform and move your life in the direction
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that God has for you. So we're in a collection
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of talks. And that collection of talks specifically
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has been wrapped around prayer and the idea that
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we need to do something different. And I'm speaking
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to myself because this is where it came from.
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I realized one day my prayer life's not good.
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I'm going to change my prayer life. How do I
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do that? Man, I got to. I got to read a book.
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And in reading the book, I got really mad at
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God. And in getting mad at God, I discovered
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I don't need more information. I need more transformation
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through action in my life. That if I'm going
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to have a prayer life and I'm going to be close
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and intimate the way God died to connect me to
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him, to give that to me, then here's what I need
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to do. I just have to pray. Right? Like it's
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like somebody who goes, I just want to be healthy,
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but then they don't do anything to get healthy.
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You know what I mean? You're like, you're never
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going to be healthy. That's just the reality
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of what you're doing. If you want to pray, the
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only way to pray is you've got to pray. Right?
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Like that's it. It's that simple. You just have
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to pray. And along with that, we talk week one
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that we've got to reframe what prayer is. And
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so prayer is this gift that waters into life.
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Prayer brings us to water into life all the things
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that God's put inside of you that he always intended
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to be a part of your life, to grow and mature,
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right? And then we talked about as you pray,
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another gift is as you pray, you end up seeking
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and seeking leads you to find a person and person
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leads you to a table that we had over here. And
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at the table, hopefully what happens as you sit
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face to face with God, you have honest conversation
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and discover that he's provided everything you
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will ever need. to grow and mature into who he's
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called you to be. And then last week, if you
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were here, we had leaf blowers and generators
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and all kinds of different stuff. But the big
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idea behind it was this, that prayer is a gift
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because it ties you back into the purpose and
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mission that God has always had for you. Prayer
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is the way that the power of heaven is released
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through you. That when you engage in prayer,
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what you're doing is you're taking the connection
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that cost Jesus his life and I'm plugging into
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it to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through me.
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And I join God in co -shaping and co -managing
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and bringing the resources of heaven into the
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present moments of life. That prayer has the
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power to do that. One of the clearest ways we
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see this is when we see somebody who is sick,
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who needs healing, and God shows up. Can I just
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tell you that I've had two people in the last,
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like last night and then this morning, share
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that they decided they were going to take this
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idea of prayer and they were going to pray big
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prayers. And both of them had to do with cancer
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and healing. And both of them this morning talked
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about and last night talked about that God has
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showed up and has healed what was sick. This
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is why you being plugged into the resources of
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heaven is so important, and the way that it is
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released is through prayer. So Jesus says you're
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going to pray specifically, right? Now that brings
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us to today. Have you ever been in a situation
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where you might have been the person that had
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the means to help somebody else, and they knew
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that you had the means to help them? Often this
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happens when you travel. For me, I got to go
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to Kenya a bunch of years ago. And specifically,
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there's a vision trip of how could Heights partner
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with some of the things that are happening within
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Kenya. And so we got to go to these areas, these
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different slums, and one of them was massive.
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It was so large, it just sprawled and sprawled
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and sprawled. But on the way to the slum, here's
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what was interesting. On the way to the slum,
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Up on the hill, there was a school that looked
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like Hogwarts, right? Like it had been kind of
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designed after Hogwarts. So you had this Harry
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Potter -esque school on the hill that was private
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for the rich people. And then roughly about seven
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miles, I think it was, you got to this slum that
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had so many people, I couldn't count them. And
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by slum, I mean like... There's human waste on
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the path. It wasn't a street. We're talking a
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narrow path between houses and human waste on
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the ground. There's these shacks that barely
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holding together. Anything they could find had
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been kind of put to make a shelter of some sort.
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And wouldn't you know that as we're visiting
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and we're sitting down, they're looking at me.
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and going, you can help, right? They're going,
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you're a person of means. You can make a difference
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about this. And so what is the natural thing
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to do? They ask. I don't know, just a side note,
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you guys, we don't realize how blessed we actually
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are. You know what I mean? Like we whine about
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the stupidest stuff sometimes, don't we? And
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yet sitting in that moment and realizing, realizing,
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To them and their situation, yes, I have the
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means to transform what's in front of me. And
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what was the natural thing for them to do? Because
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they recognize that, to ask. And I think that's
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what Jesus is kind of building within Matthew.
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We read these verses last week, but in Matthew
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chapter six, you remember the context was the
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disciples have asked him. Would you teach us
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how to pray? And you can go back and kind of
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hear the frame up to this, but this is his response
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to how to pray. This then is how you should pray.
