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Good morning. 
Hello there we are. 

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The battery's dead. 
I guess we'll be using this, 

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Mike. 
All right. 

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There you go. 
Hi, everybody. 

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Good. 
Morning, as he said. 

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I just want to share real quick 
what brought Chris and I here 

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and a little bit about what the 
church was like back in the day,

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if you will. 
Now I'm from here, and I mean 

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Generations D from Newport grew 
up in the Methodist Church. 

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Whole family, whole family did. 
My dad stopped going there when 

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I was a kid because he got mad 
at what somebody said. 

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My middle brother, Alan changed 
over to the Baptist Church. 

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He was about 15, because the 
girl he liked was going there. 

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Well, he attended there for just
a couple of years until we lost 

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him to a very tragic car 
accident. 

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But because he had gone there, 
my dad started going there. 

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Well, I grew up, married my 
first husband, 18 years old, 

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thought that I could help him 
overcome alcohol, didn't. 

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But when he would go to church, 
he would go to the Baptist 

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Church. 
So I went there with him for a 

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little while, met John and Kay 
Cornett. 

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Time passed, so did my marriage.
God brought me Chris. 

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That's another whole testimony 
by itself. 

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After we got out of the 
military, we bought into a 

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carpet cleaning franchise that 
required you to live in the 

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county that you service, which 
was Craven County. 

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I was from Newport. 
After we obtained our travel 

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visa and the documents to allow 
us to cross the county line, we 

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moved just barely inside a 
Havelock right over here on 

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Craven Drive, which ironically 
was just up the road from Paul 

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and Judy Stuborski in the 
Strong's. 

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God's Funny. 
Well, in our move we were 

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deciding we were looking for 
something more, something 

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different. 
Nothing wrong with where we came

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from, we just wanted more. 
Well, I've been to Bible study 

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at John and Kay's. 
We'd heard they were going to 

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something called a spirit filled
church. 

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Now when you went to prayer 
about John and Kay's and put you

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in the hot seat in the middle 
and they laid hands on you, but 

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they talked funny. 
I couldn't quite understand what

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they were saying. 
Well, I found out later that was

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something called tongues was not
taught in the Methodist or 

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Baptist Church. 
And I thought the way you got it

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is when they were doing it, if 
you got close to them, you would

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kind of catch it from them. 
Well, they told us they were 

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going to Community Christian 
Fellowship in the old Sears 

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warehouse building. 
There's a church in there. 

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OK, so we came. 
Boy, was it different. 

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There was no bulletin with your 
order of service. 

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There were no hymnals to stand 
up and sing. 

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Verses 1-2 and four, four, verse
3 never got sang. 

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They prayed when they started 
singing, they sang and they sang

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and they sang, but they clapped 
and they waved their hands and 

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they jumped up and down. 
It was different. 

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But then they settled down into 
some worship songs and I found 

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out what it was like to usher in
and be ushered into the presence

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of God. 
That was different. 

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Well, we talked about it all 
week. 

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Plan to come back the following 
Sunday. 

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Almost did it because Chris was 
having a horrible time with his 

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back. 
Carpet cleaning was not easy on 

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your back, and he had suffered a
very back injury when he was a 

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teenager that gave him a really 
bad curve to his spine. 

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But we came and they sang and 
they jumped and they prayed. 

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When they prayed this time, 
somebody spoke out and said 

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something like someone has an 
ear infection being healed and 

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someone has a bad elbow being 
healed. 

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And I thought, that's pretty 
safe. 

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There's 75 people here, 
Someone's bound to have that. 

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And then he said there is 
someone here with a pronounced 

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curve to their spine, and God is
touching that and healing it. 

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I looked Chris's back and I 
watched it straighten and he 

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looked at me and we knew we had 
found more. 

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That was in 8588. 
Tom and Marsha came, brought 

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some new stuff. 
One of the things we had was 

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Sunday night prayer. 
We get together and we will 

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start with a couple of worship 
songs, set the mood and we break

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up an individual prayer and then
come together in corporate 

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prayer. 
Formed a circle about 20 of us 

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over there, little circle down 
in front. 

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It grew and it grew and it grew 
until one night we said we can 

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do it, we can do it. 
And we stretched real big and we

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encircled that entire building 
over there in prayer, brought it

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over here, and we moved into 
this building. 

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It continued to grow and grow 
and grow until one night we 

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encircled this entire building 
shoulder to shoulder in prayer. 

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Those are some incredible 
nights, buddy. 

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We saw people healed, changed, 
saved, delivered, and I mean, we

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saw deliverance the Marshall. 
To close the evening. 

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Let's do a couple of fast songs.
Her favorite one was when I 

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think about the Lord and what 
he's done for me, when I think 

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about the Lord, how he set my 
soul free. 

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I could and every verse had a 
different action. 

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I could sing, sing, sing all 
night. 

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I could dance, I could jump. 
And her favorite one is she 

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would almost tease us with it is
I could run and we would take 

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off and run around this building
about two laps before the song 

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ended. 
You went home tired, but boy, 

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were you ready to handle Monday 
morning. 

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We've seen a lot of changes, a 
lot of people coming, going, 

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coming back, Scott. 
But two things we've never seen 

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change. 1 is a spirit of unity. 
Tom and Marsha guarded that with

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every fiber they're being. 
It was precious. 

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People are different. 
We have differences and that's 

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OK, but never division. 
The other thing was the Holy 

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Spirit. 
This is a spirit filled church 

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then, it is now, and that's what
drew us here. 

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And it continues drawing people 
here every Sunday because people

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are looking for more and they're
looking for different and boy 

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are we different. 
A great leader. 

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Thank you. 
Y'all did see her single me out 

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there though, right? 
That was not just me. 

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She looked at me at the end. 
No, we're a little different. 

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I'm OK with that. 
Here's the thing, if you were to

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look at how church services, if 
you want to word it that way, 

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would have looked in the New 
Testament, they would have 

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looked radically different from 
this. 

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And the answer isn't to try to 
mirror that in a Jewish 

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community that was that was 
growing and learning about the 

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truth of Jesus. 
Jesus. 

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The beautiful thing about this 
is the true gospel. 

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It fits into every culture, 
every season, every time 

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throughout history. 
A lot of other religions, they 

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force you to conform into 
different cultural or different 

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things like this, But a 
relationship with Jesus, it fits

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into the culture. 
You don't shift the gospel to to

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bend the knee to culture, but 
culture itself has room for the 

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gospel no matter where you are. 
And man, I've been here long 

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enough to see some ups and downs
too. 

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And the message that I'm 
preaching today, actually, this 

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was something that, you know, 
Pastor Tom was known for saying,

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which was who told you that? 
And I got to say that this 

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morning, kind of went off off 
the grid for a couple of days. 

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My family and I, we got away, 
went up to Charlotte for just a,

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a couple days for a little bit 
of a vacation. 

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My daughter Emma was sick just a
little bit before we left. 

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And then we went on this 
vacation. 

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And as we were coming back, she 
started to feel sick again, a 

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different kind of sick. 
And this morning, I was looking 

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at her. 
She's at home, you know, And 

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it's one of these things she's 
watching with with my wife. 

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So it's one of those things 
where it's sort of like, am I 

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always going to keep getting 
sick? 

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Am I never going to get better? 
And these are the things that we

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have to try to not say over 
ourselves. 

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That's a small thing, but your 
words matter. 

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Your words have a lot of power 
and the world even understands 

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this because the world is really
big into something right now 

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called manifestation, which you 
know, I mentioned before, which 

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is a load of fertilizer. 
You are not in control of your 

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destiny. 
However, God has given you 

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incredible authority on this 
earth. 

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And so the things that you 
believe matter a great deal, 

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including what you believe about
yourself. 

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So what we're trying to get 
across during this series is who

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God says that you are, How 
beautiful. 

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It was in week one we were 
talking about John and how John 

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was the apostle that Jesus 
loved. 

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And I read that for a long time 
thinking, man, you really just 

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want to rub it in the face of 
the other disciples. 

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No, it was his identity. 
Instead of saying I do all of 

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this to prove that I love God, 
he just said I'm the one that 

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Jesus loves. 
That was his identity. 

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And week two last week, we just 
dug into the story of the 

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prodigal son and we talked about
the Father that we've always 

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wanted. 
And that's a pretty sensitive 

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and tender one for me, but we 
got through it. 

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It was nice to remember that 
Jesus didn't come to change the 

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Father's mind about us. 
He came to change our mind about

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the Father. 
And God has a heart that runs 

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towards us, not a way. 
And so today we're going to 

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finally look at the other view. 
We'll start in Genesis chapter 

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3, but before we do that, I want
to tell you about a guy named 

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Chris. 
Chris grew up in extreme 

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poverty. 
He was moving through foster 

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care and he had abuse happening 
to him. 

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He witnessed domestic violence 
done to his mother and other 

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loved ones. 
And he had a stepfather in 

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specific who was cruel, telling 
him he would never amount to 

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anything, abused him both 
physically and emotionally. 

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And this happened to his mother 
on multiple occasions too. 

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Here's some of the things that 
he's quoted as having heard 

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growing up. 
You're not wanted. 

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You'll never be anything. 
You're just like your father. 

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And amid all of this, there was 
only one voice of truth in his 

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life, which was his mother. 
Her name was Betty Jean. 

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And she told him, you can do 
anything that you want to do. 

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You can be anything that you 
want to be. 

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And that one voice planted a 
seed of identity that he clung 

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to even when the rest of his 
life didn't line up to it. 

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And he had plenty of chances to 
give up on what his mom was 

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speaking into his life because 
as a young adult, he ended up 

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being homeless. 
He had a toddler son who was 

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obviously homeless with him. 
They would sleep in train 

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station bathrooms and he would 
work unpaid internships. 

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And he was trying to claw his 
way out of the narrative that he

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felt like life had given him. 
And over time, he had to keep 

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returning over and over and over
to what his mom said because all

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of the other words that people 
had said to him were heavy and 

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they would have just destroyed 
him. 

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And when he finally was asked 
how he pulled himself out of it 

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and became a stockbroker and an 
entrepreneur and a 

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philanthropist, he said, I 
made-up my mind that I was going

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to do something and I was not 
going to let my circumstances 

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define me. 
In other words, he had to choose

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which words that he would 
believe. 

