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So we're continuing today our 
series Wicked for Christmas and 

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and if there is one song that 
seems to define the Wicked 

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movies and the musical more than
than any other, it would be the 

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song Defying Gravity. 
Once again. 

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You can sing praises to God. 
I'm not going to sing this song 

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to you today. 
Thankfully, Allison Bradbury's 

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here, she's going to sing it for
us in a few minutes. 

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But before we get to the song, 
because the song today is going 

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to be the the end, the climax of
the of the sermon rather than 

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something toward the beginning 
is just as an example. 

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But I want to talk about gravity
because this metaphor of gravity

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that's used in wicked is is a 
very powerful metaphor in our 

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spiritual lives as well. 
And without getting too far into

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the scientific weeds, let's just
talk about gravity at describe 

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it again. 
We don't need to worry about 

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general relativity and those 
kinds of things for these 

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purposes. 
We're going to talk about 

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gravity is a constant force that
pulls everything to the largest 

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nearby mass. 
And the greater the mass of an 

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object, the more the pull, and 
the closer the object, the 

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stronger the pull. 
So, so that's what we're talking

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about is, is a force that's 
impersonal. 

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Gravity doesn't care what we 
think, what we believe, what we 

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do. 
Gravity just pulls and, and, and

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it's, it's constant. 
Gravity doesn't waiver. 

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There's not a point when 
suddenly we all just start 

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floating in the air because 
gravity forgot to work for it's 

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constant. 
It's always there and it always 

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pulls at that same rate. 
And to defy gravity requires a 

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constant counterforce. 
You have to work hard to defy 

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gravity. 
And that's where Elphaba found 

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herself. 
Elphaba defied gravity. 

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Now she did it literally with 
her broom. 

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And that was part of the 
metaphor too. 

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And I don't, I sometimes it, I 
don't want to destroy the story 

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by talking too much about the 
symbolism in the metaphors, but 

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we'll do a little bit of it here
today. 

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So, so we get this visual. 
She's singing the song defying 

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gravity. 
She's literally defying gravity 

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on her broom. 
But the gravity that's really 

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significant in the story Wicked 
is the social gravity. 

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What's happening in Oz is that 
that the the great and powerful 

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Oz, who is neither great nor 
powerful, magically anyway, and 

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his his magical assistant, 
Madame Morrable, are are 

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engaging in a program that one 
might call ethnic cleansing 

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against the talking animals of 
Oz. 

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We know they're talking animals 
because the lion talk and and 

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the for whatever reason, Oz and 
Morrible and others find the 

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talking animals a threat. 
And so their goal is to get them

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out of Oz or or cage them and 
control them and take away their

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power of speech so they're 
easier to control. 

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And the folks in ounces are 
buying into it. 

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They're they're buying into the 
propaganda that says the animals

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are a threat and have to be 
contained or have to be 

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controlled. 
And those that don't buy into it

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are too intimidated by the, the 
police force and the the 

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military might of Oz and 
morrible. 

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And they don't want to stand up 
against it because they will 

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lose status. 
They will lose position. 

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They might find themselves 
imprisoned or expelled or 

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removed, losing all of the good 
things that come from being a 

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citizen of Oz. 
And so in in a climactic scene 

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in the center of the story, we 
have Alphaba and Glenda faced 

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with this choice. 
Do we? 

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Do we simply follow the pull of 
social gravity, get along to go 

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along? 
Or do we resist that pull and 

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see if we can defy the gravity 
and Alphaba resists, and she 

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doesn't? 
There's no half measures here 

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for Alphaba. 
She she goes all in on resisting

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the gravitational pull that's 
happening there in ounces. 

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And she loses friends, she loses
closer other close 

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relationships. 
She loses status, she loses 

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position. 
She loses every benefit that 

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came from being a citizen of Oz.
And not just any citizen, but 

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born into a powerful family in 
ounces. 

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And she sacrifices all of that 
in order to escape that 

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gravitational pull that was that
was drawing her in to a culture 

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and a way of doing life that she
found to be repugnant. 

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One might call it sinful. 
That's Alphaba. 

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Now, you might call me crazy. 
Many people do. 

