Sermon
A Reason to Live - Pastor Gus Urban
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Logan City Christian Church podcast where we bring God's Word to you weekly.
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We pray that what you hear will bring clarity to your situation and open doors in your life.
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Enjoy the message.
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Praise God.
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Pastors Robin Chantel are away, they're travelling at the moment, having a break.
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So keep them in your prayers, they're doing well, just need a time of refreshing and so
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yeah God is good.
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Keep us in your prayers, keep this church in your prayers.
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We're always planning to move forward as you might have heard on the church announcements.
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For our podcast, our church podcast, we've got that going.
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Every sermon that is preached here on Sunday is uploaded every Tuesday.
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Every Thursday we have our Thursday classics where we've gained access to sermons of
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old of Pastor Reg Klimanok, who listened on Thursday, who was blessed by Thursday, who
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was really, really good.
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So join a platform that you can listen to podcasts if you need help, go see someone
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in this church.
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I don't know who, Rohan's here, he's at the back there.
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Go see Rohan, he'll sort you out with a platform that you can listen to podcasts.
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So every Tuesday is church sermons, every Thursday is sermons of old, every Friday is
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real talk Friday where we're going to be interviewing pastors, missionaries and everyone like that
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and we're going to be discussing about experiences they've had and it's going to be good.
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Hallelujah.
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So that's a new door that's opened in this church, we're very blessed.
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So keep praying for us as God continues to keep the ball rolling, so to speak.
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Youth every Friday here, prayer meeting every Thursday night, 7pm.
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And I encourage you to come to prayer meeting every Thursday 7pm here and every Sunday morning
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7am here as well.
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So we know that in times past where people have come together to seek God and pray, God
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has always been faithful and moved.
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And so we're believing for that and we're seeing our fair share of resistance but we're
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also seeing breakthrough as well in a lot of areas.
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So if God has put it on your heart to pray, come join us every Thursday 7pm and every
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Sunday morning 7am, both are here and it'd be great to have you here.
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Lord we just thank you for this time as we enter into your Word.
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Holy Spirit as we prepare our hearts right now, Lord we thank you for the seed that is
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going to be sown into our lives.
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God we know that your Word never returns void and God we thank you that we shall receive
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an abundance from your Word this morning.
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God we thank you that your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
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God we honour you in Jesus name we all say.
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Hallelujah.
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I want to continue on from what Pastor Olly's been speaking about the last few times he's
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been up here talking about trials and we've been looking at James chapter 1 and when James
James 1 chapter mention
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wrote this letter saying for us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials,
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knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience as the New King James Version says.
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But that word really when we break it down and get to the foundation of that word it's
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an endurance.
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That no matter what you and I face in life that these tests and trials that we go through
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it's a struggle.
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It's really hard.
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And the last thing that you and I feel like doing is rejoicing or to count it all joy
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or to praise God as was mentioned earlier this morning.
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But then Paul makes this incredible statement where he learns to rejoice in afflictions
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knowing that when he goes through these tough times that he receives an abundance of God's
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grace in his life that when he is at his weakest moment Paul says I become strong.
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And so through these times that we face that we tend to come to the end of ourselves and
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cry out to God saying God I don't know what to do where to turn who to speak to what to
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say or where to go but Lord I'm coming to you.
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And when we are in that vulnerable state that's a place where one God wants us to be always
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coming to him for every need.
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But secondly when we get to that place we operate in a strength that is far beyond our
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own a wisdom from heaven that we operate from.
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See James says later on if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all
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what freely.
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In other words we actually have access to all the wisdom that God has.
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Every bit of wisdom that we read that Solomon operated with as a king that he was such a
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wise king that people would come from far, far around the world to come and just to speak
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to him spend a moment with him.
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That very same wisdom we have access to when we come to him.
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James says when we ask that God gives to us freely and that's when we tend to understand
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of just how good really how good sorry God is in our lives.
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That when we can come to the end of ourself in a place in life where we feel like that
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there's just it's just an end there's just destruction.
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I don't know where to go to from here.
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We find that grace and we understand that God is not done with me yet.
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See many of us that the time when we got born again we found the saving grace of God because
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we had given up on all of our worldly adventures.
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Correct?
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We've done everything we've been everywhere we've tried everything.
