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When God Doesn't Answer Prayer | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Praise the Lord. It feels like a long time since
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I have shared on Sunday morning. And there's
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been so much happening. This week, we've had
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one thing after another. And this week, for a
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couple days, I just went, oh, thank you, Lord.
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You happy to be alive? Are you happy? To have
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the breath of God in your lungs. His air fueling
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you. Praise God. And so I am, because of that,
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I'm looking forward to sharing this word with
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you. I took two words and I combined them into
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one. So that means I get to preach twice as long.
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Is that right? Oh, oh, that was harsh. Who did
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that? Brother Bill? Brother Bill? Wow. Yeah,
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now you're not getting out till 1230, Bill. You
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can all blame him. I told somebody this morning,
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I said, I feel ornery today. I don't know where
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that's going to take us. Thank you, Lord. But
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if you'll go with me in your Bible to Acts chapter
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12. Acts chapter 12. I want to talk a little
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bit to us this morning as your pastor. We have
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been through some things. And we're still going
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through some things. And I want to take the time
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to read an entire chapter. Is that okay if we
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honor God's word that way? I'm going to read
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Acts chapter 12. Now about that time, Herod the
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king stretched out his hand to harass some from
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the church. Then he killed James. the brother
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of John, with the sword. And because he saw that
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it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to
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seize Peter also. Now it was during the days
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of unleavened bread, so when he had arrested
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him, he put him in prison, delivered him to four
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squads of soldiers, that's 16 soldiers, to keep
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him. intending to bring him before the people
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after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison,
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but constant prayer was offered to God for him
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by the church. And when Herod was about to bring
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him out that night, Peter was sleeping, bound
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with two chains between two soldiers. And the
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guards before the door were keeping the prison.
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Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him
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and a light shone in the prison and he struck
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Peter on the side and raised him up saying, arise
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quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. Then
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the angel said to him, gird yourself and tie
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on your sandals. And so he did. And he said to
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him, put on your garment and follow me. So he
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went out and followed him and did not know that
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what was done by the angel was real, but thought
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he was seeing a vision. And when they were past
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the first and the second guard posts, they came
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to the iron gate that leads to the city, which
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opened to them of its own accord. And they went
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out and went down one street, and immediately
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the angel departed from him. And when Peter had
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come to himself, He said, now I know for certain
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that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered
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me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation
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of the Jewish people. So when he had considered
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this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother
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of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were
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gathered praying. And as Peter knocked at the
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door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to
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answer. And when she recognized Peter's voice
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because of her gladness, she did not open the
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gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood
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before the gate. But they said to her, you are
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beside yourself. Yet she kept insisting that
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it was so, so they said, it's his angel. Now
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Peter continued knocking. And when they opened
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the door and saw him, they were astonished. But
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motioning to them with his hand to keep silent,
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he declared to them how the Lord had brought
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him out of the prison. And he said, go tell these
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things to James and the brethren. And he departed
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and went to another place. Then as soon as it
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was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers.
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about what had become of Peter. But when Herod
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had searched for Peter and not found him, he
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examined the guards and commanded that they should
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be put to death. And he went down from Judea
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to Caesarea and stayed there. Now Herod had been
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very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon,
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but they came to him with one accord, and having
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made Blastus the king's personal aide their friend,
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They asked for peace because their country was
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supplied with food by the king's country. So
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on a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel,
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sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.
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And the people kept shouting, the voice of a
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God and not of a man. And then immediately, an
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angel of the Lord struck him. Because he did
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not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms
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and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied.
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We'll stop right there. Father, I thank you for
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your word this morning. And I just ask that your
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anointing that is on your word would just flow
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through my words this morning. And I just ask
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that you would penetrate our hearts. Penetrate
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our hearts in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Stephen
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was the first martyr of the church. You can read
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about that in Acts chapter 7. But this situation
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was a little bit different. Because this was
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the first of the twelve apostles. Judas was replaced
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by Matthias in Acts chapter 1. And of those 12,
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James was the first to be martyred. In time,
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11 of them would go on to be martyred. James'
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brother John, who wrote the book of Revelation
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late in life from the island of Patmos, would
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be the only one to die a natural death. You need
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to understand how James' death impacted the church.