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Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
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right? So our Father, so relational connection
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to this heavenly being, to this supreme being.
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but you're my father, so there's relationship,
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and your name is higher than any other. There's
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no name, right? So when you were just praying
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during worship, and you were reordering, like
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I've made it about other stuff, and it's about
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you because you're the highest, that's what this
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is getting at, right? Like this prayer is, your
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name is the highest. Verse 10, your kingdom come,
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your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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If you were here last week, we talked about this,
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that this is connected to this massive purpose
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and mission that God has always had for humanity,
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that you would be someone who would reflect the
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image of God, who would take the resources that
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God has provided, the resources of heaven, and
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you would bring them into this moment. And essentially
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heaven would crash into earth because of you.
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And what would happen, and his transformation
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of your world around you that looks an awful
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lot like God and an awful lot like what he is
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building within his kingdom. The things that
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he stands for have come into this space. And
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so in this moment, you have this big purpose
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mission. And then the very next verse is this,
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give us today our daily bread. Hey God, would
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you give us what we need today? It takes it from
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this big lofty, and then notice what happens
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next, verse 12. And forgive us our debts as we
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also have forgiven our debtors. Anyone that you've
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ever had to walk the path of forgiveness, you
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know how large forgiveness is, right? Like this
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idea goes from the big purpose mission of what
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God always intended to, hey, would you give us
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what we need back up to... This idea of forgiveness
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that cost Jesus, cost God his very life to provide
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forgiveness. And we're claiming that forgiveness
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in prayer. So again, back to this huge theological
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scope. And then the very next thing he says is
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this. This is how you should pray. And lead us
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not into temptation, but deliver us from the
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evil one. Now we're into the cosmic battle of
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the universe between God and his enemy. Like,
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would you protect? So you have in the same prayer.
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You have the big vastness of God, right? Like
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you're the name above all other names. You've
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got this heaven crashing to earth purpose, mission,
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co -manage. The earth would be shaped by the
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kingdom of God. Your kingdom come, your will.
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And then out of that, you get this moment where
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it's like, and give us what we need. Give us
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today our daily bread. And then we're back to
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this big. vast forgiveness, hardest thing to
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do. One of the hardest things to do, if we're
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honest, being human, forgive another person,
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right? And yet the God of the universe has forgiven
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us. And so out of that, and then you have this
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cosmic battle. You have the hinge point of this
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prayer is found in the dirt of today. This is
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Jesus teaching us how to pray. And he goes, hey,
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your mission and purpose is God's pulling you
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back. You've got so much purpose to your life.
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You matter so much because you're shaping the
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kingdom of God. And you also give us today our
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daily bread. It's a daily bread kind of prayer.
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You know what I love about daily bread kind of
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prayer? Is daily bread. renounces the idea that
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God is distant. Here's what I mean, right? Like,
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cause sometimes we can think like God is, God
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is busy, you guys. He's running the universe.
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He don't have time to worry about the little
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things of life. God doesn't really have time
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to worry about if your football swag matches
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or not. God doesn't have time to worry about
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if you got that parking space. God doesn't have
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time to worry about your eyebrows. God's got
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other things he's doing. And if we're not careful,
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we can make God distant. God's out there. He
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only shows up in your life for the big things.
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He only shows up for the kingdom come prayers.
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But what Jesus teaches us is what? Give us today
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our daily bread, which pulls God from distant
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and brings him to the present, to the dirt. under
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your feet right now, the needs you walk through
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the door with. I like it. It renounces this idea
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that God's just out there. He don't really care
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what you do today. That's not true. Jesus teaches
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us that what? That in the daily bread prayer,
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we pull God into the present. Daily bread prayers
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renounce that God is distant and it brings him
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into the present of your life right here, right
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now. And what I think Jesus is doing with this,
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there's something much greater going on with
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the daily bread prayer. Because daily bread prayers,
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think about them, right? Like the idea of daily
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bread. What do you need today to live the life
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that God gave you? Like what is it in your life
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that you go, hey, this is a need today. And God,
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right? Like that's an idea of a daily bread prayer
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that I'm just going to tell God what I need to
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be able to live the life that he's put me in.
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Then on top of that. Right? There's this repetition.
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It's a daily bread. In fact, daily bread prayers,
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when you get into the original language, it's
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not a, I wake up and I say it. It's a continuous
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throughout my day, moment by moment, I'm inviting
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the God of the universe into the dust of my day.
