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Good morning, real life Church. 
Great to see you in the house 

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today. 
I just want to invite you to 

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stand to your feet today as we 
kick things off with some 

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worship. 
So much, so many promises of 

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God. 
And so I just hope that you will

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just sing this with all your 
heart today and don't be afraid 

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to clap along your word. 
Is. 

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To my feet your way is the only 
way for me that leads to life 

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beyond it. 
It's a narrow Rd. but the mercy.

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Let's sing this out. 
I'll take you at your word if 

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you say leaving. 
I've seen how good if you 

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started at your word. 
Amen. 

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It's keeping you. 
Spoke in the chaos, fell in 

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life. 
I've seen it's a narrow Rd. that

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leads and I want to yes the tide
is high water take you at your 

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world. 
You said it, I believe it. 

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I've seen how good it completed.
I'll take you 

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if you're starting. 
Please take you out your world. 

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You said your love will never is
always heart would never forget 

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or forsake me. 
Saved you yours. 

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You hope you've never failed, so
I know that you'll never fail 

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me. 
Come on, Church, declare this 

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today. 
Please, enough, you said. 

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Your heart me. 
You said he goes future and 

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you'll never fail. 
I'll take you out. 

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Your work in those hands. 
Come on. 

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If you stand in I If you stop. 
If you stand in I, I've seen how

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good if you started. 
Your. 

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'Cause you get on your promise. 
You promise. 

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Come on Church, do you believe 
you can take Him at His word 

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today for you? 
So come on, give it all you've 

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got as we lift up a shot of 
prayer. 

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Come on, we can trust Him, but 
His words are true, faithful, 

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and even when we fall short, 
when He wants us, He's chasing 

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us. 
We're going to continue just to 

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worship in that. 
Truth this morning. 

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I spoke a word you were saying 
to me. 

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You have been so, so good to me,
for I took a breath. 

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You were life in me. 
You have been so, so fine. 

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All the overwhelming, never 
always chases me without 

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fighting. 
When the father leaves the moon 

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and I couldn't hardly, I told 
the servant. 

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Still you give yourself. 
I was your fault still you love 

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far from me. 
You hate good to me. 

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I felt nowhere. 
You paid it all for me. 

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Thank you Jesus made to me. 
The. 

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There's no shadow. 
You won't light up mountain, you

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won't climb up coming after. 
Me. 

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Snow you won't kick down. 
Lie You won't take down coming 

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after me. 
Snow Shadow, you won't light it.

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Mountain, you won't climb. 
I am coming after me. 

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Snow you won't kick down. 
Lie you won't take down coming 

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after me. 
Snow Shadow. 

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Mountain coming after me. 
Some praise this morning, His 

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grace and his love. 
It's so good. 

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You know, there's going to be a 
moment, hopefully we get a taste

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of it here on earth, but a 
moment in eternity when we're 

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all surrounding the throne, just
singing out. 

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And in God's Word, it says that 
we're going to sing holy, holy, 

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holy is the Lord Almighty. 
And so in my mind, this song is 

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just a glimpse of that, that we 
can close our eyes and listen in

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as we all sing praises to God 
together to lift up his holy 

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name. 
So let's continue to praise 

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him. 
Thousand generations falling 

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down in worship to sing the song
of ages to the Lamb. 

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And all Thrones and dominions, 
all powers in positions, your 

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name stands above them. 
And the angels cry holy, all 

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creation cries holy, and you 
will lift it high holy. 

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You're holy forever 
if you've been forgiven, if 

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you've been redeemed. 
Sing the song forever to the 

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land. 
You're holy and you are lifted 

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high holy. 
You're holy for hear people sing

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holy to the king. 
Holy. 

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Always be you're holy. 
Forever you're holy. 

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Sing your prayers. 
'Cause your name is the highest 

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your name, it's the greatest. 
Your name, it stands above the 

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moon. 
Do you believe it? 

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That all Thrones in dominions, 
all powers in positions, Your 

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name. 
It stands above the moon. 

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Your name is the highest. 
Your name is the greatest. 

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Your name, It stands above them 
all. 

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And all Thrones and dominions, 
all powers and positions. 

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Your name stands above them all.
It's your name. 

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Is the high is a great name that
stands above them all. 

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Don't roll to me is your name is
your name is the greatest. 

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Don't grow in Dominion power. 
Stay. 

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Holy or creation, Christ holy 
and you were lifted. 

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High Holy you were holy forever.
Hear your people sing holy to 

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the King of Kings holy 'cause 
you will always be holy, you're 

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holy forever. 
Amen. 

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As I think through worship this 
morning, each of those songs was

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a very distinct promise of God 
that we can take Him at His 

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Word. 
His Word reigns true, Amen. 

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And that'll never leave us or 
forsake us. 

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He'd leave the 99 just to find 
us, Amen. 

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And then finally, that He is 
holy forever. 

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And if that doesn't give you 
hope, man, I don't know you just

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give it up for Jesus this 
morning that we can take him at 

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his word. 
He's, he never leaves us or 

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forsakes us. 
Man. 

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It has been such a blessing for 
us to worship with you today, 

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just to see you raise your hands
and just give it. 

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What an. 
And can I just say, welcome to 

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Real Life Church. 
We're so glad you're here, each 

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and everyone of us in the 
building and online. 

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And I want to recognize some 
people. 

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I want to recognize I'm online. 
And anyone who's brand new with 

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us this morning, can we just 
give it up for those people 

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today? 
Amen. 

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That's so good. 
Hey, I want you to take 30 

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seconds and greet those around 
you. 

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Look for some new faces, say 
hello, learn a name. 

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About 30 seconds. 
See. 

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Amen. 
So good. 

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Hey, as you find your way back 
to your seats, this is just a 

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friendly reminder that hey, 
continue these conversations. 

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Invite someone to coffee this 
week. 

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Make sure you remember that name
you just learned right? 

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It's all good. 
We all get it, We all, we all 

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get forgetful sometimes. 
But continue that conversation 

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in the Hub right after this 
gathering. 

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It's open for you. 
We'd love to see you just do 

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that. 
Grab a cup of coffee while 

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you're out. 
It's pretty good. 

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It's very good actually. 
Man, it is awesome to see you 

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this morning at Real Life 
Church. 

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I hope you've been blessed so 
far this morning. 

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I know we have and I just want 
to say that especially if you're

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brand new, this whole gathering,
this whole preparation for 

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Sunday morning throughout the 
week is really done with you and

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mine. 
And so I would love for you to 

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just do a couple things this 
morning. 

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We're not going to ask a thing 
from you today, except we would 

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love to just for you to 
introduce yourself, love to get 

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to learn your name and share as 
much info as you want. 

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A great way to do that is that 
card that's on your chair. 

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Maybe it's on the ground. 
There's a card and a pen and I 

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said. 
Out. 

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Mark the box that says first 
time guest. 

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Hold on to that till the very 
end. 

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You can throw it in the bucket. 
And and we would just love to 

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reach out to you this week. 
Now, if you're getting a little 

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nervous about some of the info 
on there, like, you know, an 

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address or a phone number, I 
promise, OK, I'm going to raise 

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my right hand and say no one 
from real life will ever show up

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at your door unannounced because
that's weird. 

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And we don't do that. 
And we're not going to blow up 

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your phone with a bunch of texts
and, and, and call you all hours

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of the day. 
We're not going to do that at 

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all. 
But man, just want to open up 

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that door, really let you know 
how honored we are to have you 

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here, answer any questions you 
might have, and just really do 

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anything we can to make you feel
welcome in real life because you

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truly are welcome here. 
And why do why do we care so 

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much? 
Why do we stress that? 

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Why have I been talking about 
that for a while? 

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It's because we're at church on 
a mission. 

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Real life is all about seeing 
people far from God, discovering

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their real life and purpose in 
Jesus. 

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So we believe that every single 
week God is just moving in 

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people. 
We see the evidence of that when

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people raise their hand and just
give their life to Jesus. 

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Like last week we celebrated 
baptisms, Amen. 

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Wasn't that amazing? 
Like that's just the fruit of 

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your labor, the fruit of your 
effort and inviting people and 

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just sharing the gospel. 
So just pray that you'll 

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continue to do that and just 
join us on mission at real Life 

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Church. 
That's because today we're going

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to start a brand new message 
series called Lord Teach Me How 

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to Fast. 
And I don't know about you, but 

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I really need this message 
because I don't know about you, 

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but I'm pretty good at going on 
a slow. 

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That's where you just eat a lot 
and hang out and just, you know,

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have a good time. 
So I need to get myself right. 

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And maybe you're like me, you're
ready to turn that slow into a 

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fast. 
Sorry for the dad jokes. 

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I got to got to get him in. 
But for real, though, I really 

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want you to lean in on this idea
this morning because Barry's 

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going to dive in so deep on this
that it's not a focus on what 

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you're giving up. 
It's not about that at all. 

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It's easy to kind of go there, 
but it's really this focus on 

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growing closer to God. 
And so I really just want you to

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keep that in your mind as you 
hear the word today. 

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I know Barry's got a huge word 
for us, so can you give a huge 

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real life welcome to Barry 
Hardy? 