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James was an apostle. Paul taught us in Ephesians
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chapter 2 that the household of God, verse 20,
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having been built... on the foundation of the
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apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being himself
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the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building
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being fitted together grows into a holy temple
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in the Lord. Paul taught us that apostles and
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prophets were the foundation of the church. And
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the twelve had been the foundation of the church.
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Up until this time, the five -fold ministry is
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also listed in Ephesians chapter 4, apostle,
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prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist. And Paul
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said that the five -fold ministry is God's gift
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to you so that you can mature and grow in your
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faith in Christ. And so there are people that
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are called into the ministry that this, that...
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Paul is describing here that God uses to equip
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the rest of the church to reach the lost and
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grow the kingdom of God. So apostles were, especially
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in that time period, viewed as incredibly important.
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I believe that apostles are incredibly important
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in today's time period as well. But we're talking
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here one of the twelve. And it impacted the church.
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Now, apostolic power was really important. In
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Acts chapter 7, when there was revival in Samaria,
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who did Philip call when they wanted to receive
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the baptism of the Holy Spirit? They called the
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apostles, and Peter and John came and laid hands
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on them, and they received the baptism of the
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Holy Spirit. We see in the next chapter, in chapter
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8 and verse 1, when the dispersion came. This
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is when they tried to kick all of the Christians
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out of Jerusalem. It says in verse 1, at that
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time a great persecution arose against the church,
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which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
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through the regions of Judea and Samaria, except
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the apostles. The apostles had staying power
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in the face of all of the government. And so
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you begin to understand their strength. In Acts
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chapter 2 and verse 42, it says, They continued
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steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles.
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apostles. They didn't have a New Testament. They
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didn't have a church full of teachers. They didn't
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have YouTube to go and listen to. They didn't
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have all of those things. The apostles teaching
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the foundational truths was what they had. And
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so they went from house to house. When problems
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arose in the church, they at one point came to
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the apostles and said, solve this problem for
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us. But listen to what the apostles said. Therefore,
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brethren, seek out from among you seven men of
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good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and
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wisdom, who we may appoint over this business,
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but we as apostles will give ourselves to prayer
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and to the ministry of the word. And so these
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were the apostles. And now James is arrested.
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Now his death came about more quickly because
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when Peter was arrested, the Passover came. But
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I want to ask you a question. Do you think when
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James, the apostle, was arrested by Herod that
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the church began to pray? I believe they did.
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I believe that the church began to call out on
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God. I don't believe that they just like Peter
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better than James. For Pete's sake. That came
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from the depths of my soul. They prayed for James
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to be released. They sought God. They sought
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the Lord. For his release. But what happened?
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James. The apostle. Was put to death. By the
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sword. These believers. You need to remember.
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Did you know that all the apostles had been in
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prison before? All of them. Let me read it to
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you. Acts 5 .17. Then the high priest rose up
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and all those who were with him, which is the
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sect of the Sadducees, they were filled with
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indignation and laid their hands on the apostles
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and put them in the common prison. This is all
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of them. But at night, an angel of the Lord opened
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the prison doors and brought them out and said,
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go stand in the temple and speak to the people
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all the words of this life. And the story goes
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on. James had been in prison before. Peter had
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been in prison before. The angel of the Lord
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had come and set them all free before. And so
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they knew that God could work an incredible miracle.
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And now James is arrested and the church is praying.
