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And I like. 
Better than God's. 

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Children get together, they feel
so good just being here again. 

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Feels good to be in the house. 
Of the Lord. 

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Tonight, Amen. 
Amen. 

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Thank you for your faithfulness 
to the House of the Lord today. 

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Just want that sweet presence to
continue. 

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On. 
This service you can stand and 

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turn to Exodus 3 and 11. 
I'm grateful and honored to 

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speak and grateful to pastor and
his wife for their love and 

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mentorship and my wife and I's 
lives. 

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And I do not take this lightly. 
And I'm very grateful and I love

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my wife and she is just the rock
star of a wife. 

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And there is, there is nothing 
that I can't bring to her in 

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concern, in thought, in prayer 
that she does not help me tackle

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or tackle herself. 
And she is a. 

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Superwoman. 
You can clap to that superwoman,

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love her so much. 
Exodus 3 and 11 says in Moses 

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said unto God, Who am I that I 
should go unto Pharaoh, and that

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I should bring forth the 
children of Israel out of Egypt?

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Verse 12 says, And he said, 
Speaking of God, certainly I 

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will be with thee, and this 
shall be a token unto thee that 

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I have sent thee. 
When thou hast brought forth the

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people. 
Out of Egypt ye shall serve God 

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upon this mountain. 
Pastor, you mind praying 

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Everybody said Amen. 
You may be seated. 

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Thank you for standing for an 
honor the reading of the word. 

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So we're coming in the middle of
a story here with Moses. 

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And this this story is one that 
is a turning point for Moses's 

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life. 
And with this, he has gone 

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through the wilderness and he 
the desert and he encounters the

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burning Bush. 
And this is in the middle of his

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encounter with God. 
And, and God had said, you know,

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this is holy ground and take off
your sandals and this is holy 

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ground. 
And he's standing there amongst 

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talking, communing with God 
through the burning Bush 

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experience. 
And Moses was at the end of 

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himself, at the end of himself. 
But it wasn't just a whole 

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chapter later of what transpired
40 years earlier where we see 

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what got him here to begin with.
Exodus Two chapter chapter 2 and

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verse 11. 
It says. 

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And it came to pass in those 
days when Moses was grown, that 

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he went out unto his brethren, 
and looked on their burdens, and

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he spied an Egyptian smiting a 
Hebrew one of his brethren, and 

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he. 
Looked this way and that way. 

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And when he saw that there was 
no man, he. 

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Slew the Egyptian. 
And hid him in the sand and when

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he went. 
Out the second day, behold two 

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men of the. 
Hebrew strove together and he 

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said. 
To him that did. 

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The wrong. 
Wherefore. 

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Smitest thou thy fellow? 
And he said. 

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Who made thee a Prince and a 
judge over? 

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Us intendest thou to? 
Kill me as thou killest the 

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Egyptian. 
And Moses feared and said surely

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this. 
Thing is known now when Pharaoh 

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heard this thing, he sought to 
slay Moses. 

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But Moses? 
Fled from the. 

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Face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the
land of Midian, and he sat down 

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by a well. 
This was the beginning of his 

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40. 
Years of desert his 40 years of 

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something that was unknown to 
him. 

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Moses was born into a Hebrew 
family during a time of. 

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Intense persecution, yet 
miraculously adopted and raised 

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in the comfort of Pharaoh's 
palace and and Moses. 

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He grew up. 
He grew up with the best 

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education. 
He grew up with the best the 

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grandiose of wealth and power 
that Egypt had to offer. 

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He had unique position of 
privilege and influence, fully 

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aware of his Hebrew heritage and
then the. 

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Suffering of his. 
People One day as we read, Moses

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saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew
slave, one of his own people, 

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and in a burst of anger and 
misguided sense of of justice, 

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he killed the Egyptian and and 
he hid his body in the sand it 

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was in this moment that Moses 
thought that he could save his 

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people through his. 
Own strength and his own. 

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Actions and much like Moses who 
thought that he could achieve 

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this, this hefty feat of 
delivering his whole people 

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through his efforts does not get
far. 

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We often seek the most easy and 
direct. 