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Come on. 
Can we give it up for Drew? 

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He's not slow. 
Do you see how fast he was, man?

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Drew, you're my hero. 
You know that, man? 

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What's up real life, man? 
I'm still on a high from last 

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week. 
Did you guys have fun at the 

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birthday party last week, man? 
Eight years Hey, your birthday 

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party and what a way to 
celebrate you guys killed it. 

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There was I I know the hall is 
going to give some of the 

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metrics a little bit, but I 
think with seven people 

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baptized. 
Can you guys believe that man? 

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Can we get, for those that got 
baptized, man, we had six people

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commit their lives to Christ, 
Man, can we give it up for those

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people? 
That is why we exist. 

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That's our mission. 
That's we're here to get people 

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connected back to, to God. 
And just the number of new 

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people we saw come in. 
I, it's been a long time since 

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I've ever seen a line get 
divided up at the new hero 

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booth. 
But man, we have so many new 

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people. 
I know we have a lot of new 

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people again with us today. 
So, man, thank you guys so much 

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for being here. 
We're excited that you came 

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back. 
Yeah, we give it up for them. 

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So before we get started, I want
you guys to to know the reason I

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am up here is Pastor Sean had 
his shoulder surgery. 

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And I want you guys to know I 
told the group this morning to 

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set up one of my prayers that 
I've been praying and fasting 

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for all week was that Sean would
come out of surgery alive 

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because you guys don't want me 
as a pastor and God's given us a

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great 1. 
So if reach out, send him a 

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message this week, let him know 
that you care about him, that 

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you love him. 
And I think he's recovering 

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well. 
So hopefully we'll get to see 

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him again soon. 
So I know when you guys heard 

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the word fast, were you guys 
excited? 

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Oh, yeah, right. 
Can I tell you, this is the very

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first time that I've ever 
preached on this topic because 

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as a recovering Baptist, as a 
Baptist, we love our food, 

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right? 
If you grew up Baptist yet 

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potlucks, you had afterglows, 
you had desserts, man. 

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This is what we did. 
This is what we focused all our 

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worship and our meetings around,
right? 

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And I don't remember, I know 
that fasting had to get gotten 

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mentioned. 
I don't ever really remember 

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talking about it. 
So I want you guys to buckle in 

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today. 
My prayer for you guys is that 

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this is an encouragement today 
and a challenge as well. 

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And fasting is, is what I like 
to call a spiritual discipline. 

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So when you guys think of the 
word discipline, what do you 

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guys think of? 
There's probably a lot of things

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that come into your mind. 
Think of something that you 

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you've dreamed about, something 
that you've prepared for, that 

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you've trained for, it required 
what to get there. 

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Discipline, right? 
Think of a sports team maybe 

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that you you practice and you 
practice and you practice. 

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I know, I think Jermaine might 
be in here. 

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00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:33,840
He had a head basketball coach 
and there's some other coaches 

242
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:35,600
in here. 
What you guys are doing is 

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instilling discipline in your 
team, right? 

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What about when you went to 
school? 

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I know we have some pH DS in 
here, but even getting out of 

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high school wasn't easy for all 
of us. 

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Was it right there? 
Took some discipline to study, 

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00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,240
to buckle down and, and pass 
those courses. 

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I, I look at, I look, I'm, I'm a
construction guy. 

250
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So I look at guys that do and 
work in the trades with a high 

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00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,560
level of skill and I'm always 
impressed, even if it's not the 

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00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,720
one thing that I do because I 
knew what it took to get there. 

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It didn't happen overnight took 
time, it took training, it took 

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00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,560
encouragement, it took 
discipline. 

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One of my favorite things I love
is just see people that just 

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00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,000
they go through and they they 
conquer odds that I can't 

257
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,640
imagine. 
Remember a story from a single 

258
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,520
mom who was raising two kids, 
was working basically 1 1/2 

259
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,160
jobs. 
And she decided that that God 

260
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,280
had called her to do something 
different, but she was going to 

261
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:29,560
have to go back to school to do 
it. 

262
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,120
And her support structure was 
very, very minimal. 

263
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,840
And as I heard her story and 
what her schedule look like to 

264
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,880
to prepare and raise her 
children, to feed them, clothe 

265
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,040
them, take care of them, love 
them the way that our mother 

266
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:46,120
does, and then work those jobs. 
And then on top of that really 

267
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:49,680
study all night and go to go to 
classes in between online. 

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And can you guys imagine the 
amount of discipline that it 

269
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,120
took to do that? 
So anytime we have discipline on

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00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,200
our lives, it's always for a 
reason. 

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Anything that's worth 
accomplishing never comes easy 

272
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:04,240
and it doesn't just happen. 
And it's the same thing with 

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fasting or any spiritual 
discipline. 

274
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,880
So when I say the word spiritual
discipline, it puts a little bit

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00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,800
different spin on it. 
And so this is your opportunity 

276
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,880
to give me some feedback when I 
say the word spiritual 

277
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,840
discipline. 
What are some spiritual 

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00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,040
disciplines that you guys either
do or have heard of? 

279
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,800
Can you guys throw something out
for me besides fasting, tithing?

280
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,920
All right, so you give money, 
generosity, right? 

281
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:25,240
That's a type of a spiritual 
discipline. 

282
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,320
What else? 
All right, I'm old. 

283
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,400
So one at a time. 
Would you say to him studying, 

284
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,360
All right, studying the Bible, 
you read, you're trying to 

285
00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:36,400
figure out what God's got for 
you in the Bible. 

286
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,360
So you, my mom's going through a
thing where she's like mapping, 

287
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,320
go through the book of Romans 
and figuring out what this 

288
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:42,720
means. 
So yeah, that's great. 

289
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,600
What else? 
Prayer. 

290
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,320
And what a good one, I think. 
I think we're in a. 

291
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:49,440
So today we're kicking off 
fasting and we're going to talk 

292
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:50,800
a little bit more about it next 
week. 

293
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,240
And I think next we're going to 
add a little bit more of the 

294
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,360
aspect of prayer with it. 
The man prayer, what a spiritual

295
00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:58,640
discipline. 
And some of the best prayer 

296
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,800
warriors that I've ever met. 
You'll never know their names 

297
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,600
because they weren't on a stage.
They were, they were the retired

298
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,360
little old ladies that were at 
the back of the church and 

299
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,560
literally prayed for every 
person during the service, 

300
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,200
during a gathering and at home 
all week. 

301
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,760
They would get those prayer, the
prayer requests and they would 

302
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,880
write those down. 
I mean, they had journals of 

303
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,640
them. 
So awesome prayer. 

304
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,360
Anything else, man? 
Patience. 

305
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,960
Something I'm working on. 
Don't ask my wife. 

306
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,520
She's not in here, is she? 
Yeah. 

307
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,920
I mean, patience. 
It's it's it's one of those 

308
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,200
things. 
It's a spiritual discipline. 

309
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,120
It does. 
It does happen. 

310
00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:35,920
Hospitality. 
There's a lot of these other 

311
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,880
spiritual disciplines that we 
think of. 

312
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,520
And some of them come easy to us
and some of them don't. 

313
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,600
Right. 
And one of the other, the ideas 

314
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,960
that I think about discipline 
that that pops into my mind. 

315
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,320
One of my favorite series ever. 
You guys know Band of Brothers. 

316
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,880
So Band of Brothers early in the
early in the series, I'm going 

317
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,000
to say the I'm going to, I'm 
going to start the phrase to see

318
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,680
if you guys can finish it. 
And this is in the boot camp, 

319
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,120
right? 
And at the beginning it says 3 

320
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:08,200
miles up, 3 miles down. 
So if you haven't seen it, what 

321
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,520
it was, it was a training on a 
mountain at Camp Toccoa and they

322
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,040
would run up a mountain called 
Curahi and they would run 3 

323
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,000
miles to the top and three miles
down. 

324
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,200
And then an Easy Company, which 
was the series was about, was 

325
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,920
about how their, their, their, 
their commanding officer, his 

326
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,480
name was Sobel, just punished 
these guys and brutalized these 

327
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,640
guys. 
And he viewed it as what 

328
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,280
discipline was right? 
That's how he saw he was going 

329
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,160
to make these guys better. 
In a lot of ways. 

330
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,720
He actually did help these guys.
But for, for, for these guys 

331
00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,520
that are going the midst of 
that, they appreciated it later,

332
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,000
but in the midst of it, the 
reasons why it was being used 

333
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,720
was punishing. 
And they, in fact, some of these

334
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,080
guys were ready to kill the guy,
like literally ready to figure 

335
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,880
out how to murder him the first 
opportunity they got. 

336
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,680
So for us, when we, when we're 
looking at a spiritual 

337
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,320
discipline, what we need to do 
is figure out number one, and 

338
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,200
this is to be the first set what
fasting is not. 

339
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,360
And then we're going to lead 
into what fasting is. 

340
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:09,120
So what fasting is not. 
So if you guys know me at any 

341
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,400
level, I tell a lot of stories. 
I watch a lot of movies, I 

342
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,040
listen to a lot of podcasts. 
And one of the things that that 

343
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,520
in the last several years that 
I've gotten into are all the 

344
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,720
fads on the Internet for health,
right? 

