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Hi. 
This is Dave Olson. 

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I'm the senior leader of Hartman
church located in Ankeny Iowa. 

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I hope the following message, 
challenges and courage has and 

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ultimately changes you. 
Thanks for joining us. 

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Last week, we were talking Ben 
reaches out, to me on Sunday 

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afternoon. 
He says, What's the title of 

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your message? 
Because I'm not one of those 

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guys that prepares Series in 
advance, you know, I know guys 

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that men, they know what they're
going to preach in six months, 

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and they've got all their notes 
laid out a me that's, that's 

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never going to happen with me. 
Pastor Callaway my predecessor. 

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He was the past year, 21 years 
ago and he used to tell me he'd 

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say, Dave, you know, God can 
speak to you just as clearly 

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three weeks in advance, as he 
can Sunday morning and I'd say 

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yes sir, I know that just not 
the way we roll the in Jesus and

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I read and study all the time, 
but I'm just trying to lean in 

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the closer. 
We get to Sunday morning God. 

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What do you have for us and it's
easy. 

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Once you hit a series will then 
you just mind that out till 

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you're done. 
The real struggle is discovering

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the new series. 
That's where I'm at. 

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And I don't want to launch into 
anything a new subject because 

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next week we're going to have 
this conference. 

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And so, last week, we were been 
reached out to me said, what do 

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you, what do you want to call 
your message? 

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Today I said, I don't know 
music. 

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From Israel. 
And so that's what we call it. 

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That's kind of a safe one 
because you can just kind of put

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everything under that umbrella. 
But what I was really meditating

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on the last few days and it was 
interesting. 

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One of the, one of the youth 
came up to me this morning 

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during worship, I think she's 
ran 12, 13 years old, and hold. 

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Eleven eleven years old and she 
came up and she said, pastor. 

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I know I'm young and this may 
not make much sense, but I feel 

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like the Lord was speaking to me
about the picture on the back of

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the screen. 
And she said, I feel like those 

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pics, those, those colors are 
alike. 

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We go into God's purpose, but 
some people fade out and they 

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don't reach God's purpose. 
And I told her, I said, well, 

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you know what, I'm preaching on 
this morning finding your 

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purpose. 
So and she was She was happy and

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so was I, so, yeah, little kids.
Don't get a junior. 

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Holy Ghost. 
Amen. 

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So that's what I want to talk 
about. 

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I kind of want to Spring off of 
something we touched on last 

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week when we were looking last 
week at the life of David, one 

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of the things we were talking 
about is that interesting little

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verse in second Samuel chapter 
5. 

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It says that David, the King 
James version puts it this way. 

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David perceived that the Lord 
had made him King. 

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For the people of Israel. 
Now some people read that think.

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Wow, it just dawned on him 
knots. 

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Not what? 
He's saying it was he was 

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perceiving the purpose of his 
anointing. 

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He had. 
Ascended to a place of great 

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privileged as the king of 
Israel, David had great 

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privilege. 
But what he needed to do was 

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perceive why he had been brought
to that position, and you can 

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be, you can be in the place of 
God's appointing, but not 

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understand why I'm not be able 
to leverage it. 

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And so we need to perceive the 
purpose of God's hand upon our 

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life. 
And so I want to, I want to 

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unpack that a little more this 
morning. 

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So let's pray. 
Father, we thank you this 

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morning for your Word. 
And Lord, I ask that you would 

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speak to us Lord that you would 
provoke us this morning. 

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Lord that God, that this message
would be the launch codes to the

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fire of God and people's hearts.
Lord that you would ignite them.

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You would unleash passion. 
In Jesus name, amen. 

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If you go on our website, we 
have our vision and our values 

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in our church structure, and all
that. 

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And I encourage you to go on 
there sometime. 

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It also has our leadership, you 
know, the different elders. 

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And some of you have said, I 
don't even know who the elders 

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are. 
If you go to the website 

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Heartland Church online.com, 
just go under leadership and you

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can see who the elders are and 
and the way, you know, the role 

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of different, the different 
leadership teams and so forth. 

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But amongst that, you'll see the
The heart of Heartland, the core

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values of Heartland culture and 
then you can click on there. 

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It says, the five values of 
Heartland culture, there's an 

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audio recording. 
I, we taught on this a number of

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years ago when we really kind of
distilled those things down. 

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And so I want to unpack some of 
those this morning, but really 

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focus on number two. 
And I'm just going to run 

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through them very quickly. 
And then I'm going to kind of 

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elaborate on them because 
they're all connected and this 

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is not This is not just, oh, 
that's a nice thing to place on 

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the website. 
Let me just put it this way. 

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That when people talk about core
values often, they're not really

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the core values of the 
organization. 

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That's true of churches. 
That's true of businesses. 

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A lot of times what we're really
talking about. 

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When we talk about values is, 
we're talking about aspirational

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values. 
They're saying these are the 

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things we aspire to these are 
the things we wish were true. 

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But they're not the things that 
are really true. 

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The things that are really true 
are going to be showing up in 

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the culture already. 
If they are core values, they're

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already showing up. 
Now, the reason a lot of times 

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when people talk about values, 
they end up talking about 

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aspirational values rather than 
actual values is because actual 

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values are somewhat elusive. 
There's so much a part of who we

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are and our Fabric and our 
drives in our passions so much. 

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So that at times we will 
minimize the value of those 

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things. 
And we assume that everybody 

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shares those values, it's kind 
of like talking to a fish about 

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water. 
The fish is like globe globe. 

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What's that? 
They and it's there. 

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So immersed in it. 
They have never really thought 

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about what water is and often. 
Our values are such a part of 

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who we are. 
We often don't really think. 

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Think about our values and so 
therefore, what we do is we end 

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up identifying with our 
weaknesses and adopt 

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aspirational values to solve the
weaknesses rather than owning 

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our strengths and allowing that 
to be our passion. 

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Does that make sense? 
So here's the danger of that. 

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If you invest your life on your 
weaknesses, you will never reach

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your potential. 
I would even propose to you that

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there are some weaknesses. 
I'm not talking about moral 

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weaknesses, I'm talking about 
skill sets. 

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For instance let me use myself 
as an example. 

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God will never call me to be a 
mathematician, okay? 

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Ain't going to happen. 
I don't care how much they could

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have sat me down as a little 
five-year-old David and said, 

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David, you can be whatever you 
want to be just dream big and 

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whatever you want to be. 
You can be it and it ain't gonna

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happen because Little David 
stunk At math big David. 

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I just work around it. 
I'm not a math guy. 

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Okay, I was the language guy. 
I was when it came to math. 

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I was a solid D student, my 
whole life. 

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Okay. 
Now, part of that is I didn't 

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listen, I admit, okay. 
But even as a little boy, I 

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remember my salt might my report
cards would come back and I was 

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never until I got to Bible 
school. 

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I didn't let's put it this way. 
I wasn't a, I didn't 

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overperform. 
Okay. 

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But when it would come to 
language, I remember, as a 

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fourth grader they gave we tick,
Minnesota, basic skills, and it 

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came back, and it said that my 
vocabulary was 12th grade, and I

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was fourth grade. 
It's because I was just made to 

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be a language. 
Got my kids are that way, my 

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kids are all writers and and 
they just their language people,

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their moms like that. 
So we pray for my children, what

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comes to math. 
Let's just pray right now, 

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father, because they didn't 
inherit that from either one of 

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their parents. 
Now, I could spend the next 40 

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years, really trying to to study
math but I would propose to you 

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that my design determines my 
purpose that God designed me 

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with certain strengths. 
That match what I'm called to 

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Now, when we first start out in 
life, yeah, we were kind of 

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figuring things out and we need 
to strengthen some of those 

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weaknesses because I need to be 
able to do basic addition. 