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Right? Like the idea that God is meeting me in
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the midst of the real time things that are happening
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in my life. It's a daily consistent. What do
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you need today? But I think there's something
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else going on here. What I mean is this. I think
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it's connected back to where we were last week.
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If you remember last week, we were in Genesis,
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and we talked about this idea that your kingdom
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come, your will be done, is connecting to the
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overarching reason for humanity even existing.
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Well, I think this week, with a daily bread prayer,
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that what daily bread prayers are doing is they're
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found in what happens in chapter 3 of Genesis.
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Verse 1 says this, Now the serpent was more crafty
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than any of the wild animals the Lord had made.
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What you need to know if you're not familiar
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with the Bible is that this is a moment where
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the enemy of God, who is Satan, has taken the
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form of a serpent, and in the form of a serpent
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has showed up to his perfect creation, and now
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he's going to have a conversation with the humans.
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He said to the woman, did God really say you
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must not eat from any tree in the garden? The
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woman said to the serpent, we may eat a fruit
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from the trees of the garden, but God did say
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you must not eat from the tree that is in the
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middle of the garden and you must not touch it
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or you will die. Now, chapter two, we know that
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God didn't say that. She embellishes, she adds
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to it to try and add clarity, right? Notice what
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the enemy does. The enemy jumps on that. You
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will not certainly die, the serpent said to the
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woman, for God knows that when you eat from it,
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your eyes will be opened and you will be like
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what? God. You're not going to die. You will
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be like God, knowing good and evil. When the
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woman saw that the fruit of the tree. was good
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for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable
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for gaining wisdom. She took some of it, some
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and ate it. She also gave some to her husband
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who was with her and he ate it. Then the eyes
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of both of them were open and they realized they
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were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together
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and made coverings for themselves. So what you
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get is you get the enemy of God showing up. And
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the enemy of God brings lies to the humans, which
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what happens in that moment, the enemy or the
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humans follow those lies. They believe what they
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are told. And what you end up with is now the
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humans doing something they have never done before,
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experiencing things they've never experienced
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before because they bought into the lie of the
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enemy. Here's what I'd like to propose to you.
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That when we say, give us. give us our daily
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bread, there is far more going on than you realize.
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Here's what I mean. The idea of asking, right?
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The idea that you would ask someone for something.
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If I was to come to you and ask you for the keys
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to your car, right? Because I got to walk home.
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I'm taking all control, right? I'm making myself
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vulnerable. to bring you into my story and what?
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I'm placing my need in your hands and you have
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the choice, you have the power, you have the
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determination, you have the option to grant or
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not, to disappoint or make me very happy, right?
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Like you have that in your hands. Asking naturally
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makes us vulnerable, which guess what? As humans,
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that's why we don't like it. We don't like to
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be vulnerable. We don't like to be in, four -letter
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word, need. There is not anybody in this room
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that goes, oh, I like to be needy. In fact, we
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use needy as a bad term, right? Like, oh, you're
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so needy, right? It's a negative. And in this
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context, we're told by God to what? To ask because
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you have need. Okay, now, bigger picture. What
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is happening in a daily bread prayer is you,
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you are declaring war on the enemy's lies in
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your life. Daily bread prayers, the most simple
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of simple of simple prayer, declares war on the
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enemy's lies in your life. Here's what I mean.
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Maybe this will help us catch it. You ever played
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the game war, anybody? Right? Like you're going
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to take a deck of cards. You divide them up evenly.
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Give one stack to one person. One stack to another
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person. Right? And then if you haven't played,
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here's how it goes. You take turns flipping a
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card. And you flip a card. And if the other card
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is higher than yours, that person wins. Right?
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I wonder, I wonder in our declaration of war
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by our daily bread prayers, here's what I mean.
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We declare war on the lies of the enemy. So the
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enemy plays his first card, right? The enemy
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plays his first card. That you can be God. Right?
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You be your own God. You do you. You don't have
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to sit under the authority of God. You, you can
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be your own God. It's your life. You can be the
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supreme being of your life. You don't need, isn't
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it interesting, a daily bread prayer. Remember
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how it starts? Our Father, and if you're like
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me, you learned it in another language, who art
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in heaven. I don't know why we put art in there,
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but there you go. Our Father in heaven. Your
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name is higher than any other. So simply, simply,
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according to Jesus, when I go and I go, hey,
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God, I'm hungry. Can you provide? What did I
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just do? I go, you are God. And I am not. God,
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I submit to your authority. This need reminds
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me that you are God. And so I come with the daily
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bread prayer. I declare war on the lie of the
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enemy, that I have to be God, that I have to
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be all the attributes that you are. I deny that.