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And yet everything failed us and we come to that point where we don't know where to turn
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and then someone shares the light of the gospel and we reach out and cry out to God and he
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saves us because we came to the end of ourself.
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And James is saying here is saying church you're going to be in times even though you
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are saved and you are a child of God and you do have the Holy Spirit.
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You're going to face times where and I'm going to face times where we just don't know where
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to turn.
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There are hard things that we face in life where it seems like Satan is coming all around
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us and we see nothing but destruction and when we cry out to God once again we see his
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saving grace.
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Hallelujah.
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And so coming off the back of hearing a few sermons about trials and tribulations and
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how faithful God is and the title of my message what a long intro that was is I have a reason
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to live.
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And I really want to start with some of the promises that God has for us.
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Amen.
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It's always good to read about some of the promises that God has.
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See we read in 1 John 1 9 John says that if we confess our sins to God that he is faithful
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to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Isn't that good that we serve a God that who even though he saved us from our mess and
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cleaned us up we've failed him many many times.
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I know I have since I've been born again.
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I've failed God many many times and yet it's just incredible that the love of God that
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is standard towards me that I've received that I've found in my walk with God knowing
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that no matter how many times I've failed him or no matter what my weaknesses are that
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if I can continually keep coming back to God saying Lord I might be struggling in an area
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of my life or I might keep tripping over the same hurdle in my life.
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God I thank you that you haven't given up on me and because you haven't given up on
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me I'm going to your word and now I'm confessing my sin to you knowing that you are faithful
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and just to forgive me of this sin that I've just committed and that not only are you going
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to forgive me you're going to clean me up you're going to get rid of it and you're going
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to pick me up dust me off so I can continue following the will that you have for my life.
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And so through a wilderness experience we actually tend to make more mistakes than any
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other period in our life.
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Well I don't know about you but that's what I've found personally that when times are
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tough I actually find out what's in here.
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Amen.
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Amen give me an amen if you if we're all on the same page because there are times where
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you know things are good life is good and we're cruising and it's just like yeah Lord
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I'm kicking goals for you this is awesome Christianity is a breeze and then all of a
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sudden it starts getting hard and then I start asking questions.
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I go Lord what's really going on why do I have to face this why are these people saying
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this what's going on here and then my attitudes get revealed and my thoughts get revealed
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and all these things that were actually in there that I never saw when times were good
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start coming to the surface.
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Amen.
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Because last week Pastor Riley spoke about gold refine I mean we can dig gold out of
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the ground and it still is gold but that gold needs to be refined and when gold gets refined
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it doesn't just come out of the ground and get polished up and all shiny and put on a
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shelf that gold gets brought in and it gets heated up to the point where it melts and
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when it starts melting that they're taking away all the impurities of that gold and church
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we are the same.
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Is that yes when we get saved we are a new creation in Christ Jesus the old is gone and
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the new is come amen and so we are that new creation yet we are not fully sanctified yet
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that there is a call of God on our lives that we actually don't have the character to fulfill.
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Hallelujah.
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I mean the saving grace of God is amazing yet as we continue on our journey there are
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things in our life that need to be dealt with and that is the will of God for our lives
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ultimately number one that when you and I are living life that we deal with the things
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that we know shouldn't be in here that we can be honest with ourselves and come to that
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throne room of grace and say Lord I need your help.
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Hallelujah.
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Glory to God.
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And so if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
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us from all unrighteousness.
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Church we serve a good God.
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We serve a God that won't give up on us that loves us that didn't just give us one chance
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it says you better prove yourself to me.
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There are so many people here that you may have had a bad father and because of that
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experience you sort of feel that God is going to be the same way with you.
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The moment you make a mistake it's all over.
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I'm here to tell you God is not like that.
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Because not only does God love us it says that God is love.
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That the very character of God his nature is love.
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And out of that love we read in John that God so loved the world the dying world the
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sinning world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever calls on the name of the
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Lord that we when we call on God when we reach out to God the world shall be saved.
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God is a good God he's a good father.
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Second Chronicles 7 14 that if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves
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and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I'll hear from heaven I will
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forgive their sin and heal their land.
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Another promise from God that when our back is turned against God when we have things
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in our life that we choose not to forgive see we're living in a time where this world
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is trying to get rid of the testimony of God.