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You wouldn't be alone. 
There's a long line I cannot 

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hear Defying Gravity and watch 
the movie Wicked or Wicked for 

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good without thinking about The 
Godfather Part 3. 

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I know, I know, I'm just that 
sort of person, but bear with me

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for a moment. 
I need that extra volume here. 

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Gary, I got a very quick clip 
from The Godfather Part 3 and 

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see if maybe I can trap you into
my insanity here. 

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At this point in the sermon, we 
listened to Al Pacino as Michael

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Corleone delivering his famous 
line from The Godfather Part 3. 

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Just when I thought I was out, 
they pull me back in. 

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Now back to the sermon. 
That's it. 

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Just when I thought this is 
Michael Corleone. 

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If you're not familiar with the 
Godfather movies, we will get a 

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brief history of the Godfather. 
Michael Corleone is is the 

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current Godfather. 
By the time The Godfather Part 3

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comes along here, he's the head 
of a crime family, a Mafia 

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family, and he's been trying to 
get the family out of the crime 

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business. 
And he reaches a point in The 

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Godfather Part 3 where he says 
every time I try to get out, 

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they pull me right back in. 
Michael is trying to do what 

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Alphaba did and defy gravity to 
get out of the pull of the crime

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family, of the world of of 
criminal activity and legitimize

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all of his businesses and 
legitimize all of his family. 

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He sees again the corruption, 
the degradation, the destructive

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forces that are pulling him back
into this, and he wants to get 

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out, but he keeps getting pulled
back. 

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Elphaba defied gravity. 
Michael Corleone was pulled back

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in, and there's a very simple 
reason for that, is that Michael

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Corleone was not as committed as
Alphaba. 

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Alphaba was all in. 
Alphaba was willing and able to 

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sacrifice everything to be free 
of that pull on her life. 

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Michael Corleone. 
He wanted to be free of all of 

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the negatives that he saw and 
being a criminal boss family, 

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but he wanted to hold on to all 
of the perks and benefits and 

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privileges. 
He wanted to get out, but he 

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didn't want to lose the wealth 
that he gained while he was in. 

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He wanted to get out, but he 
didn't want to lose the power 

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and influence. 
He wanted to get out, but he 

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didn't want to lose the status 
and the perks. 

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Michael Corleone's story is a 
powerful testimony to the 

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complete ineffectiveness of Half
Measures. 

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He wanted it, but he didn't. 
He wanted to be free, but he 

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didn't want to let go. 
You hear a lot about half 

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measures in the world of 
addiction and recovery. 

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One of the most famous lines and
Alcoholics Anonymous and other 

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recovery programs 12 step 
programs is half measures 

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availed us nothing you can't get
out. 

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You can't escape gravity with 
half measures. 

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You have to be committed. 
You have to be willing to let go

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of everything That's what it 
takes to defy gravity. 

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Imagine if we'd, and just to 
clarify, any mis, you know, 

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potential misunderstanding. 
I do believe we went to the 

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moon, all right, Not just just 
saying what if we tried to go to

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the moon with a tether on the 
spaceship? 

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We don't want to lose content. 
We want to be able to reel it 

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back in. 
We don't want to risk losing 

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them entirely. 
You know, we want to, we want to

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make sure we can reel it. 
They would never. 

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You can't. 
You can't get to the moon 

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tethered to the Earth to defy 
gravity. 

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You have to be willing to let go
and risk everything. 

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And if you're not willing to 
risk everything, you just get 

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pulled back into that mass and 
the life of faith and, and, and 

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the spiritual life. 
There is a, there is a very real

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sense that the sinful systems 
and cultures and practices in 

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this world have a strong 
gravitational pull. 

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It's difficult to escape them. 
There was a young man I knew 

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that is currently bald, grew up 
in Gallia County and went to my 

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school. 
It was me case you were 

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wondering, One of those strong 
gravitational pulls in my life, 

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particularly as a young man was 
I had, for whatever reason, 

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partly nature, partly nurture, I
think had a very high respect 

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for authority and and a very 
high respect for following the 

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rules. 
I wanted to be praised and 

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approved of by people in 
authority. 