345
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,560
Somebody's laughing over me. 
All right, You guys ever do 

346
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,080
sauna? 
You guys ever do cold plunge? 

347
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,200
Those aren't my favorite. 
And I found a third one that I 

348
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,440
don't like, but it's called 
intermittent fasting. 

349
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,680
So you guys ever heard of that? 
So fasting, this type of 

350
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,800
fasting, something for health, 
this isn't a spiritual 

351
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:40,600
discipline. 
And I'm not saying it's a bad 

352
00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:41,840
thing. 
It's something that, you know, 

353
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,880
depending on your health or 
whatever your doctor tells you 

354
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,480
need to do, maybe something that
that is good for you. 

355
00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,560
But but a spiritual fast is not 
a diet, right? 

356
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,960
It's not just something that we 
do to make ourselves look good, 

357
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,160
just even get a little modicum 
of health. 

358
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,800
It's not something that we do 
to, to, to be the latest and the

359
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,200
greatest. 
I, you know, when I started 

360
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,080
getting intermittent fasting, 
they're like, well, how, how 

361
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,280
long are you fasting? 
I'm like, I'm shooting for like 

362
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:09,680
12. 
They're like, Ah, that's weak 

363
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,480
sauce. 
You need to go for like 24 hour 

364
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,320
fast. 
And so like there's like this 

365
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,760
one upmanship right in that 
world at some level. 

366
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,440
And so the first thing that it 
is not, it's not a diet. 

367
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,720
And again, nothing wrong with it
being if you do it for those 

368
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,480
health reasons, but that's not 
what a spiritual fast is. 

369
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,720
Because when, when you do an 
intermittent intermittent 

370
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,000
fasting, what are you guys 
focusing on this right here, 

371
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,880
right? 
And so that's not the point of 

372
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:39,240
of a spiritual fast #2 it's not 
how we make God love us. 

373
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:44,240
And so a lot of us when we do a 
spiritual discipline, we do it 

374
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:47,000
for a reason, because we think 
that's going to give us brownie 

375
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,160
points with God, right? 
We've all been there. 

376
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,200
All right. 
Well, if I perform for God, or 

377
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:57,000
if I say the magic words, God's 
going to show up and he's going 

378
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:58,640
to do exactly what I want him to
do. 

379
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,400
We get to lead a group here. 
It's and we're not doing it this

380
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,440
semester, probably next. 
It's called freedom Group. 

381
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,800
And how many people have been 
through freedom group? 

382
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:08,720
Can you guys give a shout out? 
Raise your hands. 

383
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,960
Yeah. 
Then when you go through freedom

384
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,800
group, what we do is we start 
off with this basis of 

385
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,360
identifying what God really 
wants from you. 

386
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,920
And for so many of us, depending
on how you were raised and what 

387
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:24,040
you were taught, we think that 
we have to, we have to have like

388
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,720
this, the gold stars adding up 
for us, right? 

389
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:28,920
And that's how we get to heaven.
That's how we please God. 

390
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,280
That's how we make him love us. 
And so it's really easy to fall 

391
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,040
into that trap, whether it's 
coming to your church, whether 

392
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:38,160
it's reading your Bible or 
whether it's praying or whether 

393
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:42,360
it's even fasting. 
Is is this really how we please 

394
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,880
God? 
And the answer is no, because I 

395
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:47,360
want you guys to know the truth 
right now. 

396
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,840
God loves you exactly where you 
are now. 

397
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,600
He may want something better for
you than where you are at the 

398
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:58,200
moment, whether you have 
brokenness in your life, whether

399
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,640
you have an addiction of your 
life, whether you're far from 

400
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:02,720
God. 
Have you walked in here today 

401
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:05,600
and you this been years since 
you've been at church? 

402
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,680
Can I tell you that God isn't 
coming in here wanting you to 

403
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,440
clean yourself up. 
He's here to reconnect you to 

404
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:16,600
the purpose that he has for you.
So the issue is this is that we 

405
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:19,600
take something that's good, like
a spiritual fast and something 

406
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:24,160
that's a discipline and we turn 
it on its head and we try to use

407
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,640
it to make God love us. 
And there's nothing you can do 

408
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,160
to make God love you anymore. 
And there's nothing you can do 

409
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,040
to make God love you any less. 
In the freedom group, we we use 

410
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,320
these metaphors and it comes 
from the book of Genesis, living

411
00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,840
out of the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil and living out of 

412
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,360
the tree of life. 
And God calls us to live out of 

413
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,520
the tree of life because that's 
what God has for you. 

414
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,760
So a fast isn't a way to make 
you know, isn't a way to make 

415
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,680
God love you more. 
So the third thing that a fast 

416
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,960
isn't, it's not a way to make 
ourselves look good for 

417
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,520
everybody else, right? 
Again, I, I, I always joke about

418
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,080
my background and the, the 
church that I, that I was raised

419
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,480
in so many godly people. 
And actually I was at a funeral 

420
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:06,840
yesterday for a minute and I got
to see some of them. 

421
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,760
And these men and women made 
such an impact on me. 

422
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:15,159
And I, I, I would not be where 
I'm at today had they not 

423
00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,719
followed God to do what they, 
that God had called in their 

424
00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,120
lives. 
But having said that, there's a 

425
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,239
lot of ways that we fell short 
in, in, in the churches that I 

426
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,880
grew up in and a lot of the 
churches that I, that I was at 

427
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,320
up till now, because a lot of 
emphasis was put on what 

428
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:34,800
appearances, right, what we look
like, how we performed, what we 

429
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,120
did. 
And a lot of it was as like, all

430
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,239
right, who gave the most amount 
of money? 

431
00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,679
All right, who is at church the 
most? 

432
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,199
You know, who was praying the 
best? 

433
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,440
Because honestly, like, if you 
guys don't know me, like this is

434
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:50,040
not the spot that I enjoy being 
in. 

435
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,760
Now may God's given me an 
opportunity to do it. 

436
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:54,760
And, and, and I'm getting a 
little more used to it. 

437
00:34:55,159 --> 00:34:57,960
But some people crave this stage
because it puts them on a 

438
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,840
platform, but puts them in, in 
in a position of authority. 

439
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:02,600
And that's what they're looking 
for. 

440
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:06,840
And what I found was this is 
that a lot of people that were 

441
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,840
using that to make themselves 
look good and they were in it 

442
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:11,960
for the wrong reasons, right? 
It's the wrong motivation. 

443
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,920
It's just the wrong intentions. 
And Jesus preached so many times

444
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,800
against that. 
And in his, one of his most 

445
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,040
famous sermons, and it's the 
Sermon on the Mount, he really 

446
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,760
lays into why do you do what you
do? 

447
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,160
And he talks about when you give
money, don't let your left hand 

448
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:28,400
know what your right hand is 
doing. 

449
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,160
And, and, and he tells a lot of 
the stories about money where 

450
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,760
even the widow's might, he takes
the, the, the, the guys, the 

451
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:38,160
disciples to the, to the temple.
And you see all these guys just 

452
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,120
throwing in huge amounts of 
cash, right? 

453
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,880
And then he points out this 
little lady who throws in 

454
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,520
basically the, the equivalent of
a penny or two pennies. 

455
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,440
And Jesus makes this statement 
and he still points out this 

456
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:51,880
fact. 
He goes, he goes, see all these 

457
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,760
people, they're thrown in these 
hundreds and thousands and 

458
00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:56,200
hundreds of thousands of 
dollars. 

459
00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,080
But this lady that put in one 
penny, she put in more than 

460
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:02,560
everybody because that was all 
she had. 

461
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:07,520
So the you know, everybody else 
looks on the outside what you 

462
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:12,800
can see, but God, Jesus looks in
on the heart and that's what 

463
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,120
God's calling us to do today in 
in the sense of a spiritual 

464
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,200
fast. 
So a fast isn't something that 

465
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,680
we do to show off. 
Now I want you guys to read with

466
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,320
me in Matthew chapter 6 and this
comes from the Sermon on the 

467
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,120
Mount. 
Jesus is giving us some 

468
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:26,120
instruction right here says when
you fast. 

469
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,480
This is verse 16. 
When you fast, do not look 

470
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,880
somber as the hypocrites do for 
they disfigure their faces to 

471
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:36,840
show others they are fasting. 
Truly, I tell you, they have 

472
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:41,040
received their reward in full. 
So when you fast, put oil on 

473
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:44,360
your head, wash your face so 
that will not be obvious to 

474
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,360
others that you are fasting, but
only to your Father who is 

475
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,560
unseen, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will 

476
00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:54,120
reward you. 
So Can you imagine somebody 

477
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,720
that's fasting and they come in,
their hair is all messed up and 

478
00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:00,200
they've been up all night and 
their bags underneath it and 

479
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:02,520
they're like, what's up? 
What's going on? 

480
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,080
Oh, and I've been fasting for 
God. 