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And well, now I got an iPhone. 
I didn't need to do that. 

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But, you know, there are certain
things we need to learn, but in 

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actuality God calls us to shine 
in the air of our strengths. 

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There's the book called 
strength, finders who you are. 

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Anybody ever heard of that book?
And the premise of that is 

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really they're saying what I 
just said that there's a fallacy

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in the western culture. 
That tells people you can be 

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anything you're called, you want
to be and it's not true. 

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We need to build on our 
strengths and not waste our 

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time. 
Always working on our 

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weaknesses. 
And again I'm not talking about 

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moral weaknesses, that's a 
different thing. 

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I'm talking about skill sets. 
And so God has given you certain

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strengths and as you discover 
those strengths, They are an 

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indication of what God has 
called you to do. 

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So, let's look at our Five 
values of Hartnell culture 

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because these are values that 
show up in the culture. 

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It's not aspirational values. 
There are aspirational values. 

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We have adopted at times as a 
church, we said, you know what, 

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this is a aspirational values, 
are things. 

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You say these are things 
necessary for me to learn so 

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that I can accomplish what God 
has on my life. 

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Their weaknesses are not things.
I'm a natural at, but we need to

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go after that. 
There that's true of us as 

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individuals, and it's definitely
true of us. 

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In organizations. 
So when we talk about culture, 

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you know we throw that term 
around what is culture, culture 

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is the sum total of your values 
lived out. 

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Or you could put it conversely 
values core values. 

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When people use that terminology
in reality values, our culture 

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dissected, When we look at what,
what is the flavor? 

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What is the social fabric? 
What, what do you run into when 

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you step into a church? 
Every church has its own 

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culture, every family has its 
own culture. 

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Every business has its own 
culture. 

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And part of what resonates with 
you when you walk into one 

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church and fails to resonate 
with you, in another church is 

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not so much even the doctrine, 
but it's the culture because 

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there's something within you 
that when you walk in there, you

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feel this. 
And it's like, I don't know that

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I can put this into words, but I
just bumped into something that 

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I'm identifying with and then 
you hear them begin to talk and 

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you're saying, they're putting 
into words what my heart is 

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burned for four years. 
And what you're touching on is 

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what we call culture and the 
culture is it's the sum total of

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the values. 
And so God puts certain passions

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or certain values within us that
we're hungry for and that's part

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of the way that we find the 
tribe of people were to run 

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with. 
I think we talked about it last 

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week, it's been some time the 
last few weeks. 

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We talked about that, that whole
idea, again of finding your 

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tribe, the promised land in the 
Old Testament. 

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I meant the promised land was 
given to Israel. 

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One Nation, but many tribes and 
their portion of the promised 

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land was allocated. 
According to their tribal 

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affiliation. 
And I think there's a real good 

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lesson there for you. 
And I that as we begin to 

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understand our tribal 
affiliation, what has God 

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already put within you that he 
wants to give expression to in 

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this hour of human history. 
Part of that is going to connect

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you to other believers. 
And so it's very important that 

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we understand what are our 
values. 

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What is it that burns within us?
It sit there are times where we 

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have desires that are burning 
within us but we've never 

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articulated them and it's good 
for us to become very conscious 

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about what those things are. 
Because those things begin to 

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really bring into Clarity what 
God has called us to do. 

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And so that's kind of behind 
what I'm talking about this 

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morning now. 
Our five core values and, of 

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course, I'm a teacher so they 
all start with P. 

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Okay. 
Number one presence, the 

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presence of God is our primary 
focus. 

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That we are a presence based 
church and we are hungry for the

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presence of God and it's not 
just so that we can consume 

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God's presence. 
There is that element of, hey, I

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enjoy the presence of God, but 
the presence of God is our 

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worship. 
Pastor Kara said at this 

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morning, she said, we are most 
fulfill or God is most glorified

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when we are most satisfied in 
him. 

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God is most glorified when we 
are most satisfied with in with 

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him. 
And so the only place you're 

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really going to discover who you
are is in the presence of God. 

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When you get in God's presence 
in God, you begin to encounter 

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your creator. 
You can do that through the 

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word. 
You can do that through his 

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presence coming upon you. 
You can do that in corporate 

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worship, but in those 
environments, you begin to 

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understand who you are. 
We've talked about this many, 

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many times, but you'll hear this
again and again, because I 

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firmly believe the primary 
Foundation to life to Ministry 

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to emotional and spiritual 
health is two things. 

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Number one, your theology having
a proper view of who God is. 

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And number two, your identity, 
having a proper view of Who You 

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Are. 
When you see God for who he is, 

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only then can you see yourself 
for who you are? 

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You'll never understand yourself
outside of God. the tragedy of 

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the human race, is that we've 
been severed from our creator 

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through sin and we grope around 
trying to find meaning One of 

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the most tragic books in the 
Bible is the Book of 

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Ecclesiastes. 
There's three books that the 

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that King Solomon wrote The Song
of Solomon, there are the song 

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of songs. 
It is the, it is an allegory of 

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a passionate love, between man 
and his God. 

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Between God and Christ in his 
church. 

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It's a beautiful. 
It's, there's also a literal 

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meaning you can teach on 
marriage from it and so forth, 

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but it is a passionate allegory,
a metaphor of man's relationship

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with God. 
There's also Proverbs Solomon 

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wrote much of the Proverbs, and 
it's a book of wisdom, because 

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when you begin to encounter God 
and intimacy, you begin to learn

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things and wisdom, begins to be 
embedded in your life and 

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Solomon became the wisest man 
that ever lived. 

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And he came to that. 
That out of an encounter with 

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God, it was an event. 
Not a process with Solomon. 

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He went to bed, not the wisest 
man in the world and through a 

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dream encountered, God and asked
for wisdom and woke up the 

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wisest man that ever lived. 
But the third book that Solomon 

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wrote was the Book of 
Ecclesiastes and it is a tragic 

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book. 
It's the story of a brilliant 

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man who lost touch with God. 
And so you see this phrase? 

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Again and again throughout the 
book and you'll never understand

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the Book of Ecclesiastes, matter
of fact, if you really read it, 

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you'll scratch your head. 
And wonder, why did God include 

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this in the Bible? 
It is depressing. 

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Anybody ever read? 
That thought it's depressing. 

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Everything is meaningless Under 
the Sun. 

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You work all your life to 
accumulate wealth, so your kids 

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can squander it in two years. 
Everything is I mean that's 

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00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:08,300
depressing stuff. 
But the key phrases under the 

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00:16:08,300 --> 00:16:12,100
sun. 
And it's what philosophical ah 

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Spurs call a closed system. 
In other words, you're trying to

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find meaning in a closed system,
you don't look above the sun. 

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You don't look outside of 
creation. 

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You look around creation and try
to find meaning. 

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And the only way that we're 
going to infuse the mundane of 

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life with meaning, ultimate 
meaning is by looking beyond the

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00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:37,900
sun outside the system. 
Because only their do we find 

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00:16:37,900 --> 00:16:42,600
purpose that is true as a of us 
as individuals and that's true 

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of the grander. 
Themes of humanity, were never 

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00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,700
going to find meaning outside of
God. 

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Everything is meaningless Under 
the Sun. 

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00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,900
You've got to look beyond the 
sun to find meaning. 

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And so, the presence of God is 
our primary purpose and we 

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00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,800
talked about both encounter and 
intimacy. 

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There's both an event and a 
process. 