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We are seeing politicians we are seeing media do everything they can to wipe out the church.
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They're trying to wipe out the testimony of God the testimony of the church.
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The very miracle that God has placed in our lives they're attacking that.
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And so when we are up against it not every person shall stand we see that in Revelation
Revelation 3 chapter mention
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chapter 3 the Laodicean church that just sort of can't submit to truth but just wants to
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have a foot in each camp and when we choose as people to have a foot in each camp we've
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actually turned our back on God.
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See it's impossible to serve two masters Jesus says so that we will either love one or hate
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the other.
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And so the church of Jesus Christ has to be totally sold out.
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We have this world trying to stop us trying to wipe us out but the good news is every
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born-again believer has world-changing power.
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That was a good time to say amen.
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We have world-changing power.
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See when we as his people operate in the power and the authority that God has given us as
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given to his church there's nothing on earth whether it be physically or spiritually that
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can stop us.
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We read in Job chapter 1 verse 10 Satan actually says to God have you not made a hedge around
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him which is around Joe?
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Around his household and around all that he has on every side.
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Have you not made a hedge?
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In other words God when people are moving when we're praying when we're seeking God
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when we're committed to his word we have this assurance that God is on our side.
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That really no matter what we're facing in life we have this foundation this knowledge
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that can get us through God you are on my side even though the world is against me my
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family may even be against me but God you are for me.
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And God I know that when I read your word your word says that if God is for us who could
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be against us?
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And so knowing that the promises of God is that if we were to be in a position where
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our backs are turned against God where I even know of people right now that think they're
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okay with God but aren't it's like the grace of God is there for people to turn and repent.
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God has made a way hallelujah.
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That church if you are here this morning and you know that your life isn't right before
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God I'm not here to condemn you or to tell you to leave I'm saying you are in the right
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place this morning because God loves you with an everlasting love he wants you to repent
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so he can wrap his arms around you and love you and protect you and bless you and give
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you everything you need to live a successful life.
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If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray hallelujah.
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The humility is well it can be hard sometimes.
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I think the most silly prayer that we could ever pray is Lord humble me.
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Because when he starts to answer that prayer which he will quite quickly we go jeez I wish
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I never prayed that.
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Amen.
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We see when we read the book of Daniel, Daniel is in a place where I mean it's unfortunate
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for him because he never asked for the situation that he was born into.
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Daniel being a good man, an honest man before God, one that where we see by the law and
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everything he's honoring God with his life yet he's stuck in exile.
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He's in a foreign country that worships other gods and idols and the demonic is all around
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him and yet we see that Daniel's heart was never bitter towards the people that put him
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there in the first place.
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A man that's stuck in a foreign country had lost his family, his friends, his home's gone.
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Everything he grew up and knew about was now completely over.
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And Daniel's in a point where I guess you could say this trial or this situation he
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was in he could be like oh well what the heck you know I might as well just do what everyone
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else is doing now.
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I'm living in a world where anything goes, this country of Babylon it's just well I can
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just the things that I've never tried to eat I can eat now and maybe I can start drinking
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a lot of wine now because you know back when I was living righteously for God I couldn't
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but you know where is God now in this because everything I had is gone.
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I sort of feel sorry for Daniel but at the same time when we read through his life God
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had blessed him in every single area and it always comes back to that one part where it
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says but Daniel made a decision in his heart that he would not defile himself.
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In other words no matter what others wouldn't see he was determined in his heart to honour
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God with his life no matter what he faced.
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And we see the hand of God on Daniel and it's such an incredible story an absolute testimony
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to what a person can do when they're totally sold out for Christ.
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But what I want to get into here is the prayer of humility that Daniel prays when we read
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in chapter 9 he says this.
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We have sinned and done wrong.
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We have been wicked and rebelled.
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We have turned away from your commands and laws.
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We have not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings
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our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land.
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Daniel understands the reason why Judah is there.
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Judah is in exile and yet he has the humility today we have sinned.
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A man that included himself he never said Lord they sinned.
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Lord it's all their fault.
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God strike them.
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Have you ever been in a position where something's just really unfair?
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You've never done anything to deserve what you got and it's just unfair.
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And we want to get you know righteous and holy and Lord just the same way that Elijah
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called fire from heaven Lord I exercise that authority on these people in Jesus name.
