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Good morning, everybody. 
It is great to be here together 

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to worship Our God, and to, 
finally get to be together after

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a whole week of not seeing one 
another. 

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This morning, I want to talk 
about something for just a few 

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minutes that I think is 
something we all go through, but

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it's not always easy to talk 
about and that is some of our 

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spiritual feelings, we deal with
As we go through our Christian 

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walk, you can study you all you 
want, you can process God's 

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word, but they're going to be 
roadblocks that go, they get, in

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your way because of things you 
feel internally, spiritual 

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feelings. 
And the two ones I want to talk 

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about this morning, our feelings
of distance, from God, and 

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feelings of doubt. 
Now, feelings of distance from 

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God, I think that is kind of 
self-explanatory. 

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You go through Seasons, where 
you don't feel close to God, 

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you're trying to To worship God,
you're trying to understand God,

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and you're trying to have a 
close relationship with them 

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through studying his word and 
you just can't get there. 

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And there's feelings of Doubt 
where doubt can be more than 

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just, you know, I don't believe 
God out can be a lot of 

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different ways. 
It can work its way into our 

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lives. 
And so I want to talk about for 

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just a minute, those two things 
this morning, I don't have very 

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long. 
I'm not going to be giving a lot

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of answers to these big long 
discussions that people have 

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written books on there. 
I'm sure you might have a lot 

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more experience than me, but I 
want to just talk about a few 

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things to give us some assurance
and to give us a little comfort 

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that you're not alone and that 
we can use the These feelings 

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hopefully for our betterment. 
So I want to I want to talk 

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about four main points. 
The fact that this is common, 

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the fact that they're examples 
in the Bible of this happening 

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that we have some a little bit 
of scriptural, advice to go 

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along with these feelings and 
how we can use them. 

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Hopefully, as a tool. 
So first this these feelings of 

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distance from God, feelings of 
distance from God or something, 

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there's almost something that 
makes, you know, you're alive 

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spiritually. 
It's showing you that you care. 

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When you don't feel like you're 
close to God, that's showing 

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that you care enough about God, 
to be concerned about that. 

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That's something that is so 
common to everyone in this room 

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who's concerned, spiritually, 
and to everyone who's ever 

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lived. 
And Psalm 13, we have David, the

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man who is described as a man 
after God's Own Heart. 

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That's a pretty high description
of someone. 

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But listen, what David says, How
long O Lord? 

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Will you forget me forever? 
How long will you hide your face

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from me? 
How long shall my soul 

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satellites? 
Shall I take counsel in my soul.

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Having sorrow in my heart? 
Daily. 

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David came before the Lord and 
there's a lot of songs that kind

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of have this, this plea for help
and this plea for God's presence

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in his life. 
But this one is describing David

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feeling in a place where God was
just forgetting him, God I don't

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I can't understand you. 
I don't feel like you're with 

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me. 
I can't see you. 

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That is something that is so 
common, so David felt it. 

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It is totally normal for us to 
feel it. 

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Throughout the Bible, read of 
things like this happening. 

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But then we were given some 
scriptural advice as to how to 

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handle things like this and 
prayer. 

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And fasting is something that's 
discussed throughout the Bible. 

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Now, I used to think that 
fasting was kind of an Old 

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Testament thing talked about 
that a lot when they would 

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repent and they would fast, but 
really, Jesus gives us 

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instruction for fasting and 
Matthew 6. 

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So this is, this is something 
that we're supposed to be doing,

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this is something God's people 
have always done throughout the 

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New Testament. 
And God's people have done it in

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First Corinthians 7, verse 5, 
acts 14 verse 23, Esther, this 

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Old Testament 4 verse 16. 
When Esther was about to go 

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before the king, she was about 
to lose her life possibly. 

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And she said, tell my people to 
pray and fast, fasting is where 

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you don't eat. 
Sometimes. 

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People don't drink but really 
it's common to say, I'm not 

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going too fast or I'm not going 
to eat. 

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I'm going too fast for 24 hours 
or a couple of days Jesus did 

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for 40 days. so fasting and 
prayer is something that God's 

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people have always done to bring
their focus in on God to bring 

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there, please before him and to 
show that there are really 

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serious about what they're 
doing. 

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Fasting has a way of drawing us 
into something that we are 

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trying to focus on Joel says in 
the Prophet The Prophet Joel 

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says in Joel 2 Verses 12 through
13. 

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He says, now, therefore, says, 
the Lord turned to me with all 

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your heart, with fasting with 
weeping and with morning. 

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So Rend your heart and not your 
garments return to the Lord, for

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he is gracious and merciful slow
to anger, and of great kindness 

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and he relents from doing harm. 
Who knows if he will turn and 

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relent and leave a blessing 
behind him. 

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Joel is saying here and the 
Commandment from God is to turn 

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with all of your heart and part 
of that process for them. 

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Was the turn and really humble 
themselves and fast that process

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of not eating show that they 
were more concerned about their 

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repentance and more concerned 
about what God thought of them 

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than anything else. 
It had a way of holding them in 

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and what they were trying to do.
Luke 22 verse 37, we read of it.