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I'm a firm believer in 
encounters with God that God can

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00:17:10,099 --> 00:17:14,099
encounter you that the god of 
Heaven wishes to make himself 

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00:17:14,099 --> 00:17:17,400
known. 
It's not just some distant deity

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00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,800
that we study about in a Dusty 
book. 

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00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,099
And then we hope to one day meet
him, God wants to reveal himself

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00:17:24,099 --> 00:17:26,000
to you in an intimate way. 
Here. 

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00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,600
And now God wants to reveal 
himself, through encounters 

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00:17:29,900 --> 00:17:33,500
through visions and dreams. 
And speaking to you, where you 

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00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:37,500
feel his manifest presence where
you hear his voice. 

308
00:17:38,300 --> 00:17:42,000
We're God's God, ministers to 
your spirit, that is the god of 

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00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,100
the Bible, that, that type of 
communication. 

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00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:49,100
And encounter is not something 
relegated to the book to 

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00:17:49,100 --> 00:17:53,300
history. 
It's a present-day possibility 

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00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:56,900
for you now. 
And the way you access those 

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00:17:56,900 --> 00:17:59,500
encounters is through the key of
hunger. 

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00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,800
He who hungers and thirsts shall
be filled God is too good, a 

315
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:13,300
steward to invest that level of 
revelation of himself to those 

316
00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:18,400
who are not hungry for it. 
And so if you hunger and thirst 

317
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,800
if you seek Him you shall find 
him and God longs to reveal 

318
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,200
himself through encounter. 
But there's also this thing of 

319
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,600
intimacy with God and that is a 
lot that is a lifelong process 

320
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,800
that we develop with God. 
And that needs to be the 

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00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,200
foundation of everything that 
is, that is the foundation stone

322
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,700
of the Christian Life. 
Jesus came to reconcile, you to 

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00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:48,800
the father, not so that you can 
access the father someday when 

324
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,600
you're dead. 
But so that you can access some 

325
00:18:51,700 --> 00:18:55,200
today that you can have a 
personal relationship with him 

326
00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,200
now. 
And so the presence of God is 

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00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,700
our primary Pursuit out of those
values comes practice. 

328
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,400
If we really believe something 
it will determine our Behavior. 

329
00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:11,900
So the reason we worship for an 
extended amount of time is not 

330
00:19:11,900 --> 00:19:16,400
because we're really into music,
you know, I'm a cheapskate I 

331
00:19:16,408 --> 00:19:20,200
don't by Muse, I hardly have any
music on my phone have a lot of 

332
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:25,000
books but very little music. 
It's not, I'm not, I'm not a 

333
00:19:25,008 --> 00:19:28,600
person that loves music so much 
that now, my little brother, he 

334
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,400
has, I used to let him buy the 
music and then I would borrow 

335
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,400
his CDs, you know. 
Cuz I'm a cheapskate and I'd let

336
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,900
him do that now, everything's 
digitized. 

337
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:42,300
It's not that were into music. 
It's because we want his 

338
00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:47,800
presence and we realize that God
inhabits the Praises of his 

339
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:52,500
people worship is a means to an 
end and not a, not an end in 

340
00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:56,400
itself. 
And so the presence of God is 

341
00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:01,600
our primary Pursuit, the second 
value core value that we have is

342
00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:03,700
purpose. 
So let me just run through these

343
00:20:03,700 --> 00:20:07,900
presents purpose, passion, power
and principle. 

344
00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:10,500
I want to unpack. 
That presence is encounter an 

345
00:20:10,500 --> 00:20:14,000
intimacy. 
Purpose is both an identity and 

346
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,700
intentionality, we've got to 
discover who we are so that we 

347
00:20:17,700 --> 00:20:21,400
can live an intentional life. 
Number three is Passion or 

348
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,000
wholeheartedness we just call it
passion It starts with the p. 

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00:20:25,100 --> 00:20:26,900
You could say it's 
wholeheartedness but it just 

350
00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:31,200
doesn't sound as good. 
And passion is has to do with 

351
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:37,000
sacrifice and enjoyment. 
And both of those have to be a 

352
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,800
reality in our life. 
Passion is not just about 

353
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,900
enjoying him. 
I'm passionate about that. 

354
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:47,400
When we say that, we mean we 
enjoy that thing. 

355
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,800
But if you're really passionate 
about something, you will be 

356
00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,300
willing to sacrifice to cease 
that thing. 

357
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:57,900
And there's there's a 
sacrificial element to the 

358
00:20:57,900 --> 00:21:01,100
Christian Life that perhaps 
we'll get into another time when

359
00:21:01,100 --> 00:21:04,900
we unpack more of these values. 
Number four is power and that's 

360
00:21:04,900 --> 00:21:07,200
for both Effectiveness and 
empowerment. 

361
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,500
There's an internal power for 
living the Christian Life and 

362
00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:15,500
Overcoming the our prior life. 
There's an empowerment but also 

363
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:19,100
there's an external power for 
Effectiveness so that we can 

364
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:23,400
give it away and both of those 
are valid and both of those need

365
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,000
to be part of the Christian 
Life. 

366
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,900
There are movements that rent 
that really talk about power as 

367
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,800
power to overcome sin. 
There's others that talk about 

368
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,300
power for Ministry, which one's 
right? 

369
00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:39,500
Uh-huh. 
We need both and then number 

370
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:44,000
four principle. 
We want to base everything in 

371
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,800
the word of God. 
It's a dangerous thing to talk 

372
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:53,600
about spiritual encounters and 
spiritual phenomena, without 

373
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,800
rooting it in the book, we need 
to. 

374
00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:01,000
We need to be people of the book
that you put it this way that 

375
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:06,800
the word of God, is the language
of the spirit, the more, you 

376
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:12,000
know, the word, the more God can
speak to you if you don't build 

377
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,500
your vocabulary, then the level 
of constant level of 

378
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:21,100
communication you'll have with 
God is Goochie Goochie goo You 

379
00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:24,700
can talk baby talk with God, but
if you really want to grow in 

380
00:22:24,700 --> 00:22:28,800
your relationship with God, you 
need to know the language of the

381
00:22:28,808 --> 00:22:31,500
book. 
The book is the vocabulary of 

382
00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:36,400
the spirit and the more, you 
know, of God's word, the more 

383
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,900
you're going to know of his ways
and when you understand God's 

384
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,500
ways, you can cooperate with 
him. 

385
00:22:42,700 --> 00:22:46,900
And if you don't know, God's 
ways you can experience God. 

386
00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:50,800
But you'll stand wondering what 
see what he's about to do. 

387
00:22:51,300 --> 00:22:54,000
And God wants to bring us into 
his ways. 

388
00:22:54,300 --> 00:22:56,300
He wants us to cooperate with 
him. 

389
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,300
Christianity is not just 
something that happens to us. 

390
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,300
It's something we cooperate with
we partner with heaven. 

391
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,500
And so we need to be people of 
the book, we need to learn. 

392
00:23:09,300 --> 00:23:10,700
We need to learn the word of 
God. 

393
00:23:10,700 --> 00:23:14,200
And really there's, there's two 
ways that we come into. 

394
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,000
The the principal is a God's 
word. 

395
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,900
There is revelation and there's 
academic study. 

396
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,600
Okay. 
Revelation is a valid principle 

397
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,200
in the Bible. 
The Apostle Paul prayed this 

398
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,400
prayer in Ephesians chapter 1. 
He prayed that we would have a 

399
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,100
spirit of wisdom and Revelation 
in the knowledge of him. 

400
00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:40,600
What's the difference between 
Revelation and study? 