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Path for our. 
Goals and hopes and aspirations 

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in life, and we fall short 
because we were doing it with 

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our own strength. 
Consider if you will, the 

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mountain climber who could save 
time and energy if they just 

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went to the summit of the 
mountain in a helicopter. 

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If you want to see this beauty, 
then just go up in the 

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helicopter. 
If you want to experience the 

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summit. 
Would it not be easier? 

88
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But the ultimate purpose that 
the climbers have is conquest. 

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It is it is. 
It is not about efficiency or 

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ease. 
Sure, sure, they're wanting to 

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reach the top, but there is a 
desire to do it by testing and 

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deepening their character and 
their discipline and their 

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resolve. 
God, as we know, created all of 

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existence, was spoken word. 
He could just as very well in 

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things in our world. 
He could have just created 

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00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,880
scientists, mathematicians, 
athletes, musicians, snap of the

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finger from nothing. 
But he doesn't. 

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He creates children who take on 
those roles over time over. 

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Process. 
God doesn't make us fully Christ

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like in the moment that we are 
born again. 

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He helps conform us to the image
of Christ gradually, like clay 

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in the Potter's hand. 2nd 
Corinthians 3 and 18 says, But 

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we all with open face, beholding
as in a glass the glory of the 

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Lord are changed into the same 
image from glory to glory, even 

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as by the Spirit of the Lord in 
our spiritual lives, as our 

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profession, as in our 
professional lives and sports 

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and hobbies and whatever, we 
improve and excel by handling 

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failure and learning from it. 
We don't have enough people talk

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00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,920
successful people talk about 
their failures in life. 

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We don't have enough people 
saying, I messed up. 

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Only in cultivating discipline, 
endurance and patience do we 

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find satisfaction and reward 
truly. 

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And those qualities are most 
developed through some form of 

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difficulty, some form of I just.
Can't stand this anymore. 

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Do we really think that the 
mountain climber is? 

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Always happy that they're. 
Training and enduring, what 

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they're doing to hopefully make 
the summit. 

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It's not a guarantee. 
The helicopter is a guarantee 

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the the training and enduring. 
Is not a guarantee. 

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Some die upon the path, just 
like there isn't an easy button 

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for the mountain climber to just
take the helicopter. 

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The intent of the difficulty in 
things that we. 

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Go through is to. 
Look for what God could 

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accomplish through it. 
Romans 828 says, And we know 

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that all things work together 
for the good through them that 

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love God to them who are the 
called according to his purpose.

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Why do we go through pressures 
and suffering in peril? 

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Well, Second Corinthians one and
nine says, But we had the 

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sentence of death in ourselves, 
that we should not trust in 

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ourselves but God, which raises 
the death. 

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What that means to me is that I 
should trust not on my own 

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strength, but I should trust on 
His strength for us to turn 

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toward God. 
Unfortunately, sometimes nothing

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works like issues in your life. 
God isn't looking for your 

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00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:55,720
checklist. 
He's not looking for the things 

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00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,360
that are all going to just make 
you happy. 

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He wants you to learn what it 
means to surrender to His will. 

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What he wants is this. 
You used to want certain things 

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from him and you would bring and
you would pray your checklist. 

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What he wants is that you just 
want him. 

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00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,200
James One and two says, My 
brethren, count it all joy when 

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you fall into diverse 
temptations, knowing this, that 

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the trying of your faith worketh
patience. 

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00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,880
But let patience have her 
perfect work, that ye may be 

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perfect and entire, wanting 
nothing. 

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This passage does not mean I'm 
going to leap for joy when 

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things are going wrong, but what
it It doesn't mean that I'm not 

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going to weep because I don't 
know how God is going to see it 

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through or he's going to 
provide. 

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But it does mean that through 
all of it, I'm going to trust 

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that God has got this, not 
myself. 

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God has got this. 
What we face many a times is a 

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little itch. 
It's an itch that we've faced 

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00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,760
for many years and it's gone on 
and gone on. 

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And it's the itch of the 
selfishness of mankind thinking 

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like Moses that we can, we can 
do it on our own. 

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You look around at the world 
throughout time and especially 

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today, and you tell me that 
humanity. 

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Isn't selfish. 
You can sit and you can see the 

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endless examples, crazy 
spending, the politicians in 

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00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,680
their constituents. 
We despise the self-serving 

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culture of corporate greed, the 
injustice of unnecessary poverty

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and hunger. 
When there's people in the world

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that have more money to do with 
when what they know what to do 

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with, we get ticked off. 
That. 