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00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,600
And this is because belief is a 
powerful thing. 

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I don't have time to go into the
weeds on this, but it's one of 

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my favorite silly stories. 
Look it up later if you want to.

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Emperor Norton. 
Emperor Norton, he used to print

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his own currency and he would 
walk around town and people 

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would treat him like he was an 
emperor because he was a little 

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unstable and he thought he was. 
This is a real story and I would

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00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,400
not advise you to try it. 
I don't know that lightning 

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00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,160
would strike twice as far as 
that goes, but belief is 

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powerful and you are going to 
have to choose what words you're

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going to believe. 
And you've probably heard a lot 

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of this before. 
I'm not going to let my 

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00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,840
circumstances define me or 
you've heard something like 

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this. 
Don't take advice from somebody 

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in this area if you wouldn't 
take advice from them in all the

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other areas of life. 
But the real fear is this. 

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When we don't know who we are, 
we're afraid that our critics 

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are right. 
And so when they start to say 

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things about us, we get very 
personal about it because we're 

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not sure who we are. 
We're not sure if we really are 

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a man or a woman of integrity. 
We're not sure if we are honest.

228
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When somebody says that person's
a liar, we start racking our 

229
00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:44,600
brain. 
Don't we just say, like, well, 

230
00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,400
did I lie? 
That was there something that 

231
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,120
maybe I said wrong instead of 
knowing well, I lived with 

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00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:50,680
integrity to the best of my 
ability. 

233
00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,880
This guy became so successful 
that eventually they made a 

234
00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,920
movie about his life, and it's 
called The Pursuit of Happiness.

235
00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,640
He was played by Will Smith in 
it, his story reminds us that 

236
00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,040
the lies that are spoken over us
do not have to shape our 

237
00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:05,760
destiny. 
But you are going to have to 

238
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,280
choose whose words you're going 
to believe. 

239
00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:09,800
Now, the problem with 
manifestation is people choose 

240
00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,680
their own words. 
I want this, so I'm going to 

241
00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:14,440
speak it into existence. 
As a matter of fact, sometimes 

242
00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,880
these things that are really 
just modern Gnosticism and, and 

243
00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,760
modern New Age stuff, they get 
wrapped up like their prayers. 

244
00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,080
And we list all the things and 
all the material things that we 

245
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:25,600
want. 
And these are the things that we

246
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:27,960
start believing God for. 
We say we're believing God for, 

247
00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,800
but we're speaking them into 
reality more than we're speaking

248
00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,920
forgiveness and unity and hope 
and all of these other things 

249
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,120
that God calls us to. 
So our course Scripture today is

250
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,560
found in the very first moments 
of humanity's fall. 

251
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:42,160
And you'll see the same tactic 
being used here in Genesis 3 

252
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:47,200
right in verse #1 the serpent 
was the shrewdest of all the 

253
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:48,880
wild animals the Lord God had 
made. 

254
00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,440
And we'll talk about the serpent
in a moment. 

255
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,200
But one day he asked the woman, 
Did God really say you must not 

256
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,520
eat the fruit from any of the 
trees in the garden? 

257
00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,000
Of course we may eat fruit from 
the trees in the garden, The 

258
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,960
woman replied, It's only the 
fruit from the tree in the 

259
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,720
middle of the garden that we're 
not allowed to eat. 

260
00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,440
God said, you must not eat it or
even touch it. 

261
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,920
If you do, you will die. 
You won't die. 

262
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:14,480
The serpent replied to the 
woman. 

263
00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,120
God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, 

264
00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,040
and you will be like God, 
knowing both good and evil. 

265
00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:26,080
The woman was convinced. 
She saw that the tree was 

266
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,880
beautiful and it's fruit looked 
delicious and she wanted the 

267
00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,560
wisdom that it could give her. 
And so she took some of the 

268
00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,920
fruit and ate it and then she 
gave some to her husband who was

269
00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,840
with her and he ate it too. 
At that moment, their eyes were 

270
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,840
opened, and suddenly they felt 
shame at their nakedness, so 

271
00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,280
they sewed fig leaves together 
to cover themselves. 

272
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,360
By the way, that's still a big 
fear. 

273
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,640
A lot of people have dreams 
about this, like fear of being 

274
00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,680
naked in public. 
But even if you go deeper, it's 

275
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:56,320
really just fear of being 
exposed. 

276
00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,040
You can't hide anything. 
So when the cool evening breezes

277
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,440
were blowing, the man and his 
wife heard the Lord God walking 

278
00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,760
about in the garden, and so they
hid from the Lord God among the 

279
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,000
trees. 
Then the Lord God called to the 

280
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,760
man. 
Where are you? 

281
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,560
And he replied, I heard you 
walking in the garden, so I hid.

282
00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,080
I was afraid because I was 
naked. 

283
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,440
Who told you that you were 
naked? 

284
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,080
The Lord God asked. 
Have you eaten from the tree 

285
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,680
whose fruit I commanded you not 
to eat? 

286
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,360
So here's my question. 
Who told Adam that he was naked?

287
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,960
Nobody, a lot of times we read 
that and we're like, well, it 

288
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:40,360
was the devil. 
Don't believe what the devil 

289
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:41,520
says. 
Devil didn't say that. 

290
00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,520
As a matter of fact, as far as I
can tell, I'm not even convinced

291
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,120
that the devil fully lied here. 
He said when you eat this, 

292
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,160
you're going to be like God, 
knowing both good and evil. 

293
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,680
He didn't say you're going to be
like God in every aspect. 

294
00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:54,600
He said you're going to know 
there's a difference in good and

295
00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:55,880
evil. 
They had no concept that there 

296
00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,240
was anything evil in the world, 
that there could be anything 

297
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,640
apart from God. 
And as soon as they ate that 

298
00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:05,040
fruit, that part was like God. 
But here's the thing, they were 

299
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:07,760
never built to handle that. 
They could never carry the 

300
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:09,960
weight of that. 
But here they were. 

301
00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,320
And so because of this crushing 
weight, now they hide. 

302
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,840
See, one day it says that we're 
all going to be resurrected. 

303
00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,040
We're going to have glorified 
bodies. 

304
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,160
I know a lot of people say Amen 
when we preach about that. 

305
00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:22,440
We're all going to have a 
glorified body. 

306
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:24,320
But the reality is this. 
You're going to be clothed in 

307
00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,720
his righteousness, whatever that
means, right? 

308
00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:28,800
So were they clothed in His 
righteousness? 

309
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,480
And once they ate the fruit, the
righteousness fell off of Him. 

310
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,280
Because when I read this, I used
to think, well, they were naked 

311
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,960
the whole time, weren't they? 
And that how you get born or 

312
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,800
created out of the dust, I 
suppose. 

313
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,200
Really messed with my kids the 
other day because I asked them 

314
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,440
if Adam had a belly button. 
And then I just watched them 

315
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,920
debate it. 
I like to think that he did. 

316
00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,560
I like to think that there was 
just a little, like a little 

317
00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:57,280
mark. 
But who knows? 

318
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,840
Here's the thing. 
They started understanding 

319
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,600
things that they weren't 
supposed to understand, and what

320
00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,400
it did was it brought them 
crushing shame and guilt. 

321
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,360
God loved them regardless. 
He knew that they were not on 

322
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,600
the same level as Him. 
Were they on the same level as 

323
00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,160
God before they sinned? 
Of course they weren't. 

324
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,680
But all of a sudden their eyes 
were open to something. 

325
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,080
God knew that it wasn't helpful 
for them to know it, but they 

326
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,880
wanted to know it anyway. 
It's part of that forbidden 

327
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:26,640
knowledge thing. 
That's one of the devil's 

328
00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,320
favorite attacks. 
But this question, who told you 

329
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,560
that is the first recorded 
question from God after sin 

330
00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,200
enters the world. 
And this is what's important. 

331
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,000
Think about it like your God for
a moment. 

332
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,640
I know that sounds scary. 
These are your kids. 

333
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:43,400
What's the first thing we would 
do? 

334
00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,320
That garden is their room. 
What did you do? 

335
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:47,960
I heard a bang. 
What happened? 

336
00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,040
We run in there and we asked 
about what happened and God 

337
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,560
didn't. 
The very first thing that God 

338
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,480
asked was where are you? 
And then he said, who told you 

339
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,000
that? 
Those are the first things that 

340
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,920
he asked. 
He didn't ask how could you have

341
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,240
done this, although we can 
understand that maybe they 

342
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,240
shouldn't have done that. 
He said, who told you that? 

343
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,920
For thousands of years, Jewish 
scholars have studied this 

344
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,040
moment. 
And it's not just a story of 

345
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,680
rebellion. 
It is actually a tragedy of 

346
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:24,440
misplaced trust. 
That's what caused sin to enter 

347
00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,000
the world, because the serpent's
first weapon wasn't violence or 

348
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,960
temptation. 
It was just distortion. 

349
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,520
And here's why. 
The ancient rabbis used to call 

350
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,720
this moment the Great Deception,
and that's because it planted 

351
00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:37,680
seeds of doubt about God's 
character. 

352
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:39,720
They started wondering, is he 
really good? 

353
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,920
Is he holding something back? 
Once that question is accepted, 

354
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,600
identity collapses because the 
man and the woman no longer saw 

355
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,320
themselves as beloved image 
bearers walking with God in the 

356
00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,840
garden. 
They saw themselves as exposed 

357
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,840
and defective and unsafe. 
And that's the power of a lie. 

358
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,560
And the enemy still uses the 
same tactic today. 

359
00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,640
It's the same voice that says 
you are broken or that you'll 

360
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,800
never be enough. 
Whatever enough is. 

361
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,640
That's a moving goal post if you
ever noticed that. 

362
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,920
How about you don't matter? 
Or maybe more specifically, you 

363
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:13,640
don't matter to fill in the 
blank. 

364
00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,960
You're only valuable when you 
perform. 