401
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:46,300
Revelation is God, breaks in and
gives you Sudden awareness, 

402
00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:50,000
sudden insight to something you 
didn't previously, understand, 

403
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,400
it's an event, God shows you 
something and then you back fill

404
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:58,400
that with the word, there are 
times that the Lord has spoken 

405
00:23:58,400 --> 00:23:59,600
to me. 
And I've told the Lord, I said 

406
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,300
God, I know that was you but I 
can't preach on that until you 

407
00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:06,400
give me word to back that up. 
I'm not going to share that with

408
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,000
anybody else. 
Unless you show me this in your 

409
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,300
word. 
And so I would go on a journey 

410
00:24:11,300 --> 00:24:14,100
of God, teaching me about the 
thing, he spoke to me about, 

411
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,900
that's revelation. 
Ation and that's not isolated by

412
00:24:17,900 --> 00:24:20,700
any means to people who preach 
the word. 

413
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:25,100
God Longs, for all of us to come
into a spirit of wisdom and 

414
00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:27,100
Revelation. 
That is our blood bought 

415
00:24:27,100 --> 00:24:30,300
Heritage. 
The spirit of God is a spirit of

416
00:24:30,300 --> 00:24:33,600
wisdom and Revelation. 
And he wants, Jesus said, I'm 

417
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,800
going to send the spirit one 
like unto myself, who will lead 

418
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,200
you into all truth? 
And the two primary ways, the 

419
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,200
spirit of God does that is 
through Revelation. 

420
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,800
He It's with the truth and then 
unpacks it, or through study. 

421
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,200
You begin to get into the word 
and you study yourself into 

422
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,700
conclusions. 
Revelation, you start with a 

423
00:24:54,700 --> 00:24:59,000
conclusion and you backfill it 
study, you study yourself into 

424
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,300
conclusions through interacting,
with the word, and God will 

425
00:25:02,300 --> 00:25:05,500
never isolate you to one or the 
other. 

426
00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:10,500
Both are disciplines that we 
need to practice. 

427
00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:14,600
There's, we need to position our
self for revelation. 

428
00:25:15,900 --> 00:25:20,500
There's things that we can do. 
So, that God will reveal himself

429
00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:24,700
to us. 
Which is a whole nother Sunday. 

430
00:25:28,100 --> 00:25:31,300
But let me just throw out a 
couple little nuggets here. 

431
00:25:31,300 --> 00:25:35,200
Okay? 
One of the keys to revelation. 

432
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:41,200
Is hunger. 
If you are not hungry for truth.

433
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,700
It will be a rare thing for God 
to give it to you. 

434
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:55,500
Because it's too valuable. 
God longs to share his heart, 

435
00:25:55,900 --> 00:25:59,700
but he there has to be an 
internal value system that will 

436
00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:06,000
treasure those things. 
God longs to reveal himself, but

437
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,200
you have to have a value system 
so that you can Steward at once,

438
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,000
he gives it to you. 
So hunger is a key, they who 

439
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,600
hunger and thirst shall be 
filled, you will seek me. 

440
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,500
And you will find me when you 
seek for me with all of your 

441
00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:22,400
heart. 
He's talking about a hungry 

442
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:28,300
pursuit of God. 
Number 2 purity of heart, there 

443
00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:31,800
are people that are hungry for 
God, but for the wrong reasons. 

444
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:38,800
you have to have the right 
motives James says if any man 

445
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,000
lacks wisdom let him ask and God
will give them if you have any 

446
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,400
will upbraideth not so God what 
longs to give us that if we ask 

447
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,300
but then it says but if you ask 
with wrong motives don't expect 

448
00:26:49,300 --> 00:26:53,400
to receive So that we have to 
have a purity of heart. 

449
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,000
There has to be the reason we're
crying out for wisdom. 

450
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:01,300
Has to be the right reason. 
And if our desire is so that we 

451
00:27:01,300 --> 00:27:04,000
can look smart, God will 
withhold it while he purifies 

452
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,500
her heart, because he can't give
it to us for the wrong reasons. 

453
00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:10,900
God's not going to endorse wrong
motives. 

454
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,900
Purity of heart is a huge issue.
John chapter 7. 

455
00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:18,000
Jesus was asked by the teachers 
of the law. 

456
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,900
Where did you get such wisdom? 
And his answer was so 

457
00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:23,500
interesting. 
He said I came not to please 

458
00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:27,300
myself but the one who sent me 
and I'm sure when he they said 

459
00:27:27,300 --> 00:27:29,900
when he said that to them, 
they're thinking what Jesus, 

460
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:34,500
we're not interested in your 
motives for learning, we want to

461
00:27:34,508 --> 00:27:40,500
know your source and Jesus was 
saying you don't understand my 

462
00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:43,300
source. 
The Secret of my source is my 

463
00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:48,900
motives because I came to seek. 
I came to glorify the ones who 

464
00:27:48,900 --> 00:27:53,300
the one who sent me James rides 
in on that same principle and 

465
00:27:53,300 --> 00:27:56,700
puts it this way. 
The wisdom that comes from 

466
00:27:56,700 --> 00:28:05,400
Heaven is first of all, pure 
Purity in the New Testament is 

467
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,000
not so much. 
It's not so much talking about. 

468
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,100
We use that term today and the 
American Church usually when 

469
00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:13,900
someone's talking about purity, 
they're talking about sexual or 

470
00:28:13,900 --> 00:28:18,300
moral purity, The New Testament 
is more talking about the 

471
00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:20,600
motives of our heart. 
Do I want this? 

472
00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:27,600
So I can I can Push forward my 
own agenda. 

473
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,300
And God will withhold that from 
us until we have purified our 

474
00:28:32,300 --> 00:28:36,400
heart. 
And so these things are very, 

475
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,800
very important. 
And these are the foundations of

476
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,000
Heartland culture, but at the, I
believe they're the foundations 

477
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:48,100
of a healthy Christian Life. and
so, when we talk about presence,

478
00:28:48,500 --> 00:28:55,200
purpose, Pow presence, purpose, 
passion power and principle. 

479
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,900
Each one of these progressively,
build on one another. 

480
00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:00,800
The one I want to talk about 
this morning. 

481
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,000
Oh my goodness. 
It's late. 

482
00:29:02,100 --> 00:29:06,600
I want to talk about purpose 
presents when we discover who 

483
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:08,800
God is when we have encounters 
with him. 

484
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,400
The one thing that's going to 
happen is God's going to begin 

485
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:17,000
to edit your view of him. 
And we need that. 

486
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:22,500
I was just talking to a group 
upstairs at the newcomers at 

487
00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:24,800
nine. 
And we were talking about some 

488
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,000
of our backgrounds and and they 
were saying that they had come 

489
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,900
from a legalistic church. 
And and a matter of fact, I was 

490
00:29:30,900 --> 00:29:33,400
talking to two different groups 
that were saying that and we're 

491
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,900
talking about how, when you feel
like God's condemning you, you 

492
00:29:36,900 --> 00:29:39,600
don't have a desire to be 
intimate with him. 

493
00:29:39,900 --> 00:29:44,300
It's like snuggling up to a 
porcupine who wants to do that. 

494
00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:47,200
You don't want to cuddle us 
porcupine and if God's attitude 

495
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,700
towards you is disappointment, 
if God's always looking at you 

496
00:29:50,700 --> 00:29:54,100
and he's mildly irritated. 
If the father's up there on 

497
00:29:54,300 --> 00:29:57,500
clicking his fingers on the 
throne thinking, oh man, Jesus 

498
00:29:57,500 --> 00:29:59,700
went and bought him and now I'm 
stuck with them. 