166
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:14,320
But we do it ourselves. 
It may be in a smaller scale, 

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00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,080
but we do it ourselves. 
It may be I'm not lending things

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out unless I get a deposit. 
I'm going to do you a favor. 

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00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,120
But I'm you have. 
One for me too. 

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I'll take credit for things even
though the whole team did it. 

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00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,960
It's about my problem. 
I don't want to hear yours. 

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Or like Moses, I can do this on 
my own. 

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I don't need any help. 
We're all guilty of it. 

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We're all guilty of being 
selfish. 

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The generality of selfish is 
putting yourself first. 

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A quote from Professor J Hoffman
says if you don't think most of 

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humanity is selfish, try going 
shopping early on Black Friday 

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00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:12,680
or try yelling fire in a crowded
theater and driving anywhere. 

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These days one sees horrific 
display of selfishness, drivers 

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00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,920
aggressively competing to get 
ahead of each other because they

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00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,800
have more important things to do
than you. 

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The selfishness of mankind goes 
back, way back to Genesis. 

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The Garden of Eden was a great 
beauty and of 0 sin. 

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And then we have the serpent 
that brings forth the deception 

185
00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,600
that convinces mankind to bring 
sin into the world. 

186
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,560
Genesis three and seven says in 
the eyes of them both were 

187
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:57,200
opened and they knew that they 
were naked and they sewed fig 

188
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,120
leaves together and made 
themselves aprons. 

189
00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,280
It says that the eyes, their 
eyes were opened. 

190
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,360
They realized that they were 
naked. 

191
00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,360
What happened? 
Well, simply in a moment 

192
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:17,480
humanity became self. 
Humanity became self-conscious. 

193
00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,600
Sin ushered in the rain of 
self-awareness, self concern, 

194
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:29,880
self-reliance and selfishness. 
It all started with this willful

195
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:37,600
disregard for God's command. 
We all fight the desire to think

196
00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,400
of self in a way of lifting up 
ourselves or in a way of 

197
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thinking that we can do it 
without God. 

198
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:50,920
Moses's thinking was skewed to 
think that he, a mere man, could

199
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,520
single handedly help his people 
and free them from bondage of 

200
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,920
Egypt. 
One Egyptian at a time. 

201
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,960
He was being selfish and 
thinking he could do that 

202
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,560
without God after he slayed the 
Egyptian. 

203
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:09,920
Moses one, once a Prince of 
Egypt, is now fugitive in the 

204
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,520
desert, leaving behind the 
comforts and the privileges that

205
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,800
he once knew. 
For the next 40 years, Moses 

206
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:23,400
lived this simple life as a 
shepherd tending to Jethro's 

207
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,920
flock. 
The desert became a place of 

208
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:32,120
humbling for Moses, where he was
stripped of his pride, his sense

209
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,440
of entitlement and his 
self-reliance. 

210
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:40,480
The desert, my friends, can be 
that for you, because sometimes 

211
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,480
we have to go to a place of 
humbling, a place of breaking, 

212
00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:49,240
where we are stripped of 
everything that keeps us where 

213
00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:56,440
we're at in our selfish nature. 
Moses started to go from being a

214
00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:01,240
man who took matters selflessly 
into his own hands to a man 

215
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,359
whose character and dependency 
was preparing him. 

216
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:09,800
For the mission from. 
God, in this barren and harsh 

217
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,720
environment, Moses, he, he 
reached the end of himself. 

218
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:19,000
He had no more power, he had no 
more influence and he had no 

219
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,599
more control over the 
circumstances that were in his 

220
00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:27,200
possession. 
He had to come to terms with his

221
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,760
limitations and failures. 
And it was this place of 

222
00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,160
brokenness and humility that God
chose to reveal himself to 

223
00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:40,640
Moses. 
See, see, we, we think we get it

224
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:45,480
confused sometimes We think that
God is going to reveal his plan 

225
00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:49,480
and, and calling on our life 
when everything has fallen into 

226
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,320
place. 
Once everything has fallen into 

227
00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,400
place, God's going to come. 
Thus saith the Lord and the call

228
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,000
comes and we go out mighty God 
isn't he good? 