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You know that's what we want to pray right?
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Or when Elijah gets teased and and he curses those young people and and a line or sorry
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a few bears come out and maul those kids.
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In our flesh and in times we want to just Lord strike them Lord deal with them Lord
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sort them out.
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God says that vengeance is mine and Daniel gives us such an amazing example we have sinned
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and done wrong.
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In other words God I'm no better than anyone else even though there might be people persecuting
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me and and and what's being said about me might be unjust.
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Lord I've done a lot of things wrong in my life too.
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Lord I pray blessing on them.
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Lord that your hand would be upon them.
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God that their ears would be open that they could turn and repent and live a life full
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of your blessing.
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Jesus says to bless those and not curse.
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And we see Daniel doing this it's a hard thing to do.
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It takes the Spirit of God to pray that prayer.
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It's beyond our strength as human beings.
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Hallelujah.
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So God is always on our side.
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He always wants to be there for us.
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He always is there for us.
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The second one is is the Holy Spirit the second promise.
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We see that the Holy Spirit was given to the church.
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Jesus says in John 16 that he where he promises the Holy Spirit he says I must go.
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So that he may come.
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Even though you don't want me to go it is actually for your benefit that I leave so
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that I may send him.
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And in verse 13 he talks about the Holy Spirit being the spirit of truth that guides us through
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all things in life.
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Now the Holy Spirit is a very important through our trials because he regenerates.
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He dwells within us he baptizes he guides empowers sanctifies.
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He bears witness he helps us.
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He's the giver of joy and he gives us discernment.
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Amen.
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Can I just bring out one thing the giver of joy.
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There was a man that got saved that I know he was dying.
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He had I believe about maybe one to two months left of his life.
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He was considered dead.
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And yet the day he got saved he said he had such an unspeakable peace in his life.
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And he said he told me this he said even though the situation didn't change he said my body
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was still riddled with cancer.
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In the natural I was a dead man walking.
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But he said there was an unspeakable peace that I had in my life.
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And so when we see that the Holy Spirit is a giver of joy we have to understand is joy
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is not based on circumstances.
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Joy comes from heaven.
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And so you and I whatever we face no matter how down we feel we know that we can reach
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out and receive a joy from heaven which overshadows and overrides all of our frailties all of
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our evil thoughts all of our emotions and that we can operate in a joy.
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Hallelujah.
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See if we can turn to Acts chapter 2 we'll quickly turn there.
Acts 2 chapter mention
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Acts chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 we know 1 to 4 sorry.
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Acts chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 very common very powerful we've heard it a million times and
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this morning it's 1 million and 1 hallelujah.
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Acts chapter 2 verse 1 when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one accord
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in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and
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it filled the whole house where they were sitting then there appeared to them divided
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tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy
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Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
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And we think man these people must have been incredible believers that they could receive
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such a gift operate in such a movement be there for such a time where revival breaks
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out the Holy Spirit moves on all flesh just was prophesied in Joel.
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But these were people just like you and I here today we know that there was a man named
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Peter who said Lord I will follow you wherever you go even unto death and then later on denies
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him I do not know this man.