499
00:30:01,900 --> 00:30:05,900
You know, Jesus bought Humanity 
by his death and tave was part 

500
00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:08,600
of the package deal. 
If that's really how you 

501
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:11,800
perceive God's heart towards 
you, you are not going to be 

502
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,800
drawn into his presence. 
Whether you're consciously aware

503
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,100
of it or not, you're going to 
avoid God's presence. 

504
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,400
And so what we need is to be 
renewed in our minds to see God 

505
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,200
for who he is. 
And I'm telling you the 

506
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:29,200
Christian Life is a lifelong 
process of God, revealing his 

507
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:33,400
nature to us, his great. 
Faithfulness to us so that we 

508
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,900
can place our faith in his 
faithfulness. 

509
00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:40,100
Faith is not something that we 
conjure up. 

510
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,700
It's not something that we 
white-knuckle and try to 

511
00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:45,400
produce. 
It comes out of a revelation of 

512
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,000
who he really is. 
And so, we need to ask him, God,

513
00:30:49,100 --> 00:30:52,900
show me you for who you are. 
Lord, renew my mind. 

514
00:30:52,900 --> 00:30:55,900
I need to see you. 
If we're who you really are, 

515
00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:58,600
because to know him is to love 
him. 

516
00:30:59,300 --> 00:31:04,000
When you see him for who he is, 
you I can't but help Surrender 

517
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,500
Your Life to him. 
And the fact that every one of 

518
00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:12,400
us in this room have struggled 
at times with surrender, when 

519
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:17,600
God gives us a new, some new 
thing, he's dealing with us on 

520
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,500
and and we're hesitant to 
surrender that area. 

521
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:26,900
That lack of surrender is always
rooted in a false perception of 

522
00:31:26,900 --> 00:31:31,800
who he is. 
And so, any time we're 

523
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,300
struggling, what we need to say 
is God Lord, I'm asking you to 

524
00:31:35,300 --> 00:31:40,000
renew my mind and give me a 
right perspective on who you are

525
00:31:40,900 --> 00:31:44,100
because when we see him for who 
he is and I would propose you 

526
00:31:44,100 --> 00:31:47,000
just real quick here. 
Three elements of God's 

527
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:51,300
character that number one. 
God is all-wise. 

528
00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:56,600
God knows what's best for you. 
And so, when we start to waive 

529
00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,100
her own man, Lord, I don't know 
if I surrender to you, I don't 

530
00:31:59,100 --> 00:32:00,400
know if you really know what's 
best. 

531
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:06,900
What That's one of the things, 
the enemy attacks but God is all

532
00:32:06,900 --> 00:32:08,600
wise, he knows what's best for 
you. 

533
00:32:08,700 --> 00:32:11,700
Number two, he's all-powerful, 
he's able to pull it off. 

534
00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:15,600
God is able to move Heaven and 
Earth to get you where you need 

535
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,900
to go. 
But number three, God is all 

536
00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:22,800
loving God. 
Not only knows what's best has 

537
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:25,800
the power to pull it off. 
God wants, what's best for you? 

538
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,300
That is his utmost, desire. 
Matter of fact, God knows what's

539
00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:32,400
best for you. 
God knows what you really want 

540
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,600
even when you don't. 
I remember coming to that 

541
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,700
realization as a young believer 
and so I would, when I would 

542
00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:42,100
struggle, I'd feel like the Lord
was calling me to do something. 

543
00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:48,100
I'd say God Lord help me because
I'm siding with you against me 

544
00:32:48,100 --> 00:32:51,300
because I know, you know what, I
want more than I do. 

545
00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:55,500
I think I want that but you've 
already told me it's not, your 

546
00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:58,800
will either in your word or 
you've revealed that to me and 

547
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,800
Lord, I must be deceived in some
area because I think I want that

548
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,000
and let me just tell you, I 
proved it It a number of times 

549
00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:09,800
that God didn't know what I 
really wanted and when I thought

550
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,300
I wanted that thing and I got it
against God's will, I didn't 

551
00:33:12,300 --> 00:33:13,700
want that thing. 
Then I'm crying out. 

552
00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:16,800
God delivery of this thing. 
I thought I wanted and I don't 

553
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:25,500
want So God knows what you want.
God knows your, that's why he 

554
00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:28,900
says that he can give you the 
desires of your heart. 

555
00:33:29,900 --> 00:33:33,800
Matter of fact, I would propose 
to you the desires. 

556
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:38,200
The real desires of your heart, 
are an indication of your 

557
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:46,200
calling. 
We haven't preached on this in 

558
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,500
quite a while, but let me got a 
few minutes, okay. 

559
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,500
You could put it this way. 
Temptation is Destiny wrapped in

560
00:33:55,500 --> 00:34:01,200
a shortcut. 
We said again, desk temptation 

561
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,500
is Destiny wrapped in a 
shortcut. 

562
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:06,100
You look at what God Said or 
what the enemy, rather said to 

563
00:34:06,100 --> 00:34:12,100
Adam and Eve, if you eat of this
fruit, you shall be like God, 

564
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,600
you know, why that was tempting 
because what he was really doing

565
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,600
is speaking to their ultimate 
destiny. 

566
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,699
That wasn't the Forbidden 
element of the fruit. 

567
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,699
It was skipping the process to 
get there. 

568
00:34:28,699 --> 00:34:34,100
That was the Forbidden element. 
We were created in God's image. 

569
00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:37,100
We marred that image through 
sins. 

570
00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:43,300
So Jesus, Came and took on the 
took on the form of a man made 

571
00:34:43,300 --> 00:34:47,800
in God's image and he completed 
that image by fulfilling every 

572
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:53,100
purpose that God had for men. 
He, he fulfilled the purpose of 

573
00:34:53,100 --> 00:34:56,800
God for man, and now the 
scripture says be conformed to 

574
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,800
the image of Christ. 
Who would also says, is the perf

575
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:04,300
is the perfect representation of
the godhead in bodily form. 

576
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:10,000
You are called to be like God 
That is your calling you are 

577
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,800
called to be transformed into 
his image that the Forbidden 

578
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,800
element of that was trying to 
get it in a short cut. 

579
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:21,400
Look at it with Jesus when when 
Jesus was being enticed by the 

580
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:25,600
enemy. 
He said to the devil, the 

581
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:30,000
serpent said to Jesus, if you 
worship me I will give you all 

582
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:35,200
the kingdoms of this world. 
What does Jesus have today? 

583
00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:42,300
He's in the process of bringing 
everything under his feet and 

584
00:35:42,300 --> 00:35:45,200
every Kingdom of this world 
should be laid at his feet. 

585
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,900
What the enemy was doing was 
speaking to his Destiny but he 

586
00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:52,200
was offering it to him in a 
shortcut. 

587
00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:56,400
And the reason that's dangerous 
is if you Seize Your Destiny 

588
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,800
through a shortcut, you will not
be the person qualified to 

589
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:04,100
Stewart. 
It If you are, there's this 

590
00:36:04,100 --> 00:36:08,600
interesting verse in and 
Ephesians chapter 2 that God has

591
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:12,000
prepared Works in advance so 
that you can walk in them. 

592
00:36:12,700 --> 00:36:17,400
In other words, there's already 
there's already a job waiting 

593
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,800
for you to do it in the future. 
There's a god-shaped hole in 

594
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,600
human history or a u shaped hole
rather in human history. 

595
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,500
Waiting for you to arrive and 
the tragedy is that. 