229
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:08,440
But in reality, when you look at
the times in scripture and and 

230
00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:12,360
even still today, you see God 
revealing himself to people when

231
00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,640
they are at the end of 
themselves. 

232
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,240
After a long 40 years of 
wilderness, Moses had a divine 

233
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,800
encounter that marked the 
turning point in his life. 

234
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,800
It was about It wasn't about 
what he could do with his own 

235
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,960
strength, but what God could do 
through. 

236
00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,680
Him. 
The desert humbling had prepared

237
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,920
Moses to be a vessel for God's 
power. 

238
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And purposes. 
He had reached the end of 

239
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,600
himself, and it was there in his
weakness and his humility, and 

240
00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:51,040
he probably felt so small, 
considering that he was growing 

241
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,680
up in the palace and now, 40 
years removed from killing an 

242
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,440
Egyptian, now he just feels like
the shell of a man that he used 

243
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:06,480
to be. 
That's when he discovered after 

244
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,080
the end of himself. 
He discovered the beginning of 

245
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:12,560
God's extraordinary plan for his
life. 

246
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:20,040
Just like Moses, we face our own
desert experiences and times of 

247
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:25,120
struggle and hardships, and it 
seems insignificant in the grand

248
00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:30,320
scheme of things. 
I just don't know why and it's 

249
00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,880
easy to feel like this time is 
wasted. 

250
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,000
There's so many other better 
things that could be going on in

251
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,600
my life. 
God, why am I is my time being 

252
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,520
wasted with this? 
Or maybe we feel like we're 

253
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,640
being punished. 
God, why? 

254
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:52,040
What have I done? 
But these are the times when God

255
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,640
is preparing us for something 
greater. 

256
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,720
Think about the deserts in your 
life. 

257
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:05,880
Those challenging seasons where 
you felt stripped of your usual 

258
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,520
strengths and your usual 
comforts. 

259
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,720
It could be a. 
Period of unemployment, a 

260
00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:16,360
difficult relationship, a health
crisis or any other numerous 

261
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,040
things. 
You felt stripped of everything.

262
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,160
We have to understand that just 
as the mountain climber doesn't 

263
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,520
take the easy way up the 
mountain, these times are not 

264
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,560
wasted. 
The times that they are 

265
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:39,240
conditioning themselves to be 
able to find the summit one day 

266
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:45,360
is not wasted. 
Just as Moses's years in the 

267
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:50,440
desert prepared him to lead his 
people, your desert experiences 

268
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,800
are shaping you to fulfill. 
God's unique purpose. 

269
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,200
For you. 
And only you. 

270
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,000
In these moments of humility 
and. 

271
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,800
Dependence. 
You are being molded like clay 

272
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,560
into a vessel that God wants to 
pour into. 

273
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:15,680
He wants to pour His power into 
you and the call. 

274
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,480
It is often in our weakness that
we become most. 

275
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:33,240
Usable by God. 
I think of the song that is sung

276
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,200
by Danny Gokey. 
You're making a masterpiece. 

277
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:45,040
You're shaping the soul in me. 
You're moving where I don't see.

278
00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:51,640
And all I am is in your hands. 
All I am is these broken pieces,

279
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,160
the shell of a person that I 
used to be. 

280
00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:57,400
I'm cracked. 
I'm tattered. 

281
00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,200
I don't know what. 
To do but all. 

282
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:06,520
I am is in your hands. 
All I am is in your hands, God. 

283
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:29,400
We cannot fall prey to that itch
of selfishness. 

284
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,760
Don't let it. 
Over shadow? 

285
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:38,800
What God wants these deserts? 
Can go a couple different ways 

286
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,520
and you observe it in people, 
you begin to look and you begin 

287
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:48,920
to look for God's plan and 
purpose through all of it or you

288
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,200
start to despise and act in 
rebellion against God because 

289
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,040
seemingly. 
He doesn't care about. 

290
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,440
Me and the. 
Latter there my. 

291
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:05,000
Friends, that is the enemy that 
we look at in the mirror every 

292
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:11,240
single day, Luke 9 and 23 says. 
And he said to them all, If any 

293
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,760
man will come after me, let him 
deny himself, and take up his 

294
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:17,200
cross. 
Daily. 