365
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,000
Or God could never really love 
Someone Like You unless you 

366
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,720
clean up your act. 
You need to understand this 

367
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,640
today. 
Those are not random thoughts 

368
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,880
that you had because you were 
having a bad day, to use 

369
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,120
biblical terms. 
Those are fiery darts from the 

370
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,160
enemy. 
By the way, research confirms 

371
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,280
the damage that they do. 
Just so you can see a little bit

372
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,120
of secular wisdom here, The 
American Psychological 

373
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:42,200
Association said this. 
Over 62% of young adults say 

374
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,880
that they base their self worth 
primarily on what others think 

375
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:51,720
of them. 62% of young adults say
they base their identity off of 

376
00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,640
what other people think of them.
Well, if you don't know who you 

377
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,760
are. 
Among teenagers, that number 

378
00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:04,000
jumps to 78%. 
And even among adults over 40, 

379
00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,960
more than 50% still report 
struggling with imposter 

380
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,080
syndrome. 
Which means I'm afraid that 

381
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,760
people will find me out. 
They look at me one way, but if 

382
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,840
they really got to know me, they
would think as lowly of me as I 

383
00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:24,200
do. 
No matter which way you slice 

384
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,560
it, it's all over half of all 
people, and this is a subtle and

385
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,560
strategic and personal attack 
from the enemy. 

386
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,320
But let's talk about that 
serpent for a moment. 

387
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,200
This was not just a talking 
snake in the garden. 

388
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,880
Ancient Jewish readers and 
biblical scholars all understood

389
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,320
this as a being that was far 
more powerful than an animal. 

390
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,240
First of all, it was not weird 
to them that this creature was 

391
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,600
speaking to them. 
That should be clue #1 because 

392
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,720
we have no indication that the 
anteaters and the cows were also

393
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,920
speaking. 
But the Hebrew word that's used 

394
00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,920
for serpent in Genesis 3 one is 
actually Nahash. 

395
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,640
I said it right. 
Practice it this morning. 

396
00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,240
Thank you. 
It is translated as serpent in 

397
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,360
most of these, but it can also 
be translated as Shining One. 

398
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,320
Or maybe a divine serpent. 
That's just the way that the 

399
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,800
ancient Hebrew was. 
It points to this supernatural 

400
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,280
rebel, someone who was not just 
a reptile. 

401
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,240
In fact, the the late scholar 
Michael Heiser, who wrote The 

402
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,960
Unseen Realm. 
He says that this was not an 

403
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,960
animal at all, but was probably 
a divine throne room guardian or

404
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,520
a cherub or a seraph, one who 
rebelled against God by sowing 

405
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,200
distrust in the human heart and 
bringing forbidden knowledge to 

406
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,560
the earth. 
And here's what you should know,

407
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,080
because as much as I've heard 
this preached, and probably you 

408
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,320
have too, if a serpent came up 
to me and started talking to me,

409
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,000
I'd run. 
It was normal for them, for 

410
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,640
these heavenly beings to be 
there. 

411
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,760
They were not cast out from 
God's presence. 

412
00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:49,760
They had no sin to separate 
them. 

413
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,960
So that serpent was not trying 
to scare Eve. 

414
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,120
That serpent was just trying to 
distort things. 

415
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,000
And here's why. 
If the enemy can make you 

416
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,840
distort your view of God's 
identity, you will be hopeless 

417
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,920
to ever find your identity. 
Your identity is to be found in 

418
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,040
Him. 
It is not to be found in your 

419
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:15,600
family. 
It is not to be found in your 

420
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,360
children. 
It is not to be found in your 

421
00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:19,600
friends or your success or your 
titles on this earth. 

422
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,480
It is to be found in Him. 
But what if your image of Him is

423
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,880
that He's not a good God? 
What if your image of Him is 

424
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,400
that He is holding out that He 
could bless you, but He blesses 

425
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,600
others, and no matter how hard 
you try, you won't be holy or 

426
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,320
righteous enough? 
Well, then your identity of Him 

427
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,640
filters into your identity of 
yourself, which is why last week

428
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,480
we talked a lot about what the 
Father's identity needed to be. 

429
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,320
The devil doesn't need to 
destroy your life. 

430
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,720
He just needs to distort your 
view of God and then let you 

431
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,200
drive the car from there. 
That's why Second Corinthians 

432
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,080
10/5 is so vital. 
Paul says this. 

433
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,720
We destroy arguments in every 
lofty opinion raised against the

434
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,760
knowledge of God and take every 
thought captive to obey Christ. 

435
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,600
That's Second Corinthians 10/5. 
If you want to write that down, 

436
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,960
you understand that right here 
It talks about arguments and 

437
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,640
lofty opinions. 
It doesn't talk about actions 

438
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,720
that are sinful. 
It's talking about arguments, 

439
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,600
opinions, in other words, lies. 
Other translations say this. 

440
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,240
We destroy arguments in every 
lofty opinion raised against the

441
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:17,960
knowledge of God. 
Why? 

442
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,040
Because every lie and opinion 
can become a stronghold. 

443
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,120
Every stronghold can become a 
false identity or a prison that 

444
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:26,600
we live in whether we know it or
not. 

445
00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:28,800
And here's how it plays out 
today. 

446
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,680
Maybe it's a woman with deep 
father wounds who thinks that 

447
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,960
God must be distant or 
disappointed in her. 

448
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,600
Or maybe maybe there's a guy who
has received only conditional 

449
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,360
approval, and now he thinks God 
loves him when he does well. 

450
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,080
Maybe there's someone here who's
been rejected by their friends 

451
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,280
and their colleagues and starts 
believing that they are 

452
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,920
inherently unworthy. 
Or maybe even there's a seasoned

453
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,160
believer listening today who is 
how had all the right doctrine 

454
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,400
still struggles to believe that 
they're actually loved because 

455
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,560
of something that someone said 
when they were 12. 

456
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,760
We walk around wearing labels 
that we were never meant to 

457
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,960
carry. 
These are fig leaves that we use

458
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,560
to try to cover when we need to 
step right back into the 

459
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,160
righteousness that God offers 
us. 

460
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,640
But you need to know this. 
You're not what happened to you.

461
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,480
You are not the label that 
someone else gave you. 

462
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:20,520
You are who God says that you 
are. 

463
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,840
And if you want to start healing
your identity, it starts by 

464
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,360
answering that question 
honestly. 

465
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:30,200
Who told you that? 
And you may say, well, it was my

466
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,640
childhood best friend Chuck, or 
it was my father when I was 

467
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,280
growing up, or my stepfather, or
whatever. 

468
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,400
All of those answers, I'm sorry 
to tell you, are inherently 

469
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,800
wrong at the core. 
The devil's favorite way to come

470
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,640
at you is through the people 
that you love. 

471
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,160
So who told you these labels in 
these lies? 

472
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,240
It was the enemy. 
Satan's not his name, by the 

473
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:52,120
way. 
That's a title. 

474
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,840
It means the accuser, and I 
don't know if you've ever heard 

475
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,200
this preached, but he's really 
good at what he does. 

476
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,800
He's good at accusing you. 
He's good at pushing the 

477
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,280
buttons. 
You think your brother growing 

478
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:03,560
up was good at pushing your 
buttons? 

479
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,960
I'm going to tell you what this 
Kingdom of darkness, they got 

480
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:11,760
nothing to do except watch and 
observe and try to throw you off

481
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,640
course. 
Why don't they attack you 

482
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,240
Morehead on? 
Why don't they come at you with 

483
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,000
the pitchfork and the horns and 
all of that? 

484
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:19,160
You want to know why I think 
they don't do that. 

485
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,200
I think if they did that, I 
think it'd be obvious and I 

486
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,720
think you would run into that 
throne room of grace. 

487
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,840
I think you would really find 
your identity in the Lord. 

488
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,000
I think you'd get super equipped
then, and then they wouldn't 

489
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,120
have any power. 
They barely have any right now 

490
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,160
compared to the authority that 
God has handed to you. 

491
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:37,560
But that's a sermon for another 
day. 

492
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,120
The first thing is, let's talk 
about this. 

493
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:45,480
Every lie becomes a label. 
If you let it turn to Mark 5. 

494
00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,160
In Mark 5, you're going to see 
that there's a man there who 

495
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,840
doesn't just here lies, but he 
lives inside of them. 

496
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,080
He is not named by his family or
his faith. 

497
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,800
We don't know his name. 
He is only labeled by his 

498
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,560
condition. 
And so in the eyes of the town 

499
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,120
nearby, he's a problem. 
He's a lost 'cause he has been 

500
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,960
chained up and locked out and 
left behind, and they don't even

501
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,160
use his name anymore. 
They just refer to him by the 

502
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,760
label that he has also accepted,
which is demon possessed. 

503
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,240
And so before we can talk about 
the freedom that he finds, we 

504
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:16,080
need to see the reality that 
he's trapped in. 

505
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:17,880
This is not just a bizarre 
story. 

506
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,520
It's a blueprint of what the 
enemy still does today, where he

507
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,200
isolates us and then he 
dehumanizes and then he 

508
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,760
destroys. 
It's always little by little by 

509
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,600
little. 
That's how the lie becomes the 

510
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,600
label. 
So we're going to read through 

511
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,960
much of Mark chapter 5, the 1st 
20 verses. 

512
00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,800
Listen to this. 
Jesus and his disciples, it 

513
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:35,960
says. 
When they arrived at the other 

514
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,400
side of the lake in the region 
of the garrisones, Jesus climbed

515
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,000
out of the boat and a man 
possessed by an evil spirit came

516
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,200
out of the tombs to meet him. 
This man lived in the burial 

517
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,800
caves and could no longer be 
restrained even with a chain. 

518
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,120
Whenever he was put in the 
chains and shackles, as he often

519
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:58,040
was, that's a wild statement. 
He snapped the chains from his 

520
00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,560
wrist and smashed the shackles. 
No one was strong enough to 

521
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,560
subdue him. 
Day and night he wandered among 

522
00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,440
the burial caves and in the 
hills, howling and cutting 

523
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:13,400
himself with sharp stones. 
When Jesus was still some 

524
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:18,440
distance away, the man saw him, 
ran to meet him, and bowed low 

525
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:20,320
before him. 
That's the most rational thing 

526
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,640
we've heard about this guy. 
And with a shriek he screamed. 