596
00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:31,200
Sometimes we arrived at our 
future unqualified to be the 

597
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:36,800
person to fulfill I feel that 
because we skip the process, And

598
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,400
so, it's through the process of 
God, dealing with us, that he 

599
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,200
brings out who were called to 
be, so that we can fulfill the 

600
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,200
purposes of God. 
And the greatest way for you to 

601
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:51,900
glorify God is to manifest, the 
measure of who he is, that you 

602
00:36:51,900 --> 00:36:55,200
are called to manifest through 
your maturity. 

603
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:00,700
When scripture says that all 
have sinned and fallen short of 

604
00:37:00,700 --> 00:37:05,700
the glory of God, what it's 
talking about is you fallen 

605
00:37:05,700 --> 00:37:11,800
short of the manifestation that 
you are to carry of who he is to

606
00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:13,400
the human race into human 
history. 

607
00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:16,500
Jonathan Edwards, anybody ever 
heard of him? 

608
00:37:16,700 --> 00:37:20,600
He was the first president of 
Princeton seminarian was the 

609
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,300
leader arguably the primary 
leader of the first Great. 

610
00:37:23,300 --> 00:37:25,900
Awakening was a great 
philosopher as well as a great 

611
00:37:25,900 --> 00:37:31,100
deal Theologian. 
He said this he said Grace is 

612
00:37:31,100 --> 00:37:37,600
Glory begun. 
Glory is Grace, consummated or 

613
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:42,200
completed? 
In other words, God gives us 

614
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:46,600
Grace to begin on this journey. 
He deposits the glory within us,

615
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,200
but as we grow we're to glorify 
him and being and falling short 

616
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,800
of the glory is falling short of
the manifestation that were to 

617
00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,500
bring to the human race. 
There is an element of God's 

618
00:37:58,500 --> 00:38:02,600
nature and character and truth 
that he wants to bring through 

619
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,500
your life. 
But we've got to cooperate with 

620
00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:09,500
that process. 
And what the enemy will do is he

621
00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:14,100
will entice us to get into 
things that are actually God's 

622
00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:19,300
will, but prematurely, so, When 
somebody, when a single 

623
00:38:19,300 --> 00:38:23,500
individual is is tempted with 
sexual immorality, it's not 

624
00:38:23,500 --> 00:38:27,400
because God has said, it's never
my will for you to be in have a 

625
00:38:27,408 --> 00:38:30,600
sexual relationship. 
It's just it's premature. 

626
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,800
God wants you to have it within 
the context in which he 

627
00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:37,600
appointed it to you and your 
single years are in actuality 

628
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:40,700
That season of your life that 
are to prepare you to be a 

629
00:38:40,700 --> 00:38:43,000
married individual and handle 
this. 

630
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:49,000
Awesome powerful and dangerous. 
Thing called sexual intimacy. 

631
00:38:50,700 --> 00:38:53,600
And so, as we go through our 
single years, it's going to 

632
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,100
Purdue. 
It's going to prepare us for 

633
00:38:56,100 --> 00:39:00,100
that relationship and marriage. 
But if you just jump to that, 

634
00:39:00,300 --> 00:39:04,700
this, this powerful potent thing
called sexual intimacy will 

635
00:39:04,700 --> 00:39:09,900
actually destroy you It's been 
said that it's like fire. 

636
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:13,000
You keep it. 
There's a context for that fire 

637
00:39:13,500 --> 00:39:16,400
the fireplace and it will keep 
you warm. 

638
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:22,800
It's a nice thing. 
But And there's a context for 

639
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:26,800
sexual intimacy, it's called 
marriage between two very 

640
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,400
committed, individuals who are 
in it till death, do us part. 

641
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,200
And when it's there, it's a 
beautiful thing and when it gets

642
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:39,000
outside of that, it's dangerous.
And so it's part of God's design

643
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,000
and so when the enemy entices 
people, it's that he entices 

644
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,900
them into getting there through 
a shortcut. 

645
00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:51,600
And so, we need to understand 
that when God calls us to 

646
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:55,500
greater things, the enemy will 
come along and try to get you to

647
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,900
enter into what God has called 
you to through shortcuts. 

648
00:40:00,100 --> 00:40:02,200
And it will disqualify you from 
Stewart. 

649
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:05,400
And you will be forced at best 
to come down to a lower level, 

650
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:08,100
and not be able to Stuart at the
level that God had for you. 

651
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:16,100
So God has a purpose for our 
life and that purpose is 

652
00:40:16,100 --> 00:40:19,300
discovered in his presence. 
When we see God for who he is 

653
00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:21,900
the set, the the secondary 
thing. 

654
00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:23,400
We're going to begin to see him 
for who he is. 

655
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:26,400
It's going to cause a surrender 
in our heart because when we see

656
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:29,600
him for who he is, we want to 
give our life to him, we would 

657
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:33,800
be insane not to surrender our 
life to a God who knows what's 

658
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,600
best wants? 
What's best and is able to pull 

659
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,800
it off. 
The second thing we begin to see

660
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,300
is we begin to see ourselves 
accurately, and this is where 

661
00:40:44,300 --> 00:40:49,400
purpose comes in. 
When we are severed from God, 

662
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:53,900
when we try to Define herself 
separate from God, we will come 

663
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:56,800
up short, we will sell ourselves
short. 

664
00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:02,700
This is one of the reasons why 
inner healing Freedom Ministries

665
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:06,900
dealing with our past is so 
crucial because what the enemy 

666
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:11,600
is done for your entire life, he
has strategize to wound you and 

667
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:15,600
cause you to reject yourself. 
C.s. 

668
00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:19,400
Lewis talked about us walking 
alongside ourselves and what he 

669
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,500
was talking about is that we 
stand on the outside. 

670
00:41:22,500 --> 00:41:26,400
We can't live from the center. 
We can't be who we are and live 

671
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,900
life with passion. 
We stand on the outside and 

672
00:41:28,900 --> 00:41:32,300
we're our own worst critic, 
we're critiquing everything we 

673
00:41:32,300 --> 00:41:35,000
do. 
And when we do that, that 

674
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:40,000
self-rejection will keep us from
entering into our destiny, you 

675
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,200
can't become who you're called 
to be until you own, who you're 

676
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,200
called to be. 
And there's two portions that 

677
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:51,100
there's their self-rejection but
there's also ignorance that the 

678
00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:54,500
enemy has created. 
A definition of who we are. 

679
00:41:54,500 --> 00:41:59,400
That God wants to unravel. 
If there's two prayers that you 

680
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:02,900
pray, you need to pray. 
God show me you for who you 

681
00:42:02,900 --> 00:42:06,400
really are and secondly Lord 
show me who me for who I really 

682
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:09,300
am. 
Because that's the foundation of

683
00:42:09,300 --> 00:42:13,900
everything else. 
And when you see who God is, all

684
00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:17,000
of a sudden, purpose is ignited 
in your life. 

685
00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:20,300
You begin to get in touch with 
what you were made for. 

686
00:42:21,700 --> 00:42:26,200
And when you adopt another 
Persona out of self-rejection, 

687
00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:30,600
when you try to be something 
you're not called to be, or you 

688
00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:34,500
try to prematurely step into 
your destiny without going 

689
00:42:34,500 --> 00:42:37,000
through the process when that 
happens. 

690
00:42:37,700 --> 00:42:40,200
You end up forfeiting what God 
has for your life. 

691
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:42,200
You can't be. 
Who you're called to be. 

692
00:42:43,700 --> 00:42:47,300
At best, you will be a 
frustrated individual. 