481
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,120
And what are they looking for? 
They're looking for some 

482
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,760
recognition, right? 
They're looking for like, look 

483
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,920
how good I am. 
They want you to give them a pat

484
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:16,160
on the back. 
Now, I haven't seen that in with

485
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,360
fasting very much. 
Again, recovering Baptist. 

486
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:20,880
So nobody was bragging about 
skipping a meal, right? 

487
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,480
But I've seen it with so other 
many different things, right? 

488
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,960
You know, guilt trips like, 
well, where were you at? 

489
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,920
At church last two weeks. 
I didn't see you here. 

490
00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:33,640
Is everything OK? 
Or in a prayer circle? 

491
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,640
We need to pray for our sister 
Sally. 

492
00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,200
You know, she was on a hot date 
the other night and she was with

493
00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:42,440
so and so, right? 
You guys would never have ever 

494
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,480
heard that, right? 
And So what we do is we we take 

495
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,080
these opportunities to to build 
ourselves up, to make ourselves 

496
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:51,600
look good to others. 
So these are the things that a 

497
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:53,880
fast is not about. 
Again, it's not about this body.

498
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:56,640
It's it's not about earning our 
way to heaven. 

499
00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,480
And it's not about making 
ourselves look good to everybody

500
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:02,720
else. 
So what is a fast? 

501
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,520
And, and, and before we move on,
I want you guys to see something

502
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,360
in, in Matthew, in, in Matthew 
6. 

503
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:08,640
And we don't have to go back 
there. 

504
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:14,160
But what, what was the worst 
that Jesus said when you fast, 

505
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,520
when you fast? 
I don't know that I ever saw 

506
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,600
that. 
I don't know that I ever 

507
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:26,040
recognize that. 
So what Jesus is kind of telling

508
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:27,800
us here, this isn't really an 
option. 

509
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:32,240
This is something that you will 
be doing, but don't do it that 

510
00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,360
way. 
But I never heard that. 

511
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,400
I never was raised that way. 
I never got that message. 

512
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,400
Hey, when you fast, do it this 
way. 

513
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,080
And for this reason. 
So what is a fast for? 

514
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:49,880
What is a fast for #1A fast is 
taking the opportunity to deny 

515
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:52,800
our bodies the things that we 
think that it wants, right? 

516
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:56,080
From the freedom group. 
One of the chapters we talked 

517
00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:57,080
about, it's called spiritual 
order. 

518
00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,480
And I, I, I love this. 
And until I read this, I, I, 

519
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:01,680
it's a biblical. 
It's a biblical truth, but I 

520
00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,720
never realized it. 
So what happens when you guys go

521
00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:06,280
a long time without food? 
What happens? 

522
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,640
Can you guys tell me? 
Do you get hungry? 

523
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:11,000
What happened? 
What does your stomach do? 

524
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,200
It growls. 
Does anybody get angry? 

525
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,280
You love the Snickers 
commercials, right? 

526
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,320
We get in a bad mood. 
We're not happy, right? 

527
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:26,640
The body yearns for food. 
The body yearns for pleasure. 

528
00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:31,160
The body wants what it wants. 
What happens when you deny it? 

529
00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:34,640
It gets loud. 
It screams at you. 

530
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:40,240
Say give me what I want. 
That's what the body does. 

531
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:46,800
The corollary is this, that our 
true being, our soul, our 

532
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,880
spirit, when we're, when we're 
feasting on God's Word, when 

533
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:53,600
we're practicing these spiritual
disciplines, whether it's prayer

534
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:58,200
or giving or serving, what 
happens when we stop doing those

535
00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:01,040
things? 
And it's very interesting. 

536
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:02,600
I don't know if you guys ever 
thought of it this way. 

537
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,040
It doesn't act the same way that
our body does. 

538
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,960
Because when we don't do 
spiritual disciplines and we 

539
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:14,880
don't live on mission for God, 
our spirit gets not loud, it 

540
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:19,320
gets quiet and it kind of 
recedes and it kind of moves in 

541
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:22,120
the back. 
And when I saw that in the 

542
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,920
spiritual order, I'm like, man, 
that is so true. 

543
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:28,640
So when we fast, what we're 
really doing is this is we're 

544
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:33,480
taking authority over our flesh,
instilling a discipline that 

545
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,120
says, hey, I am taking 
responsibility. 

546
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,440
I am the one making the decision
here, right? 

547
00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,640
And so when we deny our body 
food and we fast for a certain 

548
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,680
amount of time, what we're 
really doing is saying is that I

549
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:51,440
know that I can live without 
food for a certain amount of 

550
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:53,800
time. 
And you see Jesus do this time 

551
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:55,920
and time again. 
And I think we'll probably see a

552
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:57,880
little bit more of that next 
week, whether it's the 40 day 

553
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,440
fast or whether you see the 
disciples going to get food and 

554
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:03,360
you see Jesus talking to the 
woman at the well. 

555
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:07,120
And he said, you know, they come
back and like, I've I have food 

556
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:09,000
that that you don't know about. 
And they're like, what are you 

557
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:10,200
talking about? 
What? 

558
00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:12,080
Jesus wasn't talking about 
physical food. 

559
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,000
He was talking about what God 
called him to do, right? 

560
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,640
So when we deny ourselves, we, 
we, we take authority over the 

561
00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:21,120
flesh. 
That's something that it's not 

562
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,520
natural. 
We never see that message in the

563
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:26,560
news. 
We never see that on TV, in the 

564
00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:29,760
movies, in advertisements. 
Everything you should ever seen 

565
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:34,240
or given or exposed to is 
telling that you need this, that

566
00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:36,040
you will be complete if you have
that. 

567
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:40,040
It's focusing on the, the 
pleasures that the body 

568
00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:42,960
automatically wants. 
So that's the first thing. 

569
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:47,200
It's taking authority over the 
flesh #2 what fasting is this is

570
00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,600
it's taking a position of 
humility before God. 

571
00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:57,560
Man, I love watching our worship
team lead you guys in worship. 

572
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:02,040
And then when I, I look around 
and I see hands raised or hands 

573
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,440
held out or just in a position 
of prayer. 

574
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:10,840
That is, that is a posture of 
humility because for so much of 

575
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:14,720
the world, what we're told is to
be the man, to be the woman, to 

576
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:18,240
take your spot, get what you've 
earned, take what's yours. 

577
00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:25,680
We're in the act of humility. 
We're acknowledging that we 

578
00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:29,480
aren't on the throne and that 
that we serve somebody that has 

579
00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:31,640
given everything and his name is
Jesus. 

580
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:37,480
And if he's done that, the most 
logical thing that we can do is 

581
00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:40,600
be a humble person, a humble 
servant, a humble son or 

582
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:46,160
daughter of God and fall on our 
knees and be humble before God. 

583
00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:50,440
So when you take these two 
things of, of, of, of holding 

584
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,200
back the flesh and taking 
authority over it, and then 

585
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,160
practicing humility before God, 
we get to the third thing that 

586
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,600
fasting is really about. 
And it's a spiritual 

587
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:00,880
breakthrough. 
And I want to tell you a story 

588
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:03,120
in the Scripture and we're going
to read one of the verses out of

589
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:06,680
it. 
But a spiritual breakthrough is,

590
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:10,440
is, is the result of taking 
authority over the flesh through

591
00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:14,280
fasting and then having humility
before God. 

592
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:18,880
And as I tell this story, I can 
imagine and I know for a fact 

593
00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:20,880
there are many people in here 
that are looking for a 

594
00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:23,080
breakthrough. 
Maybe it's a physical 

595
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:26,360
breakthrough, a prayer for 
health, maybe, maybe it's a 

596
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:29,000
spiritual breakthrough and 
you're looking for a purpose. 

597
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,760
You're looking for meaning maybe
you've had a relationship with 

598
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,320
this destroyed and you don't 
know where that leaves you in 

599
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:35,920
this world, but you know that 
you're lost. 

600
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:39,160
So I tell this is this story of 
a spiritual breakthrough that 

601
00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:41,280
happened in the Bible in Jesus's
ministry. 

602
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:46,000
Put yourself in this position. 
So in Mark Chapter 9 and we'll 

603
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,320
read this here in a minute is 
one of the best stories in in in

604
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:50,920
in Jesus's ministry in the 
Gospels. 

605
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,200
And if you don't know this 
chapter, it starts off with 

606
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:58,200
Jesus with, with Peter, James 
and John on the mount of 

607
00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,240
Transfiguration. 
And what that was, was Jesus 

608
00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:03,280
took these three disciples and 
he went up on the mountain, 

609
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:05,520
right? 
And if you guys remember the 

610
00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:10,360
story, what happened was Jesus 
has this revelation to them and 

611
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:14,080
God just reveals to these 
disciples who Jesus really is. 

612
00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,320
And in the midst of that 
happening, Moses and Elijah show

613
00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:20,840
up, right? 
And in the, in, in this whole 

614
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:23,840
thing going on, Peter, James and
John, they don't know what to 

615
00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:26,000
do. 
I don't think I would know what 

616
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,320
to do. 
And so they just start running 

617
00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,160
their mouths because they're 
just, they're like, what do we 

618
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:30,040
do? 
What do we do? 