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And what I actually do is I just declare you
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are God. Simply by going, can you give me today
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what I need? Because if not, I'm just talking
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to Bluey in the sky, right? Right? If not, I'm
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just talking to whatever. But when I frame up
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who I'm actually asking, what I've instantly
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done is gone, I am not God, you are God. So therefore,
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I win this hand on the enemy's lies. The enemy
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throws out the idea that, hey, you're in control.
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You know what's interesting in the fall? And
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when I say fall, when sin entered the world and
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every single human that was born from that point,
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guess what? We were all born control freaks.
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Some of you more so than others. We're not judging.
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That's okay. But we all love to be in control,
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whether you admit it or not. Some of you are
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just not good at hiding it. Other people are
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good at hiding it. But you know that we all love
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control because when you are out of control,
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watch the response of the person. And you notice,
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you notice. We love being in control. We like
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to manage. And what the enemy tells us is, hey,
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you're fully in control. You can manage your
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world. You can hold all the cards in all the
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places and you can do all the right things. And
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here's how you do it. And just in case you really
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need help, there's chat GPT and you can ask it
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how to become rich and it'll tell you all the
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steps and you're in control of your destiny.
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The enemy plays the lie that you can have control
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over your life. And so what does a daily bread
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prayer do? It reminds me that God's in control.
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God, I don't got this. Isn't it interesting,
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you guys? We're so fragile. You know how I know?
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You'll be hungry by dinner. You know how disconnected
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we are from God's control over our daily bread?
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That we have these things called credit cards.
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Because if you get too hungry and you don't have
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money, well, I'll just put it on the credit card.
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But it was never meant to be that way. You see,
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I think what society has done and what the enemy
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has done a great job of is actually you're in
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control and you can manage your own way. Just
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go back. Just go back. Most of human history
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has been reliant upon rain. Because if it didn't
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rain, nothing grew. And if it didn't grow, you
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didn't eat. Right. So the food is supposed to
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be a reminder, like just a simple thing like
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food. We're not even talking about your health.
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We're not even talking about finances like all
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of those go into it. We're not talking about
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the relationships that you're trying to control.
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See, when I release a relationship to God, hey,
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God, I'm not doing well at controlling this person
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like we think that's a good thing. Right. Like
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that should work out. I'm reminded that the enemy's
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lie is that I have control and what I realize
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is God's in control. And so. I win that hand.
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Two nothing in case you keep in score. So the
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enemy, another one of his lies, independence.
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You guys are Americans. I've learned that you
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love your what? Oh, you guys are all, man, you're
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in church. You should not be lying. You love
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your independence. You know how I know? You have
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a day to celebrate your independence. England's
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no better. Trust me. They got their own ways
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to celebrate it. Why? Because the enemy lies
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to us that we don't need anybody else. We can
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be independent. We can control things. We can,
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right? And so what happens with independence
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is it also pushes you away from people. Right?
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Like all of a sudden, I don't need you. I don't
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need God. I don't need because I'm independent
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of all of that. And what a daily prayer, a daily
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bread prayer does is it goes, God, I am deeply
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independent on you. Right? It's just the words
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that I got to ask God to provide something instantly,
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instantly frames up that I am dependent on you
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to provide. That in my independence, I can't
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even do a little thing. And so God, I'm deeply
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dependent. Now you go back to creation. That's
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how we were intended to be, dependent on God.
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What does the enemy come along and do? Go, no,
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you don't need to be dependent on God. You got
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this. You can be God. You can figure this out.
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Three nothing. The enemy's lie is that God's
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not trustworthy. You can't trust him. And what
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does the enemy do? He'll tell you some story,
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bring something to mind. He'll tell you a moment
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where it should have worked out this way and
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it didn't work out that way. So really, God,
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is God trustworthy? What is he doing to the woman
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in the garden? He's showing up and going, I don't
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think you can trust God because he didn't really
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tell you the whole truth because he said you
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would die. You ain't really gonna die. What is
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he doing? He's taking the God and he's shaping
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God into this image that, God, you are not trustworthy.
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And what does a daily bread prayer do? It goes,
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God, I trust you. My trust is in you. If you
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don't show up, God, if you don't show up, this
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thing I'm facing, it's going to be too much.