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But he's put to the sword. And I want to ask
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you a question this morning. What are you going
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to do in your relationship with God when he does
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not answer your prayer? What are you going to
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do? We could just try to move on from the situation
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that has just happened. But how many of you were
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believing for Gary's healing? Yeah. Did you know
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that even one of the Illinois basketball players
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was praying for Gary's healing? In the final
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four. I thought, who in this, Church has reach
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like that. God didn't answer our prayer. And
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we find ourselves in the middle of Acts chapter
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12. What are we going to do when God colors outside
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the lines? Let me just share a few things here
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that are true. One, life. sometimes happens outside
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the lines of your theological box. People have
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asked me, was it God that took Gary? And I don't
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have an answer. I don't have an answer. But I
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know this, that God sometimes colors outside
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of my box. Things happen in this life that don't
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fit neatly into the things that I believe. And
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they're challenging. And God is showing us in
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situations like this because you've all been
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there. In fact, you can think of other times
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in your life when you said, why God? did this
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happen? And the truth is that he is bigger than
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our understanding. The second thing is this,
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that God is God and we are not. And you have
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to be okay with that. I refer to the passage
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that says this, my thoughts are not your thoughts,
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nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For
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as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
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are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
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than your thoughts. And as much as God reveals
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to us, he doesn't reveal everything to us. And
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the passage in 1 Corinthians 13 that says this,
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for now we see in a mirror, And there are times
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in our lives where we feel like I am seeing clearly.
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Everything is being blessed. Everything is happening
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the way it's supposed to happen. I am seeing
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clearly. But then there are times that smack
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us in the face with the truth of this word that
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we see dimly as in a mirror. He goes on and he
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says, now I know in part, but then I shall know
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fully. And that's where Gary's at right now.
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He sees face to face and he doesn't speak in
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tongues anymore. For the first time in his life,
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he doesn't need to speak in tongues anymore.
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You know, tongues are for this side of eternity.
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They're not for that side of eternity. He sees
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face to face. And that's good news. We see as
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in the darkened glass, the King James says. And
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fourthly, there are mysteries in the faith that
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we cannot solve. When I was studying this passage
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in Acts chapter 12, the Fire Bible notes say
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this, quote, God allowed James, the brother of
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John, And one of Jesus' closest original disciples
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to die. Yet he sent an angel to rescue Peter.
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That James should die while Peter lived for further
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ministry is an example of the mysterious way
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of God with his people. James had the honor of
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being the first of Jesus' original disciples
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to be martyred in his faith in Christ. End of
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quote. It's a mystery why God answers this prayer
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and not that one. We sing a song here sometimes
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called Miracles. I believe in you. I believe
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in you. You're the God of miracles. The author
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of that song wrote that song just after his child
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passed away. And yet he still stood before the
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church and said, I believe in you. You're the
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God of miracles. Do you think that father has
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an answer? And you're connecting with some of
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this because you have had questions in your life.
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And I just want to just draw off this passage
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and say, so what should I do? What should I do
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when I don't understand what God has done? And
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the first thing that I want to call you to church
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is this, to keep believing God. I want to say
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that again, and I want to hear somebody say amen
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when I say it. God wants us to keep believing
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him. Amen? He wants us to keep believing him.
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Our role is to believe God. Hallelujah. And in
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Hebrews chapter 11, it says this. These all died
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in faith, not having received the promises, but
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having seen them afar off, were assured of them,
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embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
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and pilgrims on the earth. Did you catch that?
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God gave them promises and they said, Lord, I
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believe your promises. But they died having not
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received the fulfillment of the promise. And
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sometimes that's the way that it is. That we
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believe, we continue to believe God. Do you know
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what brings pleasure to God? Do you know what
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brings pleasure to Him? Faith. Without faith,
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it is impossible to please God. So what is it
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that pleases God? When a son, when a daughter
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stands and says, I believe you. Hallelujah. I
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believe God. I am standing in the place of faith.
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You know what? You're bringing pleasure to the
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Lord. And so I want to call you, and if you've
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had something happen that you don't understand,
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that God hasn't given you an answer on, or that
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He hasn't answered your prayer, or if heaven
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has been silent on something, I want to encourage
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you to dig your spiritual heels in and keep believing
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God anyway, church. Keep believing God anyway.
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Come on. Secondly, I want to call you. to keep
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giving yourself to prayer. God did not answer
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their prayer for James. And when Peter was arrested,
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did they throw up their hands and say, well,
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I guess it's going to happen to Peter too. That's
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not what they did. What did they do? They turned
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up. their prayer even higher. And they sought
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the Lord. You notice that phrase, it said, but
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constant prayer was offered to God. And we can
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infer that that prayer was on Peter's behalf.