619
00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:34,040
And they, they like, Lord, let 
us make us 3 tabernacles, one 

620
00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:35,880
for you, one for Moses, one for 
Elijah. 

621
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:39,840
And in the midst of that, they 
hear a voice and says, you know,

622
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:44,880
this is my son. 
And what a mount top experience 

623
00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:49,600
literally spiritually. 
How awesome is that? 

624
00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:53,920
And in the midst of that, as 
they finish that up, that vision

625
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:57,320
that that experience, they come 
off the mountain and in Matthew 

626
00:44:57,320 --> 00:44:59,760
picks up some of the details. 
They run into a crowd and the 

627
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:03,480
rest of the disciples are there.
And the disciples are arguing 

628
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,240
with Pharisees, Sadducees, men 
of the law. 

629
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:09,040
And there's a whole crowd 
gathered around them. 

630
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,480
And Jesus walks down. 
He goes, what is going on? 

631
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,280
And in about that time, a guy 
steps forward and he said, Hey, 

632
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:21,840
here's what's going on. 
My son is possessed by a demon 

633
00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:23,840
and I brought him to your 
disciples. 

634
00:45:24,680 --> 00:45:26,680
But they couldn't, they couldn't
do anything about it. 

635
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,200
They couldn't cast her out. 
And you got to know that before 

636
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:34,560
this, like the disciples have 
been sent out two by two to the 

637
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:38,440
heal the sick to, to cast out, 
to cast out demons and devils. 

638
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:40,760
But in this situation, they 
couldn't do it. 

639
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:44,320
And they're confused. 
And so they're arguing with the 

640
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,120
the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
I can't imagine what that 

641
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:49,240
argument look like. 
And there's a crowd gathering 

642
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:52,480
around in the midst of it. 
You have this guy that's broken 

643
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:56,080
hearted. 
His son is, is, is captivated by

644
00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:00,000
this, this spiritual force that 
he doesn't understand that he 

645
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,760
can't control. 
And as you read the story, you 

646
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:06,360
see the boy has a history of 
being convulsed and thrown down 

647
00:46:06,440 --> 00:46:09,680
and being violent and, and, and 
the demon has tried to kill him 

648
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:12,760
with water and fire. 
And so Can you imagine being a 

649
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:15,840
parent that situation? 
I mean, that's not something 

650
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,800
I've ever experienced, really 
I've ever seen. 

651
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:22,000
And Jesus makes this, this 
statement says, you unbelieving 

652
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,600
generation, how long can I 
suffer with you? 

653
00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:28,120
And he steps up and he casts out
the demon. 

654
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:30,920
I mean, the boy convulses, falls
down like he's dead. 

655
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,720
And then Jesus raises him up, 
picks him up and the demons gone

656
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:41,680
and the disciples come up to him
after and they're like, what is 

657
00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,040
going on? 
We've done this before. 

658
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:47,960
How come we couldn't throw this 
demon out? 

659
00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:50,680
How come we couldn't do this, 
this exorcism, if you want to 

660
00:46:50,680 --> 00:46:54,760
use that word. 
And in, in, in in chapter 29 of,

661
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:59,280
of, of verse 29 of Chapter 9, 
Jesus says this. 

662
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:04,120
He says, so he said to them, 
this kind can come out by 

663
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:12,160
nothing but prayer and fasting. 
This kind can only come out by 

664
00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:15,360
prayer and fasting. 
I don't know what those details 

665
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:20,440
are, but what it means is this 
is that there's a spiritual 

666
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:24,880
breakthrough that you're facing 
that can only come out through 

667
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:29,000
prayer and fasting. 
It can't, it can't come out just

668
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:32,400
by doing your daily routines of 
just like, hey, I'm just going 

669
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:34,680
to show up on Sunday. 
I'm going to give a little here.

670
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:36,680
I'm going to do a little there 
and hopefully that's enough for 

671
00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:40,640
God. 
What what Jesus is saying is 

672
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:45,360
this is that you need to have a 
relationship with your Father to

673
00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:47,840
be on mission with him, to be 
connected so closely with the 

674
00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:52,480
Holy Spirit that this is 
something that you can do. 

675
00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:57,160
And again, I look across the 
room, I'm guessing there's 

676
00:47:57,160 --> 00:47:59,400
probably not a lot of demons for
you guys to cast out. 

677
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:04,160
But what I can tell you is this 
is that that spiritual 

678
00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:07,120
breakthrough that you're looking
for, that you've looked for 

679
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:12,320
deliverance for and through for 
days, weeks, and maybe some 

680
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:17,200
situations for years. 
And you don't know why God 

681
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:19,920
hasn't answered your prayer or 
you don't know why God hasn't 

682
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:21,800
shown up in a certain way that 
you expect. 

683
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:26,680
It could be that you're in the 
midst of a battle you don't 

684
00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:28,920
understand. 
It could be that you're in the 

685
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,200
midst of a battle you're not 
prepared for, that you don't 

686
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:36,680
have the discipline yet in your 
life to face head on. 

687
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:39,680
And so when we look at these 
spiritual disciplines and we 

688
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:44,400
look at fasting and we look at 
prayer, maybe these are the 

689
00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:48,200
things that we don't earn our 
way to God for and we don't 

690
00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:49,880
please everybody else around us 
for. 

691
00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:56,800
But maybe these are the things 
that God uses to help grow us. 

692
00:48:57,360 --> 00:48:59,240
Because really, what is a 
spiritual discipline? 

693
00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:05,360
It's a way for us to grow in our
walk with God, to grow closer to

694
00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:09,640
what God's called us to do what 
God has called us to be. 

695
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:13,760
And again, I can't answer that 
question for anybody in here. 

696
00:49:13,760 --> 00:49:15,440
I can only answer that question 
for myself. 

697
00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:19,760
But I know that God has a 
purpose for each person here. 

698
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:22,920
You are not here on accident. 
You are here for a reason. 

699
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:25,320
And maybe as you walked in here,
you don't even know what that 

700
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:26,640
reason is. 
And that's fine. 

701
00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:32,880
But you are here for a purpose. 
And so when we, when we, when we

702
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:36,160
get into the idea of spiritual 
fasting, there, there, there are

703
00:49:36,160 --> 00:49:38,600
so many things that that can 
that can hold us back. 

704
00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:41,400
But it's a spiritual 
breakthrough. 

705
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:42,960
I can think of a lot of 
different reasons. 

706
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:47,280
As individuals, we need 
something as a country. 

707
00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:54,600
I'm not going to rehash what 
Sean, if you guys want to go 

708
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:57,440
back and look what's happened in
the country for the last three 

709
00:49:57,440 --> 00:50:01,520
or four weeks. 
And Sean did such a great job of

710
00:50:01,520 --> 00:50:05,880
calling the church here in in 
real life in this gathering to 

711
00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:09,920
unity, not uniformity, unity and
not being divisive over 

712
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:12,640
political issues and taking a 
stand for what God's called us 

713
00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:15,640
to take a stand on. 
But I've had a lot of 

714
00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:18,960
conversations in the last 
several weeks of like, I can't 

715
00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:21,760
believe this political group 
does this, or I can't believe 

716
00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:24,600
that political group on the 
opposite side would do this. 

717
00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:28,480
And we all see the same screen, 
but we're all seeing different 

718
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:33,080
movies. 
And I can't help but think that 

719
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:36,880
we're probably all missing the 
truth at some level, because I 

720
00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:40,400
don't think that we're looking 
at things through God's eyes. 

721
00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:43,160
And really, that's what God's 
called us to do here in real 

722
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:45,680
life, and he does it and through
so many churches. 

723
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:50,280
But I also can't help but think 
that if we were on our knees in 

724
00:50:50,280 --> 00:50:54,600
prayer and we were taking 
moments of humility and fasting,

725
00:50:55,400 --> 00:50:59,280
there would be a spot where we 
would come together in unity for

726
00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:01,800
the things that God had really 
called us to stand on together. 

727
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:05,360
And so when we look to solve 
problems across the world, 

728
00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:09,000
across our country, I don't have
a lot of great reasons or a lot 

729
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:11,360
of great solutions. 
There's no law I think we can 

730
00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:13,000
pass to change people's 
behavior. 

731
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:16,360
I don't think there's a 
punishment that I can give you 

732
00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:19,200
that's going to make all these 
school shootings or the 

733
00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:22,680
shootings at ICE detentions or 
people that walk into into 

734
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:27,440
politicians houses and kills 
them or had a place where a 

735
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:29,800
guy's going to have a dialogue 
at a college campus. 

736
00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:32,480
I don't think I can give you a 
punishment or law that fixes 

737
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:36,960
those things. 
But within the four walls where 

738
00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:42,440
people of God gather, whether 
it's a Kentucky trail or whether

739
00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:46,920
it's in a life group at 
somebody's house, I know that a 

740
00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:50,400
people that are focused on God 
and having a spiritual 

741
00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:53,920
discipline to please God to to 
to take authority over this 

742
00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:56,080
flesh, to have humility before 
God. 

743
00:51:56,440 --> 00:51:58,880
Those are the things that bring 
a spiritual breakthrough. 