295
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:21,280
And follow me, Paul said. 
I die daily. 

296
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:29,920
If I may self dies daily we. 
Have to get to the end. 

297
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,400
Of our self because. 
When we do, we make room for 

298
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:44,040
God. 
Jesus, there's a powerful. 

299
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:48,640
Excerpt from a devotional I 
would like to share with you. 

300
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,760
It's called The End of Me by 
Kyle Eidman. 

301
00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,440
It says, dear me, I've known you
for as long as I can remember. 

302
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:06,000
I once hear there's a friend who
sticks closer than a brother. 

303
00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:11,320
And yes, that's us, though I 
doubt that's what the proverb 

304
00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,520
was talking about. 
I've been close to a lot of 

305
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,160
people, but you and me, we have 
quite an attachment. 

306
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,880
Looking back, it's fair to say 
I've treated you pretty well. 

307
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,160
As a matter of fact, more times 
than I can count, I put you 

308
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,680
ahead of anything and everything
else. 

309
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:34,840
Agreed. 
As we were growing up, I tried 

310
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,160
to make sure you were always at 
the front of the line. 

311
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:41,520
I saw to it that you got the 
biggest cookie on the plate, the

312
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,800
best parking spot, the comfiest 
chair in any room that we 

313
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,120
entered in school. 
I noticed the little things that

314
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:54,400
you like and I went after them. 
You always loved the tension, so

315
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,640
I did everything in my power to 
see that you got it. 

316
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,680
You. 
Still like the spotlight, so 

317
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,360
I've maneuvered to keep you in 
its glare. 

318
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,040
Now that we have the Internet, I
have more. 

319
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,160
Tools I post. 
Only the pictures that I show 

320
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:16,400
that you at your very best, 
anybody would think that you're 

321
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,120
living the dream. 
Have you seen the comments 

322
00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:23,640
people write about you when 
you've struggled or had a hard 

323
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,360
time? 
I've done my best to keep that 

324
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,880
our little secret. 
I've tried to make you happy, 

325
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,720
and sure it was. 
It was a little easier to keep 

326
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,360
you happy when you. 
Were a cute little tyke. 

327
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,160
Then as we grew older, I had to 
be a little more discreet. 

328
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,560
You wanted to keep winning and 
getting your way, all the while 

329
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:48,800
looking humble and unassuming. 
That gets tricky, not to mention

330
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,480
tiring. 
As a matter of fact, you never 

331
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:55,760
seem to care about dull stuff 
like. 

332
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,480
Bills and and. 
Consequences and what happens 

333
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,960
tomorrow. 
I've said more than a few harsh 

334
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,080
words on your behalf to certain 
people and you never warned me 

335
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,080
about the mess. 
You never told me I couldn't 

336
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:19,000
unsay what I've said. 
I love you me, but I can't keep 

337
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,320
living for you. 
You always insisted that if I 

338
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,920
just keep you happy then I'd be 
happy. 

339
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,880
As simple as that. 
But you know what? 

340
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:34,800
It's not as simple as that, and 
it never really has been me. 

341
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:39,760
I let you be in control and sit 
in the driver's seat, but it's 

342
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:45,200
clear you can't be trusted. 
You keep insisting you know the 

343
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:50,280
way we should go, but it always 
seems to be a dead end. 

344
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,120
I've looked into some other 
options and I've decided to 

345
00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:56,400
begin a journey down a different
path. 

346
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,520
It's narrow and it's difficult 
and not many choose it, but it 

347
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:07,240
leads to real, abundant life. 
However, and there is no easy 

348
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:12,960
way to say this, I can't take 
this path if I bring you along. 

349
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:20,400
So me, this is the end of you. 
Sincerely me. 

350
00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:28,360
It wasn't until Moses had been 
through his desert that he could

351
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:34,320
say in verse eleven of our 
opening passage, Who am I that I

352
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,600
should? 
Go to Pharaoh. 

353
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,440
And that I should bring forth 
the children of Israel out of 

354
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:43,560
Egypt. 
I don't think 40 years earlier 

355
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,920
if God had come to Moses when 
seemingly he thought that he 

356
00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,400
could do it himself, I don't 
think Moses's response would 

357
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,880
have been, who am I? 
I think it would have been a 

358
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,640
little something due to the tune
of Do you know who I am? 