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And I learned very early on the 
best way to do that is follow 

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all the rules. 
And, and I don't remember the 

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specifics of this, but I 
remember one point. 

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I think it was in high school, 
maybe I think it was maybe older

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junior high, but I think it was 
high school and I was walking 

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into English class. 
You think Blevins, you said you 

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don't remember specifics. 
I remember that part. 

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I don't remember what the topic 
was. 

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I don't remember any of the 
other people involved, but I 

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remember my principal seemed to 
appear out of nowhere, backed me

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up against the wall, looked me 
in the face, and demanded that I

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snitch on someone. 
I don't remember who I was being

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asked to snitch on. 
I don't remember what was being 

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done. 
It probably wasn't anything 

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serious. 
I caved instantly. 

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Instantly. 
I gave this guy up. 

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I do remember it was a guy. 
I don't remember what he did I 

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gave you. 
I didn't even blink an eye. 

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Like, yes, Sir, this was his. 
It was him. 

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That kind of gravitational pull 
there was, there was, it's like,

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you know, it's like trying me 
trying to dunk a basketball. 

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It wasn't going to happen. 
There's no defying gravity 

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there. 
Just got pulled, pulled down and

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to snitch them because of this 
pull that these values have on 

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me. 
I can still feel those kind of 

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pulls, although I don't think 
I'd snitch anymore. 

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I don't think I would well if it
was really bad, you know see I 

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struggle with this. 
These pulls are out there and, 

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and, and, and, you know, telling
on someone for doing some minor 

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thing in high school is not a, 
not a huge deal in the grand 

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scheme of things. 
But there are lots of other 

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forces in our culture, forces 
of, of, of racism, forces of 

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other types of bigotry and bias.
There are forces of greed. 

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There are forces of, of lust of,
of drug addiction, forces of the

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that, that create generational 
poverty and chew people up and 

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spit them out. 
There are all kinds of forces 

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that that pull at us in the 
world around us that can be 

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incredibly difficult to to 
escape and can only be. 

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We can only escape them if we're
willing to have a sustained 

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effort in the opposite direction
and a willingness to let go and 

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sacrifice all the perks that 
come with it. 

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You, you, you can't get free of 
a chemical addiction or any 

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other kind of addiction while 
trying to hold on to the good 

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feeling that you get when you're
using your drug. 

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You can't be free of social 
pressure to reject or isolate or

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or or shun a person in the 
community or a group in the 

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community or a person or group 
in the school or at work. 

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You can't do that without being 
willing to sacrifice the perks 

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that come along with getting 
along and going along. 

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We have to be willing to let go 
if we want to follow into the 

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Kingdom of God. 
And that's that's the challenge 

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here is that's what Jesus asks 
us to do. 

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Go back sometime don't have 
time. 

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We already read a whole lot of 
scripture today to read all of 

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the Sermon on the Mount. 
But that's what Jesus is talking

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about and the Sermon on the 
Mount of all of these social 

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pressures. 
And Jesus is saying so far 

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you've been engaging in half 
measures. 

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You want to condemn murder, but 
you want to live in anger and 

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resentment toward the people 
around you. 

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You want to condemn adultery, 
but you want to live in lust 

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toward the people around you. 
You want to You want to condemn 

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greed, but you want to 
accumulate as much money and as 

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much wealth as you can. 
You want to condemn pride and 

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vanity, but you want to do all 
of your religious displays in 

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public so you get praised for 
them. 

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You say if you want to live in 
the Kingdom of God, you said you

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got to be willing to sacrifice 
everything that this world has 

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to offer. 
You might not be asked to give 

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everything up. 
Literally. 

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Some people are and some people 
do. 

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We call them martyrs. 
Not everyone is asked to make 

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that extremist sacrifice, but 
everyone is asked to hold it all

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loosely so that it doesn't pull 
us back in. 

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That's what it takes to defy 
gravity. 

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Here's the good news. 
Jesus is the OG defier of 

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gravity. 
My attempt at relevant language 

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trying to be trendy here. 
Probably about eight years too 

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late on the OG thing, but there 
you go. 

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I'm better than last week. 
So Jesus, the OG defier of 

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gravity, I mean, he literally 
did it. 