744
00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:05,080
And so as I finish up, my 
challenge for you guys is this 

745
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:07,240
is this, this is, this is where 
the rubber's going to hit the 

746
00:52:07,240 --> 00:52:09,680
road. 
Why don't we do spiritual 

747
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,480
disciplines? 
Why don't I pray the way that I 

748
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:13,160
should? 
Why don't I read my Bible the 

749
00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:16,200
way that I need to? 
Or why do I do it for the wrong 

750
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,600
reasons? 
And so then let's add fasting on

751
00:52:18,600 --> 00:52:21,040
there. 
Why am I scared to fast? 

752
00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:24,400
Why don't I fast? 
And I think there's probably 3 

753
00:52:24,400 --> 00:52:30,240
simple reasons why we don't do 
it #1 is I'm scared. 

754
00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:32,960
What if it's one more thing that
I fail at? 

755
00:52:33,760 --> 00:52:36,400
What if it's one more thing that
I know that God wants me to try?

756
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:40,960
And if I screw this up, God's 
done with me. 

757
00:52:40,960 --> 00:52:44,840
I just want you guys to know 
that is not true. 

758
00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:48,240
God calls us to do something big
sometimes, and he's there to 

759
00:52:48,240 --> 00:52:50,560
pick us up when we fail. 
And we all fail. 

760
00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:55,360
I don't care if you've been in 
church for two days or or 20 

761
00:52:55,360 --> 00:52:57,360
years. 
We all have spots in our life 

762
00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:00,640
where we fall down. 
God's always faithful to pick us

763
00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:04,320
back up. 
So fear is not a great reason #2

764
00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:07,000
this is probably the truth for a
lot of us. 

765
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:11,160
It's a pride issue. 
I don't need that in my life. 

766
00:53:11,440 --> 00:53:15,960
I'm good enough without it. 
You know, I do my, my set things

767
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:18,720
that I've already had developed 
in my life and these, and I'm 

768
00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:21,240
not saying those things are bad 
things, but I don't really need 

769
00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:24,400
to add 1 more thing. 
You know, I know that you said 

770
00:53:24,400 --> 00:53:27,720
when you fast, but that's for 
that's for somebody else that 

771
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:32,040
needs it. 
That's pride and that's the 

772
00:53:32,040 --> 00:53:35,240
opposite of humility. 
If we want that spiritual 

773
00:53:35,240 --> 00:53:37,400
breakthrough, we can't have 
pride in our lives. 

774
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:42,240
The third one is this, and this 
is I see this in a lot of people

775
00:53:42,240 --> 00:53:44,640
outside of these these walls. 
The reason I love real life. 

776
00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:48,160
I mean, you guys are passionate,
but in so many areas of of where

777
00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:50,920
I work or where. 
I, I, I do. 

778
00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:52,920
Whatever. 
I see something called apathy. 

779
00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:57,280
And in some ways, apathy is just
as dangerous as pride because 

780
00:53:57,280 --> 00:53:59,160
apathy is. 
This is like, I just don't care.

781
00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:05,880
I just don't care. 
I'm busy, I'm tired, and it's 

782
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:07,120
not really going to matter 
anyway. 

783
00:54:08,320 --> 00:54:11,800
And so these are all three lies 
that the enemy uses just to hold

784
00:54:11,800 --> 00:54:13,680
us back. 
Fear, pride, apathy. 

785
00:54:14,240 --> 00:54:16,400
Don't fast. 
Don't listen to the guy on the 

786
00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:18,680
stage. 
Don't listen to the Holy Spirit,

787
00:54:19,200 --> 00:54:22,080
you know, giving you an 
opportunity to say, Hey, maybe 

788
00:54:22,080 --> 00:54:25,520
this is something you can use 
to, to start finding those 

789
00:54:25,520 --> 00:54:28,320
spiritual breakthroughs, because
that's really what the enemy 

790
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:31,880
doesn't want you to have. 
He doesn't want you to have the 

791
00:54:31,880 --> 00:54:35,320
one simple thing that will put 
you on your knees before God and

792
00:54:35,320 --> 00:54:38,760
say ABBA father. 
And I don't know what that looks

793
00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:41,800
like for you guys in here. 
What that, what that what a fast

794
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:43,600
looks like. 
I would encourage you something 

795
00:54:43,600 --> 00:54:45,920
simple like this. 
If you've never ever fasted, if 

796
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:48,760
you've never ever tried it, 
don't go crazy. 

797
00:54:49,120 --> 00:54:51,080
I see this all the time with, 
all right, I'm going to read my 

798
00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:53,240
Bible. 
I'm going to read it from cover 

799
00:54:53,240 --> 00:54:55,600
to cover and I'm going to give 
myself a month to do it right. 

800
00:54:55,800 --> 00:54:57,200
Has he ever made that promise to
God? 

801
00:54:57,640 --> 00:55:00,560
It doesn't work. 
It just doesn't work. 

802
00:55:01,240 --> 00:55:04,320
And So what happens then is 
like, oh, I didn't do what I set

803
00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:05,720
out to do. 
All right, I'm giving up. 

804
00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:07,960
I'm done. 
Don't do this with fasting. 

805
00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:11,200
So if you've never fasted, do 
something small. 

806
00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:17,240
Take a sun up to a sundown time 
frame, whatever that is, and in 

807
00:55:17,240 --> 00:55:20,480
that space, whatever that's a 
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 

808
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:22,480
Thursday, Friday, it doesn't 
matter. 

809
00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:27,600
But I want you guys to think 
about this challenge, pray about

810
00:55:27,600 --> 00:55:31,720
it. 
You've got an opportunity just 

811
00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:36,120
to do something in your life. 
And any time that you ever, ever

812
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:38,680
do that, you will never walk 
away disappointed. 

813
00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:42,240
You may walk away with something
you didn't expect to happen. 

814
00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:46,480
Now, it may not be a miraculous 
answer to prayer in that moment.

815
00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:49,680
It may be something as simple as
a realization that you're not 

816
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:52,760
the center of the universe. 
And that's the simple thing that

817
00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:57,280
sometimes that that I need like,
Hey, hey, bud, it's not all 

818
00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:01,480
about you. 
Maybe it's that homeless person 

819
00:56:02,200 --> 00:56:05,960
that you're running into at the 
at the, at the place that you're

820
00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:08,800
getting some food and you and 
looks at you with those eyes and

821
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:16,040
says, do you see me? 
Do we take that opportunity to 

822
00:56:16,040 --> 00:56:18,760
help those around us? 
And I tell you what, if we don't

823
00:56:18,760 --> 00:56:20,920
prayer and we don't pray, we 
don't fast, we don't have a 

824
00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,080
spiritual discipline, we don't 
see anybody else. 

825
00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:28,440
So maybe that's the simple part 
that somebody needs to hear 

826
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:31,800
today is that taking the 
opportunity to do something 

827
00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:35,720
you've never done before, a 
simple fast for a short amount 

828
00:56:35,720 --> 00:56:40,800
of time is a way to allow God to
open your eyes. 

829
00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:44,200
That's my prayer for you. 
That's my challenge for you. 

830
00:56:44,720 --> 00:56:48,040
Would you guys pray with me? 
Father, we come before you. 

831
00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:52,600
God, what an awesome 
opportunity, not only just to 

832
00:56:52,600 --> 00:56:55,800
celebrate what you've done in 
the last eight years and the 

833
00:56:55,800 --> 00:57:00,600
opportunity we had to celebrate 
that last week, but God as we as

834
00:57:00,600 --> 00:57:05,760
we hone in on what you've got 
for us next as individuals, as a

835
00:57:05,760 --> 00:57:08,080
church. 
God, I pray for several 

836
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:08,920
different things. 
Got it. 

837
00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:12,680
First of all, I want to pray for
your people here today that call

838
00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:15,680
your that call you father. 
They have committed their lives 

839
00:57:15,680 --> 00:57:21,320
to you and God. 
My prayer for them today, people

840
00:57:21,320 --> 00:57:24,240
that take on the name of Jesus 
and call themselves Christians 

841
00:57:24,240 --> 00:57:26,880
is this is that they start 
looking at a spiritual 

842
00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:33,560
discipline in a new way, a way 
that's biblical, a way that 

843
00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:39,200
connects them to your heart. 
So God, as your people are here 

844
00:57:39,200 --> 00:57:43,880
listening today, God help help 
them take this challenge to, to,

845
00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:47,520
to find the time to fast start a
spiritual discipline that maybe 

846
00:57:47,520 --> 00:57:49,720
they've never looked at before. 
They never thought that was 

847
00:57:49,720 --> 00:57:52,360
possible. 
Or maybe they believe the lies 

848
00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:54,920
of the enemy that had fear or 
they had some pride in their 

849
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:58,560
life or some apathy. 
God give them this dedication at

850
00:57:58,560 --> 00:58:02,680
this moment just to take some 
humility on and follow you in 

851
00:58:02,680 --> 00:58:04,160
this in this spiritual 
discipline. 

852
00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:07,720
I want to pray for one more 
group of people. 

853
00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:15,440
Maybe you walked in here today 
and again, you've never heard of

854
00:58:15,440 --> 00:58:17,480
fasting. 
You've barely, barely heard the 

855
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:19,880
name Jesus and you really don't 
know why you're here. 