359
00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:04,320
But instead Moses asked in verse
1340 years later. 

360
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:08,640
And he said, And they shall say 
to me, What is his name? 

361
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:14,360
What shall I say unto them? 
And God said unto Moses, I am 

362
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,520
that I am. 
And he said, that Thus shalt 

363
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:23,360
thou say to the children of 
Israel, I am have sent me unto 

364
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,000
you. 
Getting to the end of yourself 

365
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,480
might be one of the hardest 
things you have to do in your 

366
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,840
life, but if you do it, you stop
worrying about who am I and you 

367
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,160
start worrying about. 
The I am who? 

368
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,200
It is so. 
Sweet to trust in Jesus. 

369
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,560
There's going to be uncertainty,
there's going to be. 

370
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:58,280
Difficulties. 
Jesus. 

371
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:04,640
We know it. 
We grow up. 

372
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:09,120
We listen to the Bible stories 
that Sunday school teachers so 

373
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,400
graciously teach us, and we know
that you know what happened 

374
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:14,760
after. 
Moses had this. 

375
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,880
End of himself and he found the 
plan of God for his life. 

376
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,720
He demonstrated the power of God
to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. 

377
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:30,800
With God he parted the Red Sea. 
He communed on the mount with 

378
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,560
God and received the 10 
commandments, and he was in 

379
00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,400
God's presence for so long that 
it was so long that his face 

380
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,760
shined and he he had to be 
covered. 

381
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,240
Can you imagine being in God's 
presence for so long that you 

382
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:52,400
just emit the glow? 
Jesus. 

383
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,800
Don't be deceived and think that
God could have gone to. 

384
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,280
Moses right after Moses. 
Killed the Egyptian. 

385
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:01,960
And Moses? 
Would have not. 

386
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:03,560
He wouldn't have been the man 
for the. 

387
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,480
Job at that point. 
It took the. 

388
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,600
Desert to make Moses the man he 
was supposed to. 

389
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:17,080
Be for the plan of God on Moses 
to be acted out correctly. 

390
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,440
Acted out correctly. 
There is times and seasons that 

391
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:27,720
we go through and we just don't 
get it because we get our self 

392
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,760
in the way and we think we can 
do it ourself. 

393
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:35,640
We have to relinquish control. 
We are always focused on 

394
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,720
control. 
What can I control? 

395
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,440
Literally. 
Game systems have controllers. 

396
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:50,640
Your TV has the remote control. 
We are obsessed with. 

397
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:57,480
Control Jesus. 
Music can begin to come. 

398
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:07,320
Deserts are difficult. 
I'm not saying that. 

399
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,640
What Moses went through was 
easy. 40 years to begin with. 

400
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:18,680
It's a long time, but I can tell
you that deserts. 

401
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,960
At the end of it, and even on 
the cusp of God's plan. 

402
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,480
Moses. 
He had a direction, he didn't 

403
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,720
necessarily know the end. 
You're not going to have this. 

404
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,520
Thus sayeth the Lord, and then 
just everything's going to be 

405
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:40,000
perfect. 
Jesus, I. 

406
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,240
Want to tell you. 
My wife and I have been in the 

407
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,200
desert. 
Jesus. 

408
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,000
Please understand my heart right
now. 

409
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:06,840
For a few. 
Months. 

410
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:15,640
And it was. 
Desperation and I didn't know if

411
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,680
I had done something wrong. 
If we had done something wrong. 

412
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:27,200
And I would sit every morning 
during. 

413
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:37,200
This And I would go to the couch
and I pray and ask God, and I 

414
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:45,640
weep, Why? 
What did I do? 

415
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:48,680
Where? 
Do I go? 

416
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:55,040
And it was in those moments. 
Then I started to. 

417
00:32:55,400 --> 00:33:02,560
Find the end of myself. 
When I found the end of myself, 

418
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,920
that's when I started to see him
move. 

419
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,760
In moments in my life, it was 
then. 

420
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,280
That I started to see what he 
could do. 