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He walked on water. 
You can't do that without 

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literally defying gravity. 
But all the pressure put on him 

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to get along, to go along, to 
condemn the people that the, 

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that the religious folks said, 
we've got to condemn them. 

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To reject the folks that the 
religious folks said we got to 

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reject them. 
To pursue the wealth and the 

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status and the position that the
people around him said we need 

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those things if we want to 
survive to pursue the, the 

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pressure to pursue a violent 
attitude toward Rome or, or a, 

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a, a conciliatory cooperative 
attitude toward Rome. 

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And Jesus said, no thank you. 
I choose neither. 

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And Jesus, it cost him his life.
He gave up friends, he gave up 

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status, he gave up position, he 
gave up good reputation, he gave

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up wealth. 
He gave up all of these things 

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in order to share the love and 
hope and power of God with this 

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world. 
And the message that comes out 

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of his life is completely 
counterintuitive that that the 

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slave who got executed on the 
Roman cross actually won the 

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victory over the Roman Empire. 
He gave up everything and he 

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calls us to do the same. 
That's what he meant when he 

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said deny yourselves, take up 
your cross and follow me. 

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Half measures won't do it. 
The good news is because Jesus 

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did it, because Jesus came here 
to live as one of us in this 

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earth and he defied gravity even
at the cost of his own life. 

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God gave him his life back and 
we can join him in doing that. 

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He says take my hand, follow me,
pick up your cross, follow me. 

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I'll show you how to defy 
gravity. 

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You can be different. 
You can live without falling to 

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the pressure. 
You know, one of the proofs that

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the slave who was crucified by 
the Roman Emperor and by the 

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Roman Empire 1 is that 400 years
later that slave was more 

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powerful and had more influence 
in the Roman Empire than the 

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Emperor did. 
And the emperor converted to 

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Christianity and became a 
follower of Jesus. 

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We can defy gravity. 
We don't have to give into the 

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socials of pressures around us, 
no matter what those social 

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pressures are. 
We don't have to live in the 

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same state of, of complicity or 
or or or cooperation with or 

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ignoring or getting along to go 
along. 

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We don't have to do any of those
things because Jesus didn't, and

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because he gives us that 
capacity through the Holy Spirit

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to live in that sustained effort
and sustained force that we can 

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break free from those kinds of 
poles as well. 

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We can be Alphaba instead of 
Michael Corleone. 

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We don't have to always get 
pulled back in. 

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We can defy gravity. 
Now Allison's going to come up 

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and sing the song. 
This is song I I never did 

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actually confirm how this is 
going to work. 

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I'm ignorant. 
All right, let's we can all 

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00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,520
agree on that. 
I can get I get an name in here.

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I'm ignorant. 
I asked Allison if she could 

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sing defying gravity. 
I've heard the song more than 

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one occasion. 
Allison pointed out it's 

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actually a duet. 
And I said, oh, how will that 

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work? 
And she said I'll figure it out.

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I don't know how this is going 
to work, but she's going to sing

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it and, and, and it's going to 
be great. 

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And we can we can celebrate with
with Elphaba and Allison here. 

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You ready? 
At this point in the sermon, 

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Allison Bradbury sang Defying 
Gravity. 

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She did a beautiful job with the
song and I wish I could include 

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it here, but for licensing 
reasons, I can't include it on 

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this platform. 
If you would like to hear 

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Allison singing, check out the 
same sermon on YouTube. 

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Just search for CRSNB sermons 
and click on the Defying Gravity

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sermon. 
Please be aware though that I 

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00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,520
don't have good tech for 
recording live musical 

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00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,480
performances, so the audio 
quality is not nearly as good on

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00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,080
the recording as Allison was 
live. 

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You can also find Cynthia Revo's
version on YouTube and all major

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music platforms. 
Now back to the sermon. 

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Wow, that's it, that's it. 
We can, we can sing that well, 

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we Can't Sing that not like 
that, but we can live it. 

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We can join Alpha, we can join 
in this this amazing thing that 

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Jesus has given us and defy 
gravity and and let no one pull 

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us down in Jesus name, Amen. 
Amen.