856
00:58:20,640 --> 00:58:23,040
Or maybe you're here today 
because you're your ropes end. 

857
00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:25,680
Maybe you don't know where else 
to turn and you went to church 

858
00:58:25,680 --> 00:58:29,120
as a kid, as a child, and it's 
been a long time since you've 

859
00:58:29,120 --> 00:58:33,520
been in a church gathering, but 
you've never committed your life

860
00:58:33,520 --> 00:58:35,760
to Christ. 
It's always just been something 

861
00:58:35,760 --> 00:58:38,520
maybe my parents did or my 
grandparents did, but it was 

862
00:58:38,520 --> 00:58:42,400
never real for you. 
And again, can I remind you that

863
00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:46,720
you aren't here on accident. 
And God's given you an 

864
00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:51,320
opportunity to say yes to Him, 
to find life in the purpose that

865
00:58:51,320 --> 00:58:54,680
you were created to have and 
that you've lost it and not had 

866
00:58:54,680 --> 00:58:58,440
your whole life because you've 
lived alive, that you've seen 

867
00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:00,440
everything stripped away, 
everything that you thought was 

868
00:59:00,440 --> 00:59:02,280
going to give you hope, 
everything you thought was going

869
00:59:02,280 --> 00:59:05,240
to give you a purpose. 
And they all came up short. 

870
00:59:06,960 --> 00:59:09,680
And so if that's you today, I 
want you to know that God is 

871
00:59:09,680 --> 00:59:12,000
looking for you. 
God loves you. 

872
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:16,160
And in this moment, I'm going to
give you an opportunity to join 

873
00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:19,480
the family of God. 
And this isn't just some crazy 

874
00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:22,000
magic words. 
This is an opportunity to 

875
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:25,960
connect to the Creator of the 
universe and put him on the 

876
00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:29,160
throne where he's always been. 
But you finally did it in your 

877
00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:34,200
life. 
And so if that's you today and 

878
00:59:34,200 --> 00:59:37,240
you want to take that next step 
and you're ready to make Jesus 

879
00:59:37,240 --> 00:59:39,760
number one in your life, I'm 
going to give you a prayer and 

880
00:59:39,760 --> 00:59:42,000
you can pray along something 
along the lines of what I'm 

881
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:44,720
going to pray with you. 
And again, these words aren't 

882
00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:46,720
magic. 
They're not anything special. 

883
00:59:46,720 --> 00:59:50,560
But what they do is they reveal 
what you are feeling in your 

884
00:59:50,560 --> 00:59:53,400
heart and your being and what 
you're telling God. 

885
00:59:53,800 --> 00:59:55,240
And that's what God's looking 
for. 

886
00:59:55,600 --> 00:59:58,760
It's a prayer of humility. 
So if that's you, pray something

887
00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:02,200
along these lines, Father. 
Man, I have screwed my whole 

888
01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:05,960
life up. 
God, I've tried to do the right 

889
01:00:05,960 --> 01:00:09,920
thing and it's turned out wrong.
God, I've pursued wrong things 

890
01:00:10,720 --> 01:00:13,840
and it's destroyed me. 
And God, I don't know where else

891
01:00:13,840 --> 01:00:16,600
to turn. 
And in this moment, I come 

892
01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:19,600
before you with a humble heart, 
a broken spirit. 

893
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:26,080
And God, I am praying to claim 
you as my Lord, my Savior. 

894
01:00:26,880 --> 01:00:28,480
God, bring me into your Kingdom 
today. 

895
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:31,040
Make me a part of the family of 
God. 

896
01:00:31,720 --> 01:00:34,520
And I pray this in Jesus name, 
Amen. 

897
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:37,080
Can we give it up for everybody 
that prayed that prayer to 

898
01:00:37,080 --> 01:00:42,160
receive Christ today. 
Thank you guys so much for 

899
01:00:42,160 --> 01:00:44,840
allowing me to share my heart. 
We'll continue this next week, 

900
01:00:45,360 --> 01:00:49,080
but as we continue next week and
we lean into a little bit more 

901
01:00:49,080 --> 01:00:53,440
of how God moves the people of 
God, take that challenge series 

902
01:00:53,440 --> 01:00:56,600
this week. 
Don't allow the enemy to jerk 

903
01:00:56,720 --> 01:01:00,880
this truth from your heart. 
Take that humility, that act of 

904
01:01:00,880 --> 01:01:04,360
service, that spiritual 
discipline and man follow God. 

905
01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:06,520
And take just one small act of 
faith this week. 

906
01:01:06,840 --> 01:01:13,280
Thank you. 
What just a powerful and 

907
01:01:13,280 --> 01:01:18,000
encouraging reminder that in the
midst of our chaotic lives, of 

908
01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:22,320
our daily routine, that Jesus 
truly is all that we need. 

909
01:01:22,800 --> 01:01:26,160
And some of you recognize that 
today that Jesus is all that you

910
01:01:26,160 --> 01:01:27,960
need in your life. 
And you committed your life to 

911
01:01:27,960 --> 01:01:30,920
Jesus this morning. 
We are so excited for you. 

912
01:01:31,320 --> 01:01:33,520
Welcome to the family. 
We love that you made that 

913
01:01:33,520 --> 01:01:35,400
decision. 
We would love to walk alongside 

914
01:01:35,400 --> 01:01:38,080
you and resource you this week 
if you would let us know your 

915
01:01:38,080 --> 01:01:40,160
decision. 
You can do that by just grabbing

916
01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:42,120
that connection card that's on 
your seat, fill out your 

917
01:01:42,120 --> 01:01:45,680
information on there, but check 
the box that says I committed my

918
01:01:45,680 --> 01:01:47,880
life to Jesus. 
And you can drop that in the 

919
01:01:47,880 --> 01:01:49,600
giving buckets here in just a 
few minutes. 

920
01:01:49,600 --> 01:01:52,200
But by doing that allows us to 
get you a few things. 

921
01:01:52,200 --> 01:01:54,600
And the first is this a free 
book will drop in the mail 

922
01:01:54,600 --> 01:01:56,440
tomorrow that we would love to 
get to you. 

923
01:01:56,440 --> 01:01:58,960
It's called begin. 
It really will help you as 

924
01:01:58,960 --> 01:02:01,840
you're taking this journey with 
Jesus as you're diving into 

925
01:02:01,840 --> 01:02:03,320
God's word and figuring that 
out. 

926
01:02:03,320 --> 01:02:05,160
Also, if you pray that prayer 
and you're right here at 

927
01:02:05,160 --> 01:02:08,320
Kentucky Trail as you exit the 
worship center, there is a table

928
01:02:08,320 --> 01:02:10,800
with some red bags. 
Please feel free to grab one of 

929
01:02:10,800 --> 01:02:14,520
those inside is a Bible for you 
some other resources that we 

930
01:02:14,520 --> 01:02:17,640
know will just be a blessing to 
you as you start your journey 

931
01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:20,520
with Jesus this week. 
And hey, I want to share 

932
01:02:20,520 --> 01:02:22,560
something with you, something 
exciting in the life of our 

933
01:02:22,560 --> 01:02:24,200
church. 
And that's this. 

934
01:02:24,200 --> 01:02:29,120
On October 12th, we begin what 
we believe is the most important

935
01:02:29,120 --> 01:02:32,800
series that we have ever done in
the life of real life church and

936
01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:35,240
that is called our difference 
maker series. 

937
01:02:35,640 --> 01:02:39,600
And this series is about so much
more than just a building about 

938
01:02:39,600 --> 01:02:42,920
a monument in our city. 
It truly, it is about a movement

939
01:02:43,160 --> 01:02:46,240
of God. 
It is about eternity. 

940
01:02:46,320 --> 01:02:48,800
And so together over those six 
weeks in the series, we're 

941
01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:51,840
really going to lean in to the 
vision that we believe God has 

942
01:02:51,840 --> 01:02:55,160
for our church and for our city.
And that is what this looks 

943
01:02:55,160 --> 01:02:57,240
like. 
So it looks like your faith, and

944
01:02:57,240 --> 01:03:00,480
that's trusting in God, 
believing in God for some big 

945
01:03:00,480 --> 01:03:03,280
things and maybe some bold new 
ways. 

946
01:03:03,400 --> 01:03:05,320
That also looks like our 
generosity. 

947
01:03:05,600 --> 01:03:09,400
It's coming together as a 
family, united in mission and 

948
01:03:09,400 --> 01:03:12,640
it's for their forever, which is
to impact the lives of 

949
01:03:12,640 --> 01:03:16,760
generations to come. 
And so we invite you, if at all 

950
01:03:16,760 --> 01:03:19,520
possible, to be here for all six
of those weeks. 

951
01:03:19,800 --> 01:03:23,280
And we truly believe that what 
God does in US and in our hearts

952
01:03:23,600 --> 01:03:27,400
through this series truly will 
impact and shape of the next 

953
01:03:27,400 --> 01:03:29,760
chapter that God is writing for 
our church. 

954
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:31,200
So mark that down in your 
calendars. 