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There's this idea that the enemy wants to tell
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you you can't trust God and what a daily bread
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prayer does. As simple as it is, is it puts me
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in a posture of trust to this God that I am not,
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who I am dependent on, right? And so we win that
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hand. He wants you to be self -sufficient. He
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wants you to be self -made. He wants you to believe
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that you can just do you, you be you. You can
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be whatever you wanna be. You work it out. Your
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future's dependent on you and nobody else. And
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so we have all these like life coaches and books,
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self -help books, and all of them are gonna tell
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you how to be the best version of you because
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you don't need nobody. You just need you and
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you can be self -sufficient and self -made and
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everyone will look up to you and go, wow. You
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were never meant to be like that. You know what
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you were meant to be? So we, in a daily bread
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prayer, go, God, I'm reliant on you. You were
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never meant to be self -sufficient. You were
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meant to be God -reliant. You were designed to
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rely on a God who is good in nature, in his character,
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who has your best. My best, who is bending the
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universe to look like his kingdom come and his
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will be done. And you are invited through daily
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bread prayers to align your soul to what? To
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say, God, I'm reliant on you. And so what happens
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is, what happens is we're at five nothing now.
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I love that. Philippians chapter four. And if
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you've been around church and you're hearing
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a message on prayer, you're like, I knew he'd
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go to this. You're right. I'm predictable. But
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what's interesting is I think these verses define
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for us what a daily prayer, daily bread prayer
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looks like. So the daily bread prayer that is
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declaring war on the enemy's lies, this is what
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it sounds like. Starts in verse four, rejoice
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in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice.
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Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord
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is near. So there's the premise of what he's
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about to say, that the Lord is near. He is in
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the details. He is in the dirt of your day. The
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Lord is near. And then it says, do not be anxious
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about anything. Okay, so just a quick pause on
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being anxious, right? The enemy wants to convince
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you of all those lies. And guess where those
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lies lead? To you believing you have control,
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to you trying to manage your life, to you being
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overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious. How do I
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know that? Take a look, take a survey of our
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society that is so advanced. Take a look at our
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society and look at the rates of... anxiousness,
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overwhelmness, depression, exhaustion, suicide
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is higher than it's ever been. How are we doing?
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Right, like something's gotta change. And then
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what it's getting at here, when it talks about
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anxious, it's like a windshield, right? Like
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you drive around here, we put stuff on the roads
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to help us not slide off the roads, but inevitably
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what happens? One flies up and what does it do?
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Hits your window and you're like, oh. I got a
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little buddy now. And you're like, it's not that
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bad. And all of a sudden you get another one.
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But it's okay because they're not hanging out.
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But you're like, I should do something about
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that. And once you know it, a third buddy shows
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up and all of a sudden it just... That's the
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picture of anxiety. It shatters us. It separates
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us. And that's what it's getting at here is the
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effects of believing the enemy's lies. The effects
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of sin in our world shows up that we are shattered
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on the inside. You can know Jesus and be shattered
-
on the inside. Right? Like this isn't, oh, well,
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if you knew Jesus, then everything would be better.
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No, you can know Jesus and still be living under
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the enemy's lies, which is why Jesus teaches
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us to what? Pray daily bread prayers. Why? Because
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daily bread prayers not only declare war on the
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enemy's lies, they declare war on the enemy's
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effects and sin's effects. Here's what I mean.
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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
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situation, that sounds like all of life, every
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day, kind of daily bread kind of stuff. By prayer,
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that first word for prayer there is prayer. Just
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talking to God. So anxious, enter into talking
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to God, which is community, which is relational.
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Enter in and talk to God. To which, then it says,
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and petition. If you were here the first week,
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we talked about a word called supplication. That's
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the word petition. What that means is this, that
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it's the emotion of the moment combined with
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the. urgency. So I'm just talking to God, but
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what's combined is the emotion that I have and
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the urgency of the moment. Remember daily bread
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prayers. If you're hungry and you have no resource
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for food, how desperate are you? I got to eat
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God, right? Like you're crying out to him. It's
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urgent and there's emotion to it. If my marriage
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just fell apart, guess what? There's emotion
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and there's urgency. That's that idea of petition,
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right? That you would be talking to God, but
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in the midst of it, bring the urgency and the
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emotion to it. And then it carries on. It says,
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with thanksgiving, we're gonna talk about that
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next week, present your requests to God. You
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know what that word request is? Be specific.