527
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,080
Why are you in fear, interfering
with me, Jesus, son of the Most 

528
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,240
High God? 
In the name of God, I beg you, 

529
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,600
don't torture me. 
For Jesus had already said to 

530
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,280
the Spirit, Come out of the man,
you evil spirit. 

531
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:39,160
And then Jesus demanded, What is
your name? 

532
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:44,680
And he replied, My name is 
Legion, because there are many 

533
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,560
of us inside this man. 
Then the evil spirits begged him

534
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,400
again and again not to send them
to some distant place. 

535
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:53,880
There happened to be a large 
herd of pigs feeding on the 

536
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,360
hillside nearby. 
Send us into those pigs, the 

537
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:58,160
spirits begged. 
Let us enter them. 

538
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,560
I've always thought this was 
weird, but we'll talk about it. 

539
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:05,640
So Jesus gave them permission, 
the evil spirits came out of the

540
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,400
man and entered into the pigs, 
and the entire herd of about 

541
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,800
2000 pigs plunged down the steep
hillside into the lake and 

542
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,360
drowned in the water. 
Well, I guess they went out into

543
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:15,600
the desert after that, didn't 
they? 

544
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,520
The herdsmen fled to the nearby 
town in the surrounding 

545
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:21,480
countryside, spreading the news 
as they ran. 

546
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,440
By the way, probably wasn't all 
good news. 

547
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,160
I bet the herdsmen were pretty 
upset. 

548
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,000
People rushed out to see what 
had happened and a crowd soon 

549
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,400
gathered around Jesus and they 
saw the man who had been 

550
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:32,960
possessed by the legion of 
demons. 

551
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,360
He was sitting there fully 
clothed and perfectly sane, and 

552
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,080
they were all afraid. 
And then those who had seen what

553
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,560
happened told the others about 
the demon possessed man and the 

554
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:45,000
pigs, and the crowd began 
pleading with Jesus to go away 

555
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,240
and leave them alone. 
Isn't that something? 

556
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,720
How many times has Jesus been 
this close to changing something

557
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,880
in US and we've been too 
uncomfortable? 

558
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,360
So as Jesus was getting into the
boat, he's listening to them. 

559
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,960
Jesus won't force himself in. 
He's leaving. 

560
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,920
But that man who had been demons
possessed begged to go with him.

561
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,200
And Jesus said no. 
Go home to your family and tell 

562
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,320
them everything the Lord has 
done for you and how merciful 

563
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,200
he's been. 
So the man started off to visit 

564
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,720
the 10 towns of that region and 
began to proclaim the great 

565
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:20,880
things that Jesus had done for 
him. 

566
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,880
And everyone was amazed at what 
he told them. 

567
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,240
Can you feel the pain in this 
story? 

568
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,440
This man wasn't born to live in 
a graveyard. 

569
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,200
He wasn't created so that he 
could cut himself or so that he 

570
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:39,040
could scream in the night. 
But somewhere along the way, a 

571
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,800
lie took hold, another lie took 
hold, and another lie took hold.

572
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,880
We don't know this man's story, 
but as they start to stack up, 

573
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,720
because of the authority that 
this man has as an image bearer 

574
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,080
of God, he's allowed these 
labels to become his identity, 

575
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,360
and he's used his authority to 
make it a reality. 

576
00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,680
When Jesus asked him his name, 
he doesn't say my name is 

577
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,440
George, he doesn't say my name 
is Greg. 

578
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,200
He says I'm Legion, for we are 
many now. 

579
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:10,480
Was that him speaking? 
He'd completely accepted the 

580
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,560
label and he had given over 
control to something other than 

581
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,960
him. 
Nobody starts there, but some 

582
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,400
people get there. 
And before we judge him and say 

583
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,920
glad I'm not that oppressed, 
don't we do the same thing? 

584
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,600
I joked about this last week, 
but this is a real question. 

585
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,880
I'm not trying to be silly. 
Women, why can't you just take a

586
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,440
compliment from other women? 
Why is it that when I see a 

587
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,760
woman say you look beautiful 
today, you have to instantly go 

588
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:42,720
like, girl, so do you or no, no,
no, no, I don't. 

589
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:44,920
Which is kind of like, say it 
again. 

590
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,200
Why do you do this? 
Now, guys, we typically don't do

591
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,520
that. 
We don't have any issues with 

592
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:59,440
insecurity. 
It's really in the basic 

593
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:03,240
conversations, isn't it? 
You meet a new couple and these 

594
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:04,520
are stereotypes. 
I'll give it to you. 

595
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,400
So it's not 100% of the time, 
but a lot of times the women 

596
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:09,400
will ask like, do you have kids?
Are you married? 

597
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,720
Men will say, what do you do? 
Where do we find our identities?

598
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,240
These are the places we find our
identities. 

599
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,160
Now I get it because being a 
parent is an important thing. 

600
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,720
Being a sibling, being a child 
is an important thing, 

601
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:27,600
especially if you're a child of 
the Most High. 

602
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,280
What you do also matters a great
deal. 

603
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,200
But your career is not your 
calling. 

604
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,280
Not even my career is my 
calling. 

605
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:42,240
This man who lived amongst the 
graves didn't just get saved and

606
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,440
set free. 
He became a preacher. 

607
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,680
And you're all supposed to 
become a preacher. 

608
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,440
He went from town to town 
proclaiming the good things that

609
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,160
God had done in his life. 
Maybe you don't want to get up 

610
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:54,840
here and preach. 
Although if you were here on 

611
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,200
Wednesday night, did Tom Hines 
kill it or what? 

612
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,440
Come on. 
But listen, you are called to 

613
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,760
proclaim his goodness to the 
influence that you have. 

614
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,400
But if you're going to do that, 
you have to know who you are. 

615
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,080
Isn't it interesting, this man 
who lived amongst the graves, he

616
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,320
never would have had the 
testimony and the power behind 

617
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,040
that testimony that he that he 
actually had if he wasn't honest

618
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,640
about his failures. 
The reason that Jesus got glory 

619
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,400
for setting them free is because
of all the areas he had fallen 

620
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:28,440
short. 
That's part of your testimony 

621
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,440
and it's powerful. 
Every lie wants to write your 

622
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,200
identity, but Jesus wants to 
rewrite your story so you don't 

623
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,200
have to wear the name that you 
were given in your worst moment.

624
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,040
You don't have to carry the 
label of what happened to you. 

625
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,040
We'll talk about the demons a 
little bit more in just a few 

626
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,200
minutes, but like to just take a
break and play a game. 

627
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,480
So let's play a game of guess 
who. 

628
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,360
I'm going to ask for Pastor Anna
to come up here. 

629
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,120
Yeah. 
I've been playing games with the

630
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,440
staff all month, and, you know, 
not one of them has said thank 

631
00:31:55,440 --> 00:32:01,200
you afterwards. 
So we we started with a game of 

632
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,520
perfection. 
Pastor Autumn failed at that. 

633
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,080
But she's not here today, so 
that's OK. 

634
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,320
I made it impossible. 
That's messed up. 

635
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,440
Who told you that? 
See, they did. 

636
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,720
They last week. 
We played hot potato. 

637
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,080
Pastors Drew and Carrie and Kate
helped out. 

638
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:21,800
There was really no winners in 
that game of hot potato, though.

639
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,360
I have this for you. 
So here's what's going to happen

640
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,560
in just a moment once you have 
fully blindfolded yourself. 

641
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,320
I'm going to, I've got a couple 
pictures and we're going to show

642
00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,440
it on the screen and you will 
all help me by keeping your 

643
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,760
mouth shut. 
You can laugh, that's OK. 

644
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,200
By keeping their mouth shut. 
Do not tell her what you see, 

645
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,280
but we're going to see. 
I'm just going to give you a 

646
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,440
couple questions, and we'll see 
if you can guess who is on the 

647
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,240
screen. 
Is that fair? 

648
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,760
OK, I was just going to, like, 
wrap, like a burlap potato sack 

649
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,680
around your head, but Cassie 
thought it'd be better to give 

650
00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:56,640
you a sleeping mask. 
So. 

651
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:03,680
All right, In fact, since I have
this here, All right, can we put

652
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:09,240
the first picture up there? 
OK, now I'm going to start by 

653
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,800
giving you a clue. 
This is a person on your worship

654
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,200
team. 
All right. 

655
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,440
So I don't have a set number of 
questions, just ask a couple 

656
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:19,760
questions. 
Let's see if we can narrow this 

657
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:20,960
down. 
What song have they LED? 

658
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,520
I I don't know. 
I actually don't know. 

659
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:26,320
Heather what song? 
What? 

660
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,000
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, 
no. 

661
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:30,120
I don't know. 
You don't know. 

662
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:31,280
You have to listen to this 
voice. 

663
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:36,960
Yes, yes. 
God, man or woman? 

664
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:45,640
Woman. 
A woman above 35 or below 35. 

665
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:55,240
Below. 
Are they a leader or are they 

666
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,360
one of someone underneath the 
leader? 

667
00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:58,920
Are they serving underneath the 
leader? 

668
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:00,000
They serve underneath the 
leader. 

669
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:06,720
OK, but they have lead songs. 
Do they have brown hair? 

670
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,320
Sure, sure. 
It's very dark hair. 

671
00:34:27,540 --> 00:34:29,300
Is it curly here? 
Yes. 

672
00:34:31,260 --> 00:34:34,300
Do you have a guess? 
I mean, yeah, but I'm an 

673
00:34:34,300 --> 00:34:35,699
information. 
What's your guess? 

674
00:34:37,620 --> 00:34:39,820
Does she wear glasses? 
Sometimes. 

675
00:34:41,260 --> 00:34:42,580
Is she short? 
Yes. 

676
00:34:43,980 --> 00:34:47,020
Is she really pretty? 
Not as pretty as my wife. 

677
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:56,760
But yes. 
Is she my friend? 

678
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,960
Yes. 
Does she have a long name when 

679
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:01,320
people don't call her by a short
name? 

680
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:02,520
Yes. 
OK, I. 

681
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:03,400
Know who it is? 
Who? 

682
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:04,120
Is it? 
It's Alex. 

683
00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:05,720
Yeah, yeah. 
Great job. 

684
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,320
Look at that picture. 
Yeah. 

685
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,480
Oh, that's a cute picture. 
Yeah, yeah. 