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He's one that was called by God he had Christ you are the son of the living God and Jesus
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says well done flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven
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and so here's Peter a man that is ticking boxes and all of a sudden is found fishing
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he left the call of God and is found in a boat because of a failure and so we have to
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understand that when we read Acts chapter 2 this isn't full of people that are just
Acts 2 chapter mention
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amazing and never make mistakes or never say anything wrong these are people that are flaws
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and failures just like you and I but God had a plan regardless of what they thought of
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themselves or what they thought of each other God had a plan in church it's the same today
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God has a plan regardless of your trial whatever you're facing it doesn't matter because God's
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still got a plan I mean I'm sure there are people here that we've received prophecy right
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for thus says the Lord God is going to do this this this in your life and he's calling
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you to do this and God through a person reveals the direction that we are to take right through
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prophecy and so we when we receive that prophecy it's in an environment where the Holy Spirit's
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moving and we're so excited and we receive it with joy and we can see ourselves preaching
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or singing or witnessing on the streets and we can see all these marvelous things but
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we never seem to think about the trials that we're going to face and so when we face these
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trials we go oh well maybe it must have been a mistake no the plan of God never changes
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it never ever changes and this is the same here where where Peter and the other disciples
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and there was Mary and others that were in this upper room that they received the call
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of God on their life they yes they fulfilled a bit of it when Jesus was on earth but they
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received the fullness right there they continue on and they preach Peter preaches and
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it says about 3,000 people get saved and we read in Acts chapter 3 where they're going
Acts 3 chapter mention
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to the synagogue and that lame man is healed and there's such a joy in the city God is
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moving in Jerusalem everyone just witnessed a miracle that cannot be denied because this
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man was lame from birth and yet instead of like everyone just going well this must be
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truth we see that Peter and John are arrested isn't it funny how when we start to operate
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and start to move in the call of God when we start to take his words seriously when
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we when we start to come to that place of truly surrender Satan's just around the door
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waiting to stop us and that's always the case there's nothing new under the sun and we see
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here that the very same thing where Peter and John are arrested and they're threatened
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and they're told not to preach in the name of Jesus and it says that they continued to
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threaten them after but their prayer is something that I really want us to take hold of this
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morning and Acts 4 and we're going to read from verse 23 says this and being let go they
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went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had
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said to them so when they heard sorry when they heard that they raised their voice to
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God with one accord what church what did they do they raised their voice to God who'd they
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go to they didn't whinge and complain amongst themselves they didn't just go well that was
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a nice miracle that was a great time in the upper room we'll just see what God's going
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to do from here but you know I'm just going to jump back in my boat again and start fishing
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again no it says that they raised their voice to God in their time of trouble they raised
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their voice to God when they had experienced the goodness of God and Satan immediately
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came in to stop the work of Jesus it says that they raised their voice to God God was
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their first point of contact and this is what they said Lord you are God who made heaven
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and earth and the sea and all that is in them who by the mouth of your servant David has
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said why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things the kings of the earth took
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their stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ for
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truly against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate
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with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your
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hand and your purpose determined before to be done now Lord look on their threats and
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grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out
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your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy
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servant Jesus let's just read that again now look it says verse 29 now Lord look on their
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threats God look what they are trying to do and they didn't say Lord strike them Lord
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send fire down from heaven Lord let there be plagues come out and destroy them they prayed
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this Lord look at their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness they
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may speak your word in other words Lord there is this situation that is coming against us
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but regardless Lord we want to operate in your grace we want to move in your power we
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want to have everything or all the fullness of heaven all of your might we want to experience
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it in our lives so that when we go out even though people are threatening us and trying
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to kill us and want to destroy us Lord we want to see you move and what an incredible
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testimony church do we have it this morning where when we go through hard times and Lord
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why Lord destroy this person God get rid of this Lord I need your grace God whatever I
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am facing Lord this problem you know I don't have what it takes God saying yeah that's
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right you don't but in me you do Paul said I pleaded with the Lord three times that this
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thing would be taken from me and what did Jesus say my grace is sufficient for you Jesus
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says my grace is made perfect my strength is made perfect in weakness in other words
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sometimes the plan or the will of God in our lives isn't getting rid of the problem it's
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us being able to operate in his strength and not ours first Samuel we see a man of God
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that operates in this strength and we see David as a young boy David being a child of
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eight eight where Jesse his father had eight sons David being the youngest and we see that
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when Samuel come to anoint a new king that David wasn't invited Samuel comes into town