693
00:42:48,300 --> 00:42:51,000
You'll have these raging 
desires, but you don't know how 

694
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:55,100
to fulfill it. 
And so we need God to Define who

695
00:42:55,100 --> 00:42:59,200
we are and that's where we 
discover our purpose years ago. 

696
00:42:59,900 --> 00:43:03,600
I was watching Antiques. 
Roadshow anybody watch that? 

697
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:07,600
It isn't that thing still on? 
I was watching the Antiques 

698
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:11,800
Roadshow and and this guy comes 
on and you know how they have 

699
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:13,600
the appraiser. 
He's sitting there in his chair 

700
00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:16,800
and also not pants to this guy 
and he has his sword sitting on 

701
00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:19,300
this little stand. 
And I said, tell me about your 

702
00:43:19,300 --> 00:43:20,600
sword. 
He said well when I was a little

703
00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:25,000
kid, our neighbor had it hanging
In his garage and he gave it to 

704
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,200
us. 
He said, man, we used to play, 

705
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,800
you know, pirates with it and he
said what we used to do a lot 

706
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,900
with it. 
As cut watermelons, we'd put 

707
00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:34,500
them on their walks, you know, 
cut the Watermelons and he said,

708
00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:35,900
it's been in our family for 
years. 

709
00:43:35,900 --> 00:43:38,400
Matter of fact, it's been 
hanging in the garage and I was 

710
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:41,700
going to sell it and in a 
rummage sale, a garage sale but 

711
00:43:41,700 --> 00:43:43,100
then I heard you guys are coming
to town. 

712
00:43:43,100 --> 00:43:46,200
I thought, hey, I might as well 
have them look at it and the 

713
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:49,700
appraiser just listen to them, 
talk about this sword and then 

714
00:43:49,700 --> 00:43:52,700
when he was done the appraiser, 
handed him a pair of gloves, he 

715
00:43:52,700 --> 00:43:56,800
said Touch the blade with your 
bare hands because the oil in 

716
00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:00,700
your skin, could cause it to 
deteriorate and that was the 

717
00:44:00,700 --> 00:44:02,600
first clue. 
The guy thought I probably 

718
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:03,900
shouldn't be cutting 
watermelons. 

719
00:44:04,900 --> 00:44:07,600
Then the appraiser puts on his 
own little rubber gloves, and he

720
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:10,200
picks it up. 
And he begins to describe what 

721
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,600
this sword really is. 
He said, this is a civil war-era

722
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:19,000
sword. 
It's a Confederate officer. 

723
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:22,400
Sort said, matter of fact this 
would have never seen action 

724
00:44:22,700 --> 00:44:26,500
because this is a highly prized 
parade sort notice all the 

725
00:44:26,500 --> 00:44:29,500
filigree on here and all the 
carvings he said this was a 

726
00:44:29,508 --> 00:44:32,100
parade sword. 
That would have been worn on the

727
00:44:32,100 --> 00:44:35,600
the side of a very high ranking.
Military officer. 

728
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,900
This is a very valuable sword. 
He said, in fact, I figure it's 

729
00:44:38,900 --> 00:44:41,800
probably worth today about 20 
thousand dollars. 

730
00:44:42,300 --> 00:44:46,300
Now this was about 25 years ago,
I don't know what it's worth 

731
00:44:46,300 --> 00:44:50,000
today. 
But you could see the look on 

732
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,600
this guy's face. 
He's like, oh my goodness, I've 

733
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:56,200
been kind of watermelons. 
He about sold it in a garage 

734
00:44:56,200 --> 00:45:00,600
sale and as I was watching that 
the Lord spoke to me, And he 

735
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,100
said, that's how my children 
operate. 

736
00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:07,300
Because we don't realize our 
value. 

737
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,900
We don't realize our purpose. 
We look at our design. 

738
00:45:10,900 --> 00:45:13,600
Well, you know, I got a blade. 
I guess I could cut watermelons.

739
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:20,700
Never realizing the lofty 
purpose for which he made us. 

740
00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:26,800
And when we don't realize why 
we're made, we end up using our 

741
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:32,900
self for things. 
So beneath us, Parade. 

742
00:45:32,900 --> 00:45:34,800
Swords become watermelon 
cutters. 

743
00:45:38,100 --> 00:45:40,700
And I love that that picture of 
the appraiser. 

744
00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:42,500
I love that word. 
Think about that. 

745
00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:49,300
God is our appraiser. 
He knows our true value and he 

746
00:45:49,300 --> 00:45:54,400
is the one who defines us. 
And that watermelon cutter that 

747
00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:58,400
was carried in in the mind of 
that guy was probably worth 20 

748
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,200
bucks. 
It was carried out as a valuable

749
00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:05,800
parade sword because the 
appraiser had placed new value 

750
00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:09,300
upon it. 
And we need to be a people who 

751
00:46:09,300 --> 00:46:13,900
get into God's presence, not 
just to encounter him but 

752
00:46:13,900 --> 00:46:17,600
because we want to glorify him. 
We've got to discover who we are

753
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:22,200
in his presence and when we 
discover who he is and who we 

754
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:26,700
are in relationship with him, it
will ignite purpose which will 

755
00:46:26,700 --> 00:46:32,100
demand will create passion in 
your life when you really 

756
00:46:32,100 --> 00:46:35,100
understand your purpose. 
There's a passion ignited and 

757
00:46:35,100 --> 00:46:36,900
you say, I'm willing to 
sacrifice to get there. 

758
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:38,900
R. 
I realized there's a sense of 

759
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:42,600
Destiny on my life that I was 
created for such a time as this 

760
00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:47,000
in human history and then power 
is not optional suddenly we're 

761
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:50,400
saying man I've got to have 
power on my life, not fulfilling

762
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:54,200
my destiny is not an option, 
there's this heart cry. 

763
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:57,500
There's a hunger that begins to 
erupt within us to get in his 

764
00:46:57,500 --> 00:46:59,800
word. 
Lord, I want to partner with 

765
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:01,500
Heaven. 
I've got to understand what 

766
00:47:01,500 --> 00:47:08,200
you're doing. so, I'm telling 
you that this Foundation Of 

767
00:47:08,300 --> 00:47:10,800
God's presence and seeing him 
for who he is. 

768
00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:15,000
And then understanding our 
purpose understanding who we 

769
00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,300
really are. 
Why did God make you the way he 

770
00:47:17,300 --> 00:47:20,600
made you? 
There are things about you that 

771
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:24,700
are very, very unique. 
That God wants to unleash. 

772
00:47:25,300 --> 00:47:29,000
But some of you still struggle 
with self-rejection, some of you

773
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:31,400
minimize your strength because 
they come. 

774
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,000
So naturally to you, you don't 
realize what a treasure they 

775
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,800
are, and God wants to begin to 
speak over you. 

776
00:47:38,700 --> 00:47:40,600
You need to be asking the Lord 
Lord. 

777
00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:44,800
Who do you say that I am? 
Remember how Jesus said that to 

778
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:48,600
Peter, that is the conversation 
you need to have with God. 

779
00:47:49,100 --> 00:47:51,800
It's the most important question
you'll ever answer. 

780
00:47:52,300 --> 00:47:53,900
God. 
God says to you, who do you say 

781
00:47:53,900 --> 00:47:55,800
that? 
I am because your Eternal 

782
00:47:55,800 --> 00:47:59,200
Destiny hinges on your answer to
that question. 