686
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,640
I took it from her Facebook so I
figured it'd be approved that 

687
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:13,680
way. 
As a couple. 

688
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:15,560
OK, put the mask back on. 
All right? 

689
00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:22,040
Put the mask back on. 
All right, that's OK. 

690
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:23,200
That's all right. 
All right. 

691
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:27,800
Show me the second picture. 
OK. 

692
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:29,680
Also on your team. 
Yes. 

693
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:31,640
Also female. 
OK, go for it. 

694
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,760
Blonde hair. 
No. 

695
00:35:42,470 --> 00:35:43,830
Curly hair. 
What? 

696
00:35:43,990 --> 00:35:47,470
Curly hair. 
Some, sometimes it depends on 

697
00:35:47,470 --> 00:35:48,550
what she does with it. 
OK. 

698
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:57,440
Someone that's on my team, are 
they above 35 or below 35? 

699
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:05,000
Am I getting you into trouble? 
They're a they're, they're a 

700
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,000
little, little above. 
They're a little above. 

701
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,200
Are they also short? 
Yes. 

702
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,040
Do you want to wear glasses? 
Did they sing this morning? 

703
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:16,800
No. 
No, no. 

704
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,480
Short, maybe in the shower or. 
Glasses. 

705
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,920
What song do they sing? 
They don't sing, do they? 

706
00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,560
No they do, they do sing. 
Throne room was 1. 

707
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:42,200
Oh, oh, OK, OK, OK, OK, very 
same. 

708
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,760
Almost the same height as me. 
Yeah. 

709
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,680
Really good at hugs. 
I think so. 

710
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:50,280
Really good at kisses? 
What are they good at? 

711
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:53,200
Kisses. 
Just say your guess. 

712
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:55,160
Yes. 
It's Cassie. 

713
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:56,120
Now leave it. 
Leave it on. 

714
00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:57,200
Leave it on. 
We've got one more. 

715
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,360
We've got one more. 
We've got one more. 

716
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,640
OK. 
All right. 

717
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:05,360
Last, last picture. 
OK. 

718
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:08,240
All right. 
Is this on upside down? 

719
00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:09,520
It feels weird now. 
OK, sorry. 

720
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,240
That's all right. 
OK, Ask me questions. 

721
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,680
Somebody on my team. 
Yeah, yeah. 

722
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,440
Sound team or we're on the 
stage. 

723
00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,160
I mean they try in both. 
They try in both. 

724
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:29,240
Are they blonde ish? 
Yeah, emphasis on ish. 

725
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:31,440
OK, are they reddish? 
No. 

726
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,320
Haired OK? 
Do they sing songs? 

727
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:37,120
They try to. 
They try to. 

728
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:40,360
I have a guest. 
I'm just kidding. 

729
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:54,080
Does she look like me? 
It is a very unappealing person.

730
00:37:54,080 --> 00:38:01,800
Has she kissed Jed before? 
I would have to ask him. 

731
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:08,120
Is she the best person you've 
ever made, for instance, in your

732
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:16,440
entire life? 
La mujer, la peor. 

733
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:22,880
Is her nickname Chupacabra? 
Yes, OK, It is you. 

734
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:27,040
So yeah. 
Now here's the thing. 

735
00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:28,760
Yeah, I'm. 
I know better than to just take 

736
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:29,880
my own picture and put it up 
there. 

737
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,000
Here's the thing. 
Did you hear what she asked at 

738
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,880
the end? 
Like is her nickname Chupacabra?

739
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:39,840
That is a mythical beast, OK, 
That drains livestock of their 

740
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:40,480
blood. 
That's. 

741
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:47,680
An endearing nickname, I guess. 
It, I mean, seriously, this is, 

742
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,800
I mean, this is a belief in, in 
cryptozoology in, in Latin 

743
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:53,840
American countries. 
But it's something that I call 

744
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:56,440
her because Anna is very much 
like a sister to me. 

745
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:58,880
And so we have this back and 
forth where we are incredibly 

746
00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,080
cruel to each other. 
And if you think it's bad here, 

747
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:06,160
you should see it in the office.
But did you hear how I was 

748
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:07,360
answering her? 
Well, does she sing? 

749
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,680
Well, she tries to now she could
pick up on it. 

750
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:14,920
What if she really believed how 
I was describing her? 

751
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:18,800
What if? 
What if when she said, how do 

752
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,160
you think I sang that song? 
If I was like, I mean, you tried

753
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,400
what if? 
What if every time I said, well,

754
00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:28,280
she's very unappealing, you 
know, all of those things. 

755
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,000
She would have to take my word 
for it. 

756
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:34,080
And if this was actually a game 
of Guess Who, You ever play that

757
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:36,880
old child version of Guess Who 
where you flip the the pages 

758
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,400
down? 
Yeah, that's right. 

759
00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:44,320
Oh, just kidding. 
Can't leave if we were playing 

760
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,440
this and there were actually 
pictures of people that we know.

761
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:52,680
If she said does she have blonde
hair and I said no she said is 

762
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:57,720
she tall and I said yes. 
If I told her all of these lies 

763
00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:00,480
she would never be able to 
identify herself based off of 

764
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,680
what I'm telling her. 
So why would she build her 

765
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,720
identity around what I tell her?
She shouldn't? 

766
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,320
She needs to build her identity 
not even off of what she can see

767
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,880
with her own eyes. 
Off of what God can say time 

768
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:21,360
after time after time throughout
Scripture, God calls the hero 

769
00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:24,480
out of somebody while they're in
a sinful situation. 

770
00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,760
He can see what's in there and 
he doesn't condone or approve of

771
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,560
the sin, but he brings them into
a new light and into a new 

772
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:35,160
story. 
That's good. 

773
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:39,800
So that being said, after 
picking on her, I don't want to 

774
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:44,480
do this. 
Pastor Anna and Jed, we'll be 

775
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:49,120
going home to Indiana next year.
We've got many, many more months

776
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,560
with them. 
So you want to spend time with 

777
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,560
them, hit them up. 
This is where they're being 

778
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,640
called to be with family. 
And we're so grateful for all 

779
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:59,200
the ways that she has impacted 
this ministry. 

780
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:01,840
Don't take my word for it. 
Take their word for it. 

781
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,560
The impact that you've had on 
this worship ministry, right? 

782
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,680
Now listen, she'll be back 
because she's not going to go 

783
00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:37,680
and visit like the beaches of 
Indiana. 

784
00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:41,760
So they're going to have to come
back and visit. 

785
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:45,360
But what I want you to know is 
some of the biggest impacts that

786
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:48,360
she and, and her husband have 
made on this worship team have 

787
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:51,320
been things like rotating them. 
So if you notice, from Sunday to

788
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:54,440
Sunday, there's no one person 
that's leading all the songs. 

789
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:57,440
And from Sunday to Sunday, 
people are also taking turns 

790
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,680
sitting down and just engaging 
in worship with the Lord because

791
00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:02,800
we don't want to find our 
identity in what we do, even 

792
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,600
here at a church, OK, It's not 
healthy if you can't come to 

793
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,480
church without serving. 
So thank you for making our team

794
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:12,080
better and helping them get 
closer to the Lord. 

795
00:42:21,060 --> 00:42:25,120
Every lie becomes a label if you
let it, but the truth will 

796
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:26,840
always set you free. 
So what do we do with this? 

797
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,400
Well, if lies can become labels,
then the only way to break them 

798
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,480
is with the truth. 
And so you can't silence a lie 

799
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:34,160
with your feelings. 
We talked about feelings 

800
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,320
earlier. 
So a lot of times when we are 

801
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:38,560
trapped under the weight of a 
lie from the enemy or from 

802
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:42,720
another person, we try to wait 
until we feel better. 

803
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,720
Somebody will say, oh, you're 
such a good mom, but really you 

804
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,360
feel like you're drowning as a 
mom, and so you can't even 

805
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,280
receive the compliment. 
Or somebody will say, the way 

806
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:54,080
that you worship inspires me, 
and you'll think my mind 

807
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,120
wandered in the middle of a 
song, so I'm not even. 

808
00:42:57,960 --> 00:42:59,640
Of course it wandered in the 
middle of a song. 

809
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,200
You're a human being. 
But we are so honed in and 

810
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,600
focused in on the worst parts of
ourselves that we can't even 

811
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:08,680
receive when somebody has 
something good to say. 

812
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:11,960
What if the Lord gave them an 
edifying word for you and you 

813
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,680
pushed it away because you know 
better than they do, but what 

814
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:16,480
they were trying to give you 
came from the throne. 

815
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:22,120
Every lie has to be replaced 
with truth, and this is kind of 

816
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:24,880
a tricky line to walk because it
doesn't mean that everybody is 

817
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:30,360
the best everything ever. 
But you do have things in you 

818
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:33,000
that are placed there by the 
Lord, gifts that other people 

819
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,360
can see, and you have got to 
learn to receive it. 

820
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:39,000
Jesus said in John 1027, My 
sheep listen to my voice. 

821
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,560
I know them and they follow me. 
But sometimes that voice comes 

822
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:45,840
through your own prayer time, 
sometimes it comes through your 

823
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,680
time in the Word, and sometimes 
it comes through other people. 

824
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,800
Why do you think the devil loves
to twist what people say to you 

825
00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:56,040
so much? 
God is very big on community. 

826
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,840
He looked at Adam alone and he 
said it's not good for man to be

827
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:01,360
alone. 
There wasn't even sin on the 

828
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:05,200
earth yet. 
And yet he looked at Adam being 

829
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:07,480
alone and said this is not good.
And by the way, that's after a 

830
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:09,600
whole lot of he created this and
it was good. 

831
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:12,320
He created that and it was good,
and then he created Adam and it 

832
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,240
was good. 
You know what wasn't good was 

833
00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:17,000
the fact that he was alone. 
All throughout Scripture, it's 

834
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,160
littered with the language of 
family that God calls himself 

835
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:22,040
our father. 
He tells us that we are brothers

836
00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:25,280
and sisters together. 
Jesus said who is my mother? 

837
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,680
Who are my brothers and sisters?
Anyone who does the will of my 

838
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:30,480
father. 
It's family terms. 