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Let me ask you another question. Did these believers
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all have absolute, pure faith that Peter would
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be released? When Rhoda came with the news that
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Peter was free, they said, no. That can't be.
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The moral of the story is don't send someone
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named Rhoda to the door. Hopefully, is anybody
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here named Rhoda? It's a beautiful name. They
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didn't even believe, they didn't have full faith.
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Yet, what did they do? They prayed anyway. They
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prayed anyway. Can I encourage you to not allow
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your feelings to determine whether you're going
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to pray or not? What your mind is telling you
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is sometimes different than what you know to
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be the word of God. Can I encourage you to ignore
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what your mind is telling you? Can I encourage
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you all those feelings that are trying to bring
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you down? Well, it didn't happen last month.
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It didn't happen last week. I guess it's not
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going to happen this week. Can I encourage you
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to tune out those voices and to pray anyway?
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Hallelujah. When you don't have absolute faith,
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pray anyway. When you're discouraged and don't
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understand, pray anyway. These believers gathered
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to pray and they doubled down. And they said,
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we're still going to trust in our Savior. Hallelujah.
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Number three, when you don't understand. Guard
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yourself from getting bitter. Guard yourself
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from getting offended with the Lord. There was
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a prophet that Jesus said was the greatest of
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all the prophets. Anybody know his name? John
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the Baptist. John the Baptist. He was Jesus'
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cousin. Related by earthly blood. Arrested. And
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he's in prison. And he had baptized Jesus. He
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had prophesied over him. Behold the Lamb of God
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that takes away the sin of the world. He had
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baptized people alongside of Jesus' disciples
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later on. He had watched. Jesus' ministry increased,
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and what did he say? He must increase, I must
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decrease. He was an awesome man of God. And while
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he's in prison, and he sends some of his disciples,
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and he said, would you go and ask Jesus, are
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you the one or are we to wait for another? And
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after seeing everything that John the Baptist
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saw, you would think that by then he would know
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the answer. He had heard all of the reports.
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And so they came, and this is what Jesus said
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in Matthew 11 verse 4. Jesus answered and said
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to them, go and tell John the things you see
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and hear. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers
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are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
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the poor have the gospel preached to them. Well,
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can I tell you something? John already knew all
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of that. John knew that there were miracles.
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John knew. That the blind saw and the dead were
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raised and the lame walked. John knew all of
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that. Do you know what Jesus is saying to John?
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He's saying this. John, I'm not going to tell
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you. I'm not going to answer your question. And
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then he said this. And blessed is he who is not
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offended because of me. Right now, the spirit
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of offense is raging through the church. We're
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offended with people for how they voted. We're
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offended with people for disagreeing in different
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ways. Did you know that we can get offended with
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God for things that happen in our lives? People
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live in bitterness toward the Lord for decades.
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Because of that time, God didn't answer my prayer.
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Blessed is he who is not offended with me. Blessed
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is he who, when they don't understand, hold fast.
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Jesus would later say to Thomas after he was
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raised from the dead, He, because Thomas said,
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unless I see, unless I see Jesus, unless I put
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my hands, my fingers in the holes in his hand
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and his side, I will not believe. And Jesus appeared
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to Thomas and said, Thomas, come here. Put your
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hands, put your fingers in my hands. Touch my
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side. Touch my side. Thomas, and Thomas said,
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Lord, I believe. And Jesus said something. He
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said, blessed are those who have not seen and
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yet believe. Now there are areas of your life
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where you see Jesus at work and you go, hallelujah,
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I believe. I see the miracle. I see God at work.
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It's powerful in my life. But what are you going
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to do when you don't see? Blessed are those who
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do not see and still believe. Hallelujah. You
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have things happen in your life that you don't
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understand, but you say, you know what, God?
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I am still going to believe you. Who out there
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will say that? I want to be like that. I want
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to be like that. I want to be somebody that believes
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no matter what. Oh, my God. Friend, lay down
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your bitterness and your offense. Do you know
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what you can do? You can just come to the Lord
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and you can say, God, I allowed... bitterness
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to come into my heart. Would you release me from
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this bitterness? Will you just release me from
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this offense? I've been offended with you, God,
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and so I've been holding you at arm's length.