783
00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:05,300
The fruitfulness of your life 
hinges on your answer to that 

784
00:48:05,300 --> 00:48:09,000
question. 
But it's also the most important

785
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,300
question you'll ever ask and you
get in God's face and say, God 

786
00:48:12,300 --> 00:48:15,700
and who do you say that? 
I Am Lord, I need you to Define 

787
00:48:15,700 --> 00:48:19,700
me and the Lord wants to speak 
over you and begin to tell you 

788
00:48:19,700 --> 00:48:22,700
who you really are. 
Because when you discover who 

789
00:48:22,700 --> 00:48:28,300
you really are, it will change 
how you live, much of the sin 

790
00:48:28,300 --> 00:48:31,400
problem. 
In many Believers lives is 

791
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:34,800
because they're bored with life.
They don't realize who they 

792
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:36,800
really are, and so they're 
easily and tight. 

793
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:42,500
With these minor. 
These side is distractions. 

794
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:46,700
These piddly little things, but 
when you see God for who he 

795
00:48:46,700 --> 00:48:49,800
really is, and you begun to 
understand who God really made 

796
00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:53,600
you to be those things won't 
have a poll on you anymore, 

797
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:56,300
because you'll want to fulfill 
the purpose for which you were 

798
00:48:56,300 --> 00:48:58,900
made. 
The last time Dean Briggs was 

799
00:48:58,900 --> 00:49:01,400
here. 
He told about a prophetic friend

800
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:05,300
of his, that was taken into 
Heaven by an Angel in a vision 

801
00:49:05,300 --> 00:49:06,800
or a dream. 
I don't know what it was. 

802
00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:09,500
And he said, he took him into 
the archive room of Heaven, it 

803
00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:12,500
was a huge room with Acres of 
volumes. 

804
00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:15,400
And the angel, took him over to 
a bookcase and he showed him 

805
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:17,600
that were two volumes for every 
human soul. 

806
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,300
There was a large volume in a 
thin one and his friend said to 

807
00:49:21,300 --> 00:49:25,100
the angel, why are there two 
volumes and the angel pulled off

808
00:49:25,300 --> 00:49:29,200
the big volume he said this is 
what God invites every person to

809
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:32,100
believe for and then he pulled 
off the thin volume and he said 

810
00:49:32,100 --> 00:49:40,200
and this is what most end up 
believing for We need to see 

811
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,900
ourselves for who we are. 
God is inviting us into bigger 

812
00:49:43,900 --> 00:49:47,300
things. 
But we need a revelation of him 

813
00:49:47,300 --> 00:49:49,900
and of ourself. 
And that's where a sense of 

814
00:49:49,900 --> 00:49:52,700
purpose. 
A sense of destiny that will 

815
00:49:52,700 --> 00:49:55,000
actually harness you, go ahead 
and stand. 

816
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:58,200
So, you know, I'm going to quit.
Proverbs says this without a 

817
00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:01,500
vision, the people, what parish,
you know, what? 

818
00:50:01,500 --> 00:50:06,400
The NIV says, without a 
revelation, the people cast off 

819
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:11,700
restraint, the restrained 
lifestyle of a disciple is the 

820
00:50:11,700 --> 00:50:14,500
result of having a vision for 
your life. 

821
00:50:14,500 --> 00:50:17,000
But it's not a vision that That 
you create. 

822
00:50:17,600 --> 00:50:21,900
It's a vision that you dismiss 
cover, you uncovered the 

823
00:50:21,900 --> 00:50:25,400
destiny, the purpose. 
What God has wired you to be? 

824
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:29,800
And as you realize that there's 
this passion, that's ignited, a 

825
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:31,700
passion. 
That is willing to heart be 

826
00:50:31,700 --> 00:50:35,100
harnessed and to deny itself for
greater things. 

827
00:50:36,500 --> 00:50:39,300
There's some of you this morning
that you you're struggling with 

828
00:50:39,300 --> 00:50:42,700
but setting sin, you find 
yourself being falling into the 

829
00:50:42,700 --> 00:50:45,300
same old. 
Let me just say it. 

830
00:50:45,300 --> 00:50:47,200
I love you stupid things. 
I've been there. 

831
00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:49,200
Okay, the same old stupid 
things. 

832
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:51,400
Why? 
Because you don't have a bigger 

833
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:55,600
vision for your life, you don't 
realize that you are a parade 

834
00:50:55,600 --> 00:50:59,900
sword to be paraded on the side 
of the Lord that he's going to 

835
00:50:59,900 --> 00:51:02,600
show you off and do great things
with your life. 

836
00:51:03,200 --> 00:51:07,100
So you're out there. 
The watermelon cut Of sin. 

837
00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:10,700
Being used for much, lesser 
things. 

838
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:14,500
When asked you to Bow your head 
father we thank you for your 

839
00:51:14,500 --> 00:51:19,200
word this morning. 
Holy Spirit. 

840
00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:23,100
I ask the right now that you 
just brewed over us and I'm 

841
00:51:23,100 --> 00:51:25,500
going to ask that every I be 
closed. 

842
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:28,500
I want to give you an 
opportunity to respond to the 

843
00:51:28,500 --> 00:51:31,800
Lord. 
If you're here this morning and 

844
00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:34,400
you're saying pastor, I struggle
with besetting sin. 

845
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:37,400
There's some things in my life 
that it seems like it's just 

846
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:39,500
cyclical. 
I keep falling into it. 

847
00:51:39,700 --> 00:51:42,700
And I recognize this morning 
that what you're talking about 

848
00:51:42,700 --> 00:51:44,400
is me. 
I'm not going to ask you to come

849
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:47,300
forward on this, but I want you 
to make that acknowledgement. 

850
00:51:47,300 --> 00:51:49,700
You're saying pastor. 
I know that's me and I want to 

851
00:51:49,700 --> 00:51:51,800
break this thing. 
I want you to raise your hand. 

852
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:53,800
Yeah. 
All over the room. 

853
00:51:54,700 --> 00:51:57,700
Father, I thank you for these 
hands that have been raised. 

854
00:51:58,300 --> 00:52:02,600
Lord were asking for a fresh 
Revelation, not only of who you 

855
00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:07,700
are, but of Who We Are. 
Lord, we want to glorify, we 

856
00:52:07,700 --> 00:52:10,700
want to be the person you 
created us to be. 

857
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:16,200
We don't want to rob you of Your
Glory, by living beneath our 

858
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:19,400
inheritance living beneath our 
purpose. 

859
00:52:20,100 --> 00:52:24,200
Father, we're asking that at the
end of the age when we stand 

860
00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:26,600
before you and give an answer 
for our life that you pull out 

861
00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:30,800
the big volume and say, Well 
done thou good and faithful 

862
00:52:30,800 --> 00:52:34,000
servant. 
Hallelujah. 

863
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:37,000
In Jesus name. 
Amen. 

864
00:52:37,600 --> 00:52:39,400
Thanks for listening to our 
podcast. 

865
00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:42,000
If you'd like to help more 
people hear this message, you 

866
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,600
can get the word out by 
subscribing and sharing it on 

867
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,900
social media. 
If you'd like to support the 

868
00:52:46,900 --> 00:52:48,900
Ministries apartment church, you
can do. 

869
00:52:48,900 --> 00:52:34,000
So at Heartland Church, 
online.com give Hallelujah. 

870
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:37,000
In Jesus name. 
Amen. 

871
00:52:37,600 --> 00:52:39,400
Thanks for listening to our 
podcast. 

872
00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:42,000
If you'd like to help more 
people hear this message, you 

873
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,600
can get the word out by 
subscribing and sharing it on 

874
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,900
social media. 
If you'd like to support the 

875
00:52:46,900 --> 00:52:48,900
Ministries apartment church, you
can do. 

876
00:52:48,900 --> 00:52:52,100
So at Heartland Church, 
online.com give