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Tell God exactly what you need. Because sometimes,
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sometimes, I don't know about you, we're real
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vague. What do I mean by that? God, just be present
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with them. He's already present. So how about
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instead of just, God, be present, we go, God,
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I know you're there. Will you do this for them?
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Be specific, right? Like that's what that word
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means, request. Be specific. So be urgent, bring
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the emotion in a conversation with God and, and
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tell him exactly. What you need. And notice what
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happens. Remember, this is waging war on what?
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The effects of the enemy, the effects of sin.
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And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
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will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
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Jesus. And the peace of God. So wait, I came
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with just a daily bread prayer. And what I did
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is I waged war on what? The effects. Because
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I've been believing the enemy's lies. So what
-
happens is I wage war on all those lies. I'm
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not believing those no more. God, I'm going to
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trust you. I'm dependent on you. God's in control.
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You are God. I'm not. And what happens, what
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happens is the effects of sin in my life by bringing
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my daily bread, by bringing them into the dirt,
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what happens is the peace of God, the peace of
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God, the shalom of God, the wholeness, wholeness,
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remember, if anxiety is to split apart, wholeness
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is to be put back together. And this is how easy,
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one more story we've done. This is how easy Jesus
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says it is to pray. Luke chapter 11, right before
Luke 11 chapter mention
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this is the prayer that we were just talking
-
about. The prayer that ties us back to the purpose,
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ties us into this cosmic battle and brings us
-
to daily bread in the middle. This is the next
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thing that Jesus said in Luke. Chapter 11, verse
Luke 11 chapter mention
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five. Then Jesus said to them, suppose you have
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a friend and you go to him at midnight and say,
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friend, lend me three loaves of bread. A friend
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of mine on a journey has come to me and I have
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no food to offer him. And suppose the one inside
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answers, don't bother me. The door is already
-
locked. My children and I are in bed. I can't
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get up and give you anything. Anybody else go,
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that's me. You come to my house and I'm in bed
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and my kids are in bed and everything's locked.
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Go away. I tell you, even though he will not
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get up and give you the bread because of friendship,
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yet because of your shameless audacity, he will
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surely get up and give you as much as you need.
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Jesus goes on to say after this, he compares
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it to a father, that you earthly fathers know
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how to give good gifts. Imagine, imagine, and
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you're broken, right? Like you're sinful. You're
-
selfish. Imagine how much a perfect heavenly
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father can give good gifts and wants to give
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good gifts to his kids. That's what he compares
-
it to. But how did you get there? He goes, this
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is easy. Praying is as easy as going to your
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neighbor. Got any flour? I got to make some bread.
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It's that easy. Jesus, the prayers that fight
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the enemy's lies and effects in your life, Jesus
-
goes, it's as easy as going to your neighbor
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and going, hey, I got some guests coming over,
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and I'm just wondering, we're out of flour, could
-
I borrow some? It's that easy. Now, what that
-
teaches me is anyone can do that. That teaches
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me you can do that. Sometimes when it comes to
-
prayer, I think, and we're going to fight the
-
enemy's lies and all that. I think we go, oh,
-
okay, I need a priest. I need a pastor. I need
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somebody who's in a position of the church. No,
-
no, no. What Jesus teaches is you go ask the
-
neighbor for flour. You go to your heavenly father
-
and go, I need some flour. And so here's what
-
we're going to do. We're going to end. with a
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time of you praying, daily bread kind of prayers.
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What do you need? You posturing yourself to ask
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your heavenly father for what you need. What's
-
in the dirt of your day, so to speak? And you're
-
just gonna ask God, hey, here's what I need today.
-
Here's what my daily bread is today. Would you
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provide? Would you show up? Would you give? This
-
is just really simple. God, would you give flower
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today? And then here's what we're gonna do. We're
-
gonna worship after. Can I just share something
-
with you guys? Some of you are prone to leave
-
at the end, like music starts and you're like,
-
I'm out of here. Now, I know some of you gotta
-
be places. I get that. I understand that. But
-
the team that God has entrusted to your spiritual
-
care works so hard, pour time and effort and
-
conversations into what happens after, after
-
what you may think is a throwaway song we believe
-
the Holy Spirit wants to use in your life. And
-
some of you, it pains me because you miss it.
-
You miss it. And we believe that in your response,
-
God is going to move in your soul. So don't miss
-
what God has for you. So we're going to spend
-
time just intentionally praying, and then we're
-
going to worship. But the next moments are yours
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to have a daily bread prayer with God.