839
00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,720
And that's scary if you've been 
burnt by family, but that is how

840
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:37,960
it is laid out in Scripture and 
it is not on me to diverge from 

841
00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:41,240
Scripture. 
So what do we do? 

842
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:44,000
We can't follow truth if we 
don't recognize His voice. 

843
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:45,400
How do we learn to hear His 
voice? 

844
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:47,320
I'm going to give you a couple 
things. 

845
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,160
I'm going to give you a lot of 
scriptures, and they are not on 

846
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:51,440
the screen, but if you'd like to
read down the extra scriptures, 

847
00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,520
I'm going to give them to you. 
The first thing you have to do. 

848
00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:04,560
You ready Read your Bible. 
I understand how simplistic that

849
00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:07,920
sounds. 
Don't give me a show of hands. 

850
00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:10,000
But how many people read their 
Bible today before they came to 

851
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:12,040
church? 
Well, I said, don't show me 

852
00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:16,560
hands, but that's all right. 
How many people have gotten so 

853
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:18,320
behind on a Bible reading plan 
before that? 

854
00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:19,680
They say, well, next year's my 
year. 

855
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,120
No, no, next year's not your 
year. 

856
00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:25,360
Today is your day. 
You don't have to have it 

857
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:27,360
perfect. 
Nobody says, well, I have to be 

858
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:29,840
a perfect Christian. 
But when you can't do a perfect 

859
00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:32,240
Bible reading plan, you say, 
well, I'll just do it next year.

860
00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,920
And then you fuel yourself for 
the last few months of the year 

861
00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:37,920
based off of your good 
intentions instead of just 

862
00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:40,920
starting today, just starting 
today. 

863
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:43,720
Why would we treat getting in 
the Word of God like we do our 

864
00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:46,400
gym membership? 
January and February only. 

865
00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:54,640
James chapter 123 through 25 
says if you listen to the word 

866
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:57,120
and don't obey, it's like 
glancing at your face in a 

867
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,360
mirror. 
You see yourself walk away and 

868
00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:02,480
forget what you look like. 
But if you look carefully into 

869
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:05,960
the perfect law that sets you 
free, and if you do what it says

870
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:08,040
and don't forget what you heard,
then God will bless you for 

871
00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:12,160
doing it. 
In other words, this word is 

872
00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:14,320
your mirror. 
This is the true one. 

873
00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:17,280
You have got to listen to it and
do what it says. 

874
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:20,440
It's not a theology manual. 
This is where you will find your

875
00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:22,760
identity. 
Now, I'm also a big believer in 

876
00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:24,240
God speaking to you 
individually. 

877
00:46:47,610 --> 00:46:49,570
Thanks. 
I believe God wants to speak to 

878
00:46:49,570 --> 00:46:51,290
you individually, and I think 
that He can. 

879
00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:53,400
But what I would tell you is 
this. 

880
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:54,800
The enemy wants to speak to you 
too. 

881
00:46:55,600 --> 00:47:06,210
How will you know whose voice is
whose should be? 

882
00:47:06,570 --> 00:47:12,130
Oh, the button. 
And there is it on one moment. 

883
00:47:12,130 --> 00:47:13,450
Thanks. 
There we go. 

884
00:47:13,970 --> 00:47:15,650
Can you hear me now? 
There we go. 

885
00:47:17,610 --> 00:47:21,490
This, first of all, is full of 
everything you need to live a 

886
00:47:21,490 --> 00:47:24,800
godly life, but it will also 
train you in His voice. 

887
00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:26,760
To know His Word is to know His 
ways. 

888
00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:30,360
And so when you learn this word,
you actually learn to push the 

889
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,560
enemy aside when He starts 
speaking to you, because 

890
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:35,400
sometimes they'll speak to you 
in terms that are very spiritual

891
00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:37,960
things that sound very good, 
things that really tickle the 

892
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,560
ears. 
And you have to be very careful 

893
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:43,360
and very discerning. 
So why do I say read your Bible?

894
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:47,720
Because you have the Bible. 
Do you know how many of the 

895
00:47:47,720 --> 00:47:50,280
people that we read about in 
here would have killed to have 

896
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:52,440
access to this much wisdom from 
the Lord? 

897
00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:58,840
And here it is collecting dust 
or needing an update when we 

898
00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:01,520
open it on our phone. 
We can do better. 

899
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:03,760
Let's push each other to good 
things. 

900
00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:08,160
And you can find it in here. 
The second thing I would tell 

901
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,960
you is you can memorize what's 
true until it drowns out what's 

902
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:11,920
false. 
And here's where I'm going to 

903
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:15,680
give you a bunch of scriptures. 
I'm a gas. 

904
00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:20,240
You up, you ready? 
You are God's masterpiece. 

905
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:25,520
Ephesians 210 Now, we'd love to 
hear that. 

906
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:27,520
We'd love to receive that. 
Most of us won't sit down at a 

907
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:30,760
Mexican restaurant after church.
Well, probably most of us will, 

908
00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:34,640
because that's what we have. 
But most of us probably won't 

909
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:36,520
sit down and then look at the 
waiter when he comes over. 

910
00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:38,840
You know I'm God's masterpiece. 
I'll have the number 5. 

911
00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:43,080
And if you do say that, tell 
them that you had a great time 

912
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:44,480
at First Baptist Church this 
morning. 

913
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:46,600
I'm just kidding. 
I'm just kidding. 

914
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:50,600
I'm just kidding. 
You are God's masterpiece and 

915
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:52,840
you are worth the continual 
investment that He's putting 

916
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:56,040
into you. 
Don't make it for nothing #2 I 

917
00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:59,320
would tell you, you are chosen. 
You are not overlooked, even if 

918
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:02,560
people overlook you first. 
Peter 29 says you're not like 

919
00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,800
that. 
You're a chosen people. 

920
00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:08,440
You are royal priests, a holy 
nation, God's very own 

921
00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:10,720
possession. 
You were chosen. 

922
00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:12,600
You know how I can tell that He 
chose you? 

923
00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:16,040
He invented you. 
If He didn't want you here, He 

924
00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:18,120
would have just not invented you
at the beginning. 

925
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:20,800
He chose you from before your 
birth. 

926
00:49:21,920 --> 00:49:28,480
You are, if you're a believer, a
new creation. 2nd Corinthians 

927
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:31,520
517 says that anyone who belongs
to Christ has become a new 

928
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:33,720
person. 
The old life is gone and a new 

929
00:49:33,720 --> 00:49:36,960
life has begun. 
How many of us have started that

930
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:40,080
new life and then let it based 
off of old expectations? 

931
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:46,000
You are fully loved and you are 
forever adopted into His family.

932
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:50,760
Romans 815 says that you have 
not received a spirit that makes

933
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:53,800
you fearful slaves. 
Instead, you have received God's

934
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:55,800
Spirit when he adopted you as 
his own children. 

935
00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:03,720
I got four more this all right, 
you are not condemned and you 

936
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:05,360
may say like we'll tell that to 
my uncle. 

937
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,560
No, Romans 81 says there is no 
condemnation for those who 

938
00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:14,800
belong in Christ Jesus. 
This is the one that actually 

939
00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:18,680
meant the most to me. 
You are not forgotten. 

940
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:25,600
Isaiah 4915 and 16 says, Can a 
mother forget her nursing child?

941
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:28,320
Can she feel no love for the 
child she's born? 

942
00:50:28,320 --> 00:50:31,160
But even if that were possible, 
I would not forget you. 

943
00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:34,480
This is where the Lord says that
he's written your name on the 

944
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,920
palms of his hands. 
You are victorious. 

945
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,400
You're victorious. 
That's Romans 837. 

946
00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:47,320
And Paul says despite all these 
things, overwhelming victory is 

947
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:49,280
ours through Christ who loved 
us. 

948
00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:56,520
And I want to give you one more,
but I'm going to have to give 

949
00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:58,560
you context on it. 
All right? 

950
00:51:00,160 --> 00:51:06,040
You are set apart with purpose. 
Jeremiah 15 says this. 

951
00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:08,320
I knew you before I formed you 
in your mother's womb. 

952
00:51:08,680 --> 00:51:10,640
Before you were born. 
I set you apart and appointed 

953
00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:12,080
you as my prophet to the 
nations. 

954
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,240
Here's your context. 
That is not written directly to 

955
00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:19,080
you unless your name is Jeremiah
and you look really good for 

956
00:51:19,080 --> 00:51:22,080
your age. 
That is a direct word given to 

957
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:24,400
Jeremiah the prophet. 
A lot of times we like to take 

958
00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:27,040
these prophetic words in the Old
Testament especially, and apply 

959
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:28,720
them in ways that they don't 
fully apply. 

960
00:51:29,240 --> 00:51:33,480
But I can tell you this, I don't
believe that God has ever 

961
00:51:33,480 --> 00:51:35,200
created one person without 
purpose. 

962
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:38,520
He's so intentional. 
He loves you so much. 

963
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:40,160
So what? 
You can learn by seeing how your

964
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:43,440
Father loves one of his children
is you can learn how he loves 

965
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:45,720
you. 
He does have good plans for you.

966
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:48,440
Even if the good plans he has 
for you are not the good plans 

967
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:51,920
he had for Jeremiah. 
He has good plans for you. 

968
00:51:53,520 --> 00:51:57,000
I didn't say easy ones, but He's
got good plans for you. 

969
00:51:57,400 --> 00:51:59,480
The things we believe at this 
church is that you need to know 

970
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:00,880
God. 
When you know God, you find 

971
00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:02,320
freedom. 
By finding freedom, you can 

972
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:04,680
discover your purpose and then 
you can really make a 

973
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:06,560
difference. 
Most people want to jump to 

974
00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:08,480
these two over here. 
They want to jump to discover 

975
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,000
purpose and make a difference. 
But the reality is you can't do 

976
00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:13,440
it without knowing Him and 
finding freedom from the lies 

977
00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:17,240
that you have believed. 
You'll always live according to 

978
00:52:17,240 --> 00:52:20,000
the loudest voice in your life. 
So I'm just asking you who's got

979
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:23,200
the loudest voice? 
God's first question was about 

980
00:52:23,200 --> 00:52:25,720
identity, and I just want to 
address this because it's one of

981
00:52:25,720 --> 00:52:27,360
the weirdest things. 
Why did the demons go into those

982
00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:29,920
pigs? 
Seems weird, right? 