955
01:03:31,200 --> 01:03:34,000
It's October 12th. 
It's a six week series, but 

956
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:37,160
don't miss the opportunity to be
here as we launched this most 

957
01:03:37,160 --> 01:03:41,120
important series that we will do
here at Real Life Church. 

958
01:03:41,440 --> 01:03:43,840
And if you are new with this, 
thank you so much for being here

959
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:45,840
today. 
We love you chose to spend your 

960
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:48,320
morning right here with us. 
I hope you heard from God today.

961
01:03:48,600 --> 01:03:51,520
I know that you felt welcome 
this morning, but we would love 

962
01:03:51,600 --> 01:03:53,040
just for you to introduce 
yourself to us. 

963
01:03:53,040 --> 01:03:55,600
And you can do that by grabbing 
that card that's on your seats. 

964
01:03:55,920 --> 01:03:57,160
Just fill out your information 
there. 

965
01:03:57,160 --> 01:04:00,160
Check first time here. 
You can drop it in the giving 

966
01:04:00,160 --> 01:04:02,400
buckets, but also you could take
it to the new here booth on your

967
01:04:02,400 --> 01:04:05,320
way out this morning. 
They would have a free gift for 

968
01:04:05,320 --> 01:04:06,640
you. 
Just our way of saying thank you

969
01:04:06,640 --> 01:04:10,240
so much for being here today. 
Hey, I want to just take a 

970
01:04:10,240 --> 01:04:14,400
minute and say go God and thank 
you to those of you who give 

971
01:04:14,640 --> 01:04:16,680
faithfully here at Real Life 
Church. 

972
01:04:17,040 --> 01:04:20,960
And we got to witness some first
hand impact of you faithfully 

973
01:04:20,960 --> 01:04:23,560
giving here last week when we 
celebrated baptisms. 

974
01:04:23,560 --> 01:04:26,920
We had seven people get baptized
last week, which is awesome. 

975
01:04:26,920 --> 01:04:30,120
We had six people commit their 
lives to Jesus in both 

976
01:04:30,120 --> 01:04:32,920
gatherings. 
And then we also had eight first

977
01:04:32,920 --> 01:04:34,800
time guests here last week. 
It was so cool. 

978
01:04:35,400 --> 01:04:37,720
I don't know if you caught it, 
but the New Year booth, the line

979
01:04:37,720 --> 01:04:40,080
for the New Year booth was so 
long, people couldn't get out 

980
01:04:40,080 --> 01:04:42,000
the front door. 
We kind of had to part the seas 

981
01:04:42,400 --> 01:04:44,200
to make way for that. 
But that is huge. 

982
01:04:44,200 --> 01:04:46,280
Can you give it up for all that 
God is doing here. 

983
01:04:47,160 --> 01:04:49,320
Thank you so much to those of 
you who give here. 

984
01:04:49,320 --> 01:04:53,360
You really do you really do pave
the way for the gospel to go out

985
01:04:53,360 --> 01:04:55,600
into our church, into our city. 
So thank you so much. 

986
01:04:55,880 --> 01:04:58,000
If you call real life church 
home, there's so many ways that 

987
01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:00,960
you can take part in generosity.
You can check out the screen 

988
01:05:00,960 --> 01:05:03,360
there, scan that QR code you can
text to give. 

989
01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:06,720
You can head to our website. 
The giving buckets will pass 

990
01:05:06,720 --> 01:05:08,840
here in just a few minutes. 
You can drop cash or check in 

991
01:05:08,840 --> 01:05:12,040
there or there's a giving box in
the back as well if that is more

992
01:05:12,040 --> 01:05:14,840
convenient for you. 
And as always, if you or your 

993
01:05:14,840 --> 01:05:19,080
family find yourself in any need
this week, whether it be food or

994
01:05:19,080 --> 01:05:21,240
clothing or shelter or whatever 
that looks like for you, would 

995
01:05:21,240 --> 01:05:24,440
you please return to those 
buckets and grab any loose cash 

996
01:05:24,440 --> 01:05:26,640
as they pass? 
Because we do want to be a 

997
01:05:26,640 --> 01:05:28,800
blessing to you and your family 
this week. 

998
01:05:28,800 --> 01:05:31,880
All. 
Right, man, you guys excited to 

999
01:05:31,880 --> 01:05:34,880
take the challenge this week, 
the fasting. 

1000
01:05:35,160 --> 01:05:36,400
Yeah, it's going to be awesome, 
right. 

1001
01:05:36,640 --> 01:05:38,760
So man, Barry, thanks for 
bringing that word. 

1002
01:05:39,480 --> 01:05:43,000
Want to give you another 
challenge if if you haven't 

1003
01:05:43,000 --> 01:05:47,040
already is to dive into a fall 
life group. 

1004
01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:49,880
You know we are we are not only 
highly encouraged, we're 

1005
01:05:49,880 --> 01:05:53,040
commanded basically to just not 
do life alone. 

1006
01:05:53,040 --> 01:05:55,560
It's so it's so lonely in this 
world as it is. 

1007
01:05:55,840 --> 01:05:59,640
And life groups are just such an
amazing way to find community 

1008
01:05:59,920 --> 01:06:04,240
with believers In the book of 
James in chapter 5, it, it talks

1009
01:06:04,240 --> 01:06:07,240
about, you know, when we, we 
confess our sins to each other, 

1010
01:06:07,240 --> 01:06:10,760
when we pray for each other and 
encourage each other that that 

1011
01:06:10,760 --> 01:06:14,000
basically we're, we're doing 
what we're called to do as the 

1012
01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:16,680
righteous and so important for 
our growth. 

1013
01:06:16,680 --> 01:06:19,360
And so if you've already joined 
a life group, man, that's 

1014
01:06:19,360 --> 01:06:21,440
amazing. 
I know that's going to just be a

1015
01:06:21,440 --> 01:06:24,440
huge blessing, not only for your
life, but you're blessing the 

1016
01:06:24,440 --> 01:06:27,200
other people in your group, 
their lives as well. 

1017
01:06:27,200 --> 01:06:30,200
And so to help give you a 
visual, if it's kind of hard to 

1018
01:06:30,200 --> 01:06:33,560
kind of, you know, maybe see 
that or, or think about what 

1019
01:06:33,640 --> 01:06:35,000
might be like. 
If you think about, you know, 

1020
01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:37,120
you guys are sitting in rows 
right now. 

1021
01:06:37,440 --> 01:06:41,120
If these rows just turn into 
some circles, right? 

1022
01:06:41,120 --> 01:06:42,760
That's kind of the whole vibe 
right there. 

1023
01:06:42,760 --> 01:06:45,720
You're chatting with each other,
you're you're sharing life with 

1024
01:06:45,720 --> 01:06:48,480
each other. 
So I just encourage you to take 

1025
01:06:48,480 --> 01:06:50,600
a step today, maybe a little 
anxious about it. 

1026
01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:52,960
Totally normal. 
All right, Maybe you're not 

1027
01:06:52,960 --> 01:06:55,600
super outgoing. 
Again, totally normal. 

1028
01:06:55,840 --> 01:06:59,320
But just look at that board out 
there, Look for the nights, look

1029
01:06:59,320 --> 01:07:03,240
for the topics, the people that 
just, you know, God just sort of

1030
01:07:03,240 --> 01:07:07,000
nudge you in that direction. 
Scan the QR code and the leaders

1031
01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:09,160
of those groups will be 
thrilled. 

1032
01:07:09,160 --> 01:07:11,960
They'll probably do a cartwheel 
when that comes through on their

1033
01:07:11,960 --> 01:07:14,200
phone, like, oh, hey, they want 
to join my group. 

1034
01:07:14,400 --> 01:07:16,760
And they'll text you and they'll
give you all that information. 

1035
01:07:16,760 --> 01:07:19,240
For real though, would love for 
you to join a life group. 

1036
01:07:19,240 --> 01:07:22,680
It's never too late. 
So get on that today. 

1037
01:07:22,880 --> 01:07:24,520
And hey, if you want some 
prayer, we'll have people down 

1038
01:07:24,520 --> 01:07:26,080
in front that would love to pray
for you. 

1039
01:07:26,600 --> 01:07:29,720
Other than that, hang out in the
Hub for a while, connect, and 

1040
01:07:29,720 --> 01:07:32,920
we'll see you next week at 9:00 
AM or 10:45. 

1041
01:07:32,920 --> 01:07:36,960
And remember, whoever finds 
Jesus discovers real life and 

1042
01:07:36,960 --> 01:07:38,680
purpose. 
Join a life group and have a 

1043
01:07:38,680 --> 01:07:39,680
great week. 
See ya. 

1044
01:07:44,920 --> 01:07:47,760
This is the end of this podcast.
We hope you've enjoyed it. 

1045
01:07:47,880 --> 01:07:50,600
If you have, be sure to hit the 
subscribe button so you don't 

1046
01:07:50,600 --> 01:07:52,480
miss another inspirational 
podcast. 

1047
01:07:52,720 --> 01:07:54,680
For more great content and 
updates, visit 

1048
01:07:54,680 --> 01:07:56,720
reallifechurchkc.com.