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and he says to Jesse get all your sons all your sons and we're going to have a feast
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and so how many does he grab all but one and so I could only imagine maybe the lack of
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love that David had experienced from his father we know that his brothers didn't like him
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and yet he was a man that was after God's own heart see our past never determines our
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future in God nor does the presence and maybe the situation that you're battling isn't
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present today but it might be something that you might be still hung up about that happened
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years ago see our past when it's truly surrendered to God will never hinder us it can't when
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when we are truly surrendered to God every everything in our life our time our money
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our friendships let's read first Samuel chapter 17 we read from verse 41 to 47 David is now
1 Samuel 17 chapter mention
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in battle against Goliath and from verse 41 so the Philistine came which is Goliath and
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began drawing near to David and the man who bore the shield went before him and when the
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Philistine looked about and saw David he disdained him for he was only a youth ruddy and good
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looking so the Philistine so the Philistine said to David am I a dog that you come to
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me with sticks and the Philistine cursed David by his gods and the Philistine said to David
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come to me and I will give you your flesh I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air
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and the beasts of the field and David said to the Philistine you come with me with a
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sword with a spear and with a javelin but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts
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the God of the armies of Israel whom you have to fight this day the Lord will deliver you
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into my hands and I will strike you and take your head from you and this day I will give
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the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts
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of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel then all this assembly
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shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's
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and he will give you into our hands we understand that from then on that David actually won
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the battle he won it easily but the incredible thing is his king Saul that it says that when
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king Saul the man who was meant to fight heard the cry of Goliath it says that him and the
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whole army fell in fear that they did not have what it takes yet he was a young boy
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anointed of God that had what it took that had what it takes to win to see victory in
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his life see a lot of the times when we're facing a battle not only does it just present
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itself in the natural but there is a spiritual thing behind it see when when it says that
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Goliath cursed David by his gods that was a common practice in battle see nations when
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when nation would rise up against nation they would go and they would sacrifice to their
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gods and they would they would cut themselves and they would do all these different things
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that they would actually get in touch with the supernatural the demonic before they went
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out to fight and so here's Goliath a man that knows the demonic a man that actually understands
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what it means to fight in the spiritual before the natural today you and I would call it
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witchcraft but he's a young boy that is full of the spirit of God that is faced with the
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giant of a man before him and this giant of a man noted not only has physical advantage
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but operates in the demonic that is cursing him if only we could see with our natural
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eyes our spiritual eyes that battle the demons that would have been around in that camp I
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mean we hear of stories of people that are demon possessed and and and that just operate
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in such darknesses and that can put curses and spells on people and and I don't know
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I'm sure there's a lot of people here that have you've seen that you've seen people
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delivered from the demonic you you've experienced witchcraft before we've seen it here's a man
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David that is is up against it in a fight and we see what David says that you know I
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I you come to me with the sword and spear but I come to you in the name of the Lord
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I mean that's easy for me to say behind a pulpit but when your life is on the line you
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need the spirit of God and so reading this I understand that not everything I face is
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even though it appears in the natural it's happening in this realm maybe we need to ask
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what's going on in the supernatural see job lost everything in in in an instant and everything
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he lost was in the natural but yet who was behind it Satan was behind it it says that
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Satan come in and destroyed everything that job had and so sometimes we can go well this
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is so unfair or whatever but a spiritual person can see beyond the natural and not only just
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be able to see but have what it takes to be able to fight we see the incredible victory
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that David was one and yet that that victory that David won it encouraged the whole camp
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and maybe you hear this morning your battle is bigger than you maybe the battle that you're
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facing this morning that breakthrough that you receive not only in encourages you and
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gets you through but may allow your family to follow in and receive the blessing your
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breakthrough might just be able to reach out to a huge number of people and see a lot of
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people come to Christ who knows the benefit of your breakthrough of my breakthrough never
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ever get discouraged and give in as a person here says never give in never give up in other
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words the moment the day we give up Satan wins yet if we can just keep getting up day
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by day by the grace of God through the glory of God being able to continually fight Lord
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I don't understand that another day might be a day of heaviness but Lord I'm turning
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to you for grace Lord it is by your strength that I'm going to operate today not my own
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strength not my own wisdom but Lord I am totally surrendered to you the hardest choice that
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anyone can make is to overcome what they're facing what what Satan's trying to do to pull
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us down it is such a joy and a victory when we can overcome those struggles by the grace
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of God see we read the story of Paul and I close on this that when we read of what Paul
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went through we go my goodness persecuted by people persecuted by those left by his
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friends he'd face shipwreck he I don't think there is a thing that that Paul didn't face
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he'd been through everything yet nothing or no one could stop him why because Paul never