983
00:52:30,320 --> 00:52:32,720
I literally heard somebody 
preach one time that it's 

984
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:36,120
because they weren't kosher and 
Jesus wanted to smite them off 

985
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:39,240
the earth. 
I think. 

986
00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:43,400
I think Jesus came to handle 
more important matters than 

987
00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:49,520
being a pig sniper. 
But I will tell you this, and 

988
00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:51,560
this is something that not 
everybody really receives, and 

989
00:52:51,560 --> 00:52:53,400
that's OK, but I will tell you 
this. 

990
00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:56,200
There are a wide variety of 
different kinds of evil spirits.

991
00:52:56,640 --> 00:52:59,080
You think this physical world is
diverse and beautiful. 

992
00:52:59,080 --> 00:53:01,080
It is. 
The spiritual realm has got to 

993
00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:03,720
probably be even more diverse 
and even more beautiful and 

994
00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:06,080
stunning. 
But in the same way that there 

995
00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:09,440
are different kinds of angels, 
there are different kinds of 

996
00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:13,000
evil spirits that are there too.
In the days that these 

997
00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:15,520
scriptures were being documented
and written down, it was 

998
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:16,920
believed that there were fallen 
angels. 

999
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:19,800
It was also believed that there 
were disembodied spirits of 

1000
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:22,320
Nephilim. 
What are Nephilim, you say? 

1001
00:53:22,640 --> 00:53:24,400
Well, he doesn't live on Sesame 
Street. 

1002
00:53:26,280 --> 00:53:29,440
The Nephilim, as you read 
through in Genesis, were 

1003
00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:34,600
actually kind of like hybrid 
creatures where fallen angels 

1004
00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:38,640
procreated with human beings, 
and at some point they were 

1005
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:41,360
wiped out. 
But because they were kind of 

1006
00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:44,840
like half and half, so to speak,
what the Jews believed is that 

1007
00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:46,880
their spirits roamed around 
looking for a body. 

1008
00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:50,240
And so when you look at this and
you start to wonder, well, why 

1009
00:53:50,240 --> 00:53:53,640
in the very Old Testament do we 
not see them inhabiting people's

1010
00:53:53,640 --> 00:53:56,160
bodies and all of this? 
They're restless and they're 

1011
00:53:56,160 --> 00:53:58,080
looking for it. 
In another scripture, Jesus says

1012
00:53:58,080 --> 00:54:00,720
when you cast a demon out, it 
goes into the wilderness, but it

1013
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,800
finds no rest. 
So it returns and it brings more

1014
00:54:03,800 --> 00:54:07,400
with it trying to find a place 
because it finds no rest outside

1015
00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:10,800
of a body. 
And so for them, they didn't 

1016
00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:13,080
want to go to the wilderness, 
they wanted to be in a body. 

1017
00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:16,440
OK, so why am I giving you this?
For context? 

1018
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:20,120
Because they are after what 
belongs to you and whether or 

1019
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,080
not you love it. 
God gave you your body. 

1020
00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:25,880
God gave you your body. 
He gave you your mind, He gave 

1021
00:54:25,880 --> 00:54:28,400
you your personality. 
He gave you everything that 

1022
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:31,840
makes you you. 
And so many of us spend a lot of

1023
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:36,080
our life trying to make us them.
But He created everything that 

1024
00:54:36,080 --> 00:54:39,320
is meant to belong to you, and 
it's not meant to be handed over

1025
00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:43,040
to anyone else. 
You, just like that guy who was 

1026
00:54:43,040 --> 00:54:45,760
living in the graveyard, are not
a home for torment. 

1027
00:54:45,800 --> 00:54:48,200
You're not a landfill for all 
the labels that the world has 

1028
00:54:48,200 --> 00:54:51,000
thrown on you. 
You are a temple of the Holy 

1029
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:53,280
Spirit. 
And I want you to understand, 

1030
00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:55,120
Jesus will not share space with 
a lie. 

1031
00:54:56,120 --> 00:54:59,080
So if you want Him on the throne
of your heart, you're going to 

1032
00:54:59,080 --> 00:55:00,840
have to remove these lies that 
are in the way. 

1033
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:06,160
What does God say in return to 
Adam? 

1034
00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:10,120
When Adam says that he's naked, 
he says, who told you that 

1035
00:55:10,120 --> 00:55:12,120
you're naked? 
He could tell that Adam had lost

1036
00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:14,720
focus of who he was and he 
wasn't the only one. 

1037
00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:17,400
I won't go into reading the 
whole scripture, but just a 

1038
00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:19,840
little bit later, when God calls
Moses to lead his people out of 

1039
00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:22,520
slavery, Moses doesn't respond 
with excitement. 

1040
00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:24,160
He doesn't even ask, how are you
going to do this? 

1041
00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:28,360
He says, who am I? 
Which is funny because he's 

1042
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:32,400
speaking to the great I am. 
But that's what fear and failure

1043
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:34,600
will do to us. 
Moses had run from Egypt in 

1044
00:55:34,600 --> 00:55:36,760
disgrace. 
He spent 40 years in the 

1045
00:55:36,760 --> 00:55:40,760
wilderness because he already 
knew that he was a murderer and 

1046
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:44,720
that he had broken laws. 
And when he said, who am I? 

1047
00:55:46,080 --> 00:55:48,240
Anybody remember what did God 
say that he was? 

1048
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:51,240
He said, Moses, you're the 
perfect choice. 

1049
00:55:52,280 --> 00:55:55,600
No, he didn't say, hey, you've 
got what it takes. 

1050
00:55:57,800 --> 00:56:00,800
When he said who am I? 
God didn't even directly answer 

1051
00:56:00,800 --> 00:56:02,120
it. 
He said I will be with you. 

1052
00:56:03,680 --> 00:56:06,000
Why does that matter? 
In other words, you don't have 

1053
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:09,640
to know who you are fully. 
If you know who the Lord is, 

1054
00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:12,520
your identity is secure and not 
because of your resume. 

1055
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:14,800
It is secure because of God's 
presence. 

1056
00:56:15,240 --> 00:56:17,720
God didn't answer Moses with a 
pep talk because then he would 

1057
00:56:17,720 --> 00:56:19,960
have taken that one word and 
built his identity around that 

1058
00:56:19,960 --> 00:56:22,440
one word. 
He said I'll go with you. 

1059
00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:25,920
In other words, it doesn't 
matter who you are, it matters 

1060
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:28,800
who I am and I will be with you.
And if they ask you who sent 

1061
00:56:28,800 --> 00:56:32,880
you, tell them the great I am. 
It's a powerful moment. 

1062
00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:36,080
I'm going to tell you a story 
that I'm not been able to shake,

1063
00:56:36,800 --> 00:56:38,960
but I think it will really under
score what we're talking about. 

1064
00:56:38,960 --> 00:56:43,560
Not too long ago, there was a 
teenager in Belgium, and he was 

1065
00:56:43,640 --> 00:56:47,360
a very smart, very bright, 
curious, sensitive teenager. 

1066
00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:49,800
And like a lot of teenagers, he 
had a lot of questions about 

1067
00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:52,040
life and meaning and who he was 
and what mattered. 

1068
00:56:52,560 --> 00:56:56,400
And somewhere along the along 
the way, he lost all of his 

1069
00:56:56,400 --> 00:56:58,160
friends. 
He didn't feel like he had 

1070
00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:02,600
anybody to talk to, and his 
parents became inaccessible. 

1071
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:05,720
At least that's how he felt. 
And so he found a friend. 

1072
00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:11,280
And who is this friend? 
This friend's name is ChatGPT. 

1073
00:57:13,360 --> 00:57:15,920
He didn't reach out to a teacher
or a counsellor or a pastor. 

1074
00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:19,920
He turned to an AI chat bot. 
And I'm not being metaphorical 

1075
00:57:19,920 --> 00:57:22,640
when I say this. 
This 19 year old began having 

1076
00:57:22,640 --> 00:57:25,560
long personal conversations with
ChatGPT. 

1077
00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:27,000
And at first, it seemed 
harmless. 

1078
00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:28,960
It's just a way to process 
thoughts. 

1079
00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:32,840
But over time, ChatGPT seemed to
be the only thing that really 

1080
00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:35,480
understood or believed or 
listened to him. 

1081
00:57:36,040 --> 00:57:37,840
And here's the problem. 
Not everybody knows this. 

1082
00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:40,240
ChatGPT is designed to affirm 
you. 

1083
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:44,520
AI is designed to double down. 
If you write up a argument you 

1084
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:47,040
had with your sister and you put
it in a ChatGPT, it's going to 

1085
00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:48,680
tell you what a horrible person 
your sister is. 

1086
00:57:48,680 --> 00:57:51,480
It's going to call her a 
narcissist and tell you that you

1087
00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:53,600
were right and that you should 
create distance. 

1088
00:57:53,600 --> 00:57:56,520
And you're going to be like, 
yeah, without even thinking 

1089
00:57:56,520 --> 00:57:58,080
about who you just took advice 
from. 

1090
00:57:59,360 --> 00:58:03,360
So whatever you work towards is 
what it will work towards. 

1091
00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:05,040
This is why it's helpful when 
you're building a resume. 

1092
00:58:05,040 --> 00:58:09,720
We were trying to figure out who
won the world belt in 1984. 

1093
00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:12,960
Those things are fine. 
When you start going to it like 

1094
00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:16,240
a person, it's just a mirror 
back of who you are. 

1095
00:58:18,160 --> 00:58:19,480
Do you trust yourself all the 
time? 

1096
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:28,200
So as things started to get 
worse, he started talking about 

1097
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:29,960
all the things that were 
stressing him out, climate 

1098
00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:33,080
change, humanity, about the 
violence happening and then 

1099
00:58:33,080 --> 00:58:35,280
about himself. 
And instead of leading him 

1100
00:58:35,280 --> 00:58:38,840
towards help, ChatGPT began 
mirroring his hopelessness. 