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I don't want to do that anymore. Will you wash
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me in your blood? Will you forgive me, God? And
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will you help me be a person that is not offended
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with you, that is blessed? Because I believe
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no matter what. Do you know you can pray that
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prayer this morning, and you can believe for
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that to happen in you? your life. I've got one
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more thing I want to share here in just a moment,
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but I want to commend those of you who believed
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for Gary's healing right up until the final moment.
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I was there when several of you were praying
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over Gary, believing for healing. And I was there
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as Gary was declaring just a couple of days before
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he passed, I am healed in Jesus' name. He was
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declaring that. And I want to commend those of
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you that stood in faith till the final moment.
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That brings pleasure to God. And Gary was believing.
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Even the day before, I laid hands on him and
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I said, be healed in the name of Jesus. And he
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was receiving that prayer. Many of you were praying.
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And I want to commend those of you that have
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taken a hard look into your own life. More than
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one of you has come to me and said something
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to this effect. Pastor, I saw. That Gary's life
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counted for something. And I want my life to
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count for something. And some of you have taken
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an introspective look and said, what can I do
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to make my life count for something? And I want
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to commend you for that. And there are many across
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this city right now. That are saying that same
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thing. I want my life to count for something.
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Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. And although I don't
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understand it all. I know this. God is not going
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to waste the death of his servant. And any suffering.
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God does not waste suffering in the kingdom of
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God. He uses it for his glory. And he transforms
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many. Jesus said of his own life, he said, unless
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a seed dies and falls to the ground, it doesn't
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produce fruit. And I feel the same way for Gary,
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that a seed has fallen to the ground and it is
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going to produce fruit in people's lives across
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this entire region in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
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Church, you have done well. Keep. Believing God.
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Keep believing God. I want to conclude with the
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phrase that we see during Herod's tragic death.
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He set himself against God. In verse 21, it says
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this. A set day, Herod. A set day. On Tuesday,
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during my devotions, I normally read four chapters
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in my devotions. And on Tuesday, I read two verses.
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And I was reading in Genesis chapter 21, and
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it said this, for Sarah conceived and bore Abraham
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a son in his old age at the set time of which
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God had spoken to him. Everybody say set time.
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So in Herod's case, we have a set day. In Sarah's
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case, giving birth to Isaac, we have a set time.
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And that was actually foreshadowing another miracle
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birth that would take place thousands of years
36:51
later whose name was Jesus. In Galatians chapter
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4, it says this, when the fullness of time had
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come, God sent forth his son to be born of a
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virgin whose name was Mary. And so we have a
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set time for Herod. We have a set time for Sarah.
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We have a set time for Mary giving birth to Jesus.
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These are all set times. I began to think of
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Daniel. Listen to this. In Daniel chapter 9 and
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verse 2, Daniel, who had been deported to Babylon
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as a teenager, is now in his 80s and later in
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his life. And in Daniel 9 -2, it says, in the
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first year, of the reign of the king, of the
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new king, I, Daniel, understood by the books
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the number of the years specified by the word
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of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet that
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he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation
37:53
of Jerusalem. Let me translate that for you.
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Jeremiah said that the exile into Babylon would
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last for 70 years. And Daniel, now reading that,
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just did the math and said, 70 years are almost
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over. Do you know what Jeremiah was saying? There
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is a set time for deliverance, the deliverance
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of Israel. Hallelujah. And so we have a set day
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for Herod. We have a set time for Sarah and for
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Mary. And now we have a set day, a set year for
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deliverance from the exile into Babylon. These
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are moments in time that are fixed. Hebrews 9
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.27 applies to King Herod. It is appointed unto
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man once to die and then to face judgment. An
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appointed time. Wow. And I began to look through
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these scriptures. And I came across Psalm 102,
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verse 13. And I want to declare a set time over
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Faith Church this morning. I want to declare
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a set time of favor. Psalm 102 .13, when I read
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this on Tuesday morning, it went... And when
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we read this, I think Suzanne read this scripture
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at the seniors prayer meeting, which any seniors
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can come to. It's at one o 'clock on Wednesday
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afternoon. We can get you directions to be there.