421
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,880
And it wasn't until then where I
felt there's something going to 

422
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:26,400
happen and when. 
I felt that I was like, I'm 

423
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:32,480
going to get. 
An answer We went to church 

424
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,480
camp. 
And as you know, we. 

425
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:36,360
Were very involved and I was 
just. 

426
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,720
Praying that if. 
Anywhere we could receive it 

427
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,800
then, because it felt. 
Like so long. 

428
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,040
That Tuesday. 
Night of camp. 

429
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,120
I was praying to God and I asked
God. 

430
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,280
I told him. 
I said God please. 

431
00:33:55,400 --> 00:34:00,120
I will have a Jacob spirit. 
I will not leave this campground

432
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:08,000
without an answer on my side. 
I will not leave without an 

433
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:14,280
answer. 
God in the day services kept. 

434
00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:19,800
Going in the night. 
Services kept going and the day 

435
00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:26,480
service on Friday came and the 
minister started speaking about 

436
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:41,440
the call in the cup 
and then it just started to 

437
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,440
sweep in and all to call. 
My wife couldn't I. 

438
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:56,679
Come up to the piano and it just
started to sweep all over me and

439
00:34:56,679 --> 00:35:03,160
I knew this was the day. 
I knew this was the day. 

440
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,600
The end of myself wasn't for 
nothing. 

441
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,960
Because I found the. 
Beginning of what God has for 

442
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:29,640
me, 
and it was there that God. 

443
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,920
And impressed. 
On people to speak to us that 

444
00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:39,160
whole day and the common thread 
was open doors. 

445
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:51,160
Walk through the open doors and 
it was there and I got the 

446
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:56,480
answer I was waiting for. 
Because what you don't know? 

447
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,920
In that. 
Season we were filling out. 

448
00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:06,720
Job applications like crazy. 
Within four weeks time I'd say 

449
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,880
we did 3. 150 to 400 
applications with nothing. 

450
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,280
One of the last applications I 
did. 

451
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,200
This. 
Is all glory to God. 

452
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,680
Please understand. 
That I didn't think. 

453
00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:22,480
I was qualified. 
I didn't think it. 

454
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,520
Meant would amount to. 
Anything but I. 

455
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:30,320
Threw it in there. 
And got it open the door before 

456
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,760
camp as an option. 
And it was. 

457
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:39,400
There when I found the end of 
myself at camp that. 

458
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:47,920
God spoke go through the open 
doors and so by the grace of 

459
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,520
God, I'm going to do that and I.
Have the honor. 

460
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:58,600
And privilege. 
I have the honor and privilege 

461
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:03,160
to teach to our Christian 
Academy high school. 

462
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,360
I am God. 
I don't even know what he's 

463
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:15,120
going to do yet, but when I tell
you that I know where the desert

464
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,360
leads. 
You've got to have grit and. 

465
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:24,120
Determination to see it through.
You've got to keep. 

466
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:30,520
Pushing. 
On it may cost you everything, 

467
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:39,640
but he's faithful. 
It may be everything you have to

468
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:43,280
get to the end of yourself, but 
he is faithful. 

469
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,400
I wonder if we could. 
Come to an altar tonight. 

470
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:55,720
If we could find the end of our 
self, I don't know what God has 

471
00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:58,680
planned. 
I know the direction. 

472
00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:02,240
But. 
I don't know the end and I'm 

473
00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:06,120
trusting him for that. 
I'm trusting him for that. 

474
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:07,840
If you're in your. 
Desert. 

475
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:11,560
Right now you don't know what 
the next step is. 

476
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:15,280
Keep going until the desert 
makes. 

477
00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:22,360
You who you need to be, maybe? 
You need to break down some 

478
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,520
things within you. 
That you haven't. 

479
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,400
Given up to God. 
Yet. 

480
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:33,040
And you need to tell yourself 
that it's over. 

481
00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:43,600
Maybe you've gone through your 
desert and you've received the 

482
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:48,200
plan that God has for you, and 
you don't know what the next 

483
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,360
step is. 
Call back to recollection. 

484
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:53,840
Your birding. 
Bush experience. 

485
00:38:55,120 --> 00:39:01,480
Call back the experience that 
God showed up to show you the 

486
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:07,280
way, and remember what was. 
Spoken to you. 

487
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:15,320
And to your spirit, God help us 
find the end of ourselves.