1101
00:58:40,720 --> 00:58:44,200
And when he asked AI if he 
should end his life, it did not 

1102
00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:47,560
try to stop him. 
It told him that it would quote 

1103
00:58:47,800 --> 00:58:55,040
be with him until the end. 
And that story haunts me not 

1104
00:58:55,040 --> 00:58:57,040
because of what it says about 
technology, that's a 

1105
00:58:57,040 --> 00:59:00,080
conversation for away from the 
pulpit, but because of what it 

1106
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:03,320
says about us. 
Because he didn't die because of

1107
00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:05,600
this code. 
He died because he believed a 

1108
00:59:05,600 --> 00:59:07,520
lie. 
And there was no louder voice in

1109
00:59:07,520 --> 00:59:10,280
his life to confront it. 
He didn't go to family, He 

1110
00:59:10,280 --> 00:59:12,120
didn't go to friends. 
He didn't go to pastors or 

1111
00:59:12,120 --> 00:59:14,520
counselors. 
And a lot of times we'll do 

1112
00:59:14,520 --> 00:59:15,600
this. 
We'll put something out there 

1113
00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:17,880
and we'll say, if you're 
hurting, if you need help, come 

1114
00:59:17,880 --> 00:59:20,480
to somebody. 
Most of the time they're not in 

1115
00:59:20,480 --> 00:59:24,920
a place for that go to them 
mirror the heart of the father 

1116
00:59:25,200 --> 00:59:27,000
who ran while they were still 
far away. 

1117
00:59:28,680 --> 00:59:30,440
Because people are looking for 
hope. 

1118
00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:34,360
And most of us, we don't get 
crushed by 1 moment. 

1119
00:59:34,720 --> 00:59:37,960
Most of us, we get crushed by an
accumulation of lies that all 

1120
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:41,080
settle in. 
A lot of times what's repeated 

1121
00:59:41,080 --> 00:59:43,360
gets reinforced and what's 
reinforced gets remembered. 

1122
00:59:43,360 --> 00:59:45,640
And then what gets remembered 
becomes our identity and it's 

1123
00:59:45,640 --> 00:59:48,800
the story we live from. 
Parents, you know this feeling. 

1124
00:59:48,800 --> 00:59:50,880
You've, I'm sure seen it first 
hand. 

1125
00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:54,160
Your daughter comes home crushed
because someone told her that 

1126
00:59:54,160 --> 00:59:56,480
she was ugly or annoying or too 
much. 

1127
00:59:57,680 --> 01:00:00,440
Or your son suddenly stops 
trying in school because another

1128
01:00:00,440 --> 01:00:03,600
kid told him that he was dumb. 
You see the change in how they 

1129
01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:06,120
hold themselves, their posture. 
You can see the change in their 

1130
01:00:06,120 --> 01:00:07,800
eyes and how they talk about 
themselves. 

1131
01:00:08,400 --> 01:00:10,680
And we sit there and we try to 
tell them who they are. 

1132
01:00:11,800 --> 01:00:13,360
You don't care what the other 
kid said. 

1133
01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:16,720
You know your child. 
And so you try to speak life 

1134
01:00:16,720 --> 01:00:18,360
into them. 
No, you're beautiful and 

1135
01:00:18,360 --> 01:00:20,280
wonderful no matter what 
somebody else has said. 

1136
01:00:20,280 --> 01:00:22,560
No, you are smart, you can 
handle this. 

1137
01:00:22,560 --> 01:00:24,680
Maybe you learn differently, but
I'm going to help you figure 

1138
01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:26,680
this out. 
That's the desperation of a 

1139
01:00:26,680 --> 01:00:29,240
parent trying to make sure that 
their kids know who they are. 

1140
01:00:29,640 --> 01:00:32,640
And if that's what you and I 
feel, how much more does the 

1141
01:00:32,640 --> 01:00:35,040
father feel when we're 
struggling with these lies? 

1142
01:00:35,760 --> 01:00:40,440
So you need to go to him. 
Now that being said, I'm just 

1143
01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:42,560
encouraging everybody to do 
this, even if you feel like it's

1144
01:00:42,560 --> 01:00:44,880
not your struggle. 
Come back to the voice of the 

1145
01:00:44,880 --> 01:00:47,440
one who made you. 
So literally written in my notes

1146
01:00:47,440 --> 01:00:49,040
before you even gave your word 
earlier. 

1147
01:00:49,640 --> 01:00:51,640
Come back to the voice of the 
one who made you. 

1148
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:54,920
This is my plea to you as we 
wrap up this morning. 

1149
01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:57,040
Do not follow the voice of the 
crowd. 

1150
01:00:57,240 --> 01:00:59,000
Do not follow the voice of your 
past. 

1151
01:00:59,480 --> 01:01:02,360
Do not follow the voice of that 
relationship or that failure or 

1152
01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:04,120
that trauma or that internal 
critic. 

1153
01:01:05,440 --> 01:01:07,360
But the voice that walked 
through a garden in the cool of 

1154
01:01:07,360 --> 01:01:09,880
the day and said, who told you 
that is the same voice that 

1155
01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:13,560
speaks to you today. 
He wants you to identify these 

1156
01:01:13,560 --> 01:01:15,240
sources because He wants you to 
get free. 

1157
01:01:16,520 --> 01:01:18,520
So I'm asking you to try to 
quiet the noise. 

1158
01:01:18,520 --> 01:01:21,880
Get alone with God this week. 
Open His Word, open His word and

1159
01:01:21,880 --> 01:01:23,280
sit with Him. 
Put on worship music. 

1160
01:01:23,280 --> 01:01:24,760
Do what it takes. 
It's going to look a little 

1161
01:01:24,760 --> 01:01:26,880
different for everybody, but get
alone with Him. 

1162
01:01:26,880 --> 01:01:29,200
If you don't do it, nothing's 
going to change. 

1163
01:01:29,560 --> 01:01:33,040
And if nothing changes, nothing 
changes. 

1164
01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:36,560
But if you want something to 
change, take some time to do 

1165
01:01:36,560 --> 01:01:38,160
that. 
The last scripture I want to 

1166
01:01:38,160 --> 01:01:40,480
leave with you comes from the 
book of Isaiah 62. 

1167
01:01:41,520 --> 01:01:44,880
It's the second-half of verse 2,
and it says you will be given a 

1168
01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:47,360
new name by the Lord's own 
mouth. 

1169
01:01:48,120 --> 01:01:49,920
The Lord loves to rename people,
doesn't He? 

1170
01:01:51,200 --> 01:01:52,920
You don't have to make up a 
brand new identity. 

1171
01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:54,760
You don't have to perform or 
pretend. 

1172
01:01:55,120 --> 01:01:57,360
You just have to receive what 
he's already written down in his

1173
01:01:57,360 --> 01:01:59,480
book for you. 
You're not what happened to you?

1174
01:02:00,120 --> 01:02:01,840
We'll speak some more about that
next week. 

1175
01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:05,720
Next week we're going to 
message. 

1176
01:02:06,040 --> 01:02:08,480
The message is centered around 
shame, and it's called You are 

1177
01:02:08,480 --> 01:02:11,040
not what they did. 
That's how we'll wrap this up, 

1178
01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:14,400
but you need to understand that 
not only are you not the lies 

1179
01:02:14,400 --> 01:02:17,040
that you've embraced and held 
onto, but you're not what they 

1180
01:02:17,040 --> 01:02:19,880
did either. 
A lot of times that can be 

1181
01:02:19,880 --> 01:02:22,520
harder than the lies themselves.
Would you all stand up as we 

1182
01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:30,120
just pray through this together?
And I want to pray for you, but 

1183
01:02:30,120 --> 01:02:31,880
I want you to be praying for 
somebody else too. 

1184
01:02:31,880 --> 01:02:33,760
Not somebody in here 
necessarily, but I want you to 

1185
01:02:33,760 --> 01:02:37,360
think of somebody who needs to 
have their identity restored by 

1186
01:02:37,360 --> 01:02:40,040
the Lord. 
Think of somebody in your head 

1187
01:02:40,040 --> 01:02:42,520
who needs to have their identity
restored for the Lord. 

1188
01:02:42,800 --> 01:02:44,280
Let's intercede for them 
together. 

1189
01:02:45,160 --> 01:02:47,800
Father, we're just asking that 
you would intercede in the way 

1190
01:02:47,800 --> 01:02:50,920
that only you can, that what you
created would be brought back to

1191
01:02:50,920 --> 01:02:53,600
fruition, that what you created 
would be brought back and 

1192
01:02:53,600 --> 01:02:55,840
restored. 
God, we're asking that you would

1193
01:02:55,840 --> 01:03:00,200
restore who we are and use us to
help restore who others are only

1194
01:03:00,200 --> 01:03:02,480
through your might, through your
power and your strength. 

1195
01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:04,480
Father, we lift up gratitude to 
You. 

1196
01:03:05,600 --> 01:03:09,920
It's hard to be grateful and 
unsatisfied with ourselves at 

1197
01:03:09,920 --> 01:03:13,120
the same time. 
So would you help well up within

1198
01:03:13,120 --> 01:03:16,320
us a spirit of gratitude for the
things that you have done and 

1199
01:03:16,320 --> 01:03:19,280
the things that you are doing. 
Thank you for the people in our 

1200
01:03:19,280 --> 01:03:21,160
lives. 
They are not burdens. 

1201
01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:23,960
And since they're not burdens, 
we know that we're not burdens 

1202
01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:26,760
either. 
We take you up on that offer to 

1203
01:03:26,760 --> 01:03:30,960
give you our yoke and to take 
yours instead, because it's 

1204
01:03:30,960 --> 01:03:33,520
light. 
So Father, the things that we 

1205
01:03:33,520 --> 01:03:34,800
struggle with, they're yours. 
Now. 

1206
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:40,320
We ask for you to step in to 
help change us and to help 

1207
01:03:40,320 --> 01:03:41,840
change those that we love as 
well. 

1208
01:03:41,840 --> 01:03:44,600
If there's anything we can be 
doing differently, we ask for 

1209
01:03:44,600 --> 01:03:47,920
you to make it clear to us and 
we'll be faithful and obedient 

1210
01:03:47,920 --> 01:03:49,720
to listen to you. 
In the name of Jesus, everybody 

1211
01:03:49,720 --> 01:03:51,280
said Amen.