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operated in his own strength it was by the grace of God church we've been saved not to
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add Jesus to our life but to control our life that he can lead us through life that he can
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strengthen us in life we are we are very vulnerable to the things of this world that the moment
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that we realize that we really have little influence over like we don't know what tomorrow
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brings we've all faced situations where we were living life and then all of a sudden
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something terrible happened and and we're just shocked and just we're just stumped and
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we just can't believe we don't know what what tomorrow holds but yet when a person when
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a believer is operating in the grace of God they have the assurance that I will get through
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this situation I will church when we are surrendered to God and operating in his grace like his
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grace in other words whatever I lack God is going to give me that that's just Christianity
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in a nutshell if we haven't figured that out already I pray that we get to know it this
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morning that whatever I lack in life God will give it to me whatever my weaknesses my poor
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choices the the last of the flesh that I give into my bad attitudes all those things that
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I just can't seem to get rid of can be gone by his grace
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Hebrews Hebrews 4 16 says that we are to come boldly to the throne of what grace come boldly
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to the throne room of grace that means that we can be just who we are you could be addicted
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you could be in a in a mess you could be bankrupt you could have no family left it doesn't matter
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your situation the reason why we're to come boldly is because God just wants us to come
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as we are with every single bit of baggage and it says come boldly to the throne of grace
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in other words we can come before God just as we are and the reason why we're coming
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there is that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need so we receive
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mercy that the mercy of God towards our life we can receive forgiveness from all of us
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all that good stuff we receive it from God freely it's part of his word his word is true
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God is a God that never lies so we can come boldly to God in our prayer room in our time
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of prayer and say Lord you know the filth in my life or the unforgiveness in my life
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the darkness that I've allowed into my life God here is my baggage I come to you I receive
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your mercy I receive it I don't deserve it but I receive it and now I'm claiming hold
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to your grace your grace to help me to help you in our time of need so God's grace is
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just I don't know I'm so thankful that what I can't do God will empower me to do I don't
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I feel like I'm sort of stuck on this this morning like I just keep repeating this I
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feel like someone needs to get it here this morning what you can't do God wants to work
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through you in your life and so God I'm struggling in this area and you said sorry God a million
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times and you just seem to just keep repeating this vicious cycle and nothing is changing
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in your life it's about time you experience God's grace that the power of God may dwell
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among you and on me that we can see his power will move that those shackles be destroyed
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that whatever Satan is placed to put and stop you from walking with Christ that by God's
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grace we get rid of it we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need
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this week when I was in prayer I received the word from the Lord and I know one it's
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for one person here this morning specifically I don't know who you are but I received this
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word that you're scared to commit you're scared to fully commit to God because you have failed
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in the past your history your record is just a record of failure that's all you've experienced
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in life is everything that you've tried to do you failed in and nothing's ever worked
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and it's just you've gone from one bad thing to a next to the next and I know that you're
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here this morning and it could be more than one person but I really felt that you are
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scared to fully surrender to God because you feel like you're going to fail him you believe
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in God you love God you believe that you believe his word but you are so scared because of
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your history to fully surrender to God I just want to say God's plan for you is incredible
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the call of God on your life is amazing whoever you are and I just want to say it doesn't
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matter how many times you fail God what counts is how many times you get back up because
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there will never ever be a perfect Christian that walks the face of this earth God's mercy
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and grace is there for your life the moment you fully surrender is the moment where you
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receive grace like you've never experienced before could we actually all could all of
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us stand this morning please right now I would actually like to pray for that person whoever
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that is if you could come up the front right right here just right here whoever you are
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I received that word earlier this week that you are afraid to fully surrender to God because
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of past failures if that is you can you please come down the front here and I'm gonna pray
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for you if you want to receive Jesus this morning if you don't know Jesus as your Lord
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and Savior can you please come down this morning and and I'm gonna pray with you you're gonna
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receive the saving grace of God I know the Holy Spirit is touching your heart could you
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please be so bold to come forward and receive this life-changing experience hallelujah if
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there's anyone that you want to receive Christ would you come forward if you don't know Jesus
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as your Lord and Savior would you just please please come and receive him surrender your
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life to him if you know you're in a position where you're you're not a hundred percent
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in right relationship with God that you know you've been lacking in this area would you
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please come and rededicate your life to Jesus Christ right now if that's you please come
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if you've come with someone they'll come with you grab them by the hand bring them down
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so I need prayer but just please the cry from heaven this morning would you please come
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just come just come hallelujah thank you for coming hallelujah thank you for joining us
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we pray God's richest blessing on your life if you haven't already make sure to join us
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on Facebook Instagram and YouTube you can also find us at Logan City Christian Church
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dot com see you next week