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Happening, Nehemiah 1 verse 4, 
Daniel, 9 3, through 5, Ezra 8 

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21, through 23. 
And, like I said, Matthew 6, 

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Jesus gives his instructions. 
So if you're feeling those 

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feelings of distance from God, 
It's not always something you 

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can just fix. 
But throughout the Bible we have

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instruction that when people are
trying to draw near to God, part

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of that process is prayer 
fasting and meditation to really

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zero in on what they're trying 
to do. 

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And just to remember that if 
you're feeling these feelings of

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distance, this could be a tool 
to show you that you want to get

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closer to God. 
Because if you don't have those 

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feelings, like, man, I'm not 
close enough to God. 

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I don't understand, God enough. 
I want to be nearer to him. 

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Then why would you ever seek to 
be closer? 

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Because if God is here, what's 
going to drive us toward him 

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more? 
What if we were just like, yeah,

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I'm feeling. 
Alright, I'm good. 

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Where we're at, but that feeling
of distance from God, is 

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something that pushes us closer.
So let's learn to use that as a 

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tool. 
Now, I'm going to change gears 

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for just a minute, to feelings 
of doubt. 

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They can come up in a lot of 
different ways. 

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I'm going to start in the same 
place, we just left off. 

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Is that you can use doubt as a 
tool for all these feelings, 

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don't feel bad. 
If you're experiencing them, it 

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is something that everyone does.
But these feelings of Doubt can 

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show you where specific areas 
are that you can refine your 

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faith. 
Romans 10 verse 17 says that 

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faith comes by hearing and 
hearing by the word of God. 

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So, if you're feeling like, 
you're doubting different things

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about God, or feeling doubts, 
about different things in your 

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faith, we're told that 
Understanding God's word hearing

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his word, is something that 
builds that so don't be afraid 

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to dive deeper. 
Sometimes it's not that easy 

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just I do I do read. 
Why does my face stronger? 

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Keep studying but just know that
we're going to. 

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I'm not going to answer all 
these questions or try to solve 

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all these issues. 
But to show us if they're 

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examples in the Bible of this 
Peter and Matthew 14, Verse 31 

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was when he was walking on the 
water, he came out to Jesus. 

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And when he when he started to 
lose, focus Lewis start to lose 

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sight, he started to fall you 
just call him and you remember 

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that whole interaction, When 
heat when Jesus picked up Peter 

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from the water. now, the whole 
situation ends with Jesus 

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saying, Peter, why did you doubt
I think we're maybe sometimes we

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feel like, man, I'm doubt I'm 
doubting, I feel bad and then 

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you just feel guilty. 
And then it says, 0 this spiral 

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on yourself, but Jesus asked, 
Peter Peter, why did you doubt? 

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I don't think it was like, like 
a, why did you doubt dummy? 

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What are you doing? 
I think he was asking him that 

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just to have Peter. 
Think about it. 

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What made you doubt? 
Because of Peter thought about 

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why he doubted, he could go find
something that will help that 

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and then he could not doubt next
time. 

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So Jesus leaves on the question 
that I think maybe to help us if

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you're having doubts, ask 
yourself why am I doubting zero 

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in on it? 
Study it out? 

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Let's all talk about it. 
We can have conversations the 

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more discussion about these 
things, the better. 

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And we can zero in our doubts 
and help improve our face. 

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And next time, we don't doubt 
Thomas after the resurrection. 

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All the disciples were were 
coming together. 

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They're excited. 
They said we've seen in Jesus 

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rose, he's back. 
Tell him. 

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I said I'm not going to believe 
it unless I stick my hands in a 

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side touches hand. 
When he gets his chance. 

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And Jesus says, put your hands 
here. 

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Put your hand here. 
Now, don't doubt. 

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He didn't rebuke him and say 
those things. 

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He didn't say, don't doubt 
before he showed him, he hadn't 

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put his hands in the holes in 
his hand, had to put his hand in

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his side before he said. 
Now don't doubt The reason I say

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that is because we can have 
those feelings of doubt, that is

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totally normal. 
Just let them drive us toward an

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answer. 
It can be easy to be like I've 

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got all these doubts. 
I'm just gonna walk away from 

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it. 
But Jesus said, Put Your Hands 

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here. 
Look. 

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Look into this. 
And then Jesus said, now don't 

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doubt now that you have the 
evidence for what you're looking

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for, it's out there. 
If you need more evidence, let's

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talk ask questions. 
We're family, right? 

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We can we can talk about these 
things. 

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When the main things I want us 
to get out of this for both our 

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feelings of distance from God 
and feelings of doubt in 

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general, is that you should not 
feel bad for these. 

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These are totally normal. 
They're things that we all go 

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through every single person in 
this room. 

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So talk about it, you're not 
crazy, you're not weak 

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spiritually, if you feel these 
things. 

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We can work on these things 
together and get closer to God. 

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Those are my thoughts this 
morning. 

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If you have not begun this walk 
with God at all, you can start 

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today, come hearing the word of 
God. 

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Believing we learned that if we 
believe and follow the process 

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out, we will have salvation. 
You can repent of your past life

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and Acts 2. 
Verse 38 confess that Jesus 

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Christ is the Son of God, 
according to Romans, 10:9 and 10

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to be baptized for the remission
of your sins. 

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According to Mark, 16 and 16. 
We thank you for listening to 

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our podcast, put on by the 
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

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