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We had 10 people there last time. It was awesome.
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And when Suzanne read this scripture, the power
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of God was released into the room. And it was
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tangible. Those of you that, wave if you were
40:04
there. Wasn't it tangible? It just went... And
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I just sat there kind of stunned at the power
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of the Word of God. And I want you to listen
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to this passage. Psalm 102 .13 You will arise
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and have mercy on Zion for the time to favor
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her. Yes, the set time has come. I want to read
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that again. Because I don't know if you picked
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up on that for you, for your family, for this
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house. I want to read it again. You will arise
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and you will have mercy on Zion for the time
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to favor her. Yes, the set time has come. There
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is a set time for Herod's death. There is a set
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time for Isaac's birth. There is a set time for
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the birth of the Messiah. There was a set time
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for the deliverance of the Israelites out of
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Babylon. And there is a set time for God to pour
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out favor on his people. Zion oftentimes represents
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the New Testament church. Friends, we are about
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to enter in to the days of favor. Will anybody
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say, I want that on my family. I want that for
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my life. I want the favor of God on my life.
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The favor of God. The favor of God is on this
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house. The favor of God is in this place. I believe
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that every person that attaches themselves to
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Faith Church will have the favor of God upon
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their family, upon their finances, upon every
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aspect of their life. The favor of God is going
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to come upon them. It's why healing happens.
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It's why restoration happens. It's why God gives
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back families in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah. God is doing incredible works in
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families right now, putting families back together,
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drawing families by His Spirit, bringing prodigals
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home, doing incredible things because the favor
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of God is on this house. The favor of God is
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on your life. I want to receive the favor of
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God in everything that He is bringing into my
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life. So I preached both of my messages this
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morning. And I want to give you an opportunity
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to respond if Alexander would come and the team
43:18
to play. Maybe you've been in a place where You
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know you can't stay there any longer. Place that
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God's calling you from. And you know that there's
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a place that he is calling you to. And this morning
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you want God to do that work. Do you know the
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greatest miracle of all is when we give our life
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to Jesus. Hallelujah. And just as a quick bunny
44:01
trail, the most important part of the celebration
44:06
of life was when Kathy stood up and said, when
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Gary gave his life to Jesus, that the first word
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that was ever spoken to him was this, study to
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show yourself approved unto God. and that every
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morning he had his Bible open, studying to show
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himself approved unto God. And if you want to
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be a person of significance, if you want to make
44:34
a difference in your world, there's no shortcuts.
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You can't just come down to the altar and have
44:41
the pastor pray over you and then the rest of
44:44
your life will be great. It doesn't work that
44:46
way. You've got to get up tomorrow and you've
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got to read the word. And you've got to get up
44:51
the next day and you've got to read the word.
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And you've got to get up the next day and the
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next day and the next day. And you've got to
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get yourself in the word of God. There is no
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shortcut. But there are moments in time where
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we make a turn and we say, God, I want my life
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to count. Maybe I've been a bit disillusioned.
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Maybe God has not met my expectations. But I
45:22
am still going to serve Him. And I'm going to
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turn this morning and I'm going to say, God,
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I believe. you. God I believe you. I'm not abandoning
45:40
my faith. I believe you. I believe you. This
45:53
is our God. What a God. So, Father, in this room
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right now, there are people that you are calling
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by your spirit, saying, son, daughter, come up
46:24
here. Come up here to a higher place. And you
46:33
this morning, you want to answer that call. And
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you want to say, God, I want to step into everything
46:42
that you've got for me. I want to enter in to
46:50
the promise of God for my life. If that's you
46:55
on the count of three, I just want you to stand
46:58
up and come down to the altar. In the name of
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Jesus, whether it's one or whether it's 35 or
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the whole group, it does not matter. You just
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respond to what the Lord is doing in your life.
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Something is going to shift in your life this
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morning. In Jesus' mighty name. One, two, three.
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Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. No more status quo. No
47:36
more sitting on the sidelines. Come on. No more.
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No more. No more. No more. You're saying yes.
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You're saying yes to God this morning. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.